Final Hours in Germany

We're outta here in 12 hours!  The first thought I had was that once I get back to the States, I'm going to wonder..."Those last 2 + years in Germany...was that all some crazy dream?  Did we actually just do that?"

There will definitely be some things that I will miss:  the soccer, the very close-by varying landscapes, the ridiculous volumes of tradition and culture, and the exposure to different languages.

Some of the things I'm looking forward to upon returning: the wild and rustic woods, the great expanse of the plains, being closer to family, living in a single-currency economy, starting a new family, and hopefully getting into Medical School.

I celebrated my last day with my soccer team a few days ago.  It was a good and fun practice, and I bought them all a beer as a thank-you for everything.  They were happy and appreciative, and they all gave their gracious farewells to me, and me to them.  There is a slight chance I'll bump into one of them in Fort Leonard Wood as he is a contractor that occasionally flies out there, but he admitted the chances were slight.  Either way, I even told them as much that they were my most favorite team to ever have the privilege to be a part of.

We celebrated the Fourth of July on post, and the first thing that struck me was all of the Americana.  I never appreciated how little of the stars and stripes I was allowed to see while off-post.  We followed strict guidelines to not display any American regalia out of respect for German citizens.  I never appreciated how starved I was of all of that American pride until then.  While I was able to convince J to be on a Ferris Wheel with me (she hates heights), we were not able to stick around for the fireworks as the funnel cake we ate was much greasier than our stomachs expected.

One of the last little memories I will have here is actually strolling Etsy in the woods on post here, by our temporarly lodging.  Without even searching for them, I found some wild blueberries, right on a major backwoods trail!  A nice little Minnesota North Woods memory came to mind at the sight of them.  A nice, natural transition for a very major change for us.

Very healthy looking wild blueberries.  No, I did not choose to eat them.  :)