Leaving Germany

We are in the air as I am writing this post and I still cannot believe this is actually happening.

We are actually sitting in the plane and somewhere below us are our bags, 14kg each, that is all we took for a year. And once we are done with New Zealand, our warm sleeping bags and trekking shoes will make their way back to Germany and then it will be even less! How liberating, in so many ways. It’s a dream come true and I am in it, right here right now. I guess reality will hit me a few days into our trip when the daily routine of the past will disappear into my long-term memory. But before that happens there are a few things to say about leaving Germany, apart from of course leaving out of curiosity for the world, its beauties and its people with all its different cultures and finally having enough time to visit our family and friends around the globe that we haven’t seen for so long!

Starting with: We had a fantastic life in Munich with amazing friends, great colleagues and jobs, and beautiful nature right in front of our doorstep. So going on this trip will also be about putting what we had and can have again into a bigger context. Is this what will make us happy for the next years to come or is it something else we haven’t thought about yet?

And then there is this incredible feeling of excitement when you know your life will change completely, but you don’t know how yet. All you know is, you will come out as a better person than before! I have been there several times in my life already and even though every single one of it was also always accompanied by very painful experiences, in the end I was happier than ever before. So ‚every problem can be solved and every hurdle can be taken‘ is already my life concept. With this trip I will take it to yet another level.

And last but most importantly, leaving Germany is about spending quality time together as a couple. Getting to know each other on a level that normal life usually doesn’t allow you to. Having time to talk for ages about our dreams and goals, our sorrows and happiest moments. Being stuck in difficult situations where you are challenged as a couple and all you have is the love and trust for each other to get you through it. And to have time, time to just enjoy the present without worrying about the future! (Note by the author on this point: My man just turned around and said with a massive smile on his face: „Honey, we have a 12 hour flight in front of us and you know what the best thing is, we have to do nothing. I am sitting in my seat right now enjoying doing nothing.“:) So much to that!)

So leaving Germany is about becoming better people and valuing what we have in life. Of course there are a hundred things we will miss as well: From our families and friends and all their cute little kids, especially seeing them grow up, to a nice clean bed and our own 4 walls. From great and safe food to a life where everything is just an iPhone second away and the police around the corner on your side. And of course safe transport and a fantastic infrastructure.

As I am posting this now, we are already in Kuala Lumpur. 12 hours of flight are behind us, as we wait to take off again to continue on to Auckland. And, we haven’t slept at all since we left Germany this morning. So either excitement is kicking in and pushing our adrenalin to higher levels, or we just had too much green tea – as always

Whatever it is, we are fully awake, ready to go on this adventure!