By Jordan Sapir
Yet another familiar email came in from the airlines. This time it’s official: you finally have the answer you’ve been waiting for, for the past three months. Your family trip is cancelled. It’s something we have become accustomed to during this pandemic. Cancelled holidays and changing plans at the last minute characterize the summer of 2020. Sadly, for Americans like myself, travel restrictions most likely mean no travel home to visit family this year. Being the incredibly malleable Über Mom that I am (clearly I moaned for as long as humanly possible), I threw a plan into action. We’ll have a staycation! Personally, and I say this from the position of a mom who has spent the past three months in quarantine with two children under six and a full-time working partner— The thought of going to the grocery store alone at times sounds blissful. The thought of traveling with said handful, during a pandemic, does not.
After careful research (read: trolling native Bavarian IG accounts), I thought of the idea of staying close to home.
After all, Munich is a beautiful city.
I often find myself in the midst of our daily grind, being a typical New Yorker, scoffing at the thought of going too far north, south, east or west. Well-traveled outside my Bavaria's perimeter, but often forgetting the simple beauty of neighboring districts.
Last month we had the pleasure of exploring Deutschland. As luck would have it, the summer I’ve decided to keep my family local, we’ll get to know Munchen with Über Moms. There is so much to do and love in the Bavarian capital.
Minga, as it’s named in Bavarian, is, according to Britannica, “Bavaria’s largest city and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg). Munich, by far the largest city in southern Germany, lies about 30 miles (50 km) north of the edge of the Alps and along the Isar River, which flows through the middle of the city. Pop. (2011) 1,348,335; (2015 est.) 1,450,381.”
Munich, “home to the monks,” (the beer-making kind, not the chanting kind), is renowned within Germany for the invention of the Weisswurst (white sausage) in 1857. Not only is the cuisine meritorious, but the cobble-stoned old city, picturesque views of the Alps, Baroque palaces, and Gothic churches are all complemented by the Isar River flowing through the city.
Be that as it may, most people (not just New Yorkers), don’t take the opportunity to explore their own cities. With the excitement of Southern and Northern Europe, I myself have been guilty of regretfully looking outside for the allure that can be found right beneath my nose. In fact, my Bavarian partner is often awestruck by my vigorous architectural and landscape questioning--sparking his interest in further exploring Munich. You don't have to go far. If you are like my family, and have the opportunity to stay close to home this summer, why not book a bike tour, visit a museum or open-air kino, take a walking tour, or a swim in a local lake? Munich’s not just for lovers. It’s a beautiful city with enchanted forests, a picturesque backdrop, and really cold beer with a cool, shaded place to drink it. This year, my summer plans are to fall in love, again, with Mein München.
Servus from Minga!
Jordan Sapir
Jordan Sapir, mother of two glitter-laden girls, 2 and 6, studied Journalism and International Political Science in NYC, a place she once called home. She can slaughter five languages fluently. She has worked in a newsroom or two, walked a catwalk or three, and is all for an impromptu adventure. Having traded in her Prada for pretzels, the founder of Über Moms lives in Munich, where she is a stay at home mom and studying to become a certified nutritionist. She is a mommy on a mission and wants to help fellow mothers raise healthy happy families, and beat a PR here and there.