It has been 2 years and 3 months since we got on an airplane and left Germany after being stationed over there. A lot of people come back from Germany missing it like crazy. They don’t enjoy being in the US and want to go back. We were not like that. We were so ready to not live in Germany anymore. We were so ready to be back in the US. We were so happy to have that chapter close in our lives.
Well now it has been a while. It can be common to miss certain things about places you didn’t fully enjoy after time passes. With Germany, I can’t stay I really miss it but there are things I do miss about it. Sometimes when I am talking to others who have been there or about my experiences in Germany something pops into my head and I realize I miss it. There are a lot of things I really love about the US but here are a few things I miss about our four years in Germany.
1) The close-knit Military community. There is just something about it you can’t find in the US. You are all in a foreign country together. You have to make friends and you spend a lot of time together. Not that I don’t here but it is just different there. I bet you know what I mean if you have ever been stationed there.
2) Their pools. Germans have awesome pools. The one I remember the most was in Schweinfurt. It was a huge complex with the coolest children’s pool I have ever seen. Lots of fun!
3) Their baked goods. There is a German bakery in town that has yummy German baked goods but it isn’t too easy to get to. It is more like a treat. In Germany these types of places are everywhere.
4) Walking. I miss how easy it is to walk everywhere there and how so many people do it. Here it is not easy to walk anywhere. Frustrates me.
5) Sunsets. I am not sure if it is because there are so many more grey days in Germany (which I do not miss at all) but Germany seemed to have such nice sunsets when it wasn’t grey. I remember I could look out the window of our apartment into the sunset…so pretty.
There are other little things I miss like the flowers or the trips we went on. As nice as those things were I am not sure I would want to be stationed there again. Ask me again in a couple of years 🙂
I was never in the military but I studied abroad in Salzburg, Austria and spent quite a bit of time in Germany, too. I miss the pedestrian downtowns, the heavy use of bicycles, and KEBAP. Hoooow I miss doner kebap.
A lot of people like those doner kebaps 🙂
We haven’t been stationed overseas. I would like to one day, it’s probably one of the only ways we’d be able to visit another country.
I hope you are able to experience overseas someday too 🙂
My father was stationed in Germany when I was little and I remember how close everything was. While active duty, I wasn’t stationed there but did do a tour through Spain and Germany for a month. I had taken three years of high school German and 2 years in college, only to have a 4 year old make fun of my linguistic skills on the Euro-rail. It was pretty funny and I remember to this day, the humor of this 4 year old and his mother… for about 4 hours. Truly one of my favorite memories. As for what I miss? Schweinbraten en brot! Their meat is NOTHING like it tastes in the states. Eventually after my husband finally retires, we want to do a little traveling and that is one place I’d like to go back to visit. He wants to try the beer, I want to drink their wine. 🙂
We’re in Germany right now– so far so good! I’m sure when the time comes, though, we’ll be ready to go back to the US! 🙂
I visited multiple blogs except the audio quality for audio songs current at this web site is in fact fabulous.
Was stationed in Hohenfels for two years. Reading your blog makes me miss it so badly!
Awe I know, I miss it a lot too. It’s a great experience for sure 🙂