Both the interiors and exterior of Villa Stuck were designed by Franz von Stuck himself. The museum not only houses his art, but also the art that he collected and had on display during his lifetime. The spear throwing Amazon (1913-14) was one of Stuck’s creations.
This unique pergola attached to the side of Villa Stuck prominently displays a Capitoline She-Wolf, the mythical symbol of Rome since she raised Romulus and Remus who founded the city. 
Right before lunch time I heard a knock on my door and opened it to this view as some floormates sang me a German happy birthday song.
"Alles Gute zum Geburtstag" means "Happy birthday!"
My mom, dad, and Bronson sent me flowers on my birthday, although the purple tulip was a nice addition from two of my floormates!
I followed up the birthday celebration on Friday with Fulbright friends. We got burritos and had a little picnic. I couldn’t resist the urge to reminisce over my Roman birthday, and so I also got a “Desperados,” a tequila flavored beer that became a quick favorite among my classmates while we were in Rome.
Prior to this meeting, I was the only one who had met all the other Fulbright researchers, but it was wonderful to finally come together as a group!
Although I can’t claim to have matched the talent of the competition, it was still fun to participate in the Badminton tournament and sit in the sun while watching the others play!
Aside from a few windy moments, the weather was wonderful for the tournament. Plus with the time change it stayed sunny really late! One of my floormates even said it was our first taste of what the summer will be like! 

I made big progress on my work early this week. I am also getting a little better at both playing darts and keeping score. In fact, on Monday I made the winning shot in two of four games!

The real excitement came on Wednesday when the weather was finally nice and sunny again. I met up with a Fulbright friend, Samantha, and we walked to Villa Stuck, where my floormate, Martin, joined us for our first museum visit of the year. Museums have been open only for limited, pre-arranged visits for about a week. Villa Stuck is the self-designed mansion of turn-of-the-century painter Franz von Stuck, who is also the subject of Samantha’s research. 

Thursday was my birthday, which my floormates helped make special! Some of them baked me a beautiful and super delicious birthday cake that we enjoyed in the sunny Innenhof. I also played lots of badminton during the day and even a few rounds of darts. Naturally throughout the day I got messages and calls from my friends and family back in the US. After dinner a few of us played Schafkopf, a Bavarian card game that they had actually begun teaching me the previous night. The challenging game requires four players and a German deck of cards [32 cards total with suits of Eichel (Acorns), Gras (Leaves/Grass), Herz (Hearts), and Schellen (Bells)]. After playing with open hands on Wednesday night so that I could learn, on Thursday I had the opportunity to test myself, at first by playing closed hands with a partner, and then playing on my own! It’s a fun game of strategy and chance, and I look forward to improving as we play more in the future. 

Friday was another fun-filled day. I met up with the other Munich Fulbrighters (Mallory, Alyssa, Samantha) for burritos on the steps of the Bavaria Statue. This was the first time we were able to get together, and it was lovely to share our experiences as a whole. Alyssa, who is living with German friends, even brought along their dog. I miss Bronson, so it was really nice to be able to give a puppy some love and affection. After we finished our lunch, we capped off the afternoon by getting gelato. 

The weekend was pretty calm, and I was able to get some work and chores done; however, on Sunday I participated in Roncalli’s Badminton Tournament. I wish I could blame my lackluster performance on losing an hour of sleep to the German equivalent of Daylight Savings, but I still have more to improve. Regardless, it was fun to hang out in the sun!

This site is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of its author, Stephanie Kubus, and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.