This is it. Our new hometown Santiago. Isn't it big?!

During our first week, we did what all new arrivals in Santiago do: climb up Cerro San Cristóbal and soak in the superb panoramic views! We were overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city – and sometimes we still are. Up there we also had our first encounter with traditional Chilean drinks... or should I say food? It's called mote con huesillo, and something like syrup-water with cooked dry peaches plus wheat. In summer this mix is very popular, and despite the weird ingredients it does taste good.

After Peru, Chile was already waiting! We knew we wouldn't be "home" for long, so we tried to make the most of it. The first day right after Florian returned, we joined the crazy party crowds at the carneval in Mainz. Putting on silly clothes, singing "Helau, der Himmel ist blau!" he re-integrated into German culture in no time. The following days we got together with old friends and shared stories about Peru. We also resfreshed our snowboarding skills in the beautiful winter landscape of Winterberg. And we were lucky - one week later spring arrived and all the snow melted away.

Summer in Europe was as good as it gets, although we were up to our necks in wedding preparations. It felt good to stow away the big suitcases for a while and have clothes in a normal wardrobe instead. From March onwards Florian and I even shared the same way to work, as I got an internship position in Frankfurt. Still, no chance for daily routine, time went by too fast...  Four days after the wedding I had to take my last crucial exam at university. I passed... :-) And in September we started labelling moving boxes again. At this point many of our wonderful wedding presents helped bidding farewell, for example cruising on the river Rhine, along old castles and beautiful vineyards. Thank you Mario! We also listened to a very last classical concert in Wiesbaden's spa hotel. Thank you Anne-Dore and Christian! Also we treated ourselves to some great Riesling at the annual Rheingau wine festival. One weekend we made a permanent mark of our love in Wiesbaden's urban forest. Let's see if we manage to visit this spot every time we visit Germany! But for now: Tschüß Deutschland! Tot ziens Nederland! Bienvenido a Chile!