It's over, bye, bye...

Last entry in the logbook!

Celle, 18.08., weak wind from north-northeast.... Drizzle.

Captain Schröder pulls in the sails.

So it's over now!

That's so terrible!

And what do I write now, what else should I tell... the big (wise) conclusion, a tearful farewell speech, a guide for aspiring sabbatical year travelers?

Please, no!

Mr. Schröder, pull over, relax, and say 'Goodbye!'.

That's how we do it. Relaxed, relaxed...😀

Beforehand, I had a little and a really bad

fear:

First there was the worry that it would completely get out of hand financially and I would have to collect empty bottles in the faculty and secretly bite into sandwiches.

(Yes, wonderful colleagues, you didn't know that, it was me! And really stupid that little Timmy from class 6c got kicked out of school for it. Really unlucky for him. But life isn't always fair.)

The really scary fear that really tormented me in sleepless nights:

What if I'm chasing a dream that doesn't fit me? What if it's just stupid and terribly boring?

I've never really traveled alone before. So what if I got tired of it after 3-4 days?

This thought really stressed me out beforehand.

And then there was the terrible accident, just before it started. A week before the trip, they diagnosed me with a suspected foot fracture. What happened again? I can't remember. But it was definitely cool.

Was I shot while fleeing? Did I save a grandma from an approaching ICE train?

Did I save several mothers and daughters in a wild fistfight in Morlock?

No, wait, I remember: I stepped on an acorn in front of Penny on Heeseplatz. 🤭

Wow!

All worries turned out to be completely unfounded!

It really wasn't expensive at all! I paid around 1000 euros for the training. But it was definitely worth the story. Otherwise, I managed fine with my monetary means.

Boredom? I definitely didn't have that...

And the foot? All good, at least it wasn't broken.

So what did I do in those seven months?

- Four weeks as an emergency medical technician in Berlin

- Two weeks internship at the hospital in Vienna

- First great trip: Berlin - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest - Prague - Copenhagen

- Vacation at home:

Four days on foot around Steinhuder Meer with Mom and Sister, Julian's baptism in Hanover, Aunt Ulla's birthday, and Easter with the family

- Five days as a Red Cross instructor in Münster / circus in Gelsenkirchen

- Two weeks internship at the hospital in Berlin

- Second great trip:

(fly from Berlin to) Bucharest - Sofia - Thessaloniki - Tirana - Dubrovnik - Ljubljana - Munich - Zurich - Amsterdam

- Four weeks internship at the ambulance service in Celle

- Two great concerts in Munich (Rod Stewart and Elton John)

- Emergency medical technician exam week in Berlin

- Last trip -with the family- to Strasbourg (How nice to have you!)

What else needs to be said?

Thanks to Annette and Cord for putting up with someone like me for sooooo long. It was beautiful with you and with you! ❤️

And really: My friends in Berlin ... I won't let go of them. They have become even dearer to my heart!

I did it: I went to the movies at every stop! Bääm! 🎉

Little Lea, it was nice to meet you.😀 I hope we stay in touch.

Melanie, thanks for 'Yellow Brick Road'.

I love traveling by train, somehow also by bus, but my buttocks still hurt from the bus tours.

I have definitely become a fan of hostels!

Europe! I ❤️ you! 🇪🇺

I visited fourteen countries and completed training as an emergency medical technician!

Honestly, it was wonderful!

Thank you for the beautiful time, for this great gift!

And what's next?

I'm going back to school. The colleagues are great, they are so warm-hearted and open-hearted, friendly. 💞

It works great with the students in the first two days too. They're just great! 🚀

What really annoys me is the administrative work, the formalities, the tight regulations, the hectic pace, the lack of serenity here and there...

But hey, that's school!!! 👻

.... Logbook closed!

Captain Schröder leaves the board!

And as I said:

Goodbye!

(I'll let you know when my next sabbatical year starts...🤭)