10 months left.

Yes, that’s right. We have a little less than 10 months left in Germany. I heard the news today and since I am a big planner, I already came up with a rough schedule for the next ten months until we are heading to DC. My main concern is school. I need this degree so bad in order to have a foundation for the next years to come. The big question was and somewhat still is: How am I going to finish my last semester (of classes) next summer since we have to be out of here by next June when I will still be in class? Well, some of you might think that I can just stay here a few more months and then follow Collin to the States a little later. It is not as simple as you might think – not when you are in the Army. I am ‘attached’ to him and his contract. We came here through the Army and we need to leave through the Army. It would be a lot harder, more time consuming and also more money consuming if I wanted to stay in our current appartment for a few more months. We NEED to move together.

My plan as of now is to just take a maximum of 14 days off for the move. However, I would miss two weeks of school but since there is no attendance requirement in German colleges, this is not a problem. Also, I am taking as many classes as possible next semester which will add up to a total of eleven classes and thus eleven finals. This means that during my last semester of classes next summer, I will only have four more finals left to take which is not very much at all. I would fly to the States with Collin, set up our place, fly back to Germany to take my finals and then fly back to the States again to start my internship. While in Germany, I can stay at my best friend’s who lives near Nuremberg. This is my rough plan so far considering school, which, to me, sounds pretty manageable so far.

On the other hand, there won’t be a German wedding that I have dreamt of and longed for for so long. I have been planning it in my head and have been setting money aside but this money will be needed for the travelling and the extra expenses that might occur while in Germany because I won’t be able to use the convenience of having a military post near by since those are only for those currently stationed in Germany.

You gotta see this. It’s amazing.

Website: Where the Hell is Matt?
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Back from Austria.

I have been back from Austria for a week now. It was such a fun and adventurous vacation. We pretty much went on different hiking routes every single day except for one day that we spent at the swimming pool since the weather was really sucky. All in all, we probably hiked a total of over 40 miles if not more. Instead of writing where we hiked every day, I decided to just post some pictures. Here we go:

The first day shortly after we arrived: We already needed a bench to rest.

Of course, after reaching the Alpine hut we had to have some coffee and cake there.

On day 2 we reached our first peak.

After that we hiked to another Alpine hut. This picture was taken along the way and reminds me of an outdoor clothing ad.

The well-deserved lunch after a four-hour hike and before our long descent that was still ahead of us.

The dog of my dreams and I.

The whole family: me, my dad, my mom and my sister.

One day it was raining all day, so we decided to go to the swimming pool.

My sister and I underneath a glacier.

This was taken during our last hike. Shortly thereafter we got lost because the hiking path wasn’t marked anymore. We ended up taking some mysterious trail that lead us to the next village where we were surprised by a huge thunder storm. Trust me… it wasn’t fun. I was scared to death.

And here it ends. I want to take Collin here or maybe go somewhere else in the Alps. I would love to do a hiking vacation where you just hike from one Alpine hut to another and spend the night there. We will see how much time we have after he gets back.