Munich | Trip #1
Neues Rathaus // New Town Hall // Marienplatz // Munich, Germany // ©2016 Kelli Thompson
In the beginning of 2016 we had a temporary 5 month stay in Munich. The plan was to do half the year in Munich and the other half in Chicago. This dream plan was based around my husband's job and our suggestion to his company of us splitting the year. Amazingly, they went for it! I've been a self employed artist/interior designer for the last 17 years; regularly taking on painting and interior design jobs in Chicago. I chose to postpone some of these projects to pick back up when we came to Chicago for our half of the year. Thankfully I had some agreeable clients!
Our first stay in Munich was essential to our final decision to move permanently. We learned a ton, explored a ton and drank a ton of bier! We jumped into a German language class to get our feet wet. I started cooking consistently and realized that I love it and I'm pretty darn good at it! Most importantly, I was able to focus on fine art. In my 17+ years of being a professional artist, that was not something that had ever happened! I applied for and was chosen for a residence in an art studio provided free of charge by the city. During those months I created a process for painting on wood and canvas that I used to form a collection of atmospheric landscape paintings. Read more about that here: Gastatelier in Munich
After we arrived back in Chicago for our 2nd half of the year, our dream Munich/Chicago plan changed. It was decided by the higher ups that my husband's team would now be based out of Munich instead of Chicago and that meant that we had our own decision on our hands. Move permanently to Munich for this amazing opportunity but close my business of 17 years OR stay in Chicago where he would search for a new job and I would continue my projects. As much as my business was part of me and my identity, it was a no brainer. When presented with an offer to move overseas, you gotta take it!
Oh, the chaos of moving! // ©2016 Kelli Thompson
And take it we did. Then suddenly life was moving at warp speed. We had 2 months to get everything set to uproot our lives and plant them in Germany.
The story continues with Munich // Trip #2