6 Things We REALLY Miss From Germany When We are in the USA!

we are going to really yay yay in this video we're going to be talking about things that we've missed from Germany while we've been away we're going to be here at the Salt Lake City Airport we're waiting to board a flight that's going to take us to Paris and then from there we will fly to Nuremberg it is a long journey ahead of us so we're just excited to take some of the time to sit back relax and talk to you guys about some of our feelings so let's give a little recap in case you missed our latest videos we took you to a Chris Kendall Market here in Utah and we compared it to one back in Germany we also took you to a supermarket here in Utah and had quite the reverse culture shock as we experience price increases from when we first moved to Germany we knew that prices had increased inflation has been happening everywhere but we were very surprised to see how much and compare the prices from Utah to where we live in Germany we're excited to talk to you guys about the things that we've missed because there are definitely a lot of them we love being with family we had an absolute blast truly saying goodbye to family this time was the hardest it's ever been and I think a lot of that is because will is so much older we're seeing her play with her cousins that is something that's really hard from being away from family it's a tough goodbye but we are excited to be back in Germany and to be home we consider Germany our home now what else is in this and salad and white yep and there's some pulled pork and lots of cilantro this is like a real true Tex-Mex and we absolutely love this this is called Cafe Rio and it's very popular here in Utah so much so that there is one here at the airport yeah are you having something sweet after your Savory meal what's that one um thank you I don't know a strawberry a strawberry no oh there's a bottom here what's the weather like okay go back here we're actually really happy we were able to make it here safely because there were multiple cars off the roads conditions are quite crazy this morning yesterday we stayed at a place called Bear Lake which is right on the border Lake of Utah and Idaho and the water surprisingly was not frozen over so Tanner actually did a Polar Plunge there daddy run into the water it brought in the new year really nicely and I feel like it's really symbolic of us going back to Germany I'm feeling a little bit more nervous going back to Germany this time and I think it's just because baby's coming so soon and we're going to be away from our main support system so I feel like counter jumping into the water was really symbolic of us just jumping into this new season of life and being able to embrace it so let's get into it what did we miss from Germany while being here in the states one of the biggest things we missed was our home it is the winter time here and we absolutely love our heated floors in our German house our parents both have carpet which we've got to say is nice on the fee after not having that for a while but it definitely still feels cold to us and we're prone to wear socks all the time because they're just not warm and comfy and cozy like it is back in Germany we also really miss the forests that are right nearby our house and all the amazing walking trails we love the location of her house and honestly after living there for almost two years we've realized that to Us location and proximity to Nature is going to play a really big role when it comes to us eventually settling down which who in the heck knows when that's going to happen we don't think that's anywhere in the near future but when it does come we want to be close to Nature and our German house just gives us that and it's so nice and one other thing we did Miss from our German home is the rolling blinds although it's winter and it's dark for a lot of the day compared to the summer it still is really nice to have it completely dark doubt and it helps insulate a little bit as well we're looking forward to getting back to those the next thing we missed a lot are German roads the quality the spacing the driving all of it we just really love and enjoyed it and it was very apparent going back to Utah where road construction is like non-stop we often question ourselves every time we go back to Utah and even when we lived there why the road construction projects took so long and why the roads even after the construction was done didn't seem that well now back to German roads we really love having yield signs where you can just go right through if it's clear and you don't have to stop and are quite a few intersections that have four-way stop signs and that's really not my favorite because a lot of times you show up there three cars get there almost at the same time sometimes there's like this hesitation even though it's right before left doesn't always get followed so we really are excited getting back to the yield signs where there's just no question about it people are following through you yield wait go it's a really nice setup in our Christmas video we did mention that the roads were a lot smoother in Germany than they were in Salt Lake and a lot of parts of Utah that was definitely something that we noticed was very apparent very bumpy on a lot of the roads even down the interstates compared to the Autobahn it seems just very smooth for the majority of the roads another realization when we were back in Utah is that a lot of the cities that we would travel to to go shopping or to go and do things outside they are very compact very crowded I think a lot of it has to go with how the infrastructure was planned things are growing so close to the roads they can't expand the roads as much and it's definitely leading to crowded and busier roads back in Germany especially where we live there are so many other roads for you to take that it doesn't seem like the roads get bogged down unless there's a bad accident on the Autobahn the next one is no real surprise but we have realized how much better drivers are in Germany than they are in Utah it was very apparent from the first time getting on the road again after the airport it was just like I was having a really hard time not feeling a little anxious because there were people passing on the right and the left at the same time if you're in the middle Lane even if you're getting over the rules that we've been used to while in Germany have just completely trained me to think that that is the way to drive and I still think that that is the best way to drive but the rules are definitely different here in Utah there was even a point we were on a three lane of a highway and the very far left lane a semi truck passed us flying during snowy conditions we've become more and more accustomed to European driving everyone moving over to the right passing on the left and getting back over I'm really looking forward to getting back to that type of driving the last one for German Rose is a surprising one because it's not something that I really thought about before we came back during the holiday season so advertising for Christmas and the holidays was definitely at its peak when we showed up here in Utah I could not believe the advertising that was on the Billboards next to the freeways for phones clothes cars you name it and most surprising was a lot of them were focused like on the health and beauty industry weight loss liposuction cryotherapy Botox plastic surgery braces Dentures you name it there definitely was a lot of advertisement for the health and beauty side of things which coming from Europe and Germany it's just not that common I don't really think that I've seen very much advertising on the side of Roads if anything there's just small Billboards on the side of the road that talk about watch out for wildlife no drinking and driving slow down in snowy conditions those very basic things that should be on the roads helping the drivers to focus but driving down the interstates it was almost like you could watch a show and it was just add after ad after ad to be quite honest it's quite distracting if you're trying to pay attention to those while you're driving honestly I think this could pose as a risk to drivers on the roads while they're trying to read these advertisements that are flashing and moving constantly while we're talking about the things that we've missed from Germany while visiting family in the states it's worth mentioning that we're not huge fans of having to file two income tax returns one for the us and one for Germany although we fully understand why it needs to happen it still makes life a little more complicated living overseas normally taxes is something that I like to take on myself so I understand where our money is going and understanding the tax law but with moving overseas and over the last few years of our marriage our taxes have become a little more complicated which is why last year we decided to team up with bright tax an American expat tax filing company who was able to help us file our taxes while being over here and making sure that we got things done right so for all of you other American expats living abroad here in Germany or elsewhere in the world honestly working with bright text was quite a stress-free experience for us which is why I'm recommending that any Americans who are living abroad and need help filing their U.S taxes definitely reach out to brytex to see if it's a good fit for you I'm including the link down below but if you do have any questions about my experience more in detail feel free to reach out in the comments or to our email next is food now although we would not say that German food is our absolute favorite that there are things that we have definitely missed for the German bakeries namely sunflower bread Chia butter rolls and the cheese pretzels and cheese rolls we're definitely looking forward to getting some queso Blitzen and some other sunflower seed rolls when we get back to the German bakery one thing we did Miss is the hummus from eataka we're looking forward to getting that hummus again the flavor Just Hits really home to us we're gonna grab some of those sunflower seed crackers maybe some of those cheese foot crackers the key is a Foos the next time that we go grocery shopping next is the scenery and Landscape there is a stark difference between the winters in Germany and the winters here in Utah we've mentioned it before but Winter's here in Utah typically are pretty bleak gray dry but they definitely get a lot of snow there's lots of ski resorts here so that's an exciting and fun aspect of winters here in Utah on the flip side with Germany we definitely have missed the green forests the green fields that are still visible throughout the entire winter enter at least an area where we are we're used to going outside on walks through the evergreen forest and walking past fields that are just planted in the fall getting ready for the spring to start growing and it's just completely different next for anyone who has lived along the Wasatch Front in Utah you definitely know that air quality is a huge problem during the winter months especially because of the inversion where the cold air traps a ton of the air pollution from vehicles from livestock from other industrial pollution and it is pretty disgusting to be quite honest you can see the haze Over The Valleys in neighborhoods all over the Wasatch Front at our place in Germany we're used to having rain and snow come through the area every few days which keeps the air clean and moving and it's definitely not the case always here in Utah where sometimes there are weeks without storms and maybe one of the bigger reasons is that Utah has been going through a drought for the last several years a mega drought along with a lot of the western United States this has caused the levels of the Great Salt Lake to drop significantly over the past few years which has exposed a lot of the lake bed and has created a lot of Dusty and other hazardous pollutants in the area so it's unfortunate that that happens but it's just becoming more and more of reality for those living in the Salt Lake Valley and finally mostly for Willa we are excited that she is going back to have her Social Circle at Kita she's definitely talked about going back playing singing dancing and having a lot of fun with all of her friends at Kita although we're mentioning this is something that we have missed and that she has missed she has definitely been Overjoyed seeing all of her cousins Aunts Uncles grandparents and friends when we've been back in Utah so it's not to say that she didn't have a great time great social interaction but she's definitely excited to go back with those that she spent several weeks and months with over the last year at Kita honestly we have loved our trip coming back to Utah but our hearts really are like Rissa said ready to go back to our home in Germany we are going to miss our friends and family but honestly we're ready to get back to our own space our own home and get ready to welcome our little baby girl just a few weeks crazy to even think that while we're filming this we're only a few weeks away from baby girl joining us so stay tuned with us over over the next few months it's going to be a whirlwind of change roller coaster of emotions lots of sleepless nights but honestly our hearts are really full and we're excited to see will that become a big sister and just experiencing the joys of having a newborn in our lives thanks again for being here everybody we are about to go board our airplane to Paris and then to Nuremberg wish us luck we're hoping that we can get some good sleep it's going to be about 7 30 a.m when we land in Paris and this is going to start the wonderful and challenging process of switching back over to European time thanks again for being here if you haven't already don't forget to hit the like and the Subscribe button have a wonderful day and we'll see you on the next video foreign [Music]

Channel: Our Story to Tell

Views: 45,783

Keywords: familytravelvlog, travelvlog, europe, traveleurope, exploreeurope, london, england, unitedkingdom

Id: U_eG589Iakw

Length: 12min 23sec (743 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 15 2023