Last week I was walking through my Boston, feeling bestranged. Noticing, maybe more than ever, how much I am not American, sensitized towards differences. Factually, nothing has changed really after the election of Donald Trump, at least not yet. And not for me anyways – as a white Western European. My feeling has, though.
Last week my feeling towards this country has been deeply challenged. I have known for a while now that my appreciation for the United States stems from the fact that it presents me with great career opportunities and a way of going about life that is harder to find in Germany. Settling in a part of town that could easily be mistaken for a European city, spending my leisure time with other immigrants, and ultimately dating an immigrant enables me to be very much European in the America.
Last week I was, once again, amazed by the beautiful landscape & hospitality this country has to offer. Driving through the states of New York and Vermont, tasting Pinot Noirs, hiking Green Mountain trails, replenishing.
I have long accepted the fact that while Germany is my home, it is not the place where I am home. Yet last week it became very clear that I also do not belong to the US. And that is ok. Ok for now, especially after such wonderful fall memories of 2016:

The Head of the Charles Regatta. Don’t let the sun fool you, it was bitter cold!

This is a shot from the Mystic Fells, just north of Boston

What a sunrise. I still get up every morning and admire the beautiful skies Boston suprises me with

If it rains, it rains…But November has this power of creating a mystic mood.

This is my colleague on Halloween. He eventually realized that working in this will be hard…

German “Abendbrot” with Eliza for the last presidential debate…who would have thought…

After New Hampshire’s White Mountains, we discovered Vermont’s Green Mountains last weekend. It was just the right temperature, and as always, a beautiful sunny day.

Wine Tasting at a lonely winery in upstate New York. Lots of fun!