This is Munich

mei ist des schee!

M. Sasek's wonderful book, This is Munich, has just been re-released this month. 

It's a wonderful gift for anyone who loves Minga. 

Bavaria... Germany's Texas

Bavaria's brother from another mother...

Germany is slightly smaller in size compared to Texas, however I'm concentrating mainly on Bavaria, after all I'm only comparing the two states. 

This may come as a surprise to many, however there are many reasons why I have come to this conclusion and lucky for you ... here is my rational:

• They are both Southern and central states - Texas is central in America, Bavaria is southern in Germany and central in Europe. 

What Germany is lacking in size compared to Texas, they are clearly not lacking in their Bavarian amour-propre.

• I have noticed that if you confront an American that is from Texas they will proudly reiterate they are from Texas and may also throw something in about being the only state that was once it's own country. Bavarians also have immense amounts of pride. On my train ride to Ljubljana, I overheard someone in the next compartment telling tourists from Australia that he was 'Bavarian'. I had to laugh... then I had to laugh a bit more as I walked past and noticed he was a police man. He continued to recount to the family that they were in Bavaria. 
  

They both have a unique distinguishing 'uniform' and women with hair unique to their area of the country.

• Texas has: cowboy boots, blue jeans, cowboy hats, and bolo ties, and women with big hair.
  
• Bavarians have: lederhosen, woolen jackets, and women with burgundy hair (OK, so the burgundy hair is not unique to Bavaria.) 

Both places are recognized internationally for one state. 

• When I travel, people I meet that have never been to the US instantly tell me how they also want to lasso horses and live the 'wild west' that is portrayed in movies. 
• Americans see lederhosen and instantly think 'Germany'... au contraire - that my friends is strictly a Bavarian thing.

Texas is a state with many immigrants and distinct sentiments on how they should behave or contribute to society - Bavaria likewise, has many immigrants and distinct sentiments.

• Both states under many circumstances, don't really follow a politically correct way of approaching the matter.
  
• Politically both states are traditionally very conservative.

Munich's own, M. Sasek, wrote children's books about many wonderful cities of the world... and also one about a state, you guessed it - Texas.

Another area of similarity is that both states have very distinct accents. 

• Bavarians have so much pride in not being understood by people that speak 'hoch Deutsch' that they even have a name for it - Boarische Språch (Bairisch). If you end up on a subway and the driver sounds like he's under the influence, chances are good he's just speaking with a Bavarian dialect. As for America, I'd like to say President Bush has a Texas accent, however I think he has something uniquely his own going on - some would even debate he sounds like he's under some kind of influence.

The connection isn't so far fetched according to Wikipedia:

"In 1842, German nobles organized the Adelsverein, banding together to buy land in central Texas to enable German settlement. The Revolutions of 1848 acted as another catalyst for so many immigrants that they became known as the "48ers". Many were educated artisans and businessmen. Germans continued to arrive in considerable numbers until 1890."

There is even a 'Boarischn' Wikipedia.

So there you have it... 

care package + customs

We aren't always successful at receiving mail. Germany and the United States like to tell us that it's the other country's fault. Finally our packages aren't being lost into the abyss, although often times they aren't delivered to our door - we have to drive to the customs clearing to open them and determine the contents and it's value.

The trial and error issues are slowly decreasing as we learn what the parameters are. Today we learned that anything valued over 45€, even if it's a gift, we will owe a duty on. It's a good thing that exchange rate is working in our favor right now considering my parents sent things worth over $200.

Whenever I walk into the customs house I think this would be one interesting place to work. They have a glass showcase of their confiscated items, which includes a cobra fermented in alcohol, band aids made from leopard bones, counterfeit shoes, jewelry, and clothes, as well as animal pelts. I often wonder what happens when they see these items and if it's difficult to communicate to the recipient that these aren't legal for importing. When we went this morning, there were many exotic cars out front.


Our packages are exciting, although for different reasons. I was happy to wake up early knowing there were surprises sent for Stefan's birthday and of course a couple for me as well. Among them were Wüsthof paring knives, ironically made in Germany imported to the US and shipped back here, because during my parent's visit my Mom thought I could use them. Sometimes it's unbelievable how much things traverse the world and the sad part is these knives are undoubtedly more expensive here. We've seen the same thing for Stefan's adidas soccer cleats, which are made in Germany.

We also received a few more travel guides for upcoming trips - and my favorite... my München Munich book by M. Sasek. I can't stop looking at the beautiful illustrations and I love that I can read the German and double check it with the English.

It also states that the oldest surviving house in Munich is located at Burgstraße 5 and dates back to the 15th century. I pass by all the time and never knew!

Thanks for the package - we loved it!

München Munich

Since I am evidently not the only one that adores M. Sasek's children's books, I wanted to share this information.

I was under the impression my mother had found the 'This is Munich' book, when she had found a book titled 'München Munich'. I can't imagine the books are different with the exception of this version being bilingual, which I love.

The illustrations are beautiful, as always, and I love the witty comments like this one in reference to the the Oktoberfest:

"When the 'Gaudi' is over there's always a herzl (gingerbread heart) or a maxi-Brezel (large pretzel) for a souvenier - and a headache."

Although many a Münchener will dispute the notion that their beer gives headaches, even after a day at the Wies'n (an affectionate name for the Oktoberfest that takes place at Theresenwise), you should be reminded that beer is considered food here. And they still maintain their strict purity laws.

Regardless, the humor and illustrations are terrific.

thanks mom!

I was talking to my mom about the M. Sasek 'This is Munich' book, and wondering when the reproduction would come out (my guess is this year or next year).

Leave it to the infinite powers that only mother's have... she found a vintage copy for me.

To top it off it isn't an old library copy with tons of markings, it didn't cost an arm and a leg, and it's bilingual with English and German.

I am already excited to look at the beautiful illustrations and to see what kinds of things around town Sasek thought were worthy of documenting.

M. Sasek

I am quite fortunate because my mother-in-law is a complete bibliophile. Granted, we don't really share books because it's easiest for us to read them in our native tongues. However, I appreciate the wealth of knowledge that she is and the fact that Stefan grew up with books surrounding him (this has made him more tolerant of my ever expanding book collection).

A couple years ago I started collecting the books of Miroslav Sasek. Some of the most beautiful illustrations and sweet city portraits can be found in these wonderful children's books.

Another reason I feel such a connection to M. Sasek is because he adopted Munich as his hometown, I love thinking about him walking these very streets. I'd be very curious to know more about his life here, although not much is known other than he died in 1980 and had one son. You can read a bit more about him here.

The great news is that his 18 'This is....' books are being reproduced. While the old copies from 1959-1974 can be acquired through old library sales and book shops handling antiquities, I enjoy being able to order them and have a replica of the original without the hunt.

The down side is while it looks as though the entire collection is being reproduced, I am still waiting to hear when 'This is Munich' will hit the shelves. I have to remind myself to patient. Thank you Rizzoli for republishing these phenomenal books.

There is also a slideshow of his illustrations that is worth checking out.

Simply stunning!