Munich Kids

The Bookshelf - English Lending Library hosts an English story hour, every third Saturday of the month, starting at 3 p.m.  Stories are for children ages 3 to 6.  Refreshments are provided.  The Bookshelf is located in the basement of The Old Catholic Church.

Address:  Blumenstrasse 36, Munich

Lilli and Lori International School, a new Montessori preschool is opening in Harlaching.  This is a bilingual (German/English) preschool accepting all children ages 3-6 years old.  This is a new school with a team of two teachers, one American, one German, who have co-taught together for a year.  It is situated in a lovely, old house in Harlaching, with a large garden and bright rooms.  There is a maximum of 25 children with three teachers. Call or e-mail to schedule an appointment.
Address:  Geiselgasteigstr. 80, 81545 Munich

Telephone:   0152 036 920 02

Email: lilli-lori@web.de

Website:  www.preschool-munich.de

Multilingual Living is a magazine for multilingual families.  The magazine is in English.  It covers a wide range of topics pertaining to multilingual families, and expatriate families.  To preview the magazine before subscribing, a free copy of the current issue is available in PDF format from the website.

Website:  http://www.biculturalfamily.org/magazine.html

Any football fans out there? And I do mean  football, not soccer.

Did you know that there is an American-style football league in Munich?  The Munich Cowboys offer football, fan clubs, cheerleading - even hot dogs and hamburgers at the stadium!  There are teams for men, women, and kids.  There are also 3 squads for cheerleaders - senior squad, junior squad, and peewee squad.  So, there are opportunities for kids and adults across a wide age range to get involved in football and cheerleading.

The men’s games are held in Dante Stadium, with a seating area of about 3,000. Tickets range from 4 EUR to 7 EUR per game or 17,50 EUR to 42,00 for a season pass.  Seems like the kind of family outing that is fun and affordable at the same time.   Children up to age 6 are free.

The website is in German and posts information about upcoming games for each league.  Contact information for the different leagues and cheerleading squads are listed separately on the web site. The next men’s home game is on July 22 (2007).

Address:  Dantestrasse 14, 80637, Munich

Website:  http://www.munich-cowboys.de/

Nearest Public Transportation:  U1, Tram 20, or Tram 21 to Westfriedhof.

I was recently looking for an English-speaking person or company to paint our apartment.  When I raised the question on Toytown Munich’s chat forum, I consistently received recommendations for 2 companies - Huntcrest Services and Benchmark Building Services. 

I received estimates from both companies for the expected work.  In the end, we decided to wait a year before painting, but I was impressed by the professionalism of each representative. 

There was, however, a very large difference in the final estimate of costs  - one quote was 3 times the quote of the other.  So, I would definitely recommend getting an estimate from each company before deciding on something that fits your budget and needs.

Huntcrest Services describe themselves as English-speaking painters and installers.  Benchmark Building Services describe themselves as English-speaking builders, providing services in carpentry, renovations, painting, etc.

I have not been able to find a website for either service, other than the paid advertisement on Toytown’s website. Phone numbers and email contacts can be obtained from that site.

Benchmark Building Services:  http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich/benchmark_building_services.html

Huntcrest Services: http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich/huntcrest_services_painters_installers.html

There are so many things to take care of when you first move into a new city - finding an apartment, choosing schools for the kids, buying all the odds and ends you need for your new home.  Setting up phone and internet service will probably be near the top of 2 to-do lists - “Things that Must be Done” and “Things You Wish You Could Avoid at All Costs”.  In my experience, dealing with phone companies is never a pleasant experience — especially if you only know enough German to produce sentences like this “Bitte, bitte.  Telefon , bitte!”  Luckily, the telecommunication company TKS Snap has recognized the problem held by English-speaking newcomers to Germany.

TKS Snap was launched in July 2002.  According to their website, they offer “anyone living in Germany the opportunity to have a full range of home telephone and internet services, with all transactions and billing in English”.  You may not realize what a relief it is to receive bills written in English until you’ve dealt with a few bills or “Important Notices” in a language that you can not yet comprehend.

We have used TKS  for 3 years, and we have always been satisfied with their services and billing.

Phone:  089/ 483 5053 or 089/ 483 5054

Email: info@tkscable.com

Website: http://www.tkscable.com/

The Church of the Ascension is an Anglican-Episcopal church.  Services are conducted in English.  The website describes the chruch as “mulitnational, multi-cultural, and multi-denominational…welcoming to newcomers - whether in Munich for a few days or a few years”.

 Address: Seybothstrasse 4, 81545 Munich

Telephone: 089/ 648 185

Email: church@ascension-munich.com

Website: http://www.ascension-munich.de/

Nearest Public Transportation: U2 to Silberhorn or U1 to Wettersteinplatz AND then transfer to Tram 15 or Tram 25 in the direction of Gruenwald.  Tram stop is called Authariplatz;  Alternative route - S1 or S2 to Giesing AND then bus number 98 or 39to Griechenstrasse.