europe un(lish)ed: high on a hill was a lonely goatherd (lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo)

Once we started getting semi-settled in and I began work at Amazon.de, we started really exploring the area. One of the biggest surprises to me upon getting acquainted with the city is how wonderful the food is! I envisioned piles of sausages and schnitzel, but in reality they have wonderfully international cuisine in Munich. We have already found delicious German, Greek, Italian/pizza, Mexican (yes, real Mexican!), and Indian, and have established a nice rotation of our favorite restaurants. We have also started experimenting with some at-home cooking based on what we are finding at the stores, and we are really enjoying our new found love of homemade pasta salad. (Note: Despite my love of food, you will never see pictures of food on this blog. I just don't do that.)

My coworkers are fantastic and very welcoming, especially my immediate team (and thank god, they speak impeccable English). One coworker in particular, Flo, and her husband, Steven, have made a wonderful effort to hang out with us and show us the ropes. They are both Cougs who have been living in Munich for a couple of years. During my first week at work, Flo invited Ryan and I to go hiking with her and her husband over the weekend. We gladly accepted, and took off on our first adventure in the Bavarian Alps. Did I mention that they are both marathon runners? We got our asses handed to us, but had an amazing time and finished the hike with a nice swim.