German Good-byes

After a fun and quick 12 days, it's time for me to say good-bye to my German friends again. Several of them met us at a little bar in Neuss for the evening. Meet my German friends...

Marina's parents, Gisela and Joerg.

Miss Lena.

Maxi, Andy, Caro and Laura.

Lena, Jeanette, Lou and Tina.

Ellen.

Laura, Marina's sister, and Ben, her boyfriend.

The girls that dropped me off at the airport: Lena, Magda, Rina and Marina.

So some of my favorite things about Germany:

1. Bread and cheese. I'm telling you, it's seriously some of the best food ever. I think I have eaten it for about 75% of my meals, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Oh and many snacks. It's sooo yummy. Yes I know it sounds so simple and gross, but it's so much better here. 

2. The people. Everyone is so friendly (at least to me). The only encounter I can remember with a mean person is when Marina had us ride our bikes on the wrong side of the road and everyone was yelling at us. In my defense, I didn't know which was the right side to ride on.

3. Cute houses. All their houses are so close together and cute. Don't really know how else to describe them.

4. Gardens. Every house has a backyard, but it's not like the traditional American backyard. It is typically bordered with trees or a fence with lots of plants grown in front of it so it's blocked off from the outside. Usually there is a little patio area to hang out. They all have such beautiful flowers, and it's so lively and green.

5. Recycling. Most of the recyclables can be taken to a grocery store, put in a machine which gives you a voucher that can be used in the store. For a typical German water bottle, which is I think about 2 liters, they will give you back 25 cents. I think it's such an awesome way to encourage recycling and help out people who are short on money, especially homeless people who can just gather together all the drunk people's bottles on the weekends.

6. Eco-Friendly. Small cars, stick shift, more biking and walking, trains, buses and trams.

7. Cobblestone streets. So beautiful and unique. 

8. Marina. Where else in the world can you find such a one-of-a-kind girl?

Tomorrow starts my journey to España! Super excited to finally go to a country that speaks a language I can understand.