Passing, um, notes in Munich...

[jay]

Yes, there really are women here, not working in hotels or restaurants, who wear dirndl-dresses. Simply as nice normal clothes. I've seen a few older guys in lederhosen, but velvet vests seem much more common. I have two or three sweeties that I think would look good in a dirndl... hmm. Must look up women's sizing charts.

Bretzes put home-grown soft pretzels to shame, but I'm still not ready to eat them for breakfast. Even with Nutella... OTOH, Germany takes "continental" breakfasts seriously, unlike US hotel versions where "continental" equals "substandard" breakfast. Lots of protein, here... cheeses and yogurts and cold cuts and sausages and 15 kinds of breads and spreads, including the bretzes ;).

Including croissants. I keep forgetting how much better these are over here, compared to the chewy bland ones I'm used to at home. These are actually worth eating.

Men's suits: Lighter colors, beige or grey, with wide lapels and wider ties (or no tie at all).

Give me *anything* with kirsch, I'm crazy for cherries...

I now have favorite beers, after consuming more this week than in the rest of 2005 combined... even with the two days of hospital down time. And my doctors told me to drink a lot after I was released. Really. They told me specifically to drink lots of beer, as a diuretic and UT anaesthetic. Only in Germany, I guess, would my urologist prescribe me to drink 2 liters of weissbier. Anyway... my favorite is Paulaner weissbier... lovely clove and banana, not overwhelming, but tickling, smooth and luscious. Next favorites: Ayinger dunkles (nutty, malty, no backkick aftertaste) and Spaten helles (deceptively smooth and refreshing, until I try to stand up).

"Prosit, am prooosit.... " and counting to four in German. Although I can't down more than 25cl before I start to gag...

Yes, that was me last night in front of my boss and JPL management, up singing songs that I didn't understand and dancing with strangers... (grin).

Cured meats... this will be my all-time 5-weeks-of-nitrites tour... between the jamon in Spain and the wurst and loaves and cuts here.

Comments

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

Aha! We now know the magic formula that gets you up dancing.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

3 beers and the arm of a pretty girl, and I don't care anymore if I look silly ;).

[tshuma]

We can make this happen, you know. Ve haff vays.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

It was all a plot, wasn't it? Yikes!

[tshuma]

I know nothink!

*scrambles futilely for a Sgt. Schultz icon*

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

A magic formula is required? I thought all it took was music.

[cortneyofeden.livejournal.com]

You may have sweeties that'd look cute in a dirndl, but you might want to check pricing before sizing. ;)

I wanted one soooo freaking badly, but couldn't justify the cost. Yes, they're lovely. Someday, someday.

I'm soo freaking glad now that I didn't get one while I was there. It wouldn't fit any longer. ::grin::

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

heh. Reminds me of the Great Kimono Fiasco from two years ago... none of the ones I bought in Japan as gifts, fit.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Give me *anything* with kirsch, I'm crazy for cherries...

I have a weakness for very sour cherry preserves...

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

mmm.... (pant, pant)

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Heh. Good thing you don't have to drive anywhere there : )

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Munich is a staggeringly pedestrian-friendly town ;^).

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

"Staggering" being the operative word??

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

er, no comment...

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

In Bavaria, beer is a soft drink and therefore not mutually exclusive with driving (Yikes!).

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Drive 120 mph on the autobahn, stop, have a beer, resume driving 120 mph... one had better know one's limits, or become an early candidate for Darwinian selection (wry grin).

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you're having fun. Party on!

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

The beginning scraped, but I'm going to try to end the week on a high note (grin).

[ag-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Didn't you know that beer is so much more than just a breakfast drink now? ;)

Sounds like an upbeat end to the trip...or at least the wurst is over (oh, wait, you're having that for dinner, right? ;) )

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Schnitzel, actually, but you should try the beer-flavored yoghurt...

[ag-unicorn.livejournal.com]

beer-flavored yoghurt...

Erm...no. I think I'll pass on that one.

*shudders involuntarily*

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

at least the wurst is over

Moan... *brat!*

[ag-unicorn.livejournal.com]

*brat!*

*rimshot*

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

tip: Women with hips often don't look good in dirndls.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Hmm... shows where my eyes rove, then, as I kept noticing how the dirndl-dresses frame certain higher-up areas so well... ;-).

And some of the, hm, bolder women not only can store objects there (waitresses and mustard packets :) but have definite hips. Almost a corseted effect...

OTOH, a dirndl *skirt* would seen hard to keep aligned, unless a woman had skinny hips. (Looks out the window)

[ag-unicorn.livejournal.com]

And some of the, hm, bolder women not only can store objects there (waitresses and mustard packets :)

Waitresses?

Now I'm impressed. *weg*

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Certain clubs in Munich... nevermind. I didn't go there...

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

After further research this morning, around Munich...

There are lots of large-hipped Bayerisch women, and quite a few wear dirndls. The ways that they seem to make this work is (a) that the pleats on larger-sized dirndl-dresses are deeper, so don't "break" in quite the same way, and (b) women here cleverly break up the vertical transition between waist and hips by accessorizing with something with a strong horizontal line, typically a decorative contrasting apron which hangs down in front and makes a breakline around the back, so the hips don't seem to stick out.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

(nod) *chuckle* trust you to figure it all out. I just knew no matter what I did, I always looked rather awful in all the dirndl skirts my mother tried to put me in as a child. It also helps to have GOOD ones, which are cut to accommodate the hips, rather than simply straight fabric pleated onto a straight waistband, as so many of these are in the US.

[tshuma]

Everyone knows women in America have no hips. Except for the hundreds of thousands (dare I estimate millions) of us who do.

/bitter