I've been at home in England for a little over a week now and it's about time I talked about Germany. My longer reflection will come later, but for now I wanted to celebrate my last fun couple weeks. I will miss the people I got to know... but most of all, I will miss my church. It's been the study basis for me throughout the ups and downs of abroad-life; the sermons have been really great and everyone has been so welcoming. I think back to the Christmas I was stranded in Germany and how quickly I was scooped up by another family to join in with their festivities. I think back to holiday club, where we all got stuck-in helping out. I think back to the smiling faces every Sunday who ask how I am and what I'd like prayer for. I digress a little. Around 4 weeks back, I had the delight of visiting a wedding at this very church. Hearing those wonderful, sweet, truthful vows in German was truly touching, and I am so glad I got to see that. The following day was my final Sunday with everyone there, and it was packed! The joint service between us and a partnering church filled the room, and the service was great! What I had not expected, though, was that I would be coming up to the front for a formal goodbye. I don't think words can quite express how both embarrassed and touched I simultaneously felt... but I'll try: My name is said... I point to myself, as if to say "Really? Me?", as if there are other people with the same name in our usually smallish congregation. I walk up, arms stiff and eyes darting. There is a lot more people here than normal, I think. Reaching the front, I very awkwardly wave to absolutely no-one in particular and am met with a polite, communal chuckle in return. Some touching words are said while the smile on my face beams; so wide could bridge the Channel, La Manche. I say a rather shy "thanks for my time with you all", before being presented a wrapped farewell gift: wide and tall, fairly flat and sturdy. Rather dazed, I make my way back to my seat. The phrase "das war total unerwartet" rings in my head for the next few moments, and the church services goes on. Many many goodbyes, God's blessings, and was lovely to meet you-s were said after that service, all of which meant a great deal to me. A classical concert then took place from a travelling visiting band+family, with some rather nostalgic pieces I recognised from the Tom and Jerry cartoons. What a beautiful way to end my time there! Below is a small extract from one of my favourite pieces, wow could the young xylophonist play! My waning weeks were not completely admin free; I had one remaining task: to figure out where my various ECTS course certificates were for the exams I had just completed, and for the exams I had completed 6 months prior. I had a handful, but the rest needed to be collected from various professors andor offices. This task took a little thinking and several email chains but thankfully, in the end, all was accounted for. I received my final transcript and proof of study. Success! Next on the agenda was visiting and saying goodbye to my housemates from the year gone by. Meeting up before my train down south, a group of us enjoyed some very tasty homemade Koshary - a naturally vegan Egyptian dish I have grown rather fond of. Surprisingly, given I understand maybe 3 words of the Egyptian dialect, I am going to miss Arabic; it's a fun language to listen to. We had a lovely social time, such delightful memories to hit save on. Train down to Regensburg was breezy. While it was a 6h30m journey, knitting and podcasts made the time fly, or, well, zoom(?) clickety-clack(?) choo-choo(?), by. Chilling on a train is one of my favourite pass-times and is by far my favourite mode of travel; I love watching the world go by. The journey time wasn't helped by my long couple of changeovers, but that wasn't a large bother; better safe than sorry with Deutsche Bahn (especially with my evening/nighttime trains). Up bright and early the next morning and we were off for a hike! I had been anticipating this, but wow was the nature unbelievably stunning! England, don't get me wrong, has some amazing areas to hike, but nothing like Bayern in Germany! Just take a look: I unfortunately don't have photos from the very top (phone difficulties), but it was a great day out! Would strongly recommend the area surrounding Lenggries if you are nearby. Starting out at the base of Brauneck, we walked very steeply up for a while before following the longer route signed, that went into the forest before coming out and over several peaks. We then wondered along a trail across the mountain ridges and posed in front of one of the crosses there, snacking on fruit as the many paragliders flew overhead. 10/10 day! I think it was about 27km in total, and who knows how much elevation! I wish I had put on a recorder so I could share the route, but oh well. We also took the time to visit München, Regensburg, and Nürnberg, however Regensburg was the place that surprised me the most: the entire city consisting of the most wonderfully coloured houses! I did some knitting in a restful park there and we wondered round all the pretty bits next to the river(s). Honestly, I could see myself being happy to live there; and I don't have that particular sentiment often. Although, the lack of Straßenbahn (trams) and the less neutral accent are both aspects I would miss compared to Bremen. Kohlenmarkt with Town Hall in Regensburg. CC BY-SA 3.0 by DebrayR And then it was time. Late train back got me home at 2am, leaving me with 1 day + 1 morning to finalise everything. Cleaned my room, finished packing my bags (and optimised weight), dropped off some papers at the Uni, and went out to a farewell meal from a friend from church, enjoying some rather nice German beer. It was really great to talk, and while I did have reservations about my german performance, it was such a hopeful and joyful conclusion. I woke up to a surprise present from my housemates, completely unnecessary but very sweet, which got stuffed in my already full bags before rolling out to the airport. The straßenbahn trundles along, the city moving around me as I cuddle my bags. "Flughafen" is said and I exit the tram. Tschüsschen Bremen, Ciao Deutschland. Bis gleich. Just to end, I thought I would copy in my translation of the book inscription my church wrote, inside the gifted illustrated copy of "Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten", the Town Musicians of Bremen, by Gerda Muller. Dear Daniel, It was a pleasure to get to know you! And that we could be a small part of your life, that we could celebrate and worship together as a community. Thanks for your loyalty through this time [with us]. We wish you well in your continued life journey, rich in the blessings of our heavenly father. May he lead you on the right path - to his glory. We would love to hear from you in the future. So when you're in the area, you are always welcome to come by! This book with the famous Bremen fable of the city musicians can be a special reminder of your time here in our city. With kind regards