Germany won the World Cup today. Elmar and I watched with friends at Bar 96 on Rainey St. in Austin. We met some nice Germans traveling through, and an Argentina fan bought us all a round of drinks.

Still, it surprisingly felt bittersweet, as it’s the first World Cup I’ve followed while not living in Germany.

I guess I was really hoping to go back to visit friends and family in Germany this summer. It’s been almost three years. But our work schedules don’t allow it. The longest stretch of vacation we could possibly take is 7 days in August, and that’s not worth the cost of a transatlantic flight.

We recently met another couple because of our blog: German husband from Bielefeld(!), Texan wife from Dripping Springs, recently moved back to the Austin area after years abroad. He was looking for tips on living in the Austin area and even found a car in San Antonio because of Elmar’s post. Kai speaks German with a Westfalen accent and sounds a lot like my brother-in-law. It’s weird, how little things, like a familiar accent, make you feel homesick. And not being able to celebrate Germany’s win in Germany is a big one.