Stories from my life and travels as an American immigrant in Germany!

The German North Sea Coast

My husband has wanted us to take a vacation to the North Sea coast ever since we moved to Germany four years ago. The closest we’ve been is Hamburg, which isn’t actually close at all. Like camping in my home-state of Michigan, however, it’s hard to find accommodations on the coast unless you book far in advance. So, he’d put…Continue Reading

A Long Weekend in The Hague and Rotterdam

the hague

Over the holiday weekend last May, I went back to The Netherlands; this time, to The Hague and Rotterdam. While Americans were busy celebrating Memorial Day (if they’re lucky enough to even have it off), Germans celebrated Father’s Day. OK, technically the official holiday is Ascension Day, but everyone here knows the real holiday is Vatertag. Father’s Day in Germany is…interesting. If you’d like…Continue Reading

New York City, 2017

New York City

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

Viva Las Vegas!

Las Vegas Eiffel Tower

After a long drive through Death Valley, we spent two nights in Las Vegas. I had been to Las Vegas about 10 years prior, on a trip to visit with family. I had told my husband on several occasions that he needed to see Las Vegas before we left the United States. I regaled him with tales of “huge fountains,”…Continue Reading

Venice Beach, California

skater venice beach

If I had to sum up the first day of our vacation/double honeymoon in a single picture, it would be the one below. It’s just one of many that I took of this bird across a half-mile stretch of Venice Beach. Was it actually the same bird? Well, as my husband pointed out every time I said, “there he is again!” it…Continue Reading

A Long Weekend in Toronto

Street art near our AirBnB

After stopping by my grandmother’s for a Thanksgiving lunch, Jan and I spent the long weekend in Toronto, Canada. We had two main goals for this trip: eat döner and visit the Christmas Market. We started our first full day with cappuccinos and croissants at Jimmy’s Coffee. I was surprised to discover that the coffee shop was named after Jimmy…Continue Reading

Camping at Hoeft State Park

Hoeft State Park

This Labor Day Weekend, my boyfriend and I drove 4 hours North to camp at Hoeft State Park. “Going up North” is a very popular Michigan pastime, so when my boyfriend asked why I had chosen this particular park, the short answer was “they still had openings.” The long answer was that only two of the parks with open sites had…Continue Reading

A Working Class Hero

Labor Day

Labor Day has always felt like a pointless holiday to me; I have no family members in a union, and I worked in the service industry until fairly recently. Let me explain, for the few of you who have never known the “joys” of working in the service industry. That means that any Labor Day I had off was an…Continue Reading