Being an adult, but still chasing my dreams!

The “Altstadt” in Bremen’s city center with the St. Petri Dom and Rathaus

It’s been just over two weeks since I arrived here in Germany and I could not be enjoying it more.  There have been a few speed bumps along the way and few challenges and difficult “goodbyes” but everything is falling into place slowly but surely.  My parents flew out with me and we arrived in beautiful, foggy Bremen on the 21st.  Immediately fears of “what have I gotten myself into” began to cover my mind like the fog that never seems to want to leave…

Oh boy…

But I’ve begun to learn to love the constant fog, it adds to the character of this new and interesting place.  But for the time being the fog was driven away from my mind that first night as I sat down for my first “german” meal of meat, potatoes and beer.  Oh, how i missed the beer!  But I know I must not get too comfortable with the meat as I am no longer in Austria or Southern Germany.  I am now in the “oh so cold” north, only a little ways off of the North Sea, and in Bremen fish is what will normally be on my daily menu.

First delicious beer in back in Europe

Over the course of my first week my parents and I spent most of our days moving into my new little house in the tiny town of Osterholz-Scharmbeck, which is just outside of Bremen.  I share the home with my landlord’s family who live on the bottom floor and a resident who is very hard to meet, splitting the top floor (still haven’t met him or her yet).   I’m out in farm country so I have a few interesting neighbors to keep me entertained.  My landlord who lives below me has been very friendly and helpful.  His english isn’t the best, just like my german isn’t too great, so we are working on it together.  I really like my set up, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I have plenty of room and the house has been great so far!

Home for the next 18 months

My new little “neigh”bors (sorry for how pixelated the photo is)

Besides just moving into my new home my parents and I got to explore Bremen itself.  We walked around the altstadt, visited the city’s massive cathedral and found some of the best restaurants that Bremen had to offer.  Also in my first week I had to come to terms with the fact that I had to learn how to drive a manual car.. I’ve never driven a manual and the only other time I had tried ended with me furiously quitting after stalling the car for the 1000th time.  But, I am now older and wiser and after a few days finally got comfortable in my little ford hatchback.  It had been a fantastic first week but it was quickly coming to an end and because of this I knew I had to come to grips with having to say goodbye, which I knew would be tough for all of us.  But luckily, thanks to my new employers we had one more adventure before they left.

Dad at Hofbräuhaus Bremen before the fußball (soccer) match

The local soccer team, Werder Bremen was taking on powerhouse Bayern Munich and we were treated with tickets to the game!  It was cold and windy but such a great time.  As fate would have it I actually watched Bremen play Bayern Munich just last spring when I was in Salzburg and sat IN the Werder Bremen section.  On that day, I was a little disappointed to not be able to cheer for Munich but now I know I had been in the right section the entire time.  Werder Bremen isn’t exactly that much competition for Bayern Munich and unfortunately they ended up losing 2-1.  But, they played really well against one of the best teams in Europe and in my opinion they outplayed Bayern Munich in the 2nd half only just coming up short.  I think I can get used to cheering for this group of underdogs.

Bremen in green vs Bayern in red

That night we had dinner at this fantastic Italian restaurant in Osterholz-Scharmeck and than it was time for goodbyes.  It’s never easy to move out (“finally” as my dad would say) but I had a feeling this “goodbye” would be harder than others.  It wasn’t a simple “goodbye, I will see you in a few weeks, or I’ll stop by later this week.”  No, this was a “goodbye, have a safe flight back across the ocean, I’ll see you in a few months.”

I am so thankful for all that my parents have done for me and how they have encouraged me to chase my dreams and not once have they tried to persuade me into taking an easier route, closer to home (well maybe my mom has tried one time)..  That night I spent a lot of time thinking about how lucky I am to have those two in my life and while I know I am where I am supposed to be right now in life and the world, I am absolutely looking forward to seeing both my mom and dad in May when I return for my buddy Garrett’s wedding.

Bremerhaven

My first week on my own went well, there were, as I said a few minor speed bumps, one of which has delayed my start date of work a week, until Wednesday the 8th (today), but all is good.  On the bright-side this has given me an entire week on my own to explore and try to get to know my new home.  I spent the first few days driving around town and walking around the shops to get an idea of where everything is in town.  I tried some local fish and had a few kebabs.. I had forgotten how amazing those were!!  But on Thursday I began to get a little bit of cabin fever.. So I got in my car, pointed my headlights north and drove ’til I hit the North Sea.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Bremerhaven but my day trip was most definitely a success.  I arrived at the coast just as the sun was going down and had a dinner of fried, freshly caught fish and a boiled potato from a shack right off of a dock on the water.  After dinner I headed up to an observation platform to watch the sun go down.  A few selfies later and I was ready to head back home.

Observation Platform in Bremerhaven

On the next Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to find good tickets to a Borussia Dortmund game.  Dortmund is about 250 km south of Bremen and home to one of Germany’s best soccer teams.  I had heard really great things about their stadium, Signal Iduna Park and how it was the loudest and rowdiest stadium in Germany and I knew I had to go catch a game there as soon as possible.  So when I saw that Borussia Dortmund was playing RB Leipzig I immediately searched for tickets online.  RB Leipzig isn’t very well liked in Germany thanks to their owners pumping massive amounts of cash into the team.  Most other clubs and their fans look at them as “cheating” the system or “buying the title” and because of this, almost everyone despises them.  The match was supposed to be really heated, as well as a great game as Leipzig was in 2nd place and Dortmund in 4th place in the league.

Signal Iduna Park, home to Borussia Dortmund

I got to the stadium a few hours before the game and enjoyed some beers, bratwurst and some German tailgating to prepare for the big game ahead. I was one of the first into the stadium so I was able to walk around and get an up-close view of the pitch.  Eventually the fans began to arrive (from both teams) and you could begin to feel how tense everyone in the stadium was.  The RB Leipzig fans where shielded in their very own section with plexiglass dividers to protect them from the Dortmund fans as well as having security guards and police all around them.  Signs around the stadium began to pop up saying things like “anti RB,” “RB and fußball do not mix” and many other things I can’t say on here as I know my grandparents read this.  A few fans were arrested for holding up lewd signs before the game and before I knew it the entire stadium was packed 80,000 strong ready for the match.  The atmosphere inside the stadium was incredible!! Fans singing, chanting cheering, barely sitting down the entire game.. It was unbelievable!!

 Gametime!!!

The game was incredible and Dortmund ended up winning 1-0.  The goal was scored right in front of me and the entire stadium went berserk.  RB Leipzig actually ended up scoring in the 93rd minute but the official ruled it offside and no goal.  What an ending!

For the rest of the week I had just been preparing for work which started today.  It went well and everyone is very friendly.  Almost everyone speaks english which is great, but I still plan on improving my german so that I can converse with them in their more comfortable language.

Next weekend I am looking forward to traveling to Frankfurt to see my Aunty Fran and Uncle Dan who are traveling here in Europe at the moment!  It’ll be great to see some familiar faces in a city I’ve never been too!  Can’t wait for that!

In other news, this week marks the one year anniversary of my arrival in Salzburg last year.  I have been working on this video for a few months now and it’s finally ready for everyone to see.  I know I posted this on Facebook a few days ago so some of you have already seen it but for those who haven’t here ya go!  Sorry it’s a bit long but it’s really difficult to fit 4 months of incredible moments and experiences into a short video.  That’s all for now, enjoy the video! Auf Wiedersehen!!