Kane Mar

Munich proved to be one of the friendliest places I’ve been to. On two separate occasions someone went out of their way to help to provide directions; there was a kindly old gentleman that traveled several train stops to ensure we were getting on the right train; and the Grandmother that continued with the conversation for 10 minutes even though the only reply she got were a few smiles and laughs.

While I was there I learnt a lot about not only Munich but also Istanbul:

• Munich is the capital city of Bavaria which considers itself quite distinct from the rest of Germany. Bavarians are proud of their unique and distinct heritage.
• TÜV is a independent technical laboratory that certifies technical standards in and around Germany.
• Istanbul is divided lies between both Europe and Asia and the two sides of the city are connected by a bridge. One side of the bridge is in Asia, and the other is in Europe.
• The city is also growing very rapidly. There has been an influx of workers from Eastern Turkey and as a result the population has been growing quickly.
• As a consequence it’s not uncommon to spent 2-3 hours commuting to work … hmm, sounds even worse than commuting in Seattle!
• “Es kommt darauft en” means “It depends” in German.

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I’ve always thought of it as a small central European country … which it is, but this has not always been the case. It was once the heart of one of the most powerful (if not the most powerful) empires in Europe and today Vienna contains many of the majestic artifacts and buildings from that time. Here are a few things that I didn’t know about Austria:

• Maria Antonette who, when told that the French people couldn’t afford bread replied “Let them eat cake”, was an Austrian princess
• Her sister, Marie Louise was Napoleons second wife
• The Hapsburg empire included Austria, Hungary and the Czech lands, and
• “To zalezi” means “It depends” in Czech.

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