EXPATS AGAIN

EXPATS AGAIN! Experiencing other cultures while enriching our global view.

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Munich, Germany
I am married to the love of my life and am finally able to shower him with all of the attention he deserves. I am now retired and living the life here in Europe. I am an American, he is an Australian, and this is our second overseas address. The first was Shanghai, China and now Munich, Germany. Come along and live the life with us as we continue our adventure of discovering all Europe has to offer.

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Saturday, September 4, 2010

FROM FENDI TO TOOM


Hurray!  Today is Saturday!




We began our Saturday by having a decadent breakfast at Kaefer's here in Munich.  As all proper Germans know, Käfer, www.feinkost-kaefer.de/dt_bundestag10/, founded in 1930, is an iconic gourmet delicatessen.  With a wine cellar of over 10,000 bottles of wine and champagne, our waiter pinpointed the perfect champagne for us to dramatically begin our Frühstück.   A ham and egg omelet for me and an Italian breakfast of brie, prosciutto, Felino salame, cheese bread sticks and scrambled eggs and tomatoes for hubby. 
Käfer caters so if you can't go to Käfer, you can order online and have it sent to your doorstep.  If you live in Munich, they will deliver it to you using bicycle. 




After a cup of rich, robust expresso, we were energized and off for a days' shopping in Munich Zentrum. Hot on the trail of the perfect evening bag, we began shopping at Oberpolinger, another one of Munich's icons.



Above is a photo of how Oberpolinger appears today.  (Minus the hoardes of people usually found on the footpaths of the Marienplatz.)
 
Here is a photo of the same store when it first opened in the 1930's.
 
 
 
Although much has changed since the 30's, including Hitler's disdain of the department store during the 40's and having done everything in his power to drive it out of business, a basement fire that resulted in it being rebuilt in 1954, and modernization in 2003, it was chosen the best department store in Europe in 2009 by the Association of German in Berlin.  One can do no better, in Munich, than shop at Oberpollingers for clothing, lingerie, coats, suits, shoes, or in my case, evening bags.
 
 
Let me tell you about the handbags Upon entering the Oberpolinger, you are flanked on both sides by designer handbag shops. It is an experience likened to running the luxury goods gauntlet.  There is no escape--they are everywhere.  Left, right, front and back.  The list?  Bottega Veneta, Bree, Burberry, Dior, Fendi, Ferragamo, Gucci, Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Montblanc, Prada, and Tod's. 
 
 Did I forget your favorite? 
 
After looking at ALL of the shops, I found a chic black Prada evening bag and a wine colored Louis Vuitton patent leather evening bag.  Both, nearly identical in price and both equally desired, by me.  The problem?  How often do you use an evening bag?  I would much rather invest in a handbag that I could use more often.  So, having looked at everything, I'm still no closer to purchasing an evening bag than I was this morning.  You know what that means....I'll be making a return trip this week.  We fly to Dresden for the following week and then to Paris on the 17th when I will need the evening bag. 
 
Our Saturday was off to a spectacular start, even though I didn't purchase the bag.  But, it went decidedly downhill from there. 
 
The next stop was at Foot Locker.
 
 


I wish I could say that I bought a new pair of shoes, but instead, what I really needed were these:



 
One pair of white and one pair of pink, to go with my pink and gray Under Armor Performance athletic shoes.  (Whatever happened to the laces that were originally in the shoes, I have no idea. They have never been worn.)  
 
I may not be able to decide on a evening bag, but I have no problem with shoe laces!
 
 
 
Next, we hopped on the S-bahn and went west to Bodenseestraße's toom BauMarkt.  If you are not familiar with toom, it is kind of like an OBI or home improvement store.  This leg of our shopping excursion had us scrounging around for small hallogen light bulbs, Bosch vacuum bags, a bicycle tire pump, a bungee cord, and a set of stick-on adhesive hooks for the bathroom.  I'm glad we chose toom, we were successful in obtaining all of the needed items.
 
Just one question kept nagging at me as we headed for home.  How did the day begin with champagne at Kaefer's and digress to sticky hooks in toom?
 

2 comments:

Liz Mays said...

That is kind of an adventurous day! By the way, I love the idea of them delivery via bicycle.

Jul said...

I bet that was one yummy breakfast! And interesting to learn that the cafe at the Bundestag is run by Käfer, too. Who knew?