Germany, The First Evening

5/19/2011
Munich (ish)
K's Apartment

I woke up as the plane to Munich was descending to land, got off the plane, and went through Customs very quickly. The agent was very friendly. He asked me if I'd been to Germany before (yes, in 1993), and to Munich (umm...I think so?). I collected my bag, and I swear I.S. found me within 30 seconds.

She introduced me to her partner K, who is a friendly, charming German (as is I.S., but I already knew that). K is also a social worker. He works with what sounds like the German equivalent of CPS, except it sounds like in Germany there's more of an emphasis on helping families, and that families for the most part welcome this help. I.S. and K asked me about support for families with children with behavioral and emotional problems. I said I don't think the US offers any kind of support like that, except maybe through the schools -- but it's not a subject I'm well-versed in. Still, it sounds like the German model is more about support and less about monitoring than the US version.

We got slightly lost leaving the airport (getting lost to/from the airport seems to be a theme of this trip), but made it to K's apartment without incident, other than a distant lightning storm and winds that threatened to toss I.S.'s car around. I.S. drives a Chevrolet -- who knew they had a presence in Germany? I.S. did, apparently.

K's apartment is awesome. Perhaps the most striking feature are the stairs to the loft, which is where I slept. I took some pictures of these stairs, but of course in my infinite wisdom I brought my camera but neither the cable to charge it nor the cable to connect it to the computer, so you'll have to wait. Suffice to say they were a little intimidating. But, you know, it's like a new kata. The scarier it is at first, the more fun it is. The water pressure in K's apartment is impressive. Also, what they tell you about the beer in Germany? That it's good? This is correct.