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The Second Great Depression

Between my last post and now a lot has happened - I've had a full ski week with the fam (much more on that later), I've become a TV football pundit and I've begun playing football again. One thing, however, that definitely hasn't happen though is the returning of my wallet by the Police. They've had it for over a month now they refuse to give it me back, sending me around various departments and communication techniques but, alas, to no avail. A colleague of mine informs me that the police once had his laptop for over a year before it was given back, even though all of his work for his Masters was on it. Needless to say, I'm hoping to not have to wait that long.

Seegatterl Snowstorm 

The moment our family ski trip was booked I knew 2 things: 1 - it was going to be fantastic to see the fam again and 2 - I was going to want to hop on the plane back to England with them afterwards. I was right on both accounts. I have never skiied in such perfect conditions before. For the first three days it snowed almost continuously making it hard to see more than ten yards in front of you but at the same time leaving a fresh layer of the lightest powder on the ground each day. Each day we could ski through completely untouched snow on the piste - there's no feeling like it, and it certainly made me look like a much better skiier!

The "accident"

The lack of visibility hindered us only once, when Matty and I accidentally took a wrong turn, hitting a snow drift at speed, leaving us up to our necks in snow and with Matty's finger twice its usual size! On the final day the snow stopped falling and was replaced with perfect blue skies, allowing us to take incredible photos, like the ones dotted about in this blog post. Our typically german accommodation was a mere 2 minutes walk from the ski lifts - great location but this did mean there was only 1 restaurant we could visit and boy did we visit it. Luckily, it was fantastic, with friendly staff who greeted us like locals by the second day (on our THIRD visit - Dinner, Apres Ski, Dinner) and served us delicious wholesome food.

Fucking Hell, Mum?

The ski week also led us to the discover of the best named beer Germany has to offer. As you may well know, lager in Germany is known as "Helles" and in Bavaria that is often shortened to "Hell". What you may not have known is that there is a small town on the border of Austria and Germany that brews its own beer. The name of that town? Fucking. You've got it, their beer is called Fucking Hell. It was probably the only time I'll get away with using the phrase so often in front of my parents!
What a great week it was, and Matty, Mum, Dad, Mum's two friends and Matty's friend all got to do a bit of sightseeing in Munich on the Monday before their flight (while I was in work I must add!)


The Intervening Days 
After all the stories regaled about England over the weekend I couldn't wait to return. Luckily, my time since then has been so busy that I've barely had time to even feel depressed. A trip to Marek's to get my deposit back (one week on, still not in my bank account), an expensive haircut, valentine's day and 1860 München vs Bochum, a leaving night out for my friend Maddie and football have kept me busy until this very evening.

Football on Sunday marked the return of Munich Irish Rovers after the winter break. Whereas friendlies are supposed to ease you back into the swing of things after a period of gluttony over Christmas, our game was nothing of the sort. Promoted to the A team, I faced opponents who top of the league and had been training since the turn of the year, so were massively sharp in comparison to us, still nursing hangovers from the night before. I must also point out that when I say top of the league I mean top of the league above us. Oh, and did I mention one of their players used to play for Red Bull Salzburg? Yeah, well he did.
7-1 flattered our oppenents but we were well and truly outclassed across the field, with much of our game involving chasing shadows. We did, however score the best goal of the game - our centreback-turned-rightwinger guiding a superb left-footed volley into the top corner from outside the area.

After the match I got a call from Molten Marcus who invited me to an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet with the often elusive Alex Gregory. We failed miserably, only managing to finish 2 plates each despite staying in the restaurant for a good few hours. Practice is needed.

In other more important news, Carly Rae Jepson is in Munich on March 28th and although I won't be going to see her live (she's supporting Bieber and I refuse to put my ears or wallet through that torture) I see this as the perfect opportunity to make her my wife. Simply put, I like it so I'm gonna put a ring on it. As long as Marcus doesn't get there first. People have told me there may be other variables than just Marcus getting there first but a man has to dream, right? In a hypothetical world where I've just given her my number, I don't think I'd be able to hold back the most OBVIOUS of lines; "Hey Carly, call me maybe?". This could be my downfall.

Snow, Singing and Strumpfhose

Wow, it really has been a long time since my last post. 23 days to be precise (it would be obviously). Boy has a lot happened, I've barely stopped in all that time! We'll start right at the beginning, my birthday in fact. After a very relaxed day at work with lots of friendly wishes and an awful lot of cake I headed to Kennedy's (no surprises there) to watch the football and celebrate with what I thought would be a few quiet pints. What I hadn't accounted for was that Wednesdays at Kennedy's are karaoke nights. It being my birthday I was informed I'd have to perform something. I weighed up my options, looking through the book of possible songs. Should I do Kirsty McColl? Les Miserables? Call Me Maybe? Luckily I chose none of these and instead  opted for a classic from my childhood - "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling. After the horrorshow karaoke just before Christmas I was expecting a great deal of success it has to be said, but after those first few bars kicked in and I had eased myself into the song the crowd seemed to be on my side - i wasn't ruining the song! From then on in I belted out every word, even attempting the high notes with a bit of success. A rapturous applause followed and I was even complimented on my singing by a barmaid - maybe they all secretly knew it was my birthday after all.

following the strict apres-ski dress code

The next major event was the ERASMUS ski trip to Brauneck/Lengries, a weekend in the mountains with too much alcohol and not enough sleep. Having not skiied in 7 years I found myself really scared to get back on skis. Luckily we had a night ski arranged on the small slope before we hit the main slopes the following day. Turns out skiing is much like cycling, you never really forget how to do it. Apres ski consisted of being given various disgusting shots on the slopes by the already drunk organisers of the trip. There was even one which offputtingly tasted like Calpol. Weird.
    Despite the strict no alcohol and no parties rule at the Hostel we took the apres ski back to our room where we enforced a strict no trousers rule. Tights, long johns and pyjamas were the name of the game and we ended up very drunk (1.5L of vodka was no help) and we got into bed at the late, late time of 1am. MENTAL.



Some part of my drunken mind thought I'd treat my feet to the night of their life and allow them to rest on my pillow while my poor neck was subjected to a pillowless experience. It worked well in the end though, as my feet were what were really needed on the slopes the next day. Saturday really was perfect weather for skiing. The sun was up and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. From the top of the mountain we could even see Munich in the distance. After spending the first few hours nursing hangovers and skiing down the red and blue slopes we finally manned up and took on our first black of the day. It turned out to be our favourite slope as there were numerous ways down it, taking in off-piste, moguls, jumps and even a World Cup standard slope that was practically vertical. The day ended without a single fall but there was certainly a lot of moments with limited control. I'm not a classy skier by any stretch of the imagination.

Saturday night was an odd one. The organised had arranged for us to hit up a club in the small rural town of Bad Tölz and if we weren't there then there would have only been 15 people there max. When it was busy. It was an eclectic mix of music to say the least, with Call Me Maybe seemlessly leading into Punjabi MC and Jay-Z following Gangnam Style (to which the quiet Asian man on the trip went bat-shit crazy, it was fantastic). But this was by no means the weirdest part of the night. There was a big, blonde Estonian guy who had been pestering us and hitting on all the girls for the entire night. He had certainly been pissing us off and one friend politely told him to, ahem, fuck off. He did not take this too well, squaring up to Phil and threating to shoot another friend. Why he had brought a gun with him on a student ski trip I'll never know.

Barely 24 hours had past before the next big event of my life occurred. After 5 months of torture I was FINALLY able to move out of Marek Mansion and boy was I glad to see the back of him. Weirdly, he was sickeningly sweet when my friend Thomas came round to help me move out. He even smiled. The move took about an hour in total and although I've hardly had any time whatsoever to relax with my new housemates I already know it's much, much better than the old place. I feel more relaxed, I'm happier and I even seem to be having a bit more luck than usual. I'll have to give a proper update on my room once I've properly settled in, but the outlook is good. 

Today I went to a press conference for 1860 Munich. It took place at their training ground on the south side of town and involved a training session, Q+A with the manager etc. I stupidly didn't wrap myself up warmly enough so spent close to 5 hours standing out in the piercing cold waiting for our time to interview. It finally came and we were able to get short interviews with all three of the new signings: Rob Friend, Ola Kamara and Malik Fathi. It's weird just how nervous I was in doing it, but it's something I'll need to improve VERY quickly as I'm going to be talking to them again after the match tomorrow! It's an exciting time in my life, that's for sure, I just hope I can continue to juggle all the various aspects without running myself into the ground!

On a final note, I'd like to say a massive congratulations to my cousin Clare and her husband Jack who are officially parents as of last night! A beautiful baby girl by the name of Amelie Delilah Russell. Now the hard work begins!

New Flat, New Job

I think it's fair to say that not a single bone in my body was looking forward to coming back to Munich. I may only have been at home for 2 weeks and in the process packed everything I owned into the same nondescript boxes but I slipped back into family life as if I'd never been away (except for the fact that my brother had improved a bit at fifa - i even lost a few times!)

To compound my misery my flight was at 7 50 in the morning, meaning a 5am start. Not ideal. It did however mean that I got 20 seats to myself on the plane and was even allowed extra weight in my bags! The flight itself was painless as can be and I landed in Munich with a much more positive outlook of my next 5 months than I'd expected. As soon as I had unpacked my groaning suitcase I had a quick text round to see who was about - about an hour later I was sat in the Irish pub with the lads from football watching Swansea-Arsenal. Not much changes.

After a quick house viewing just north of the town centre I met up with my old adversaries, Messrs Fabian and Greggers, and lady Adams. The obvious choice for our catch up was the afghan restaurant in town. Delish. As the hours rolled by my tiredness caught up with me and, wary of the long day awaiting me on Monday morning I retired quite early to bed.

Monday was a long day. Not only did I have my usual daily reports to update, but also the weekly, monthly AND yearly reports as well - especially difficult because I was completely out of practice and so much had changed. After 10 hours in the office I headed to the rather magnificent Park Cafe, where I met up with journalist Jon who had an interesting proposition for me.

In tandem with his full time job, Jon is also the sports editor for The Munich Eye (http://themunicheye.com/) a Munich-based, english language Newspaper. This newspaper happened to have a vacancy coming up, a vacany to be filled by yours truly! As of Monday, I am now the reporter for all 1860 München matches, meaning I get into all the matches free to write my reports and also the opportunity to interview the players! It sounds fantastic!


The other big news of the week is that I've FINALLY found myself a nice place to live for the last 6 months of my time in Munich! It's approximately 10 mins walks away from the centre of town (i currently have to get a U Bahn for 25 mins), 4km from work (easily cycleable) and with some lovely people! I will be living with 2 french people (1m 1f) and a german girl, all of whom are either doing an internship or studying a masters, which should hopefully mean quietish during the week then party time at the weekends! I'm really looking forward to it.

Going to a small music festival on saturday followed by skiing on sunday (hopefully) if the weather stays cold enough. Update will come afterwards!

New Year's Revolution

New Year, new Nath.

• cut out all the personality traits that I dislike about myself.
• start back strengthening Yoga. Y'know, to strengthen my back.
• ENJOY my last 6 months in Munich.
• Take up a new hobby.
• Travel South America.
• Live.

1st term over - what have I learnt?

1. I am a boring person in German.
2. Home really is where the heart is. 
3. I'm quite good at my job.
4. I'm no longer a child - snow makes me worry about the transport problems, not think "YAY SNOW!"
5. Bonuses are a fantastic invention. 
6. I am actually relatively interested in Economics. 
7. I can actually speak German!
8. It is rude for a German man to stand up when weeing in a toilet - most sit down.
9. Football is a universal language, and that language is English.
10. British cuisine should never be underestimated.
11. I really love Manchester.
12. Finding somewhere to live in a big city is stupidly hard.
13. German sign langauge is different to English sign language.
14. I will always be a spendthrift.
15. I am capable of hatred.
16. I can ride a bike drunk.
17. Furniture is more interesting than it seems.
18. Making friends without being forced together (school, work, housing) is incredibly difficult.
19. WOOLWORTHS LIVES ON in Munich
20. Almost any English word can be slipped into a German conversation without a problem.
21. Work can influence your dreams.
22. If the landlady wheels my bike from the garden to the skip then it's my fault.
23. The sterotypes about german girls are not true.
24. Age really doesn't make a different when it comes to making friends.
25. Germans have NEVER heard of 'Fairytale of New York'

Money, Markets and Marek

Where to start, where to start... In order to keep this post relatively short, I'm going to skip about a week of my life from the middle of November. Don't worry you haven't missed much, it was a week much like the rest.

We'll start with how I'm getting on at Westwing. The short answer would be very well, but i'm not going to be resting on my laurels. Last week I had my 3-month meeting with my boss in which he assessed my performance over the first few months and also, more importantly, how much of my bonus I'd be getting. It turns out my contract is very different (in a good way) to other interns at the company, due to the fact that I signed it when the company was sitting pretty. Not that I'm complaining. My bonus was set at 80%, with most people in the firm performing between 60% and 70%. I won't divulge the exact amount, but it's safe to say that my trip to South America next summer is looking more and more realistic (Warrick, buck your ideas up boyo!). Most excitingly at work, we've finally made our move up to the 4th floor of the office to a much cosier and quieter room at the end of a corridor. Hopefully this will mean we'll be disturbed less! It's also allowed me to move myself so that I don't have my back to the majority of the room, something which I am very pleased about. As of today, our boss is on holiday until NEXT YEAR. The next few weeks are going to be hella tricky with no safety net but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to.

Lebkuchenlikör at the Nuremburg markets

This nicely links into my next topic. Friends! Slowly but surely I'm beginning to infiltrate already formed friendship groups and I have met a lot of very nice people. It was very naive and foolish of me at the start of my year abroad to think I'd be able to make only german friends. Since i've dropped that it's been a lot easier. At work there's the HR girls, french Alice and french Chloe and german Stefan and I even went out with the HR girls last week to a bizarre party held on the 14th floor of the building oppposite our work. The room was basically a bridge between the two towers and swayed whenever people jumped around. Which was always. Not so good when you're drunk!
Outside of work my social life is picking up at last! Friends from football, friends of friends and friends from the internet are beginning to fill my time more and more and i'm loving it. I've been invited to 3 Christmas parties next week and am going out twice this weekend, - i've not done that since I was in Leeds!

Last weekend Hannah was here and we had an incredibly Christmassy time. Whereas her last trip was sunny everyday, this time it was the polar opposite - literally. Snow felll sporadically for the entire weekend. On the Friday we visited Nuremberg and inadvertently arrived on the first day of the christmas markets; cue crowds beyond belief filling the streets, desperate to see teh Christkindengl. Luckily, once the 'opening ceremony' was over the numbers dropped massively and we were able to enjoy the markets at our leisure. It was a beautiful city and even the 3 hour train journey home couldn't dampen our spirits (much). We spent saturday in Haus der Kunst, an art museum on the edge of the englischer Garten before heading to 'the best burger restaurant in Munich'. It's a very bold claim but one that I have to agree with. It was expensive but I didn't let it detract from the experience (see above re bonuses). My mexican double cheeseburger and potato wedges with a Becks was an absolute delight and I'll be back there before the month is out - especially seeing as how it's open until 6am on saturday and sunday mornings for no obvious reason!

Sunday saw us visit the Munich christmas markets where we bought postcards and retired to Starbucks in order to write them and get warm. A brief visit from the effervescent Marcus and the weekend was over, much much earlier than Hannah or I wanted. After a slight mix up over which station her train platform we said what was probably the hardest goodbye since we've been in our respective countries. Christmas can not come quickly enough.

BURGERZ

In housing news Marek has returned to the house and we have spoken about whether I can move out. The current position is that I can move out whenever but would lose my deposit which is not an option I want to consider. However, a new possibility has potentially come to light. As long as I can find someone to live in my room for the remainder of my contract I can move out AND keep my deposit whenever I like! This is certainly good news but it involves a lot of legwork on my behalf to find a suitable tenant. There may yet be a silver lining to this housing situation...