Fasching!

I'm here in Munich (called München in German) for a couple of days before I return to California tomorrow. It's a lively city with a mix of old and new architecture. I wasn't expecting anything other than an ordinary Sunday when I arrived, so I was quite surprised to see this scene when getting out of the subway station...

Yep, the city was definitely in a party mood... there were a lot of people dressed up in different costumes - jailbirds, cows (yes, cows), noblemen etc. There was even one guy who looked pretty similar to Captain Jack Sparrow (not this guy below)

Apparently the Carnival is celebrated in most of the western world, called by different names in different places. In New Orleans, it's called Mardi Gras; in Nice, it's called Carnaval; here in Munich, Germany, it's called Fasching. My colleagues in Munich tell me that Munich is actually not the "wildest" place in terms of Fasching. Due west of Munich, near the French-German border in the city of Cologne (Koln), the entire city becomes a week long PARTY-ZONE.

Bicycles on the streets of Munich.

Finally, a quick note about bottled water in Munich - sparkling (carbonated) water is overwhelmingly more popular than still (non-carbonated) water. I asked a colleague about this, and he said that when he was a kid, they drank sparkling water all the time. When he travelled overseas as a kid and drank non-carbonated water for the first time, he was like "What's this?? I'm not drinking this ****"

Today there is definitely an availability of non-carbonated water everywhere, although sparkling water seems to be a lot more popular. In addition, according to studies, Munich tap water comes straight from the alps and is of better quality than anything you can find in bottles - Evian, Volvic, Crystal Geyser or whatever. I took a big gulp of tap water from the hotel tap when I learned about this; I'll let you know if I turn out okay or not.

I am so ready to get back home tomorrow.