Welcoming Spring
Dispatches from the beginning of my favorite season in Munich
In January, I sent out a post called ‘Slices of Life’ that was taken from journal entries that month. It felt really special to bring you into my physical journal and share the most vulnerable parts of my mind. (Is that weird? *shrug*)
“I’m out of control with my journaling atm 😂” I texted my childhood bestie Sarah a few days ago. “First off there’s SubStack which I think of as an online journal, then I have two shared journals with friends, then a brain dump journal (which I plan to dispose of once I fill it up), and then my normal journal where I’m documenting things with a little more detail for future-Paige. Like what the heck am I doing?!”1
What the heck am I doing indeed! The eternal question!
All I know is I’ve been feeling the internal push and pull between keeping my journal entries private for myself versus sharing some entries publicly on this blog.
But then I went to yesterday’s Shut Up and Write meeting here in Munich and sat across a fellow writer I met a few months ago. It was great to see her again as I remembered enjoying our conversation in the fall. “I feel I have a parasocial relationship with you,” she admitted with a laugh. “I’ve been reading and loving your SubStack posts. I especially enjoyed your January journal entry post!”
SAY! LESS! That was the only sign I needed to run back home and type up some of my favorite journal entries from the beginning of spring to share with you all. And if you have any problems with it, take it up with her!!!! (Hi Sev 👋)2
February 12, 2026
More and more I’m feeling spring approaching. These days the temperatures hover around 40 and I throw my windows open with wild abandon, just to hear the birds sing. (Yes, that’s right, the birds are singing!!!) The smell of damp earth hits my nose on my bike rides to work, fresh and woody, and I can’t help but check the branches for buds. None yet, but I know they’re coming.
I also know I’m too eager and jumping the gun. Today I awoke to sun and grabbed sunglasses on my way out. A few hours later, the sunglasses sat untouched in my coat pocket as raindrops dotted my face on the bike ride home. Mother Nature reminds me to be patient, child. But I don’t wanna!!!! In another life, autumn was always my favorite season—but in Munich, it’s spring. Everything comes alive in the spring: the flowers, the hibernating animals, the city, and me.
I’m in an especially good mood today. I have been working with a German husband/wife duo who have been taking classes since last summer. This week they’re dog-sitting and asked if I minded the dog joining. Easiest “no, I don’t mind!” in the world.
Hope the dog joined us today and yesterday and I’m capital-O Obsessed. A calm little pup, glad to curl up in the corner and doze off to the background noise of our English conversations. Every once in a while she’d get up and come over to me to lean against my leg. She’s a poodle mix, just like my childhood dog Muggsy, and petting her felt like petting him—something I haven’t done in 12 years. “We knew she’d like you,” the husband said. “You match her calm energy.” Best. Complement. Ever. When they left and I said goodbye (they only watch her until this weekend), I said, “Next week we’ll be Hope-less!” Sad…but I’m also quite proud of that joke.
The jolt of happiness from Hope’s visit stayed with me. I felt only able to notice the good all around. A young man gave up his seat on the U-Bahn for an older man, who was so touched he tipped his hat. When the seat opened up beside him, the younger man sat down, and the two began to engage in a riveting conversation that I was sadly unable to eavesdrop on (German). Something about the way the younger man angled his body towards the older man so he could be fully engaged touched me.
Today felt like springtime in Munich—a glimpse of it, anyway. Friends strolled the streets arm-in-arm. A busker played her music at the U-Bahn entrance, the smooth saxophone notes echoing their way down the long passageway. It showed me how lovely life can be with Hope in your heart. (Both the dog and the feeling.)
🌷🌷🌷
February 27, 2026
SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Throw open the windows! Pack away the coats and gloves and scarves and thermal socks! Check the weather app ten times a day and celebrate each time you see the 10-day forecast show upper-50s highs and sun icon after sun icon! Blissfully ignore that the lows are in the 30s! SPRING HAS SPRUNG!
I’ve started to see buds on the branches. They remind me that I am also becoming anew.
Munich is the city of spring. Some cities were made for certain seasons and weather. Munich looks dismal in rain, but stunning in the spring sunshine, her many green spaces bursting with color and life. To me, Prague was a city made for rain—the warm glow of the ornate lampposts reflecting off wet cobblestones. Same with Edinburgh, the gothic buildings looming over the dark streets, the small twisting alleys looking perfectly moody. A gorgeous city that thrives in wet autumn days. Brussels becomes tender and romantic with a layer of snow. Lisbon and Porto so bright and peppy when drenched in summer sunlight.
On Wednesday, Erik and I went to an English improv show with my two students-turned-friends M and J. It was in the upstairs of a restaurant. It feels so similar to the improv theatres I’ve been to in the US and the UK. Just a small black stage in the front with black non-descript chairs lined up for the audience. I love that small black box theatres are truly the same everywhere. Before the show, we grabbed Burgermeister, and M hilariously pointed out that if you stand on the corner outside Burgermeister, you can see four different burger restaurants all on that same street.
The show was HYSTERICAL. The theme was “Love is in the Air” so it was all games and sketches related to love and romance. They even did some musical improv which feels especially impressive. The show was two hours (!!) and I was laughing the entire time. Interestingly enough, all the performers were women. This is maybe the first time I’ve been to an all-female improv show. It was quite refreshing.
🌷🌷🌷
March 1, 2026
Erik and I spent the weekend (Friday night until this morning) an hour outside the city in Schliersee. His company owns a little hotel near there that employees can stay for free/cheap. We went back in October 2024, just as autumn was taking over the scenery. It was fun to go now, on the cusp of spring. Sadly the trees were still bare and the lake mostly frozen, but yesterday was very sunny and pleasantly warm—I could wear a light jacket and feel perfectly comfortable.
We tried to hike ~45 minutes up one of the hills to a waterfall, but my anxiety got the better of me. Erik, sensing my panic, suggested we turn around and walk around the lake instead. I don’t know where it stems from, but I have such an irrational fear of wild animals in the woods? Yet if I’m in open spaces, like a lake path, then I’m fine. This has ruined plenty of forest hikes in my life. Luckily, Erik’s other name is Real-Life-Angel, and he never complains when anxiety ends a hike early. Off to the lake we went.
We walked and walked and walked and walked. By the end of the walk, seven hours had passed! We did the entire loop of Lake Schliersee with two stops: one small cake shop for kaffee und kuchen (although Erik got a delicious Weißbier Johannesbeer Spritz!) and another on a bench overlooking the mountains. There have been some deaths in/close to our family this last month and, while it is a sad backdrop on such a beautiful weekend, I feel much more appreciative for life.
After our seven hour walk, we rested at the hotel a bit before heading to dinner. Schliersee is such a cutie of a town, very German, with gorgeous buildings with hand-painted façades. The dinner choice was a restaurant in a different hotel. It was as cozy as can be. Low ceilings, a few different small dining rooms, lots of wood, and waiters and waitresses wearing trachten. We successfully did all the interactions in German (always our goal, but we didn’t realize just how often people in Munich switched for us when they hear our accents…) and the food was delicious.
After we arrived back to Munich this morning, we did some spring cleaning (yes with the windows open to allow that sweet crisp air to freshen up the place). It feels so nice to start a week off with a nice, tidy home. B and R had a little “open house” gathering, so we popped by around 3:00pm for some snacks and a wonderful homemade cappuccino curtesy of their new espresso machine. Left at 7:00pm, full and happy. Lots of great snacks and great conversation.
🌷🌷🌷
March 8, 2026
I struck a nice balance of alone time + Erik time + friend time this weekend.
On Saturday, Erik and I went to the Internationale Handwerksmesse in Messastadt Ost. We went last year, but this year felt even bigger and more robust. Of course we started at the food hall, eating samosas and mango lassi, as well as peanut chicken from the Togo stand. After, we strolled around the craft hall and realized this year went heavy on abstract jewelry. I loved seeing the artists at each booth, proudly wearing their crazy, colorful, and often gigantic earrings and necklaces. Really fun to look at, but not so much to buy. (Never mind that most of them were out of the realm of possibility €€€€) We rushed home for video calls with some US friends, which were lovely and cup-filling and took up most of the evening.
Today, I met with M and J at the Pinakothek der Moderne (modern art museum) which was great as I had never been there before. Despite growing up in Munich, both M and J hadn’t visited the museum in a while either. Modern art can be hit or miss for me, but I really loved their collection. They had an exhibit “Sweeter than Honey” which was a collection of scriptural and text-based art. Looking at how words and language can be art—which felt like the perfect exhibit for us, who all met in my English class two years ago! Our favorite pieces were from Chinese artist Qiu Zhijie’s “World Maps.” I took many videos and plan to immortalize this outing in my Alphabet Challenge vlog series.
After, I went to B’s apartment so the three of us (me, B, and our friend ML) could binge-watch season 3 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” It ended up being a bit of a hate-watch for me as I found the three main characters quite insufferable by season 3…but still fun to do with friends! Plus, B was the hostess with the mostest and fed us cappuccinos, homemade doughnuts, chicken bowls, and the world’s creamiest hot cocoa. UMMM?!?! Would gladly watch ANYTHING at B’s with this never-ending feast! I’ll just roll home with a big ole smile on my face afterwards!
🌷🌷🌷
March 13, 2026
Another Friday night, another fun fishbowl game with my Friday afternoon pupils class (11/12-year-olds) to cap off the week. In class, we moved onto a new unit—food—and the energy felt a bit low. It didn’t help that it was 60 degrees and with the windows open, you could hear all of Munich out and about. Even I couldn’t stop gazing longingly out the window to admire the cloudless blue sky.
“Can we play a game?” asked my one student, propping his head up with his hands.
“I do want to play a game,” I admitted, “but I’m not sure what would work best for this topic.”
So we brainstormed together, and the main consensus was fishbowl. We played it last week together, and they were eager to play again. Honestly, it’s a great way to practice vocabulary. So we got through round 1 and round 2, the classroom swelling with competitive energy and laughter, and we even started with round 3 (charades). Once the clock hit 6:10pm, two students were begging me to keep class going a bit longer because they wanted to have a chance to do the charades. To have 11/12-year-olds want to stay longer at their English class on a beautiful Friday evening like today feels like the highlight of my career.
This week, while relatively busy with 19 classes, did not feel as overwhelming as last week’s 23 classes. Probably because I only had one new class starting up. Plus, I was able to sneak home for lunch almost every day (mushroom tomato egg scramble has been my go-to) and Marco Polo my cousin Megan. It helps break up the day and takes me out of work-mode, even if only for an hour or two.
On Tuesday, my writer critique group met. Attendance has dropped throughout the winter, but we are so back, baby! Everyone except for one was able to join. The energy was fun and playful and the meeting went well over two hours. We’ve now met twice a month for over 1.5 years and I’m pleased that the members feel they’re getting real value from the group—including me! Although I submit next in early May and I’ve got zero ideas. Gulp.
Thursday was another fun, social evening. There was a Penn State Munich group meeting at a bar across town. I arrived late after my Thursday evening class and immediately my fight or flight mode was activated. There was a group of about twenty people, huddled in small, closed circles. Flight! Flight! I was so glad to find Erik within the group and benefit from his familiarity with some folks. After downing my first beer, I began to relax and was able to enjoy some pleasant chit chat.
It helped a ton that so many people were from the Philly suburbs, where we had lived throughout our 20s. North Wales, Ambler, Wayne. Hearing these town names felt like old friends. I told one guy his town’s library was my favorite, and he admitted he still uses that library card through Libby. (Kindred spirits?) It was fun to think of all of us in these small PA towns, picked up and dropped across the world. And only now do we meet.
As the night went on, I felt more and more comfortable. The guys we met were the great combination of funny and friendly, and we even shared some mutual friends from PSU. By the end of the night, surprisingly, Erik and I were one of the last ones there! I’m glad my fight or flight mode didn’t kick in all the way, because I met some genuinely nice people and I definitely can see us hanging together in the future.
In my cousin Megan’s Marco Polo today, she said: “Fun fact: Today is March 13th. Friday the 13th. It is the first Friday the 13th in March since COVID. This is officially the sixth year anniversary of when the world shut down. So my current hope is that this is actually a reset and we end up in the correct timeline. I’m convinced we’re not supposed to be here. Put us back in the correct timeline. Let this be the reset.”
Considering the state of global politics, I’m going to have to say: Yes, please!
🌷🌷🌷
Sarah so kindly responded “I don’t think there’s such a thing as too much journaling!” If there is, I’m sure I’ll find the limit.
Disclaimer: These are edited entries. For my friends and family members’ privacy, I didn’t share any negative parts that involved them publicly.
It’s nice to read positive thoughts about your days….its a “gratitude” journal with a narrative twist. (Much different than my 7th grade diary I told you about.) I believe these writings help you see things in a good light. Keep it up! They are quite enjoyable to read… I can actually put myself in your shoes and feel/see what you are experiencing in Germany!❤️
Your posts always put a smile on my face!