I'm sitting inside watching the 5th or 6th flash thunderstorm we've had in Munich this month. They're pretty cool: first the wind picks up mysteriously, then the heavy clouds quickly and suddenly roll in, the sky often turns a funny almost greenish color (tonight it's actually stayed pretty normal grey though), then it sprinkles for a minute or two before begging to drop massive torrents of rain. The thunder and lightning pick up and continue for about 20 to 30 minutes, then the whole thing blows away and the weather is fine again, often even sunny. I think it's really cool, but I also haven't been caught outside in one yet.
I got back from Vienna almost two weeks ago, and in the few days I was there I had a blast. Some photos...










Vienna was an awesome city, and even though I was there only a few short days, it may have overtaken Berlin as my favorite German-speaking city. Perhaps this isn't so surprising, considering that Vienna is now the city with the highest quality of life in the world (or so some fancy consulting firm has absurdly determined). Anyway, Vienna has so much going on it makes Munich feel provincial, and the old town is full of beautiful, monumental buildings. Real Wiener Schnitzel is also really, really tasty--and much better than the stuff I've ever been served anywhere else.
After getting back from Vienna, I almost started to list off the reasons why I don't like Munich, and why I found Vienna so much better. However, as usually happens, just as I was getting down about Munich, it went and surprised me with something cool and different...
This Thursday we had another public holiday (one of Bavaria's charms is the ridiculous amount of holidays the workers here get....I believe 12 per year), and I went with a friend to a street festival near downtown, and it was awesome! Food and drinks and lots of music, including a live band, and the atmosphere was just great, with a nice mix of people. As it turns out, this is just the beginning of what could be called "street festival season" (i.e. summer), and there's tons of festivals coming up all over the city--fish markets, beer garden festivals, the music fest put on by my university, and more. I'm so glad that summer is just getting started, and that I'll be here to enjoy it in Munich.