Spring in Germany

Good morning, readers! Just a quick update about what I’ve been up to and what I have coming up soon. As the title suggests, spring has finally arrived in Germany. As I am writing this, I have a terrible case of the sniffles and a lovely cough that keeps tickling my throat. I have been downing Zyrtec allergy medication like it’s candy and every time I get in my car, its smothered in a layer of icky green pollen. I love spring and the warm weather, but all the snotty side effects can go away. That being said, spring in Germany is also VERY rainy, so I have to suck it up and enjoy the seldom moments of sunshine and pollen while I can.

I haven’t done a tonnnn in terms of travel aside from my trip to the states to see family and for training. That was a super nice trip, though. I got to see all of the fam and the pups, eat tons of mexican food, and then reunite with all of my New Jersey friends while I was in training back at McGuire. It was really nice to spend my birthday in the states surrounded by love and laughter. Can you believe I’m 26? Because every time I think about it, I feel ancient. I don’t really know what the shift has been, but these past few months I have really been craving stability and had like a nesting instinct, shifting my focus away from career goals and more towards personal goals. I think getting older has had a large impact on that and brought up a lot of thoughts about where I value spending my time. I love my job, but I did the “grind” thing for 4 years and now I just want to enjoy my life outside of work more. And part of that includes all my awesome travel!

Despite not having any bigger trips, I did make it to Luxembourg City for the first time a few weeks ago. It was a really interesting trip. Luxembourg is surprisingly modern from architecture to infrastructure. I say surprisingly because its a relatively small country and does not have a ton of geopolitical influence, but clearly a very wealthy country. I got to see the Palace and the change of the guard which was fun. I alos had probably the best chicken burger of my life for lunch. I still think about it. I also bought a ton of chocolate because I can’t resist when somewhere is known for its choclate, and I can confirm it lives up to its hype.

I also went back to my beloved Heidelberg. I know I’ve been there a hundred times at this point, but Heidelberg has such a special place in my heart. This time, I dragged my travel bud Jessie along with me and I got to show him my favorite city. As I explained to Jessie, Heidelberg is really one of the places I grew up and got my first taste of independence. I learned so much about myself and the world while I was there, and every time I go back, I’m just filled with gratitude for that amazing city. It also helps that Heidelberg is absolutely gorgeous. The weather was SO nice, a beautiful 67 degrees all day, which was perfect for exploring.

The next few weeks are going to be pretty quiet for me in terms of trips. I might do some day trips when the weather is nice, but my next “big” trip will be over memorial day weekend. I am doing a Belgium roadtrip including Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully the weather stays nice.

The trip I am most excited for is my Scotland trip in June. I know I have mentioned this repeatedly, but I seriously cannot wait. We are down to about 6.5 weeks until that trip and every day closer, the more excited I get. Everyone keeps telling me that its gonna be busy and there’s gonna be lots of tourists, but that is just so negative. I’m aware that other people exist on this earth lol. But at the end of the day, I have all of my activities booked already, and I am going to be spendig 10 days in Scotland. It’s pretty hard to complain when I’ll be in Scotland. I’m also not the type of person to be bothered by other people. Even in the chaos of tourism, I love to people watch and just enjoy the common exerience of humanity. Regardless of someone’s culture or language, there are so many things that remain the same throughout all of the cultures in the world. Kids are still excited and energetic, parents are still lovingly exasperated, couples are still sweet when in love, and laughter still rings loudly with joy. I love seeing that and experiencing that through other people’s eyes.

Yes, I realize I am such a hopeless romantic at heart, but there is truly something so beautiful about the common threads of humanity and I will die on that hill.

Anyway, that is all I have planned for the next few months. Once I accrue more time off, I am sure I will be planning my next trip. I’m trying to convince my mom to come out here for another iteration of a girl’s trip, so maybe that. Otherwise, all is well, and I wish the same to you and yours. Love you all endlessly, and thanks for listening to this round of rambles.