Expat Life: Six Years and Counting

Oberbaumbruecke
Berlin: Oberbaumbrücke

It’s hard to believe that this week marks my sixth Germanniversary.  Six years is the exact same amount of time that I lived in New York. It  broke my heart to leave the city behind, but I was really ready for new adventures. It feels like a lifetime ago that I arrived in Bonn, before eventually making my way to Hamburg.   I couldn’t have imagined how attached I would grow to this country.  For all of my foreignness — some of which I resolutely refuse to give up — I feel at home here.  My cultural boundaries have blurred and my frame of reference has shifted significantly.  Days can go by without ever speaking or hearing a word of my native language.  And I realize how much my life has changed in just a few short years.  Even so, I will still be cheering for the US during tomorrow’s game against Germany — crossing my fingers and pressing my thumbs and hoping against hope, as us Americans are wont to do! Ach, ja.  In any case, a Germanniversary is the perfect opportunity to share some of my favorite photos of Deutschland since I arrived.  As I was sorting through them, it was really hard to choose just a few!  So if you’re curious, you’re more than welcome to check out my Flickr albums.

2008

Reichstag dome
Berlin: Reichstag
Cliffs at Sunset
Helgoland: The cliffs at sunset

2009

Town Hall
Hamburg: Rathaus
Munich
Munich: Olympic grounds

2010

Alstereis
Hamburg: Alstereisvergnügen
Farm house
Dittersbach: Bauernhof
Bremen at Night
Bremen: Markplatz

2011

The Fürstenzug
Dresden: Fürstenzug
Karneval der Kulturen
Berlin: Karneval der Kulturen

2012

Weimar
Weimar
Neustadt
Bremen: Neustadt

2013

Intimes Kino
Berlin: Intimes Kino
RAW, Friedrichshain
Berlin: RAW

For more about my journey, check these posts out:

3 comments

  1. Joanna says:

    Glückwunsch zum Germanniversary, liebe Mandi!

    I am one year shy of my 6th Hollandniversary. :D

    Love the images you’ve chosen, and when I have more time I will check your Flickr album(s).

    The blogpost of InstaWalk in your Hamburg archives did put a lump in my throat; the image made me very “homesick” for Hamburg.

    Weiterhin viel Spaß mit dem Leben in Deutschland (und Europa!)!

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