I can’t believe I have reached my last full day in Munich! The day was spent packing, cleaning, saying goodbye to friends, and taking one last walk around this beautiful city. Tomorrow, I will take the bus to Frankfurt, and then I will fly back to Orlando the following day. Although I have to say goodbye to Munich, I am blessed to have an extra day in Germany. I have flown in and out of the Frankfurt airport before, but I have never actually gotten to see the city. Frankfurt’s nickname is “Mainhattan” because its skyline resembles Manhattan, and it is located on the Main River. Skyscrapers are generally not permitted to be built in the city centers of German cities (for historic reasons), but Frankfurt is the exception. After getting used to Munich’s big “town” feel, it will be interesting to explore another city in Germany with the big “city” feel, even though Munich is technically the larger of the two cities.
After a day of exploration, it will be time to return home. I am happy to be going home, but I am also sad to leave Germany. I’m interested to know how I will handle the reverse culture shock. Flying first into Miami, and then connecting to Orlando, I have a feeling I will be greeted with a mixture of English and Spanish, but I will probably be wondering why no one is speaking German. When people discuss football, I will silently have to remind myself, “oh, right—American football”, and I will also have to get used to driving everywhere again instead of taking the subway or a tram. With two heavy suitcases and a backpack, I will stumble onto the threshold of our great country once again, and I will behold it with new eyes.