Stories from my life and travels as an American immigrant in Germany!
Last Summer, while many people were going abroad for the first time since the pandemic started, my husband and I played it safe and stayed in Germany. I already talked about our trip to Frankfurt, and made the (outrageous) claim that I’d have posts about my mini Summer vacations in the coming weeks. That was, of course, a lie; I made…Continue Reading
Frankfurt am Main is the largest financial center in continental Europe and the fifth-largest city in Germany. It’s also the only city in Germany with a classic “city skyline” of skyscrapers. Some people refer to it as “Mainhatten”, because of how it (supposedly) resembles New York City. Does it? Well, I jokingly shared a photo of a cluster of sky…Continue Reading
Nuremberg, like many German cities, was destroyed by bombs towards the end of WWII. Instead of being completely modernized, many of the medieval buildings were restored or recreated, including parts of the old city wall. While these meticulously-restored buildings are spread throughout the city, the area with the highest concentration surrounds the Imperial Castle. This was our first stop after…Continue Reading
Hamburg was the third city I visited during my first trip to Germany, way back in December 2015. Out of the three cities we visited, it was my favorite. Fast-forward nearly 3 years later, and we finally made time for a second visit. Planning one of your own? Here are some of my favorite things do in Hamburg. Canal or…Continue Reading
Cologne was the beginning and end of our cycling vacation this year. My husband drove from home with our bikes, and I took the NightJet all the way from Vienna. Then, we left the car in Cologne and took the train to Mainz; over the next five days, we biked at a leisurely pace back to Cologne, stopping at castles…Continue Reading
My husband and I recently completed a 5-day cycling trip along the Rhine River in Germany. This post covers the last three days of our vacation. If you’d like to read about the first half, which is full of castles and deadly toboggan rides, click here! Day 3 On our third day, we stopped to explore Stolzenfels Castle. Many important…Continue Reading
I’ve recently returned from an amazing two-week stay in Vienna, Austria. I was there for the Goethe Institute’s 2-week language and culture course. We spent about 4 hours learning German every morning, and the rest of the day was centered around leisure activities. Of course, you’re under no obligation to do any of these activities. If you want, you can explore…Continue Reading
A few weeks ago, we spent a long weekend in Leipzig, Germany. My husband wanted to go to Hamburg, but since we were already there in 2015, I picked Leipzig instead. Don’t get me wrong, Hamburg is great; I think it might be my favorite German city. I want to see as much of Germany as possible, though; so, if…Continue Reading
View of the city from the Brooklyn Bridge.
I feel like a broken record saying this, but: it’s been a while, hasn’t it? A lot has happened since my last update! Up until two weeks ago, my husband and I were extremely busy planning for our move to Germany. It’s been stressful, but I’m very happy to say that the hard part of getting documents, moving logistics, and…Continue Reading
For the last few days of our vacation, we stayed in the Historic Core of Los Angeles. Our AirBnB didn’t seem to have the best insulation, as you could hear every conversation (and screaming match) on the street below, even though we had the windows shut tight. Thankfully, we brought ear plugs, so the arguments that went on well past 4AM…Continue Reading