Places in Polaroid #2

#2a Mannheim, Luisenpark
#2b/c Ludwigshafen, the best place ever

One month ago i left this place for good. Incredible people, so many incredible memories, better weather than my hometown and the feeling that it will always be my second home ♥

Memories

my bike arabella
the scribbled note of a friend saying バイトがんばって！ (good luck for work!)
the point card of my favorite café
a tumbler i don't really use, but got as a present from a dear friend
a book i like, but haven't looked at for a long time
the plant i always forget to water
the goldfish glass without a goldfish

i've got exactly one car load to transport all my belongings from ludwigshafen to berlin. clothes, books, cds, kitchen stuff, furniture. everything has its use and meaning, but somehow everything is just weight i carry around. is it better to throw something out and buy a new one instead or is it worth to drive it 600km to berlin? what is really essential? not only in a practical, but emotional way? it's so hard to decide what to give away or throw out and what to keep. i love keeping things that i associate with a certain memory. that's why my room is always messy, that's why i still have that ticket from a concert six years ago. oh, it's going to be hard...

Home is where my heart is

my little sister had her prom last weekend. she looked all fancy, pretty and awesome with her boyfriend. i think, my little sister is not so little anymore. she's all grown-up and going far far away.

so i took a nine hour ride (NOT normal) from the south of germany to berlin to see her graduate. when i got out and waited on the track of some random train station i've never been before, i took a deep breath and... and... felt at home. the people! the cool breeze that i only feel in berlin! the busy atmosphere! but still somehow relaxed! and especially the messy subways, this is where i feel i belong to. this is where i grew up, where i took the bus/subway/train/bike to school, loved and hated it every second. everyone tells me what an awesome city berlin is and i appreciate it since i know not only the super cool party hard and long side of berlin, but also the exciting feeling i had when i was twelve taking the bus to school every day.

thinking of home, i can name three places:
berlin, nagoya, ludwigshafen.

i am lucky to can call these places home, because whenever i visit one of these cities, there is someone welcoming home. my real family, my host family, my study family. it is this feeling that you love them unconditionally even if they are dirty, not pretty and not the most exciting place in the world. i had the great opportunity to live, work and learn to love these places and despite feeling at home i realized one thing:

i love traveling. i hate being forced to stay in one place the whole time, i just want to go out there and discover new worlds! traveling is purely awesome, but whenever i had to move to a new town and live there, i learned the most about the culture, myself and my own country. well, that is what i want to do! and that is how i decided to become a nomad.