Quite recently I have had to rely on the google lady a lot. By the google lady I mean the one who gives you traffic instructions. I grew up on maps and got used to reading them a lot, then I went to college and so many more directions were online. In Munich I used the google lady a lot when I first moved there because I didn’t know what the streets were called. Then when I would go around with friends or my partner, they knew where we were going. So I got quite complacent with directions.
Walking around Munich last week and its surroundings I came to two realizations. 1) I don’t know really how to get around, without the google lady and 2) I don’t know if I really know Munich.
I’ve been so focused on my work and my studies that I haven’t done the tourist things or even explored places I don’t go frequently. So now that I will, and have, some more free time, I am determined to try more new things, go new places, even if it means I just ride the subway to the end and see what there is. I know people who did these things when I moved here, but for me moving here wasn’t about the tourist things. I was moving into a life. I had traveled here so much before and I didn’t do those things.
I don’t really like to do things by myself really, so I’m not sure how successful it will be, but I want to try. I see Munich now as a temporary place, somewhere I will be for the near future (however long that is), but I still want to walk away thinking that I was there. Knowing places, having a favorite cafe, or a favorite spot.
It’s time to redefine my relationship with Munich.
And of course, I’ll keep you posted along the way