Before Elmar and I left for our summer in Germany, a lot of our friends in Texas wished us well on our “European Adventure”. I haven’t been here since 2011, yet it feels too familiar to be an “adventure”. Many Americans see Europe as a luxury destination, but I see it as “home 2.0”.

Now that our house in Austin is done, Elmar checks out the real estate market in Oerlinghausen

This week, we’re catching up with Elmar’s family, but also filling up on typical German things that we miss. For example:

Natural walkways from home to supermarkets, doctors, the library, etc.

Ice cream cafes

My in-laws’ amazing garden

Summer street festivals in historic city centers

I thought it would be fun to include my youngest nephew in some of these pictures, but my father-in-law reminded me that Germans are more sensitive to online privacy. So I won’t mention his name, and I hope my photo editing above isn’t too creepy.