Flying into Germany you can see all the farm fields. (Lucky Dragon - stock.adobe.com)
Editor’s Note: Maggie Hulet is a student writer from Dr. Wiedemer’s and Ms. Ireland’s class at Spangdahlem Middle School (SY 24-25).
Stepping off a plane and taking a deep breath of the only fresh air in 17 hours, one might expect to be met with the same old air they have always known, but no.
Sweet, sweet German air fills your lungs, and you pause.
There’s no way to describe it, but you can almost taste how different it is. The air feels lighter, and you feel as though you could float. Ironically, Germany’s air should be thicker than America’s, but somehow it feels easier to take a deep breath and truly feel satisfied. You feel like, for the first time ever, you have taken a breath of truly fresh air.
It’s undoubtedly incredible. I’ve never liked to go outside. It’s not as though I don’t like the sun or nature, but I never liked outside air. Outside air smells and lingers on your clothes long after you go outside. I always felt like I smelled like a wet dog after going outside, and I never felt like I could take a deep breath and feel refreshed because it was so humid where I lived. However, I open my windows in Germany just to breathe in the air. It’s like someone took five billion air purifiers and stuck them around Germany. It feels easy to breathe here. It was never hard per se, but it’s never felt this easy.
Sometimes, I feel like I am living in a fairytale world. I get to walk through actual castles built in the Middle Ages. I don’t even think my brain can comprehend how that’s possible. That’s another thing that I think influences how different Germany smells and feels. It is so old, and they keep those old things alive. No one thinks about it, but America is not a very old country. In the 1600s, America was colonized by British settlers, and all we have from those times are rotting colonial houses that you can look at and go, “Huh. That’s an old house.” But there are whole towns in Germany that have houses built back then that people still live in. It is mind-blowing. The world’s technological advancements happened so quickly in such a short amount of time, and those advancements have already almost consumed all of America, but Germany still has its roots dug deep and sturdy.
Castles built in the Middle Ages are all over Germany. (Boris Stroujko - stock.adobe.com)
However, nothing can be perfect. Especially when that thing is a whole country full of people who live different lives. I live in the Eiffel region of Germany, and the things I’m saying don’t apply while in the States. There are definitely places that smell like cigarettes, but trust me, you don’t know smoking like Europeans know smoking. I swear there are some times I’m coughing up a lung walking through plumes of smoke in a city that I’m utterly convinced that Germany’s national food is cigarettes.
Of course, Germany isn’t all the same. I’m biased because I live in a farmland area of Germany called Eiffel, so the things I’m saying don’t apply to everywhere. There are places in Germany that have horrible air quality, just like every other country, but when I’m outside, looking out at the grassy hills and blossoming trees where I live, it’s hard to think that there could be anywhere in this country that isn’t beautiful.
The Eifel region where I live is full of beautiful farm fields and fresh air. (alfotokunst - stock.adobe.com)
Even the people in Germany are great. They look scary, staring at you as you walk past with frowns on their faces, but the second you smile and say “Guten Morgen!”, they eagerly do the same. I definitely don’t speak German, but people appreciate effort. For example, suppose the cashier or waitress you need to talk to only speaks German. In that case, you should try your hardest because I guarantee that when you do, almost always the German you’re talking to will be incredibly supportive throughout your struggle and errors. I feel like in America, we don’t give the same amount of grace to non-English speaking people when they try their hardest, and we should.
Something else that is different in Germany is that I always get nervous when I’m out and about. It is not the nervous part that is different, as I’m generally a nervous person, but what’s different is the things that make me nervous. That is, anyone can clearly tell I don’t belong here. Every single German teenager dresses the exact same, I swear to you. For girls, it’s dark wide-leg jeans with some sort of boot, a black or white shirt (maybe a turtleneck), and a white or black puffer jacket. For boys, it’s jeans, white sneakers, a black or white t-shirt, and a black or white puffer jacket. I don’t know how they tell each other apart. I don’t even mind the style that much; it’s just that everyone looks the same, and I can’t imagine how boring it is. I do respect the hustle, though. It never fails to make you self-conscious when you’re the only one dressed differently from every person your age. Well, unless you’re awesome and don’t care what others think, but that’s not me.
One of the best things about Germany or Europe in general is getting to try all of the food. Typical German food is usually meat, fries and some sort of vegetable, sometimes with a sauce, but just like America, there are many different places to eat with lots of different food. I’m a very picky eater with a sensitive tongue, so it wouldn’t be my place to tell anyone what good or bad food is, but if you visit Europe, one of the things you should be most excited about is the food.
Gelato is tasty! You should try some when you are in Europe. (Peeradontax - stock.adobe.com)
Something I can tell you is good without being completely unreliable is ice cream. Most “ice cream” places in Germany are actually gelato. Really good ones too! Gelato looks a lot like ice cream, but it is very different. Gelato is made of milk instead of heavy cream and contains no eggs, which gives it a smooth and silky texture rather than the fluffiness and creaminess of ice cream. Most places in Europe sell pretty good gelato, and I really like their more fruity options, but German places usually sell a mean Nutella gelato that you should definitely try.
If you ask me, the best things to visit in Germany are the cathedrals. There’s something about seeing what magnificent creations people were able to accomplish just with their hands that entrances you. The most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life is the Cologne Cathedral. Even going to the top of the Eiffel Tower was nothing in comparison to seeing the cathedral for me. It’s huge to start, and there are millions of tiny details carved into the stone by hand. I can’t even put into words how breathtaking the cathedral is. Look up a picture of it, and you’ll know why it is baffling that everything was carved by hand. That cathedral took over 600 years to complete because it is so astonishingly intricate. The inside is just as impressive. All of the walls and pillars in the cathedral are also carved with tiny, beautiful details, and a 30-ton organ hangs 20 meters above the floor. Go there. Pictures of it are good but seeing it in person is just a whole other experience. Seeing the black patina-covered stone hand-carved with millions of ornate designs towering for 157 meters will take the breath out of your lungs with its magnificence.
Cologne Cathedral is the most amazing thing I’ve seen. (Fokke Baarssen - stock.adobe.com)
I love Germany. I love living here, and it’s been one of the best experiences of my life. Germany is so beautiful, and it makes me feel like I’m in a fairytale.
But nothing compares to home. Being a military kid, I’ve never really known where “home” is, or where to say I’m “from” when people ask me, but I know it’s not here. “Home” is memories, and my fondest memories are with my family back in America. I want to go to Walmart, and I want to walk to a park with some friends, and I want to go outside and smell like wet dog again. I can’t wait to go back, but in the meantime, I am going to soak in as much of this fairytale life as I can.
