The intimate „Große Openerstube“ of the newly renovated Spatenhaus was again venue for the annual Christmas dinner of the Munich branch of the Oxford Society. Similar to last year, about 80 Oxonians joined the dinner to celebrate the end of an eventful year 2013 and to enjoy the inspiring discussions with other fellow members, the excellent Bavarian food and drinks and the fantastic view of the Munich Opera House.
This year’s guest of honor was Rosamund Hübener (Matriculation 1942, Sommerville, Modern Languages (French and Spanish) who – after her studies in Oxford – joined the Foreign Service as one of the first group of women admitted to it. In the following years she had postings in Paris, Bonn and Prague, ending in 1961 as Her Majesty’s Consul in Czechoslovakia. In her dinner speech, Rosamund very lively described her life at the university as a female student during World War II. It was extremely interesting to hear what impact the war had on student life. Other experiences which she recalled – like secretely climbing over walls to get back into college at night – sounded somehow familiar even to the younger parts of her audience.
In the following, Marco Janezic, president of the Munich branch of the Oxford Society, gave a brief summary of the society’s activities in 2013 – including the visit to the newly opened Lenbachhaus, the guided tour to Schwabing’s galleries or the visit to the Munich Oktoberfest. And – as we learned – there are already many plans for 2014!