Ten things I like about Deutschland

As we start the final two months of our German adventure, the sun is shining, and I am thinking "there are definitely things I am going to miss about this place". One aspect that supersedes the list is the expat lifestyle. For me, nothing can beat the constant adventure of being a fish out of water immersed in another culture. Every day brings new experiences that leave you either laughing or crying. The extraordinary slowly becomes the ordinary and soon you find yourself becoming "one of them"! Well, on with the list.


10. Food. In this category, I include fresh produce, jam, ultrapasteurized milk in 1L cartons, spaghetti ice cream, crepes, and for Gianna and Dan, bratwurst.

9. Socialized healthcare. Our experience with healthcare in Germany has been 100% better than US healthcare. Service is fast, quality, and everything is covered.

8. Parks, playgrounds, and festivals. This is really a family-friendly city. We live two blocks from two different playgrounds, and if you read this blog at all you know there is always some sort of festival going on, especially when the weather is nice.

7. Safety. Aside from the occasional strassenraub and the drunk bums that litter the parks mentioned above, I feel much safer here than living in the US.

6. Frankfurt airport. We can include the high speed rail system here too. This is really a great base to travel throughout Europe and the world!

5. Walking Gianna to school. For 30 mins each day, both Dan and I have the pleasure of walking aside Gianna as she cruises along on her Laufräder singing songs, pointing out dogs, or asking questions about birds.

4. Asian markets. There are so many to choose from, with many products from Vietnam. I'll have to make monthly trips to NYC Chinatown to find all of our favorites.

3. Bakeries. Oh, you thought this would be number one did you?? We do have baked goods in the States, but I will really miss the German pastries.

2. Our apartment. Despite it's mini kitchen and so-so rental furniture, I am really going to miss our big apartment on the Oederweg. It has so much character; it's bright, has huge windows, a balcony, and best of all no yard to maintain.

1. Public transport. It has been convenient living close to the U-bahn and having a bus stop 1 block from the house. No, the trains are not always on time, and yes, it can be inconvenient in bad weather or when you are carrying a lot of stuff, but it beats owning a car, paying insurance, and filling it up with gas every week.

One more thing to throw on the list are the friends that I have made over the past year. Most are fellow expats, some are German, but it will be sad to say good-bye to all of them. I definitely plan to savor all the good things about Germany in the next two months.