Week 26/26

The last week begins with countless questions: "What will it be like to hug our families and friends again after six months?" "How will we survive the drastic difference between tropical sunshine in Bali and the Ice Age in Germany?" "What will happen at home and will we quickly settle in?" "Does excitement for "home" outweigh the sadness that our world trip is ending soon?" But for now, we chose to ignore all these questionable things and make the last week together as beautiful as possible. During this time, we stayed in a small Balinese villa with our own pool. Pure luxury for very little money! We mainly spent the last week relaxing and taking various leisurely trips in the surrounding area. Our favorite destinations were all the cute little cafes with incredibly delicious food. Whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there were various healthy and mainly vegan dishes or exotic fruits. Exactly to our taste and definitely something we will miss about Bali... But we also explored the shopping streets and markets to find some last souvenirs or gifts. During the week, we met up with different friends we made during our journey and spent a few lovely hours together. One highlight of the week was the Balinese cooking class with a friendly local. Together with an Australian couple, we learned many different recipes from the traditional cuisine. It was very interesting to see how and with which spices everything was prepared. But more importantly, it was incredibly delicious and we had cooked it all ourselves (well, with some guidance... and we didn't survive without any cuts!). Happy, full, and filled with joy from our newly acquired skills, it was clear that we would cook the learned recipes for our families in Germany. To experience everything typical once again, we treated ourselves to another Balinese massage as a farewell. Because who knows when we will get a 90-minute massage for €8 next time. So that means: enjoy every second! Soon, we will have to say goodbye to the island, the food, and especially the beloved sea. For all of us, this was very difficult, as we always had the opportunity to simply go to the beach in the past few months, which was a very wonderful advantage of our freedom! Soon, it won't be sun, warmth, and the sea anymore, but rather snow, fog, and cold. But we will also survive that... we don't know how yet, but we'll figure it out. We also took it upon ourselves to prepare a little slideshow for our families. As we clicked through the various memory pictures on our laptop, memories came flooding back. Each picture told us a story, an experience, and various emotions. Sometimes, they are beautiful shared moments, impressive landscapes, or funny situations captured in the picture, or they have a completely different background story, and sometimes, they are not so pleasant memories. But that's part of it too. Often, we laughed our heads off in the evenings over one or the other failed snapshot. But above all, we started to realize something very important: in the last 6 months, we flew around the world, saw countless beautiful places, met new people, and collected experiences of the most diverse kinds. In numbers, this means: 4 continents, 10 countries, 23 cities, and probably twice as many towns where we stayed overnight, 6 dream islands, 17 international airports, 11 flights (including the return flight), countless hours on planes, 8,000 km driven by car, 2,740 km traveled by buses and trains, many people met, each with their own story to tell, beautiful beaches, and even more impressive Nature.Yes, we all have to process that for ourselves... Even if we don't know exactly what the future will bring, there is one thing we can be sure of: no one can take all of this away from us. Together, we had an unforgettable time, together we mastered everything. All of this has connected us and it will certainly not be our last trip. Our little family will not stop discovering the world! With a smiling and a crying eye, we board the plane. Only 18 hours and a layover in Doha separate us from our families, friends, and our real home. However, home will still be with us!