Welcome to the board, Tom, and to the fun of bearding! You may not call it a beard yet but I do

Even at this early stage it's pretty clear that you have what it takes to grow a nice beard capped by a great mustache, so just follow your namesake's advice and let your face do all the work. The only suggestion I have in addition is to lower your neckline down to about 1 cm above your Adam's apple. That will give your beard a fuller look while still keeping it neat. Also, yes, growing a beard does seem to promote lots of mirror use, just try not to be too critical. It's easy to see lots of perceived flaws when you're staring so closely at your changing face so much.

I lived in Bavaria (Deisenhofen) for a while when I was in school and even back then I recall a fair number of beards, so you should be right at home there with yours. Also, we have a few Germans on the board and one of our moderators, Beard69 is German.

Cheers!
Tom
(yep another one )


Some helpful links:
Library Central of Beard Growing


Taming the Wild Mustache
Tips for eating and drinking with a big mustache

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. ~ W. Somerset Maugham
A jerk with a beard is just a bearded jerk, but a bearded gentleman is awesomeness personified. ~ Triibeard