Why City Life Isn’t Always the Best to Explore

Greetings from Germany!

I’ve moved from the Bavarian countryside to spend the last five days in Frankfurt. I’ve been here many times, travelling through the airport, but never actually took a layover to settle in + explore.

My first reaction was, woah, overwhelmed. Coming from small town Bavaria where the cows practically slept next to me, to a buzzing metropolis with skyscrapers being built in every corner it had me in for a bit of shock. Now I lived in the city of Vancouver for 10 years so I’m no stranger to city life. The hustle + bustle, the loud noises, diversity of people + idea that each neighbourhood has its own atmosphere, it’s just…well been a while.

On the flip side of the intensity of such a place, is the diversity of ethnicities + cuisines. I indulge in a vegetarian peanut noodle dish (twice) from The Noodlemaker, a delicious tofu + halloumi wrap from the street vendor at Sool Imbiss, + tried the Frankfurt Grüne Soße (green sauce) + Apfelwein (apple wine) at Apfelweinwirtschaft Frau Rauscher.

Outside of exploring the city, I had a “lazy weekend”. I spent a good portion of time in my private hostel room working from my bed, binge watching YouTube + just doing a bit of nothing. Only staying in a destination for 5 days is relatively short for me + creates a feeling of guilt that I need to see everything asap. However, with this long-term travel lifestyle I’ve tried to remain realistic that lazy weekends are normal + needed. I'm working on protecting my energy levels, finding balanced meals + checking in with my mental health, which is what I did while in Frankfurt.

This week I’m off to country #27! You’ll have to wait for next week’s newsletter to find out where 😲