Kingston - Montreal - Frankfurt

If you can't sleep, you just drive. Anyway, I set off way too early and head towards Montreal. With very mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm also looking forward to being home because this trip has given me so much inspiration. On the other hand, saying goodbye is not pleasant either. So I stop only once and take a few last impressions of Canada with me. My flight doesn't leave until 19:00, but I got the rental car earlier than expected. From then on, time is always in a 24-hour rhythm. That means if I return it later than 13:28, I have to pay an extra fee. And that's really expensive. So it means spending 6 hours at the airport, not exactly my favorite activity.

The return of the car itself is totally hassle-free, and the guy from Quebec who takes my car is very nice. Unfortunately, I have to give him some not-so-great news because I have a chip in the windshield. But he takes it very calmly. And so do I, because I'm well insured. I used to actually rent cars without fully insuring them. I wouldn't do that anymore. 

The airport here is manageable and feels totally empty to me. Luckily, I can drop off my suitcase. However, I need to repack. It's too heavy. Why do I buy heavy souvenirs anyway? A totally silly habit because you can't please everyone anyway. I think I need to change something there. My name is mentioned again during the security check. "Wolfgang" is a real problem. Even though I didn't like the name for a while in the past. My beloved Tim Horton is also here, so I can gather my thoughts with an English Muffin and a Hashbrown. And there are quite a few of them. 

Last year was the worst year of my life. I can't remember anything worse. The isolation and school drove me to the brink of madness. It was all truly horrible, and not being able to travel made it even worse. This trip has shown me that life is too precious to let it pass by like this. And that's the impression I have. I've seen more in four weeks than in the previous 18 months. Of course, it wasn't easy because contacts were hardly possible. But even these small conversations that kept happening were uplifting.

It was also a journey into the past. I thought about many people who are no longer here. First of all, of course, my father. Somehow, he was there too. Then I often thought about my grandparents, who never traveled far. I hardly knew them because they died when I was still relatively young. How I would love to talk to them now. Then I thought about my mother whom I haven't seen for so long. I'm glad she's still so fit. She was always in a good mood and wrote to me almost daily, and I replied with voice messages. She was somehow there too. This blog is especially important to her. 

Then I thought about the English and my best friend Wolfgang. I've never not seen them for this long since I've known them. I've always managed well on my own, but I miss them a lot. And I look forward to the day when I see them again. 

Then I thought about deceased artists who have brought me so much joy and who are no longer here. Freddie Mercury, Rik Mayall, John Candy, Rudi Carell. Weird combination. But I really miss them and it struck me here. And then I often thought about my colleagues who have to teach under these circumstances. I always found it horrifying. I feel so sorry for the children. It's really enough now. No fifth grader deserves to experience such years. To see his classmates more with masks than without. Completely leaving out facial expressions and gestures. No partner work. No group work. Simply terrible. This pandemic is the worst thing that could have happened to these children. School has become almost purely administrative. Only at the end of the school year did something like fun emerge. That often fell by the wayside. I admire how some people at my school still persevere with this positive energy. Our principal in particular. I really hope that this year takes a positive turn.

I had to think about all these things on the long car rides here, and they often made me cry. But then I got to see this incredible landscape. Get to know great places. And Canadians who are simply a very kind nation. It is an absolute privilege to be able to do something like this at times like these. And I will take this positive energy home with me. That's what I really wish for. I want to consciously experience this sabbatical year. Even at home.

Travel cleanses the soul, but that's only lasting if you let the impressions work for you at home. Memories are important because being aware that there are moments you can remember at any time - that's the great gift you receive. And I got to experience that again. I want to experience that again. Until next time.