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Oktober

 

Servus von Bayern!

The trees here are big! This stately oak is a well-watered specimen, growing along the banks of a spur of the Danube. Walking isn't boring when there are so many trails in such beautiful settings. We walked a little farther than planned today. We took a bus and started out on the Old Stone Bridge, then got onto one of the islands in the middle of the Danube. We weren't on the island we thought we were on, and wound up walking far from the Altstadt. In the end, we ended up walking 2 1/2 miles from the Altstadt to home. However, it was a perfect weather day, and I got in my exercise.

While I've been getting along with my German in most situations, I totally cannot understand the local dialect--Bayrish (Bavarian). It's based on German, but even Germans from other regions can't understand it. They also speak in different German dialects. However, everyone is taught Standard German in school (as was I), so everyone understands it and can speak it. All the media is in Standard German. I had heard this was true. 

We think we would like to stay here, but we're not sure they'll let us. Right now Germany is dealing with a flood of Ukrainians, as well as refugees from Africa. If they don't give us a temporary residence permit, we have to leave the Schengen Zone by 90 days. The Schengen Zone is all of the European Union, plus several other countries, but not Great Britain. You have to stay out for 90 days before reentering for up to 90 days. We're not sure yet whether we would try to go home to Alaska in the middle of winter, or try to find a place to stay in Great Britain, then come back to Germany until spring. 


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