Why I HAD to Leave Germany 

Thank you for watching! And don't worry guys, I might not be living in Germany anymore, but I have some AWESOME content planned for you :)

The neighborhood you're walking through looks really nice 😊

Happy studying, I wish you all the best! :)

"The bread in Germany is better than the bread in my dreams"....."like watching HDTV for 1.5 yrs and going back down to standard definition"....LOL...God i love you!!!!

I grew up in one of the U.S.'s "megalopolises," but decided at the age of 14 I was going to get out. I finally moved out permanently when I was 22 and am now months from being 70. I like small towns (under 3,000 people), nothing bigger than the 7,000 person town I live in now and wide open, remote, rural areas with a very low population density that is found in the western portion of the U.S. I lived at a ranger station outside any town at all for a number of years that did not have commercial electric or phone service, with the nearest store (about the size of most gas station convenience stores) was 45 miles of dirt road from the ranger station. I love day hiking, backpacking and cross country skiing (both day and multiple day trips). I love climbing peaks (peak bagging). I visit cities as little as possible. I love wilderness and high elevation areas. I love fishing in mountain streams and lakes. The tiny doses of those things in Europe would cause me to become claustrophobic, as does spending time in the eastern U.S. I'm retired from the U.S. Forest Service and worked nearly all of my career in field going positions primarily in recreation management and in the last 10 years that had very high recreation visitation year long and on one of the most heavily used international visitation routes in the country. Nearly everyone of them I spoke with, no matter what area of the world they lived in, remarked about the wide open spaces and great distances we have between towns and cities. One of the primary reasons the U.S. has a huge trade surplus in tourism is because of its outstanding public land system, which, in my opinion, is the best in the world. I don't have to travel to other countries to come to this conclusion, people from those countries would walk up to me and tell me so. They often had no idea of how large the states on their maps are. They asked me about the planned route of the next day and when I told them they would need 4 nights in motels to complete it, they are shocked and I'm sure many walked away not believing me. Your comparison of the two countries is based on living in cities and I enjoy watching your videos to learn about different cultures, but I'm pretty happy where I'm at. That's good too as we don't have enough money to travel, not even in the U.S. much, in our retirement years. As a result I travel vicariously on RU-vid!

Be careful with drivers who pass on the right. That was one of the hardest things to retrain myself after moving back to the USA.

I loved discovering/seeing my country through your eyes, but...sighs...don't stop making content!! I'll enjoy discovering your part of the US through your vlogs

Congratulations for being accepted for the programme:) Interesting comparison between Germany and the US. I fully agree about the issue of people being more outgoing in the US. Eaven if it is sometimes superficial in anglo saxon countries, all those nice interactions with strangers in the streets, in shops etc. can be so refreshing. I can fully understand that the best part is being closer to your family now, especially after being overseas for more than a decade. Enjoy and al the best for the university programme:) Looking forward to your future content here!

Habe deinen Channel erst heute entdeckt, ich finde deine Videos super! Toll, dass du in Mainz gelebt hast, ich lebe auch in Mainz und bin sehr zufrieden mit meiner Stadt. In dem Sinne viele Grüße aus Mainz nach Washington DC!

"It's better than the bread that I eat in my dreams" LOL Made my day.

In most places in Europe, if you ask for tap water in a restaurant its free. Cant speak for everywhere but in Austria and Bavaria the tap water is as good as if not better than bottled water, as it comes from the alps.

I've spent all morning watching your videos. I LOVE them! Listening to your thoughts on Germany vs. The US is pretty cool. Thank you!

Best of luck to you, Kelly. Love you!

Your neighborhood is lovely. Good luck with your studies and welcome back to the USA. Also, go do some shopping on Sunday! :-)

Congratulations welcome back

aww, good luck with everything. So pleased for you British hug sent x

Very interesting! I enjoy your videos

Thank you for your videos. I moved to Germany in 2000 to escape racism in the US South as well as to, I thought, advance my career. I stayed for 12 years. I loved almost everything but the bureaucracy. I felt magnitudes safer as a Black man and MUCH freer in so many ways. Not to say that there isn't prejudice in Germany, but is significantly different than in the US... My heart aches for Berlin!

You are so real, THANKYOU for your videos.

I found your channel several weeks ago right before I was about to move to Berlin to study abroad and I definitely found them so helpful and interesting! I am from the US, so I related to so many of your videos about being an American in Germany. I actually visited Mainz for a week in April because I have some friends studying abroad there and it's such a beautiful city. I will of course continue to watch your content and I wish you all the best being back in the States. :D

When we got back to the states also we miss the autobahn and the bread. I know how you feel.

I remember missing German bread most when I lived in the US. The closest I found was at an Amish market. Living in DC you should be able to find one not too far away. They bake bread very much like Germans do.

I do not only love your videos I also love the way you talk

Good for you to prioritize your education! Great to hear you enjoyed your time in Germany :) Wherever you go, you take a piece of that place with you once you leave and go to a new place, I feel like. Which is melancholic but also consoling in a way :)

'I never felt limited because of not having the possibility to pay with electronic cash. Actually not using it helps you to control your spending and not doing that spontanous buy that you later on regret.

The wish to travel so much in Europe will bring you back one of those days. Until then, enjoy being home and college.

Greeting from Mainz! 😉 Love watching your video.

Family is everything. So glad you’ve gotten to reconnect with yours.

Wait.. people you randomly met on the streets asking you personal questions about your weekend and such things? Why? I mean, greeting people or smiling at them when you're passing by is something we do in germany as well, but we do not stop and asking them things, when we never even met those people before. I find this very weird ;)

How sad that you have left Mainz so suddenly! But what a great opportunity for you in DC - congrats!! I hope to still see videos from you in the future 😊 Btw: When I moved to MZ, one of the things I noticed were all the shisha bars. There must have been a good dozen just around the corner from your (now former) apartment...

When I was a kid, we lived near Esslingen. The one thing I loved was that there were food trucks that had fresh fish hanging where you could get the best fish sandwiches. Oh, my, you are so correct with the bread.

Good for you getting to study again! Enjoy all of your new situation. Great observations about Germany and USA.

I love Germany and go there for a month every Christmas. It's almost like a second home but the good old U.S. is where I belong.

The highways in USA are far from a few years ago they are so bad I love German bread in Germany!

Kelĺy, you are amazing. Du bist die niveauvollste Bloggerin auf RU-vid. Deine Berichte sind immer objektiv und voller Wärme für Deutschland und Europa. Ich liebe deìne Videos. Bleibe uns treu. Greetings from Heidi

Welcome back! I attended GW as well.

being a Washington DC native, I love my city. That said, I have been to ten cities in Germany AND LOVED IT. I want to move to Germany. Munich and Berlin were my favorites.

Might wanna look for a german bakery in DC- many germans that have gone to US in recent years have opened bakeries and similar stuff , wherever german expats congregate (like southern florida )you surely find a german bakery &german butcher's shop in the vicinity ....germany embassy staff should know where the german expat community get its favorite foodstuff

Nice video! You can find Hookah Bars in various places in the states. I'm sure there are some in DC!

Thank you for sharing your perspective on life in 🇩🇪 and 🇺🇸

Germans really like cash. Sometimes there were public surveys and I think most of the people like it to pay in cash and don't want cash to be replaced by electronic paying. Of course it's an advantage not to have cash with you, then you can't get robbed and loose the money, but on the other hand it's good not to have "unlimited" money with you, because when you only have let's say 50$ in cash you can only spend them, whereas when you have a credit card or applepay etc. you can spend more then that, and tend to buy more (often unnecessary) things. Paying not in cash probably also makes you buy more things because you don't see the money you are spending. It's just a number on a display.

The "outgoing" people thing sounds really annoying to me as a German.

Excellent content! I haven't been watching lately.. Totally unexpected yet as intriguing as always.. You brought up so many great topics/talking points, from the state of the highway lanes and speed limits to the importance of pursuing an education and the freedom of enjoying smoking dens in Turkey...😂 I call that intellectual stimulation! Great neighborhood! I really like how everything is so green there! Is it flat or is the community amongst rolling green hills? I look forward to seeing more insightful content and the Capital through the eyes of a local resident!

a nice video =:) thanks for sharing your thoughts on your missings =)

Ask any German tourist about the biggest mourn being abroad. They will most likely reply that they miss their bread ^^

So the water in restaurants is free, but the food is expensive. Whereas in Germany you have to pay for water, but the food doesn't cost as much. In the end, your restaurant bill might not be so different.

I miss soooooo much about Germany! I absolutely despise the roads in the states, but especially here in Pennsylvania.

Welcome home Kelly!

Cash means freedom! Everything else is observation. Greetings from Berlin.

Germany would miss u I'm sure but u made the right choice for sure 🍻

Watching your videos is great and just a little bit surreal for me. My own life journey is currently going in reverse to yours. I'm originally from Germany, have lived in the US for many years, and am now about to move back. I think we can appreciate a lot of the same things. It's kind of cool to see it from the opposite side, though. P.S.: I agree you guys have amazing seafood dishes up in the North-East; if/when you visit Europe again, though, do check out Belgium, Brussels area. I lived there for six years and they have some of the best mussels ever. Also, northern Germany is really good when it comes to things like smoked trout - and the North of France has some great seafood soups and stews.

This is a good video!

even here in Germany IMO there is a major bicyclist annoyance, mostly in the summer. its called Rennradfahrer (racing bike riders) who refuse to use the superbly built bike lane by any means. Concerning the bread, I guess you should take the 3-year apprenticeship in Germany and spread a bit of German culture in the USA ;-) And I guess you have never been to northern Germany at the coast. There is as you can imagine good seafood. But in general you are right. Good seafood is scarce inland.

I guess the downside of the shiny German autobahn is that there are many construction sites slowing everything down -- and Germans complain about that a lot.

Welcome back and good luck at GWU, Kelly! I graduated from a Master's program at GWU last year and part of my concentration was actually Dutch and German art history/culture. I used to live near the Whole Foods by Logan Circle (P Street) and they actually had a decent ‘artisan’ bread section. Firehook might be an option if you’re in the Capitol Hill area. I’ve never purchased bread from them, so I can’t promise it’ll be German-quality.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!🙌

No more Mettbrötchen... or Spargel :(

You must not have truly absorbed all thee freedoms you had in Germany compared to the USA. If the bread is your biggest loss, you never became truly immersed in the culture and lifestyle. It's not the bike paths and Autobahn, it is the people. Lived there foR3 years and will be returning to retire there and enjoy each day of my life surrounded by educated, intelligent people who run their country with little corporate control, for the benefit of 98% of the population, not just corporate interests, I wish you great success here, but you will return once you see what this country has become.

Kelly you talking very fluently,it is a pleasure licensing to you.you explain very well,love your video

Hi Kelly.In Northern Germany seafood is more popular than in Central and Southern Germany. I'm sure there are several "NORDSEE" shops in Frankfurt where you can buy all kinds of seafood. I grew from then on up in Central Germany (1947-1971) and eating seafood wasn't a grat thing then. When I moved to Northern Germany (near Hamburg) I learned how delicious seafood is and I loved it from then on. In 1996 i was an exchange student in Missouri and i missed German food (and many other things) sooooo badly. I really enjoy watching your videos, Kelly wishig you good luck with your studies. Bye, Dieter

Bread care packages will be send to you by your boyfriend I assume. Enjoy your time there and all the experience with it.

Oh, i just got used to your videos. Enjoy your time in DC... I understood "hooker bars" till I finally realized that you probably meant "shisha bars".. and btw: did you leave your boyfriend in Germany or did he come with you? If this question comes across rude or too private, just don't answer it.. I just get sad if couples split up, so I hope for good news ;-)..

I truly enjoyed some of your videos, Kelly. Watching them I think you have already been a little germanized as I have been americanized. I have worked in the states (NC) for only 8 months but I have basically made the same observations. I might stress certain differences more and some less but overall I agree with all of them. I would like to add here that the friendliness you mentioned is indeed a huge difference. Some Germans might percieve that friendliness as superficial as they might expect a different follow-up but as soon as you get used to interpreting it the right way it actually simply lifts your spirit throughout the day. When I came back to Germany I continued to greet and smile at people on the street (obviously not in crowded areas) and was surprised on how often I actually didnt get any response at all, or a look that seemed surprised or unsure as to how to react to that stranger. So I gave it up pretty soon. As for the bread... try and find a German bakery in DC. There are some. They look mainly pastry oriented when I googled them but you might wanna try your luck. In Durham I found the 'Gugelhupf' run by German immigrants and they had pretty good sour-dough breads there, so... Adding a short list of foods I missed coming back to Germany: pulled pork, bbq southern style, five guys (sry, but I loved those burgers) and, strangely enough, hawaiian punch polar blast. Success with your studies and best wishes!

I hope you'll come back again somewhen👍🏻

Of course you can drive from country to country because European countries are VERY small in comparison to the USA. U.S. states with about the same square miles as European countries (different shapes but about the same "size"): Maryland = Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland West Virginia = Ireland South Carolina = Austria, Czechia Maine = Portugal Indiana = Hungary Louisiana = Greece Michigan = United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland Arizona = Italy New Mexico = Finland, Norway, Poland Montana = Germany California= France, Spain, Sweden TRIVIA du jour The country of Ireland has about the same square miles as the Navajo Indian Reservation. BUT Ireland and the Navajo Reservation have vastly different populations. 4,773,000 Ireland 0,356,890 Navajos For every person on the Rez, there are 13 people in Eire. 13 times as many people on about the same number of square miles!

WTF is Apple Pay? I guess I just supported your point. Btw, what a crappy name. Sounds like the middle ages, where you would pay for things with apples...

We have a German bakery in my town, Kruta. They are celebrating 100 years this year! I don’t know how close it is to authentic after 100 years, but their bread is to die for, you actually have to preorder it because if you don’t, it will be sold out when you go to get it!

Thank you Kelly for doing BOTH country comparisons in a positive light. So many on RU-vid who used to live in the States bash our country left and right and are not being fair. You are very refreshing!

Nur Bares ist Wares!

You can't get seafood in the Midwest? Clearly, you haven't spent time in any big Midwestern city. They have these things called airplanes. Seafood is flown in fresh daily and there are lots of amazing places to get seafood. Maybe as you're reorienting yourself to the U.S., you'll have the opportunity to find some great stuff that you didn't know existed. Also, comparing bakery bread from Germany to grocery store bread in the U.S. is a silly comparison. Compare bakery bread to bakery bread for a more reasonable comparison. There are some great bakeries in every big city in the U.S. I'm sure living in Germany was a fabulous adventure and there are lots of things that can be MUCH better in the U.S., but I would encourage you to explore the U.S. more. You might be pleasantly surprised. Good luck in your graduate program. :)

Good luck with your studies ✊

Kelly you were so lucky for that experience! I love Germany and make 5 trips a year. Autobahn, Christmas Markets, ICE train, Castles! I wish I could work there

err .. you're going back to the USA for Education? You did know you can have that in Germany for free and that Mainz has more than one university?

Free seltzer water and outgoing people? Definitely not California. 🤣

"The World is a book & those who do not travel read only one page." (St.Augustine) Welcome back, Ms.Kelly... and more power to you for investing in yourself on your education - Germany was a chapter in your life & this will be another exciting one...

Thanks Kelly. You are so goergous. Your way of comparing Germany and US is so clear, methodological, full of fun, exciting and very well presented. And beside all of this you are just so beautiful. I mean I dont want to look weird but I like you and love you so much

Kelly, you left germany. What about your man ?

Hooker .. bars?

wish you all the best for your new chapter in life :) totaly understandable decision. greetings form darmstadt with shoes still on :)

So glad I found your channel! I can identify with a lot of things you mentioned. I lived in Germany for 3years in the 1970’s. It does take awhile to readjust, so, be patient with yourself. I must admit I loved the numerous open air markets, but to this day, I rarely eat sausage (worst). Lol! I wonder if seeing little old ladies, in long black dresses, riding bikes is still a common sight? This always made me smile. Even back then, people did not use plastic bags for groceries and the streets were kept immaculately. I did miss my family so much, so, I was extremely happy to come home to the USA. At leastI know when the holidays are and there is always something open for emergencies. Well, congratulations on getting accepted into your current program! Education is the one thing that no one can ever take away from you! God bless and savor each class.

Kind of funny... most of the things you missed by being in Germany would not have been a thing in Norway. We got plenty of seafood. Very rare that a shop do not accept some form of debit or credit card. To me it seems 99% of bread in US is white bread. Its not very fulfilling or healthy in the long run.

Auf einmal bist Du weg? Nee, Kelly, tut mir leid, das war's...

Good Luck!! 🍀👍🏻

Latecomer to your channel, really enjoyed binge-watching your Germany vids. You are a great presenter. Question: What kind of camera mount and other equipment are you using? Thanks!

Well we can't have good roads and bridges here because...you know...we gotta build that wall.

Not a fan of D.C. the traffic is horrible and so is the crime... lived there before moving to the outskirts of Hamburg where I feel much safer. As far as German bakeries go... one word: franzbrötchen! I don't think I'll ever move back to the US. I fell in love with this place, and I'm very fortunate that I've got the opportunity to live here. I do miss things like 24hr stores/restaurants, and larger food portions but not too much.

Next time you move here, move to Bremen. You will find strangers wishing you a nice weekend and such. At least that is what I found. When I moved back to Germany after having lived in the UK for a while, the friendliness or mere politeness is what I missed terribly in other parts of Germany. Much success on your endeavours!

Love you so much from Turkey!

American culture is about individuals who do not want to contribute to others. My American friends do not understand why they should pay a dime for public ameneties like roads or sewer systems. It is a strange phenomenon. So, Trump gives billions to billionaires and millionaires, who are not affected by infrastructural problems, and only promises to do something about infrastructure because people want to hear that and then vote for him. But his gang will not really work on infra because it is not in the American culture. The degree of collective care is the principal difference with most other advanced cultures.

Glad you are back and safe from Germany Hopfully you learned how far left Western Europe has become

I switch from one video to another of you and "Wanted Adventure". I like this format of videos of you two. It is a "Heidenspaß" (the translator shows me "hell of a fun" - is this right?) for me to see your videos and I like the positive charisma of both of you. I will travel to the USA in the summer to visit my cousins ​​who moved to USA from Germany over 30 years ago. And this is my first time in the USA. I'm curious really looking forward to this trip.

Enjoy your new stage of life in Washington D. C. . I'm pretty curious to see how it will go on for you in this new town... good luck and maybe we’ll see you back again in Germany at same time...🌻

Bummer, I was enjoying your videos. All the best. My daughter went to GW.

Hi Kelly, I think you really hit the nail on the head. On almost all accounts😉. I just watched a few of your videos and I really like them. I’ve been living in the US for almost 28 years and being a German I understand a lot of the “things I miss about Germany” points, amongst other things you mentioned in your videos. I’ve been trying to get my point across for a long time to my peers. A lot of my friends here in the US can not understand things that can be NORMAL and good, “not 3rd world”(cause that’s what they think about every country outside the US), and still be good. The culture, the everyday living, the food and the festival ect. All the things that are great😊. Most of them haven’t been outside the state they live in(talking about my friends here). It has been a struggle to make them understand the things, great things, I might add, that exist outside of the US. By no means am I knocking the country I live in (US) but opening the eyes to the blind has been frustrating. Heck when I first came here, at my first job, a guy asked me if we had running water 💦 in Germany. I love the fact that you are explaining things that are fundamentally German through your videos. Keep up the good work 👍🏻

Oooooooohhhhh, Kelly. Thats sad! My Vlog Crush ius gone ;-) But congrats to the program.

Hey Kelly. You did it right, education is right now much more important. You always can return, after you're done. Btw: just bake the bread yourself, it's definitly not difficult and the incredients you get in the US as well. But if you get the incredients to do Spundekäs there... I would miss that more than any seafood ;)

I lived in Denmark years ago and still miss the bread so much!

Amazing video. Now I really want to go to Germany. Hope to meet you since your only 8 to 12 miles away. Good luck and best wishes

If you do miss the bread - you can make that yourself. It is really easy and does not take much time, you only need water salt and flour.

What bread I see from Germany is sourdough bread. You can buy the starter online and make your own. Super easy!