In this last article I want to share the experiences I have made with blogging over the last semester. I’ll draw a short conclusion and maybe some of you will start their own blogs in the future, it really is a fun thing to do!!

We all have read hundrets and thousands of blogs in our life, but how many of us have written and petted their own blog so far? Many people are “bloggers” nowadays, but as far as I know, not a whole lot of my friends have their own blogs yet! I am really glad that our freindly lecturer has introduced us to this topic, because before I started the semester, I was anything but an experienced blogger. Since this is just about my 15th article, I do have some experience now.

The first thing that I really want to say, that to my surprise, most blogs are free (even though you can do a whole lot more when you buy an account at e.g. WordPress and have FTP-Access, like at : birken1010.birkenkrahe.com)and really everyone can start one, it doesn’t even take very long to get started. What I experienced as a problem was that I really had trouble to find things to write about, because honestly, after 10 weeks of writing about the similarities and differences of Munich and Berlin, I ran out of topics. In October last year I started my blog with topics like: The Start, Moving up north, and First impressions. All this was meant to be like an introduction, in order to lead to the main part: Sightseeing, Summer, Winter, Berlin Mentality, Munich Mentality, Football (all those in November and December). In january I even started a poll, to find out, what my readers think about the question, wheater Munich or Berlin is better (Munich is still leading). I also wrote about the real estate market in the two cities and the difficulties one might discover by looking for a cheap apartment or by finding one in a decent condition.

I also shared some personal information (I’m not affraid of blogging!!!!!). I told the world about my new year’s eve and I complained about the lack of altitude in Berlin. I’m still wondering why mother nature tortures a snowboard-maniac like me with tons of snow in Berlin and not supplying me any mountains??!! WHY???? And now I am already writing my conclusion, I can’t believe that 15 weeks can go by so fast and at the same time (when there is no good topic in my head) last so long

Anyway, I really like blogging and I’m seriously considering starting another one, but to be honest, I have reached the bottom of the barrel of this topic and I’m already thinking of a new one! I’ll keep promoting my blog on studiVZ and Facebook, so everyone is well informed about my progress.

Thank you all for reading my blog and mybe you should start your own one, it is really interesting! Thanks,

Have a great week,

Cheers,

M

once again I have a topic that concerns many people in the south and in the north. Where can I live in such a big city as Munich or Berlin, how can i afford it? If we look at other major cities in the world, we realize that Germany still is relatively cheap, especially in Berlin.  While an apartment in London or New York is very often considered as unaffordable. But what are the differences here in Germany, is Munich really so expensive compared to Berlin? We’re just about to find out!

In 2007 one square meter in Munich was worth more than 8.50 Euro per month. This number is just the average and relies on rent without the payments for water, electricity and heating. The price for the same service in Berlin only Grunewald reaches this price. In the rest of the city the average was 6.6 Euro to 8.5 Euro in 2007.

Right now I am myself looking for a new flat. I have many friends in Munich who are or were looking for flats lately and they all have complained the real estate market in Munich. It really is expensive. A nice flat in a downtown area with 33  square meters costs around 500 Euro of rent. In Berlin, you can get a similar sized apartment for 50-60% of the Munich price.

Generally speaking it is easier to find an apartment in Berlin, because the market offers a whole lot more, but the quality of the flats sometimes is less than you would expect! I’m confident that I will find a new apartment that fits my wishes.

If you have any offers, just send them to me

Laters,

M

This really is one the best winters here in Berlin for a long time. There is a lot of snow and that makes the cold bearable. But mother nature has forgotten one important thing here in Berlin. There is a lot of snow and it looks like it will be here for quite a few weeks from today, but seriously it I cannot see why we should have snow here. There are no mountains to be found.

There is not too much snow in the alps yet, but I am sure that it will come, soon. End of January till mid-February is the time with snow-guarantee, even though over the last years all people who love winter-sports or even earn their money with it have suffered from big snow scarcity. I have a feeling though that this year it is going to be better

I want to present to you two different ski and snowboard resorts which I used to frequent. Unfortunately I cannot go as often this winter, as I used to, when I was living really close to the alps.

Well, let’s start with “Brauneck“, my hood. This is where I started snowboarding in the winter 89/90. The resort is rather small compared to other ones in the alps, but it is very close to Munich. A 45-60 minutes drive to the south from Munich makes it possible for locals in Munich to do day trips. That is what we usually did, get up in the morning, get in the car or on the train, go snowboarding and go back home in the evening. As I said, it is a rather small resort, but it offers a whole lot. Flat slopes for beginners, mogul slopes and double black diamonds! I love it and the price for a one-day ticket is: 28 Euro (cheap)

The next resort is Alpbachtal. Once again close to Munich. One hour or one and a half drive to Austria to reach another rather small area, but it is really good to go to smaller places, because they are not overfilled with people and tourists, even though many people from Belgium, the UK, and the Netherlands find their way to the northern part of Austria. The price for a one day ticket here is: 32 euro (still pretty cheap)

People who love crowded slopes and long queues in front of gondulas can go the glaciers, such as Mayrhofen and Stubaital or Hochzillertal/Hochfügen, but I really prefer the smaller places, they also offer all kinds of levels of slopes and they are cheaper.

See you on top of the mountains lads,

Cheers,

M

Alpbachtal

Brauneck

this week it is totally up to you to vote for your favourite city! If you can’t decide or don’t know either one of the cities, read the blog

It’s on!

I wish you a happy new year and I hope that all your dreams will come true and that you all stay healthy and successful. I celebrated in Munich and to be honest, I was a little stunned and also disappointed when I saw that there is so much snow in Berlin. I would have loved to celebrate with  my friends in Berlin, but I also enjoyed the time with my family.

The snow in Munich came a little later than in the rest of the nation, but now it really is the loved winter wonderland. If you have read the articles in this blog you know that I am an enthusiastic snowboarder and that makes me warship the white frozen water, especially in the alps. Within the next weeks I will write in detail about snowboarding and good resorts to go to.

Once again, I hope you all had a good flight to the year 2010 and I wish you all the best for this gonna-be-great-year!

Later mates, cheers!

M

this week my article is going to be focused on the first division football teams of the two cities Munich and Berlin. The recent developments of the two teams are very different, even though, both teams were fighting for the championship last season, before they were upset by a team paid and supported by Volkswagen, Wolfsburg! This season, everything seems to be a little different!Since the first half of the German football league is almost over now, it is time to draw some conclusions! Wolfsburg (as I am writing this they are losing two nill at home against Dortmund) is not going to play a role in the championship decision! Bayern Munich with the new manager Louis van Gaal who replaced Jürgen Klinsmann at the beginning of the season had huge problems. They were struggeling against teams like Mainz 05, a team that was promoted to the first devision this year and they also had big problems in the UEFA Champions League! They lost both games to Bordeaux (France), and everyone in Germany had lost the faith in the most famous German team. After winning against Maccabi Haifa though, they reached the first goal of the season, they would get their final game in Turin against Juventus. The winner of this game would go to the round of the last 16. They won in Turin 4:1 and reached the next round. Just a few days afterwards they had to play Bochum, once again a rather small team in the division. This game that expected to become really hard was executed perfectly by the players from Munich. They won 5:1 and are now 3rd, by far the best placement of the season!

On the other hand, there is Berlin and its first-division football club Hertha BSC! They really had an oustanding season last year, but now they are in the last place (18) and it really looks like they will be relegated this season. I think it would very sad, if the German capital would no longer have a team in the first devision. Sometimes it is very hard to understand the problems, football teams have. Is it really just the fact that they are missing a great key player who is able to make the game?

Come on boys, now it’s your time to show me your football knowledge and tell me what you think is the reason for Hertha’s failure?

Later mates, have a good one! By the way, there is only one real football club in Munich: Sechzig!

Cheerio

I have spent my entire boyhood in Munich and I really love the city, even though I moved to Berlin for university! The city itself really has, like Berlin, a very unique atmosphere and the people are known nationwide for a bunch of prejudices! I will try to release everyone from those sometimes completely wrong impressions they might have.

People in Munich have a weird reputation! Very often Munich is referred to as the most snobbish city in Germany, but why? Is it simply because the living standard is much higher than in other cities (we do have many lakes and the alps around us), or because of the outrageous residential rents, or is it the attitude? While I have been living here in Berlin, I haven’t lost everything of my Munich – accent, which is quite different from the Bavarian one. Usually when I go somewhere, people have no problems to identify me and my heritage.

Most Bavarians are friendly, but obviously, when you come from another part of Germany, you might have trouble understanding us Compared to the “Berliner Schnauze” (spout), Bavarians are not that direct, but if you get some words wrong, you might think that what you have just been told was really rough! Since I’m talking about Munich though, the Bavarian accent is not the solution, because most people in this major city do not even have an accent anymore, at least not the traditional Bavarian one! Over the years a very special accent has developed, known as “Münchnerisch”, our own dialect!

I would love to hear from you, why you think Munich has such a strange reputation. Is it because of the attitude, the beauty of the city and the along-coming jealousy, the success of the sport-teams, or is it everything combined? I know that everything sounds really self – conscious and in some ways patriotic, but don’t we all love our home cities and aren’t we all proud of our heritage?

Please tell me what you think makes people from Munich so different and even unpopular sometimes. People very often roll their eyes when they hear that I am from Munich! I don’t want to complain or moan, I just want to know some reasons for the aversion many Germans have towards us!

Cheers mates, have a good one and please give me some comments!

Later

Before I start writing about my own experiences in Berlin, concerning strangers, I want to explicitly say that I’m not talking about my friends here. This will simply be a short report about people I have met here! Watch out, they are really friendly!

Berlin is famous for its “Schnauze” (spout), which all Germans now. In Berlin most people seem to be very harsh and very direct. I was once standing in a fully crowded public bus, when a really old man entered, carrying his senior-citizen-bus ticket on a string around his neck. So me and one of my friends from Munich were standing in the bus alley, because there was nowhere else to stand. The old guy looks at us from approximately 5 yards away: “Could you please let me through!”, already in a tone, not sounding to happy. “Of course!” we replied and stepped aside, even lifting up someone’s bag, so he could sit down. I mean, he was really rickety and weak, so we thought he would appreciate it. Wait, wait, NOT! He turned around, really slowly, and we he was facing us he said in a totally apathetic tone: “No thanks! That is to close to you!”

Alright, I know, you can’t judge an entire city by one person, but there have been many more similar things and most people in berlin are very proud of being famous for always saying exactly what they think. Well, maybe sometimes it would be better and healthier if they keep their mouth shut, but all in all, I love it when strangers talk to you like you’ve been best friends for years.

Another almost famous story is about a friend, walking into a butcher’s somewhere in Kreuzberg, ordering in plain Berlin-accent a bread roll with raw ground meat, called Hackepeter (they really eat that here). Unfortunately this guy who ordered the tasty food had a few scars in face from several accidents. So the friendly girl behind the counter said: “Why would you want to have ground meat, you already have it in your face!” WTF?

Okay, but we can handle those situations, we are from Munich, we are arrogant and cocky enough to take it. So bring it on people from Berlin Next week, I’ll tell you something about the people in Munich. Everyone says we are big-headed and arrogant. Next week, you’ll know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,but only if you return to my blog and keep reading!

Later mates, time for a good old beer from Munich!

Cheers!

well, since last week, I was telling you about Munich in the summer, I would like to tell you something about the winter in my home city. There really is a whole lot to do. Snowboarding, christmas-markets, ice-skating, watching hockey games, …

A big advantage of Munich is the nearness to the alps. This range is full of nice winter sport resorts and many people from Munich use this very often. When you want to go skiing or snowboarding, you do not have to plan it 6 months in advance, you can just decide to go to the alps the next day. You get up early, and if you want, you can go to one of Munich’s “domestic mountains”. If you go to Brauneck for example, it only takes you about an hour to get there by car.If you want some more information about nice resorts or my favourite ones, just write and ask me, I will be pleased to tell you. But listing them up here would simply be out of proportion here.

At night, you can go to many different christmas markets that really have their own flair, with hot wine or hot Caipirinhas. Those markets in december are something that most people think it is very romantic, and they are right. Standing in the snow, in the middle of the English Garden, having some wintery snacks (lots of almonds and cinnamon) and a cup of hot spiced wine, really is breathtaking.

Some people, who are not looking for romantic sites, but some serious fights (great rhyme ) and action can watch a game of EHC München, Munich’s hockey team, playing in second division. They are very successful and tickets are affordable (13-20 Euro). Hockey is a great, fast team sport and everyone should have seen a game live. The atmosphere is great and you really get addicted to it.

I’m sure that there is a whole lot for me to discover in berlin, and I’m really looking forward to checking out all the christmas markets here in Berlin. Which one do you think is the best one?

Cheers,

M

this week I would like to write about some great summers activities in Munich. Since I have spent only one summer in Berlin, I would love to get some hints and tips for the warm months in Berlin, so maybe the Berliners out there could help me

I very often think about the summers I had, when I was living in Munich, because it is hard to tell, what you’ve done in those months, when you do nothing but relax. I will give you an example of one possible day, full with interesting things to do.

After a good night sleep, you get up, have a great Bavarian breakfast (I’ll actually have one today:-) ) and get in the car to go to one of the many lakes around the city. The Bavarian breakfast is going to be explained in detail when I come to the typical cuisine-differences between Munich and Berlin. There is not a lot I can add to going to a lake, because everyone loves to go swimming, when it is really hot outside. One of my favorite lakes is a little further away from Munich and is called the Starnberger See, in Starnberg (obviously). A really interesting thing about that lake is that it is very long and not so wide. This form of the lake sometimes allows you a view that really is breathtaking. If you are standing in Starnberg and look all the way to Seeshaupt with its very nice church, you only see the top of the tower looming over the water surface. Believe it or not, this is one of the few spots (I know), where you can actually see the earth curvature. Luckily enough, at some lakes, you are even allowed to do a barbecue, which might be a better idea than doing on your terrace downtown. Afterwards you can do what locals in Munich do best

You can go to one of the numerous, famous beergardens in the city and enjoy a nice, cold, tasty beer. Don’t be too surprised when you see the liter-mugs, we drink the beer from in good old Bavaria, because usually, you’ll have to handle them as well. In most beergardens you can order a “small” beer (it’s a large one in Berlin) until 6 p.m., but afterwards, they only serve the big mugs. It is hard to say, which beergarden you should got ot, because every single one is neat and has his advantages. Very famous and an all-time-favorite is the Seehaus, in the English Garden. You can sit right next to the water, enjoy the sun, and simply be happy about being able to sit there. This is the greatest way of celebrating life on a day-to-day basis. After a few beers or maybe Radlers (refreshing mix of lemonade and beer), which you should rather drink, if want to do something afterwards, you could watch a movie. Movie theater in the summer? Heck no!

Every year there is an open-air cinema on the famous Königsplatz in Bavaria’s capital. Usually the best and most successful films of the year are shown there and over the last years it has become an establishment. For a time-span of one week, people come there, sit on chairs or on blankets on the lawn, enjoy some beers. Unfortunately food and drinks on the festival ground are rather expensive (as many things in Munich are), but there are some ways to sneak in your own food and drinks. It really is fun watch movies outdoors, but I would suggest to bring a sleeping-bag, since I might get a little chilly at the end, because they start the film once it is dark.

Anyway, there is always something to do, especially if want to chill out. Me and friends often just go to one of the many parks we have, by the way the english garden is the biggest municipal park in the world. While the famous Central Park in New York covers an area of roughly 3.4 square kilometers, the English Garden is even bigger with its 3.7 square kilometers. But also some smaller parks are perfect for recreation in the inner city.

I am very well aware of the fact that Berlin also has many interesting and relaxing places to offer, but since I am very busy with studying here, i cannot explore the city the way I could explore Munich for 22 years, so come on, help me to find nice places.

Cheers,

M