Munich

Well that was a fucking waste of make-up.

On Wednesday I got up at 5am which is far, far too early for me.

It was only once I was on the 6am train that I shaved (using a lavatory, rather than just sitting there on a passenger seat in case you wondered - these aren't too bad in the mornings).

Got to Gatwick in comfortable time to get the 9am flight to Munich. NB, this flight left a bit late.

Still, I had plenty of contingency time.

Once I landed at Munich there was a big queue to get through passport control. I've been to Germany enough times to know that their efficiency is a bit mythical.

Because I know Munich rather well I took the S-bahn (local train service) to the central station. I felt I was running out of time to check into the hotel before the interview so I put my umbrella and small travel bag in a left-luggage locker. Compare and contrast with London where you just can't do those sorts of things. (Also, whilst I was in Munich I didn't once feel worried that an armed policeman - they're all armed - would shoot me in the head for walking too quickly in an underground station).

From the central station I took a taxi to the office, about a mile further than where I used to have a flat. Gosh, German taxis are cheap.

And quick.

Turns out I could have checked in the hotel first. Maybe had a shower as well. And indeed something to eat.

Anyway, I waited outside the office for almost an hour. Then, 10 minutes before 3pm (German time) I went in.

Got to the third floor and did something that would amaze anyone who knows me from Germany. I spoke, in German (I think) - to the receptionist, telling her who I was, why I was there, and who I wanted to see. And, this is the big bit, she understood me (I think).

[Everyone who knows me from my time in Germany know that I understand German reasonably well but also know that I don't have the world's best Bavarian dialect - spot the understatement.]

After that I wasn't required to speak in German again whilst I was at their offices. Dank Gott.

Had the interview which went well, although I didn't feel I had it in the bag.

In the taxi back to the central station I phoned and spoke with the agency. The agent was impressed that the interviewers had given me their business cards and discussed salary and starting date. None of her other candidates had had that sort of behaviour when they went there.

The hotel was a tube stop away from the central station in an area called Sendlinger Tor. I hadn't been around there before, despite working out of Munich for a year, and I found it was rather nice.

I also found, however, that the work "okay" was formed just to describe the hotel I'd been booked into. Still, it was okay.

Then went out to a bier garden and met a bunch of people I knew in the city. That was nice. I also had some Hofbraeu. Now, I have Hofbraeu in England but I found, from the first sip, that it was much stronger in Munich. And actually, it wasn't really a sip either. Plus it wasn't really "some Hofbraeu". That's because in Munich they have heterosexuall measures for beer so I had two litres of the stuff.

I also had some Schweinhaxen which was good, except I haven't eaten Bavarian food for a long time, so it wasn't good at all.

The next morning I had German breakfast in the hotel which was "okay". Then I had the rest of the day (well, until mid-afternoon) to explore the city.

I went into one of their big department stores to buy some flight socks. I'd accidentally left one of my two pairs of these socks in Finland on my recent trip there. And some batteries as my rechargeable ones had stopped working.

I drank some tea and went window shopping around Sendlinger Tor. I also ate some rather nice Thai food for lunch - I wasn't going to eat stodgy Bavarian food again, for a while.

I found that I could just about understand everything that Germans were saying to me. I also found that as I got more practice, my own spoken German improved. To the point where the Germans could undertand me. Almost.

Before 3pm I'd got fed up though. After all, I know the city really well so "having the city to myself" wasn't really a big deal. I made my way to airport and eventually got back home without adventure.

As with my trip to Finland I've waited but there's been no problems so I can't contribute anything to Das Journal des Unfalls bei Muenchener-Besuch.

Couple of days later I phoned the agency. She had just heard from the client: they weren't going to recruit me.