Back to the Present

If you hadn’t noticed, we took a break from posting for a few months – 10 to be exact. But hey, at least it wasn’t a full year! The time has truly flown by and I have very much missed interacting via this platform. I want to take the opportunity in this post to explain why we paused the blog, catch you up on our lives, and kick things back off!

The decision to take a break from posting was intentionally made because we were stressed and busy. Work has been mentally taxing. We didn’t feel comfortable broadcasting the experiences of our life overseas for this reason and because our life in Germany is logistically tied to my job.The climate didn’t feel particularly accepting, so we simply focussed our efforts inward. These work and world stressors have not been eliminated, but for the better or worse, we have become accustomed to dealing with them. While I sometimes feel unsettled by things, I realize that many others are dealing with similar or more difficult struggles. I figure it is better to share than stay isolated. I also figure it is better to focus on feeling good and reflecting on positive thoughts than to worry. During the time away, I have still kept up with writing and am happy to be able to share again with you all! As before, we will keep the blog content focused largely on travel, leisure, and cultural immersion topics. We have stayed busy and can’t wait to fill you in on all the fun!

One thing keeping us so busy recently was training for our first half-marathon. This was a particularly big milestone for me, having recently rehabbed from an ACL replacement. Austin and I completed an intensive 2 month training plan leading up to the October 12th race. I honestly feel proud to have accomplished the full training plan in itself which included 3 runs every week. Once we built up the stamina to converse while jogging, our long runs became a sacred weekly activity: time set aside to enjoy nature and motivate each other. We discovered some beautiful trails to utilize in the Garmisch area and found great joy in the process. 

When it came to race day, the main challenge we faced was the difference between running on a gravel trail and road running. We did most of our training on trails. Running for 13.1 miles on city streets was admittedly a little tough on the knees 😆 Overall running our first half-marathon in Munich was an awesome experience though! The 2025 München Marathon was the largest running event in the city’s history, with 28,500 participants across all races. It was fun to be a part of this and feed into the energetic atmosphere. There were crowds of people cheering and numerous bands along the way to keep us motivated! The route ran through iconic areas of the city including Olympia Park and Marienplatz. We completed the half marathon together in 2 hours 16 minutes, just under our goal time!

In addition to running, we have also been traveling a lot. In the past 10 months we went to Italy, Mexico, twice to the US, and most recently to Norway! We also visited a few new locations in Germany itself and attended some fun events. I intend to highlight some of these in future posts. Austin and I both purchased the final pieces of our traditional “Trachten” outfits to wear to all our favorite Bavarian festivals. I purchased my Dirndl in town after trying on what felt like more options than I did to find my wedding dress! After hand embroidering Austin’s Lederhosen straps, I have embraced embroidering as a new hobby and have been leaning back into my artistic side after what seems like far too long. All these things not to mention we have been enjoying our local friendships, biking in the region, and hiking new trails as the weather permits.

I think that pretty much brings you up to speed on our present state of affairs 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the update and that you will stay tuned for new posts. We have taken some steps to improve the website and hope that it will provide a better platform for emailing our subscribers. If you haven’t already, sign up to receive emails in the “Post Notification” box below! We look forward to sharing with you!!