German Summer vs. American Summer

In a moment of sadness that we didn't visit the US this summer, I got to thinking about all the things we love to do there. And then I realized that while it wasn't an authentic American Summer, we checked quite a few boxes on our preferred activities list in Germany. Like Such As:

County fair. Except it was Königstein's Marktfest (village party). County fair, German style.

Library binge. This was thanks to our friends' access to a library on base in Grafenwöhr. We took full advantage.

Hiking. Lots of hiking. More than we would do in the US, in fact.

Also: playing outside. So much.

Eating food. Specifically, pork products, fresh milk, ice cream, bread, and other delicacies we don't have in the UAE or don't buy because of prohibitive prices or poor quality. Our friends with access to the base even gave us some American treats like plain Cheerios, Gushers, Hot Tamales, and root beer.

Hanging out with (pseudo) cousins. OK, maybe I need to write a whole post about our friends Anna and Chris and their three kids. Because being in the same village as them for a month was the next best thing to hanging out with our siblings and their kids in America.

U-pick berries.

Temple.

Cheesy entertainment park fun. In Germany, it was Playmobil Land instead of Enchanted Forest.

Cold, rainy weather. What is the opposite of "I died a little inside"? Whatever it is, that is what I did when it rained so much while we were in Germany.

Music tourism. We got to know a few popular (?) German songs, and also renewed our acquaintance with quality Madonna, Michael Jackson, Genesis, and Neil Young oldies.

Turns out, German Summer did not mean giving up some of the things we most enjoy about American Summer!