Tour De Tor

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 It's been nearly two weeks since I arrived so why not start off with a little reflection. The first week here was more of a mental challenge than I expected. Not being able to leave the apartment combined with suddenly living by myself caused me plenty of second guessing. Was moving to a city where I know essentially nobody a good idea? Will I be able to meet people? Should I have picked a more suburban apartment closer to the larger parks? Luckily weekends include video calls with my family and games with the Marengo Boys both of which help immensely with mental resilience. This past week I was better able focus at work and start enjoying the experience of exploring the city.

I'm still settling on my weekday routine since my morning meetings have all become evening meetings. My lunchtime walk has become a morning walk and grocery investigation since that's really all that is open. By the time lockdown lets up I expect I'll have visited every grocery store in a mile radius, I'm up to 5 already. Here's the path to one of the nearby organic markets. 

This week also brought snow and it hasn't gotten above freezing since monday. This means masks serve the additional function of keeping my face warm.


On Thursday I braved the cold and went to Theresienwiese the home of Oktoberfest. This time though the only tent set up is the drive through Covid testing site. 

Saturday I opted for a longer expedition. I haven't seen the Alps since landing so I planned to climb the Olympiaberg which Google recommended as a potential viewpoint. Along the way I decided to check out the historical Tors(gates) of the city. It ended up being about 11 miles round trip. I felt a little self conscious taking pictures since there aren't any tourists around. Luckily I started early enough that nowhere was particularly crowded. Enjoy some highlights below.

Sendlinger Tor, my first stop. 


A frozen fountain near Karlstor, did I mention it hasn't gotten above freezing in a week?


Gate number 2 Karlstor.


in the Alter Botanischer Garten, I assume the pattern was caused by sprinklers.

Heading up the hill.

The view looking south from the top, I could make out the Alps faintly but alas my camera could not.

Siegestor which is not one of the old city gates but it has tor in the name so I included it in my tour.

Isartor my last stop before picking up lunch and returning to my apartment for a nap.


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