Until the fall...

If you weren't able to tell from the 801 posts I wrote about my excitement to go home that I was pretty dang ecstatic to get back to Texas, then you are a dummy :)

No, but what I really mean, is that I think it was quite obvious that I couldn't wait to get back to my home state. Along with seeing my family and friends (and my kitty), I get sunshine, warm, scratch that, flippin' hot weather, American restaurants, stores open on Sunday, and yes, of course Nordstrom's.

Although, I really do enjoy my time in Germany as well. It has somehow or another become our second home. The language barrier is slowly fading. We find ourselves enjoying a long, drawn out dinner, and gasp!, maybe even an afternoon cappuccino at a local cafe. Maybe.

Believe it or not, I do actually miss some things from Germany when we are back in North America. I did a list on my favorite German things some time ago, but here is another go on what I think Germany really does right....IMHO

Beer, duh!

Get it in ya!! (source)

Come on, you think of Germany, you think of beer. And man oh man is it good there!

Friends back at home ask us what kind of beer we drink in Germany, and we rattle off 3 or 4 brands that they have never heard of (and probably never will). That is because Germany is the meister of local breweries. Every little town and region is dotted with its own make of beer. Sure, you can get favorites like Beck's and Krombacher everywhere, but most people stick to the beer that they can get locally. Which is nice, because it is pretty much guaranteed to be super fresh from the brewery. 

Here is one of the local favorites from this year (source)

And on the subject of beer....
Beer and liquor prices

Man, is the booze cheap in Germany. At least to my standards, and especially to Canadian standards. With those prices up north, I would find myself becoming a teetotaler. 

And the cheap beer in Germany is actually GOOD, not skunky like this Freshman year of college go-to. Sick! (source)

For example, our favorite bottles of wine range between 3-5 Euro (about 4-7 dollars). And if we are feeling a little extra special, we might just spring for the oh so delicious 8 Euro (about 10.5 dollars) bottle of sparkling wine. But it has to really be a special occasion to spend that much on a drink.

Need more proof. Beers at the hockey games are 2 Euro. BAM! Blew your mind, didn't it. Not to worry, we feel like even bigger fools when we suck back an 8+ dollars beer at the Astros game.

Excuse me sir, but does that overpriced beer also come in a gold-plated cup?! (source)

 Pretzels

Oh my, if I put on any weight in Germany, I know it is because of these bad boys (and surprisingly not because of the beer). These soft-on-the-inside, chewy/crunchy-on-the-outside baked babies are absolutely delicious. You'd be hard pressed to find a really good pretzel like this back at home (and no way, jose, Auntie Anne's or any of those breadish mall pretzels don't count). I really prefer mine with plain ol' yellow mustard. Too bad that is hard to come by in Germany. Minus one for you, dudes. 

Great, two days back and I am already craving one! (source)

Bieggers (small, local restaurants)

The little mom-and-pop restaurant that was within walking distance from our apartment. Not only did it have the most delicious German food I had ever had (or technically the first German food I had ever liked!) but the people who ran the restaurant were as nice and as charming as their location was. When we went over to tell the owner and our favorite waitress goodbye, I detected a tear or two welling up in her eyes. Really, what more could you ask for?! :)

Plus it literally had the best salad on earth.

Good Drivers

Ok, let's be honest. Drivers in America just aren't that good. And Houston is known for it's notoriously bad drivers. The swerve over 4 lanes to exit, they speed in one lane and drive too slow in the next, they act like the road is theirs and only theirs. 

We got to see a really bad one on the way home from the airport, nice 'welcome home' Houston! (source)

Germany, on the other hand, as a whole, has some great and respectful drivers. They follow the rules, almost to a fault. They use their blinker and move to the right hand lane to let others pass. I think they would rather die than do an illegal U-Turn. And guess what, there are far fewer accidents and I am sure fewer instances of road rage. Makes for a pleasant journey!

So those are just a few things that I will miss this summer. And can't forget the goaties :( I keep asking the hubs if he thinks they miss me too. He will really be annoyed with that question at the end of the summer, lol. 

But really, do you think they miss me!??! 

Desperate much? :)