I know. It appears I am suffering from writer's block, although it's actually traveler's block, meaning that Covid took a healthy bite out of the last year's worth of travel I could have had in Europe. In addition, I just left Germany, so it's curtains for Europe, at least for the time being.
To recap, I spent the last four years and three months in Frankfurt, Germany (which is the longest I have lived in one place since 1990, according to my estimates). I did some good travel...and also missed out on some good trips. Although I already knew Germany, it was refreshing to see how the country works up close in the 21st century, while I am grateful that my kids had the chance to experience life in Europe and speak another foreign language.
With that said, here are the five things I will miss the most about Germany:
1. Good, Healthy Food
On most days, I could go to any super or farmer's market and bring home some good, fresh, healthy produce (or bread, or cheese, or sushi) at a reasonable cost. Frankfurt has some fine restaurants (here's looking at you, Heppy Green!) and even more of a selection of international cuisine, that includes plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.
2. Good, Healthy Beer
Ooh boy. Favorites here include Schlappeseppel and Leikeim, plus Franziskaner (Weissbier)...at 15 bucks a case (20 half-liter bottles!, or five standard six-packs, if this were the U.S.) an absolute steal. Believe it, German beer made Covid lockdowns that much more tolerable.
3. Hambone
Hambone was the name of our 2008 BMW 116i. A small car, by BMW's standards, but a terrific car with little maintenance and even fewer hiccups. Add to it that I could drive 100 mph on the autobahn, and it's safe to say I will miss Hambone long after I have purchased my new wheels here in the U.S.
4. People
Germans, while on the face of it a little reserved, were often the voice of reason during the past four years. There's a lot of humanity in the German people, and there are certain things that won't ever be discussed (free health care, low college tuition, fair tax rates) during the present election run-ups. In the end, this is a country where liberals and conservatives were able to co-exist, even with the most recent tension.
5. Travel
Okay, so this would pertain more to Europe as a whole, but that fact is, our travel in Germany was quite solid. Okay, so we didn't make it to Berlin this time around, or even to Hamburg, but we got our money's worth out of Europe.
BTW, "tschüss" is the short German way for saying bye. Short is appropriate, as I usually hate long good-byes. Okay, let's see what the U.S. has to offer over the next few years.
