Blog – Page 16 – Wayfaring With Wagner

In Expat Life

Smoking in Germany

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For as many times as I’ve visited and lived in Germany, this question still gets me. Why is smoking so much more prevalent in Germany than in the USA? I’d say on most issues, Germans are far ahead of Americans. However, this is one area where Americans are doing much better. None of my friends in the USA smoke and it is just seen as really disgusting by most people. Most states now have laws either banning smoking in public places or limiting it to help eliminate secondhand smoke. Furthermore, the smoking rates continue to drop in the United States.

In Holidays

Maiball!

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May 1st is a major public holiday in Germany…the equivalent of Labor Day in the United States. This year, May 1st fell on a Thursday which meant the celebrations lasted the entire weekend! While I didn’t do anything on May 1st (it was rainy and cold), I had quite an eventful weekend. It is safe to say that by the end of the weekend the score was Maifest/Maiball/Weekend: 1, Jordan: 0. Regardless, I had such a lovely weekend!

In European Graduate School

Graduate School: Second Semester

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I guess when I’m not writing this blog or traveling all around Europe, I sometimes attend graduate school (although I feel like a lot of my family members would disagree and say I never attend graduate school!)

In Blogging

German Expat Blogger Meetup

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This past Saturday, I attended my first expat blogger meetup! I was lucky enough that the location for this meetup was right in Heidelberg 🙂 I had stumbled upon the meetup via a series of tweets I had seen from some bloggers I follow (so I might have invited myself…;) ). Seriously, the blogging world is so big yet so small! It was so much fun meeting up with everyone…especially because we all came to Germany for different reasons and have a variety of occupations.

In Travel

Universal Studios // Florida

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My family has a slight obsession with Disney/Universal Studios! We started going to Disney World when I was 2 or 3 years old and it has been a family tradition to go yearly ever since. Once my siblings and I got a bit older, we started migrating to Universal Studios. Everything is self-contained (no cars necessary) so all of us kids can run and do what we like without my parents worrying at all.

In Estonia

Kadriorg Park & the surrounding area // Tallinn

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I spent one afternoon walking around Kadriorg Park. Kadriorg Park is on the outskirts of Tallinn and home to not only a huge park but multiple palaces, monuments, and art museums. I wish I knew how much was in this park because I would have dedicated more than an afternoon to this area!

In Estonia

Lower Old Town Tallinn

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Estonia was surprisingly a very culturally-filled city! I’ll be honest, I had many misconceptions about the country, its heritage/language, and the general atmosphere. Who knew that Estonia had been occupied by so many countries?

In Estonia

Upper Old Town Tallinn

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Everyone who follows me on Twitter probably got sick of my countdown to Estonia, which started at least a month before I left! I had the most wonderful, amazing, inspiring time in Tallinn, Estonia and my photos don’t do it justice. The colors of the city were mesmerizing and absolutely breathtaking!

In Personal

My baller sister

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I’ve been meaning to write this post for the past few weeks but I haven’t been sure where to start it. How do I sum up something that was my sister’s life for the past 12 years?

I started playing basketball in 5th grade and Loren followed me a year later. Growing up less than 13 months apart, Loren and I always did everything together. She always tells me that she started basketball because she saw me playing (whether that’s true or not, she knows it makes me feel good!). While we played different positions (point guard for me, forward/center for her), we were lucky enough to play on the same AAU basketball team where we had my Dad as a coach. After 8th grade, I gave up basketball. But Loren continued to play.

In Michigan

Polar Vortex // Michigan

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While everyone in the USA has been suffering from the polar vortex and horrible snow storms/temperatures all winter, Germany has been the exact opposite! We’ve received a total of 5 minutes worth of flurries. Honestly, I was really missing the snow and the experience of a real winter. Being from Michigan, I’m used to snow, cold temperatures, and a winter that lasts 6 months.