When my husband was in the army I'll never forget the day he came home to tell me he had received his orders to go to Germany...The mixture of emotions I felt was overwhelming at first...fear of the unknown. leaving America to go live in a foreign land, yet joy and excitement...we were very young and I hadn't traveled out of the U.S yet. I was also pregnant, how could I go overseas away from family and friends?
But, the time came and we were fortunate to be stationed in a lovely city, found a small apt in a quaint village just outside of town and life went on..
This was a life changing experience for us..We learned we could survive on our own, when we had problems we had to solve them on our own without advice or help from anyone..I've always thought that was made us, as a couple, so strong..We also learned how much we love to travel..Each weekend we would explore the regions other cities, towns and villages..eventually spreading out into other countries as well.
One of our favorite things to do was to visit the old Medieval Castle which stood high on a hill overlooking the city...It was a remarkable castle with buildings dating back to the 7th century..It was here we took every visitor from the states that came to see us.
When our little girl was born that didn't stop our travels and exposure to other cultures, and experiences.As a baby she saw it all with us. It was the best of times.
We returned to Germany and the city we lived in every 4 or 5 years for a while, then, when my daughter was a young adult we took her and her younger sister back to the city of her birth...It was a joyous time for us all.
Even when times were difficult we have always had that memory and experience to look back. For some reason it always helped us survive the hard times.
What is the point of this article? Just thinking about lifes changes and how, for the most part, they can be so good for you...for us, it gave us a wanderlust to travel, to see all we could see....Not to be afraid of change and to open our minds to the experience of life........
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Comments: 20
We bought a used BMW and traveled all over Germany & neighboring countries. It was one of the best years of my life.
I know what you mean about change. The transition back from Germany to the States was the hardest for me. Everything on the landscape loomed so large, the cars, the houses. It took a year to get settled in again.
I hope you write more about your experience overseas.
What a small world this Gather is....
Write about the Fiat! Our BMW was yellow with a sun roof-great for traveling.
The best thing to remember is that no matter where you are, it doesn't have to be permanent (though living permanently in Würzburg wouldn't be so bad, come to think of it), and the world is both paradoxically big and small; there's a shitload to see and do, but if push comes to shove, you book a flight home.
Cheers!
Life experience and lessons make us stronger people yet in the moment of that it's so hard to see.
Wonderfully written piece. I enjoyed reading it.