THINGS TO DO IN MÜ: 28 APRIL - 4 MAY

Did you have a good week? We certainly hope you did. We feel a little bit guilty that you had to miss out on last week's blog post. It's not like nothing has been going on in Munich, on the contrary! Unfortunately, we both were too busy to write it down. Let's start making up for it straight away!

All week:  
FUNFAIR I: Frühlingsfest, the spring festival at Theresienwiese, is something like a small sibling of the Oktoberfest. Made from the same ingredients (beer, sausages and funfaire rides), it's smaller in size and considerably less excessive. The focus is also more shifted to Gemütlichkeit and family fun rather than boundless consumption of alcohol. It can still get quite crowded when the weather is fine.

FUNFAIR II: If you choose to go to just one fun fair, our pick would be the Auer Dult. A combination of fun fair and crafts fair, the "Dult" is a festival with a great relaxed traditional atmosphere, and it's beautifully located at the foot of Mariahilfkirche in Au. Don't miss the small kiosks selling antiques and crafts.

Monday, 28 April:
ENGLISH IMPROV THEATRE: Improv shows in English are rare in Munich, so if you are not native German and would like to have some laughs without straining your brains to get that joke in German - don't miss the Bake This show on Monday! Starts at 8pm.

Tuesday, 29 April:
MAGIC BULLETS: Have you already seen "The Black Rider" at the Metropoltheater? If not - you really should! Music and lyrics were written by Tom Waits, and the musical has been brilliantly interpreted by director Jöchen Schölz and the actors at the Metropol theatre. There are still tickets available for the tonight's show, but check out other dates as well if you can't make it tonight.  

Wednesday, 30 April:
DANCE INTO MAY: The night before the 1st of May holiday in Germany is when you get together with friends and drink and dance all night. In fact, the tradition is so old that some time ago on that same night in Germany you would burn a few witches and dance around the fires. Must have been a lot of fun -  that is, if you were not the one who was being burned... Luckily, times have changed, and nowadays witches are quite safe. However, the tradition lives on and the dancing continues. If you can't pick a club, we suggest the Milla in Glockenbach. Trio Infernale will be playing at Milla and the entrance is free. We do not actually know the band, but Milla is a great location often hosting fantastic gigs, so we think it's a safe choice.

ARTS & COMMERCE: Guess we should mention the Stroke Art Fair that starts today. When we first heard about it last year (it was the fourth Stroke, but we missed the first one and lived in London during the second and the third), we were quite excited: Urban art is certainly underrepresented in Munich, so we thought it was a great gain. Unfortunately, when we visited the fair, we were rather disappointed. It was more a sales market for galleries than an urban art show, and for this, the entrance fee for visitors seemed unfairly high. On the other, there will be some live paintings and a birthday party on Friday. So check out their website and decide for yourselves.

Thursday, 1 May:
SURREALIST FILM NIGHT: "Open Scene" at the Filmmuseum is showing Luis Buñuels surrealist classic "L'age d'or" (1930), followed by "Dreams that money can buy" (1947) by dadaist artist Hans Richter. The Museum Villa Stuck is currently hosting an exhibition based on Buñuels strongly influential film, so watching it tonight and visiting the exhibition later sounds like a good plan. The curators of the exhibition will be at the Filmmuseum to give an introduction.

Friday, 2 May:
YURT OPENING: Kulturjurte München opens it's doors in Fröttmaning (from 1pm). That is, if a yurt has doors. Anyway - the Kulturjurte seems like a great project, a new space for workshops, discussion and arts exhibitions, organized by great enthusiasts. We are curious and look forward to interesting events.   

Saturday, 3 May:
FLEA MARKET: The Hofflohmärkte return! This week you can walk into more than 250(!) courts and gardens in Haidhausen and Bogenhausen, buy useful utensils, useless junk and homemade cakes, and have wonderful chats with the locals.

Preview for next week:
DOK.fest, the 29th International Documentary Film Festival in Munich, starts on May 7th. Book your tickets before it's too late!

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ: 17 - 20 FEBRUARY

Wow, 18°C in Munich on Saturday, in February! So what did we do? Enjoy the sun in one of Munich's picturesque beergardens? Go cycling along the Isar? No, we were on a plane on our way to cold and damp London. Hard luck! Anyway, happy for all those of you who managed to enjoy the amazing weather! Here some weatherproof events for the start of the coming week. Our picks for the weekend will follow later this time!

Upd.: In fact, regardless the floodings the weather in London turned out to be pretty good!

Monday, 17 February:
GUINESS IS GOOD FOR YOU: Looks like Monday is our day for a pint of Guinness and some classic pub entertainment. If you enjoyed the pub quiz at Molly Malone's, as we suggested last week, have a go at Killian's this time. There's no quiz, but live music from a cover band with hits by Dylan, Donovan and Beatles from 9pm.

Tuesday, 18 February:
ARTHOUSE CINEMA: The Filmmuseum, one of our favourite institutions in Munich, is screening a masterpiece of Russian cinema - Tarkovsky's Andrey Rubljov (UdSSR 1969). 6.30pm, undubbed with English subtitles, tickets only 4€.

Wednesday, 19 February:
FREE JAZZ: Celebrate the Dream with Chicago-born African-American singer Willetta Carson and band. The concert in the Amerika House starts at 7pm and is announced as a musical tribute to Martin Luther King on occasion of the Black History Month. Admission is free, but you need to write a short email to register. 

Thursday, 20 February:
ENGLISH THEATRE: A rare opportunity to see a play in English in Munich this winter: "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", performed by the American Drama Group Europe. Amerika House, 7.30pm, call 089 34 38 03 to reserve your tickets (10€ to 20€). There will also be a second performance on Saturday.

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ: 21 - 26 JANUARY

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Tuesday, 21 January:
READING: Reading a good book in the solitude of your room on a cold winter night can be a very nice experience. However, it is much better if you can share your thoughts about that book with somebody who has also read it, maybe over a cup of tea or a glass of wine. This seems to be the idea behind the English Reading Club Munich which meets every Tuesday from 7.30pm - 10pm. There is no meeting this week, but next Tuesday there will be a discussion of The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. If you'd like to join, you need to sign up in the Toytown thread until January 23rd.

Wednesday, 22 January:
YOGA: Fancy some yoga but don't want to sign up for a regular course or just don't have the time to attend over a longer period of time? Or maybe you don't know if you are into yoga at all? Here is a solution for you: Münchner Volkshochschule is offering an open yoga class. No need to sign up in advance or commit yourself to a whole course. Just turn up and exercise! Gasteig (Rosenheimerplatz), room 0108. Starts at 2pm and at 3.30pm. 7€ for one session.

Thursday, 23 January:
FILM: FilmWeltWirthschaft is running from Thursday to Sunday in the Filmmuseum. Topics that concern all of us: Shareconomy, hacktivisim, occupy movement, who owns the city. Check out the full programme here.

Friday, 24 January:
ENGLISH THEATRE: Pilot's Thumb Theatre, "known in England for their edgy social drama combined with powerful narratives, engaging characters, and pithy "English" humour, presents their latest piece, Protest. Protest is the heartwarming story of the friendship of two women, Jo and Becky, modern-day suffragettes, who embark upon a "Pussy Riot" -style campaign of protest." Pepper Theater (pep Einkaufs-Center), Thomas-Dehler-Strasse 12. Tickets 15€/10€. Starts at 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday, 25 January:
DRAWING: Join the global Urban Sketchers movement and go on a Sketch Crawl. All you need is a sketch book, your favourite drawing utensils and good mood. Meeting point is Deutsches Museum, 11am.

WORKSHOP: A cozy Giesing-based DIY shop Siebenmachen is hosting a workshop called Inspiration/Vision/Mood Board – Gestalte deine Ideen und Visionen! St. Bonifatius-Str. 20. Costs 29€ including supply, tea and biscuits. From 3.30pm until 6pm.

Sunday, 26 January:
GUIDED TOURS: School students participating in Pi.loten programme offer free guided tours through Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst. It's a beautiful project which offers school students many insights into the structure and administration of such huge museums and gives them space to develop their own concepts around an exhibited artwork of their choice. Runs from 11.30am until 1pm. The tickets for the permanent exhibitions are just 1€ on Sundays!

Source

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ: 11 DECEMBER - 15 DECEMBER

Wednesday, 11 December: 
THERE AND BACK AGAIN: The second part of the Hobbit is out! If you can't get enough of the Middle-Earth, head to the Cinema for the 3D double feature in English: The Hobbit. Part I: An Unexpected Journey and Part II: The Desolation of Smaug. Starts at 8.15pm, tickets 19.90€.

Thursday, 12 December:
OPEN SCENE: Film Museum is participating in a film project called FOOTSTEPS IN JERUSALEM – A TRIBUTE TO DAVID PERLOV. They will be showing Perlov's famous documentary "In Jerusalem" (1967), as well as two contemporary documentaries inspired by Perlov's poetic representation of the city. Duration of the triptych: 90 min, starts at 7pm, tickets 4€. St.-Jakobs-Platz 1.

REPAIR CAFE: Come and get your bike ready for the winter at the WinterFit Bike Kitchen. There will be all the necessary tools, bike experts to consult you and alcoholic drinks to encourage you. From 7pm until 9pm, at Machwerk, Schulstr. 1.

Friday, 13 December:
MEETING PEOPLE: Every Friday there is a Grand English Speaking International Stammtisch G.E.I.S.T, where you can meet people interested in an active life in Munich: plan trips or walks together, attend events of all kinds, speak various languages, etc. From 8pm until 11pm, Rechthaler Hof Restaurant, Arnulfstr. 10.

Saturday, 14 December:
CREATIVE XMAS PRESENTS: Stijl Design Markt: A Christmas design market with beats and drinks. More than 100 local designers will be selling jewelry, fashion clothes, furniture, paperwork, etc. - a perfect place for a Christmas-present hunt. Tickets 6€/4€, from Saturday noon until Sunday 6pm, at Alte Zündapphalle, Grafingerstr. 6, Kultfabrik am Ostbahnhof.

Sunday, 15 December:
DIY ART FESTIVAL: A wild mix of DIY culture: Kafe Kult is organising the 9th non-profit Kafe Kunst Fest with installations, performances, live-bands, craft market with peculiar items and vegan food. See the huge list of participating artists here. Anna will be taking part with her wearable tech stuff as well, showing her new project and offering a XMas card/ XMas monster workshop. Come along for a lot of fun!


picture by Gareth Foote

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ: 2 DECEMBER - 6 DECEMBER

Winter has arrived. The roofs and trees are covered with snow, small crowds are shivering at the bus stops as they watch the crazy cyclists go by on snow-covered bicycle lanes. Perfect time for spending the evenings at home on the sofa with a nice cuppa and your telly. We really don't blame you if that's how you feel, for we feel the same. So this is just a small reminder of what you'd be missing out on this week!

Monday, 2 December:
SAUDADE: Get into winter mood with Portugal's Queen of Fado. The wonderful Mariza and her Band will bring sad but beautiful Portuguese songs from the streets of Lisbon to the philharmonic hall at Gasteig (8pm, tickets from 34EUR)

Tuesday, 3 December:
ARTS EXHIBITIONS: From time to time, checking out the arts exhibitions beyond the walls of Munich's established museums can be really rewarding. We suggest to do it today, starting with the "Brainy Days" exhibition by the amazing artist duo Herakut in the muca. Then, at 5.30PM, head to lothringer13 for a public tour of "A piece that nobody needs" by Pratchaya Phinthong.

Wednesday, 4 December:
TOLLWOOD & FILM: The Tollwood winter festival has started last week, featuring a gazillion of food stalls, bazaar tents, shows, concerts, kids activities etc. The socially critical motto of this year's festival is "artgerecht" (species-appropriate husbandry), so don't miss the chance to combine a leisurely visit with experiencing how the live in a battery farm from a hen's perspective (check out the impressive artist installation right at the centre of the festival area)! Here you can scroll through the December program day by day (or click on any particular day at the top of the page). The ENCORE PLUSVIEX street theatre today at 5PM looks weird enough to arouse our interest!

OTHER CHRISTMAS FAIRS: If you think Tollwood is too crowded or too far away or simply too Tollwood, but still want to enjoy a nice cup of Glühwein and spend some money on cute Christmas junk - easy enough! Just check the full list of Christmas fairs in Munich provided by the city and pick the one you prefer.

Thursday, 5 December:
FILM & MUSEUM BIRTHDAY: The Filmmuseum celebrates its 50th birthday! A full week of celebrations ends tonight with a "Zuschauerkino" special that promises to be quite exceptional! First, five movies by renowned directors of today that had been "discovered" in the "Zuschauerkino" over the last 50 years will be screened, including Werner Schroeter and Wim Wenders. After that, the "Zuschauerkino" of today will be screened. The only rule that applies to the films (preselected by a jury) is a maximum length of 13 minutes. The film makers will be present and there will be a Q&A after the screenings. Filmmuseum, 7pm, tickets from 5EUR.

Friday, 6 December:
ARTS TILL LATE: Villa Stuck, the arts museum located in a historic building designed by Franz Stuck, is open until 10PM every first Friday of the month. Moreover, from 6 till 10pm the entrance to all exhibition and the historic rooms is free! The FRIDAY LATE openings are also often accompanied by live acts, DJs and guided tours through the historic rooms. Don't forget to try the "Sünde Cocktail" (sin cocktail) at the museum café!

Weekend will follow in a separate post!

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ THIS WEEK: 18-24 NOVEMBER

Monday, 18 November:
FILM SCHOOL FESTIVAL: The 33d International Festival of the Film Schools is on in Munich until Saturday. Short films created by the film directors of tomorrow. Check out the timetable and don't forget to buy your tickets in advance for the evening programs, since they can be sold out pretty fast.  Each program features 4 to 5 films. Having been to many of the previous festivals, we can't remember a single time that we left uninspired.

Tuesday, 19 November:
SONG SLAM: Song Slam in the music club Milla, Holzstr. 28.
8 song-writers perform their 8-minute-long pieces. In the end the audience chooses the winner who gets a bottle of Schnaps. Tickets 8€. Starts at 9pm.

Wednesday, 20 November:
BOOKS & LITERATURE: From 7th to 24th November there is a book exhibition and a literature festival at Gasteig. To find out about exciting talks, workshops and other events check out the full program.

EXHIBITION: Platform 3 - a newly established city space for art and artists' studios - has an opening exhibition this evening. In collaboration with Burear Mirco Borsche. My friends Steffi and Klaus have their studio there. And another friend - Polly - will be performing at 8.30pm. Starts at 7pm, free.

Thursday, 21 November:
GEEKS: Make Munich Cafe organises another gathering of 3d printing enthusiasts. This time there is a competition for the best lampshade, which will be awarded with an ice-cream. Werk 1, Grafinger Str. 6. Free, just turn up and talk about your past or future 3d projects.

Friday, 22 November:
RUSSIAN FOOD & CONCERT: Victoria Lye will be playing piano and singing jazz, soul and Russian chancons in the Russian-Ukranian Restaurant "Café Sereno" at 7PM. Sounds like a nice mix of food and music. Entry free, but you should reserve your seats.

Saturday, 23 November:
GAMES: Münchenglück - a card game where you are single, jobless and homeless in the beginning and need to look for all those things. Comes with Lebkuchen, warm drinks and nice people. Hosted by Siebenmachen, a very cute shop which sells handmade design items. It's free but there are only 8 places, so make sure you drop a line to info/AT/siebenmachen.de. Starts at 3pm.

CINEMA: It's the 50th anniversary of an essentially British sci-fi show Doctor Who.  It's the day when the very first episode was screened 1963. To celebrate this very special occasion, the BBC is releasing a special episode The Day of the Doctor, which will be screened in cinemas around the globe. Munich must be a stronghold of Doctor Who fans in Germany, since it is the only German city where the 50th anniversary special will be screened in two cinemas (Cinema and Cinemaxx), and both are already almost fully booked. Be quick, there might be some tickets left for the 11pm show at Cinema!

Sunday, 24 November:
ARTS & PEOPLE: So, you have heard that the state museums are practically free (1€) on Sunday, but  you don't know who to go with and find visiting museums on your own kind of sad? Luckily, you are not alone. Just sign up for the Meetup and stroll around the Pinakothek der Moderne with a bunch of nice, open minded people. With or without the meetup, the Traumbilder exhibition in the recently reopened museum is definitely worth the trip.

Coming up:
FELTING: Also, if you've always wanted to learn how to felt, there will be a free workshop at Siebenmachen next Monday, at 7pm! It's a tiny place, so make sure you register asap here.

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ THIS WEEK: 11-17 NOVEMBER

EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION People have been telling us that they are not receiving any updates from the feed, and we finally got around to fix the problem. Now you can subscribe to the email feed (use the form on the right next to the blog entry) and get a weekly email packed with all those awesome things you could do in Munich day in, day out! Well, maybe except for Mondays, since it looks like we are constantly late with suggesting anything for the first day of the week. Maybe we should always start the week on Tuesday, and reserve Monday for lying in bed all day and thinking about all those amazing things we did last week. Seems like a good idea to us, what do you think? ;)

Monday, 11 November:
Too late to recommend anything for tonight, so lay back and chill out!

Tuesday, 12 November:
BRIT POP: About seven years later than the rest of the world, we got word that Arctic Monkeys is a pretty good band. To be honest, we heard about that earlier, but today we are going to get the final proof. Arctic Monkeys are playing Zenith tonight, and it looks like you can still get tickets!

Wednesday, 13 November:
THEATRE IN THE CINEMA: The first ever live cinema broadcast from the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Company! Richard II with David Tennant in the title role. 8PM, 190 minutes (with a break), 18€. A few tickets are still left!

Thursday, 14 November:
DOCUMENTARY & DISCUSSION: The weekly "Open Scene" in the Filmmuseum in cooperation with the Munich American Peace Committee will be screening the documentary "Dirty Wars" (USA 2013) by Richard Rowley an Jeremy Schahill, followed by a discussion with very interesting speakers. Both the screening and the discussion will be in English. 

APROPOS Filmmuseum: The Film School Festival starts next week, and the Ticket Web Shop should be open from today!

Friday, 15 November:
CABARET & PARTY: Now this is a Must-See, Must-Listen and a Must-Dance! The traditional "Piroschki Party" organised by the makers of the JULA-festival once again brings the Belarusian band "Serebryanaya Svadba" to Munich. If you have ever seen this band on stage, you won't want to miss the chance to see them again. Music, dancing, cabaret and the pure joy of life!  NachtKantine (Kultfabrik),  9:30PM, tickets are a bargain - 12€ in advance and 15€ at the door.

Saturday, 16 November:
CINEMA & BRUNCH: KINObrunch at JULA-festival. Short films of young directors from Middle and Eastern Europe. 12pm - 3pm. Tickets 8€/ 6€. Arena Filmtheater, Hans-Sachs-Str. 7. Also, check out the full programme of JULA, they have plenty of theatrical and musical highlights between 13-17 November.

Sunday, 17 November:
URBAN CULTURE: Festival of Independents - MUNICH/NOW/HERE in Haus der Kunst. The festival looks at the specific urban context of Munich and explores the impulses emanating from the city's independent scene. Includes exhibitions, events, seminars, concerts and workshops. From 15th November until the 1st December. Day ticket excl. concerts 5€, festival pass 65€.
My personal pick for Sunday:
Knit Nite - a DIY get together of knitters, 3pm.
Repair Cafe organised by HEI (Haus der Eigenarbeit) - bring your broken toaster, lamp or cd-player and get it fixed, 3pm.
City of Commonists - a lecture on DIY movement and common urban spaces by Christa Müller, 7pm.

THINGS TO DO IN MÜ THIS WEEK: 14-20 OCTOBER

Monday, 14 October:  
DRINK AND THINK: Pub Quiz at Molly Malone's. Every Monday night from 9PM.

Tuesday, 15 October: 

FILM FESTIVAL: Underdox Festival, Filmfestival für Dokument und Experiment. 10-16 October. Short film program I: Underdox Documents, 8.30pm, Werkstattkino. Short film program II: Underdox Experiments, 10.30pm, Werkstattkino. Tickets 6€.

PHOTOGRAPHY: FOTODOKS, a festival of contemporary documentary photography. Opening at 7 pm. The festival is on every day from 3pm at Münchner Stadtmuseum. Last day is the 19 October.

Wednesday, 16 October: 

GERMAN THEATRE PERFORMANCE: "ALTERNATIVLOS oder das Titanik Syndrom" at 8.30PM in i-camp. Last time when we saw a play our friend Stefanie Hiltl was involved in as dramaturg, the audience had to follow the actors on a trip from the stage through the streets of Munich and into an Afghan restaraunt, never knowing what was going to happen next. This new performance promises to be not less exciting! Understanding German will probably be a big plus for this one.

CURRY: Join a bunch of Toytowners exploring the world of curry in Munich since 2004(!). Register here for the curry treat at Garam Masala.

Thursday, 17 October: 

FILM: The Film Museum is screening Morometii (Romania, 1988) at 7pm. Romanian star actress Luminiţa Gheorghiu will be attending the screening. From watching the trailer we can say that the film (in black and white) looks beautiful. Since the screening (other than the trailer) wil

Friday, 18 October:  

CREATIVE NETWORKING: Creative Mornings: A global before-work-get-together of creatives, with exciting talks and breakfast. This month's topic is "Play" with the speaker Alexander Zacherl. 8:30am - 10:00am. frog. It's free, but pre-book online! Tickets always go away in an instance.

Saturday, 19 October:  

KINETIC ART: Exhibition “Freitag der 13” by Charly-Ann Cobdak. Poetic and ironic art machines. Galerie Gerhard Grabsdorf, Aventinstr. 10. 2-8pm. 

MUSEUMS: Lange Nacht der Museen: Munich museums are opening their doors until late. 7pm - 2 am. Tickets 15€ incl. public transport. Huge program with guided tours, concerts, talks etc. Here's some info in English (pdf)

Sunday, 13 October: 

FOOD MARKET & CRAFTS FAIR:  Auer Dult. 19-27 October, 10am - 7pm.

ART: Offene Studios Westend. Art, architecture, photography, design, theatre, new meda. 18-20 October.  3-8pm. Check out the programm here.