Munich, again and again
Work brought me here many times. Every time, the city gave me something new to carry home.
Work brought me here many times. Every time, the city gave me something new to carry home.
Munich is a city that's very close to my heart. I didn't plan for that. I went there for work, and then I kept going back for work, and somewhere between all those trips it stopped feeling like a business destination and started feeling like a place that knew me.
The photo at the top is from one of those visits. That's St. Paul's Church on the left, and on the right, tents and rides spread out below the rooftops. The whole city glowing in the evening light. I remember standing there thinking it looked like a toy model of itself.
The funny thing about visiting a city many times is that you'd expect it to get boring. Munich never did. Every trip I found a new place, a new corner with a story behind it. A church I'd somehow walked past ten times without going in. A square with a history I'd never heard of. A building that had survived things I could barely imagine.
It's a city that rewards you for paying attention. You think you've seen it, and then it shows you something else.
I have to say it. The beer is on another level. I'm not an expert and I won't pretend to be. But sitting in a beer garden on a long summer evening, with a proper Maß in front of you and people you like around the table, is one of those simple things that's very hard to beat. I wrote about one of those evenings in Crackling in Munich.
Some cities you visit for work. Some cities end up working on you.
My first winter there was really an experience. Coming from Kerala, cold is not something you understand until it actually hits you. Short days, grey skies, breath you can see, and the strange joy of walking into a warm café after being outside for too long. I learned a lot that winter, mostly about layers.
What made Munich special, though, wasn't the buildings or the beer. It was the people. Even at work, everyone was considered family. Colleagues became friends, and friends became the reason I looked forward to every trip back.
When I think about Munich now, three things come to mind: friends, travel and work. All mixed together, and all good. Those are the things I carry in my heart from that city.
— Desly