After the conclusion of EURO2024, we entered a transition period from full-time work to full-time travel. We were both overdue for some time away from the office after an intense few months of dedicated to work. There was some uncertainty if there were any last-minute opportunities to work or volunteer at the 2024 Paris Olympics and we had kept this time open in case anything popped up. But because we eventually had an open schedule, we decided to jump online and start researching a short holiday somewhere in Europe. We weren't quite sure where to go and most of the hotspots were quite expensive to book last minute, so we decided to be a bit spontaneous and book a ‘Surprise Flight’ to a mystery destination in Europe. Both Lufthansa and Eurowings offer this last-minute option, where you can choose a travel ‘style,’ pick your dates, pay around €100 for a round-trip, and then let fate reveal your destination! We booked ours just a week before departure, choosing “the great outdoors” as our adventure theme—and soon enough, we found out we were heading to Gothenburg, Sweden!
The flight to Gothenburg actually left from Düsseldorf, a city around 2 hours by fast train from Frankfurt. Our good friend and colleague Lauren kindly offered to let us stay at her apartment for the night, and it was bittersweet as we only had 10 minutes cross-over with her before she left for the airport herself! A date night in Düsseldorf was just what we needed after a long time apart, and we truly made the most of its reputation as ‘Little Tokyo’. We had really missed Japanese cuisine!
Flying into Gothenburg, we were greeted with lakes, forests and a thousand tiny islands in the archipelago below. We were a little torn with deciding what to do with our 6 days in Sweden at such late notice, as it was still peak school holiday season in a region we had never even heard of before! To be honest, all we really knew about Sweden was the famed singing group ABBA, and we were a bit far away from Stockholm to check out that museum. So, we landed on 2 options to get outdoors while here - either kayaking along the coast or canoeing in the Dalsland lakes region. We decided on the latter and were thrilled to take on learning a new skill together, canoeing!
Before heading out of the city, we spent a day exploring Gothenburg. A small and compact city, it was so lovely to wander through the cute old suburb of Haga, the endless city parks and enjoy the Swedish tradition of ‘Fika’. Fika (pronounced 'fee-ka') is the Swedish tradition of taking a break in one's day to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and a little something to eat, usually a baked good like a HUGE cinnamon roll. Yum!
Another memorable highlight was Slottsskogen park, super central and home to many different animals. We also popped over the vibrant botanical gardens, one of many we have now enjoyed around the world. Maybe one day we will actually get into plants, flowers and gardening?! It was fun to sleep in a Boat-Hotel (or ‘boatel’) on the canal, and we enjoyed a rainy night in, watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics from our cabin onboard.
After an eventful few days in Gothenburg, we set off on the train north to the lakeside town of Ed. The train was very efficient, and we laughed at how surprised we were that it ran perfectly on time after our experience in Germany. It even had a cute kids playground carriage, and of course every announcement was repeated in English. Very tourist-friendly! Being in the peak European travel season, and also being a Scandic country, it was a little hard to find somewhere affordable to sleep. After some sleuthing, Jelley came across an renovated train station accommodation on Google Maps, with just 5 reviews. It was a bit of a risk, but it ended up being a delightful little stay and exceeded all expectations!
Ed reminded us a lot of Moana on Lake Brunner in the West Coast of New Zealand. Wholesome and family-friendly, the vibe was mostly locals enjoying their holiday houses or parked in their motorhomes. We took a short stroll around one of the lakes, heading toward the town's main tourist attraction—the Dalslands Moose Ranch! Neither of us had seen a moose before, and our knowledge was limited to Luke’s summer camp song: “There was a great big moose who liked to drink a lot of juice.” Little did we know just how big these creatures really are! Adult moose can stand between 1.5 to 2.0 meters (4.5 to 6.5 feet) and weigh anywhere from 360 to 680 kilograms (800 to 1,500 pounds). Huge!
At the ranch, we were grateful to see these gentle giants in a large enclosure where they could graze peacefully. We even spotted a couple of adorable baby moose which were super cute. The staff provided branches for feeding and ensured our safety, as moose can be quite aggressive. They also educated visitors about moose, sharing interesting facts, including how their oily fur offers natural waterproofing in the forest. While we’re usually a bit skeptical of tourism operations involving animals who should be in the wild, this felt like a genuine conservation effort. Watching them graze was really cool, though we still hoped for no surprise encounters in the wild during our time in the Swedish wilderness!
After a fun time moosing around, we were ready to prepare to embark on our outdoor adventure and learn a new skill together - canoeing! We wandered down to the head of Stora Le lake, which measures nearly 70km (43.5mi) long and terminates over the border into Norway. We were renting our canoes from ‘Kanu King’, and the rental shop setup reminded us of a cute American summer camp. Much like the one next to Pinecrest Lake in California. The shop was actually run by a German guy from a town near to Dortmund - we couldn’t escape the ‘Genaus’ for long!
Kanu King had all the gear to rent us that we would need for the next 3 days. One cool thing about canoeing compared to kayaking is that you can bring a lot of gear with you, just load it up into watertight barrels and put inside the large canoe. We were told 'the more gear the better' because it helps with stabilising the boat during paddling. We were also provided with a vague map of the lake and an explanation of how the camping rules worked in Sweden. Although we bought the official campsite permits, we were informed of the ‘Right of Public Access’, or ‘Allemansrätten’, which is a principle, protected by Swedish law, that gives all people in Sweden the freedom to roam free in nature. Sleep on mountaintops, by the lakes, in quiet forests or beautiful meadows. Take the kayak out for a spin or experience the wildlife firsthand. Pick berries, mushrooms and flowers from the ground – all completely free of charge. The only thing you have to pay, is respect for nature and the animals living there.
After a brief tutorial on how to sit in the canoe and paddle, we were ready to set off. Canoeing was a fun new experience for us, though we found it a bit tricky at first. The canoe felt much larger than a kayak, and adjusting to the size of the vessel took some getting used to. Since we only had one paddle, we learned the essential “J” and “D” strokes for steering. Luke, seated at the rear, took on the role of the “steering wheel,” while Jelley, at the front, provided the power. It was a real test of our communication—just another item on our long list of “if you can survive this as a couple, you can survive anything!”
Our first day started off quite windy, and we faced a headwind that was unusual for Stora Le. During our briefing, we were told that the wind typically flows in the opposite direction (south to north) which made our progress slow. However, we eventually reached our first destination for lunch which was a lovely little lakeside waterfall just as the wind began to die down. Feeling re-energised, we decided to cross the lake, but as we made our way across, we were suddenly caught in a flash rainstorm, and the wind picked up once more. Rough first day!
By this point, we were feeling a bit tired, and we took another break at a little cove. It turned out to be so relaxing that we even dozed off in the sun! After about an hour, the wind calmed down, allowing us to continue our search for a camping spot for the night.
We couldn’t believe our luck as we found the perfect spot to camp! The only challenge was finding somewhere accessible to unload the canoe and pull it to shore for the night. We tried one spot which was too rocky so we doubled back and found another nice sandy beach to park up on. Another challenge of canoes is finding where the park the thing! Our little camp spot was absolutely stunning, and we thoroughly enjoyed cooking dinner, watching the sunset, and soaking in the serene atmosphere of a private lakeside camping spot.
We woke up feeling good the next day, greeted by a completely calm lake, a stark contrast to the windy day before. Our plan was to cover a similar distance up the lake and camp at or near an official site. After just a couple of hours of paddling, we circumnavigated a small island and stumbled upon an idyllic spot for a lunch break. The clearing in the woods was spacious, flat, and wonderfully secluded. It was the optimal place to pitch a tent, though we’d originally planned to paddle a few more hours. But this spot was too perfect to pass up, so we decided to settle in and make the most of it.
We set up camp and spent a blissful afternoon exploring this little oasis. We took turns paddling in each other’s roles (Jelley in back and Luke in front of the canoe), and strolled around the island. As evening came, the sunset painted the sky in gorgeous colors, making the experience feel truly magical. This whole experience was so special, and exactly what we needed to reconnect after a few months apart.
On Day 3, we traced our path and returned to the head of the lake to return our gear. It had been a magical journey, but we were also ready for a hot shower!! Rather than go back to Gothenburg, we decided to stay in our cute train station apartment again and enjoy a nice meal at ‘the Local Idiot’.
We took the early train in the morning to get to the airport to part ways again, but just for a few days this time! Luke had to exit Schengen to conclude his work visa and transfer to a tourist visa, while Jelley was still working for a couple more weeks wrapping up her role and went back to the office in Frankfurt. It was just a short trip to London, but Luke got the chance to see Greer and Andrew / Victoria for the last time in their London apartment before they headed back to New Zealand! Luke also got to try on Apple's new Vision Pro headset which was a funny highlight for him.
After a few days of watching the Olympics on TV, we quickly realised a 4 hour train journey was all we needed to take to be part of the action in Paris, and we felt a little crazy for not being there! We were so close, and Luke had never been to an Olympics before. Jelley had some inside knowledge from working at the past 2 Olympic Games, and was excited to have this opportunity to attend solely as a spectators together without any obligations! It was an easy task for Jelley to craft a quick 4 day itinerary to Paris and get some last minute tickets. We landed on a day at the Canoe Sprint / Kayak, for a near guaranteed medal race for the women’s K4 including Dame Lisa Carrington, and the men’s Water Polo semi-finals. Luke had been a competitive water polo player all through school, and it was an epic opportunity to see some of the world’s best at the Olympic Games!
The Canoe Sprint venue was some way out of the city, and it was HOT! We had the cheap standing room only tickets, with no access to the grandstands on the finish line, but we lucky enough to sneak though for the medal ceremony to see New Zealand’s gold. It was really cool to wander through the venue, and we mostly based ourselves in a shady spot near the start line. With the course only 500 metres (whereas the rowing at the same venue is 2km), we still had a pretty good vantage point of the action, and it was a really neat experience. Jelley in particular was filled with pride at the New Zealand anthem being played, and all of the Kiwi boats raced incredibly.
The Water Polo was EPIC, especially being in the venue where the Olympic Swimming events had just concluded. A unique feature was the use of technology to enhance the fan experience, by projecting videos and entertainment onto the pool itself. Luke gave Jelley a crash course on the rules of the game, including the game that was played beneath the surface of the water, which was rather aggressive! The Serbians in particular spent the maximum time in the penalty box, but still came away with the win over the USA. This was the closest Luke would get to fulfilling his childhood dream of competing in an Olympic aquatic event!
We loved the chance to catch up with former colleagues and friends working in Paris during the Olympics. We spent a couple of evenings at New Zealand House—a dedicated venue on the Champs-Élysées where Kiwis could gather to watch the games and celebrate the country's successes—and enjoyed sharing stories and memories with old friends. A real highlight was witnessing Lydia Ko’s moving welcome after achieving her goal of winning Olympic gold in golf, solidifying her status as a New Zealand sports legend. Being here made us feel reconnected to New Zealand. One amusing surprise, though, was realizing that Jelley’s accent isn’t quite the classic Kiwi one anymore when comparing to her to her kiwi colleagues! Luke's American-isms must be leaving a mark.
There were a few Olympic 'must-dos' we wanted to check off our bucket list on this trip—seeing the cauldron with the Olympic flame, the iconic Olympic rings, holding the Olympic torch, and, of course, visiting the Eiffel Tower! We also tried to visit Champions Park, a free-admission venue at Trocadero across from the Eiffel Tower, where medalists walk a ‘catwalk’ to celebrate, and various entertainment events are held. Unfortunately, since it was the last day, the park was fully booked so instead, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at a nearby garden bar with our friend and fellow colleague from EURO2024 and Birmingham 2022, Kate.
After a such an enjoyable time in Sweden & Paris, it was time for us to make our way back to Frankfurt to prepare for our move out of our flat. We had SUCH a great experience at the Olympics in Paris though that we immediately started making plans to return back to Paris again a month later for the subsequent Paralympics!
Much of August was spent back in Germany farewelling our colleagues, who now felt like family and many of them lifelong friends. Everyone was finishing their work contracts at different times, and this month was surprisingly emotional! Jelley is usually a realist about these types of things, but had formed such a deep bond over the long days shared together that it was tough to imagine a life without this Frankfurt family! Many of us had travelled from all over the world to base ourselves in this unique city and deliver this iconic football tournament, and we had become a tight-knit family, a long way from our own homes. We are really grateful for the people met along the way, especially Jelley’s team, and know that somewhere in life our paths will cross again!
Jelley had one final work trip to Warsaw, Poland, to help with the 2024 Super Cup Final, the last event of UEFA’s event calendar (before the next season started just 3 weeks later!). It was awesome to reconnect with Swiss colleagues, and spend this final week with Carmen & Anita, Jelley’s closest 'work family members'.
While football is the ‘national sport’, it is actually volleyball where Poland excels, and the Polish national team were staying at our staff hotel sporting their new Olympic silver medals and celebrating their successes, which was cool to witness. The football stadium was very impressive in Warsaw, and the city had a really cool vibe. It was a great way to conclude the work contract in a relaxed environment with a very fun team.
Farewells at the end of an event are always the hardest. Anita, Carmen, and Jelley were some of the last ones left in the office in Frankfurt, reluctant to say goodbye. Jelley wasn’t quite ready to end it either, so she convinced them both to book a trip to Paris for the Paralympics in September, so we could prolong the farewell process.
Carmen, in particular, had become an integral part of Jelley’s life over the past 7 months. From the initial hiring process to being so welcoming when Jelley first moved over, Carmen’s support as line manager and project leader made all the difference. Whether they were taking walks in the woods spotting deer ("bambi's") or forming a deep friendship, Carmen had well and truly became Jelley’s “work wife,”. Jelley had arguably spent more time with Carmen in 2024 than Luke!
It was finally time for Jelley to finish work and help Luke with the final bits and pieces to move out of our Frankfurt apartment that we had called home this year. We truly loved our apartment, and were sad to be closing this chapter, although very excited for the next one.
Our full time job for the rest of the year would be organising the most important event of all - our wedding in New Zealand! We had a lot to catch up on here, and it was fun to have the time to dedicate ourselves to this special project. And what better place to do this, than on the road travelling again together!
One final mission in Frankfurt was to finally visit a museum - it was crazy that we hadn’t been to one yet when the city is so famous for it. Our favourite Frankfurt friend Anita took us to the Stadel Museum, which was very impressive, and of course followed by a final 'kaffee und kuchen' (coffee and cake)! We were storing some of our winter and work luggage with Anita, and would be returning in November to much shorter and colder days, but it was time to say 'Tschussi' for now.
The sun was setting on our time in Frankfurt, and we enjoyed some final sunsets as Frankfurters do, along the Main river. We wanted to close this Germany chapter with some reflections on the things we will miss the most, and not miss at all about living here…the list is non-exhaustive, and every time we hear a German pronounce ‘Ja Genau!’ when travelling, it reminds us of something else funny or odd from our time there.
Things we will miss about Germany:
The People! We met an incredible group of colleagues who became family throughout this experience, not only from Germany, but also Switzerland, Colombia, Bulgaria, Mexico, UK, The Netherlands and all over the world.
Our apartment and having a home base.
Access to wonderful live classical music. Something special we don't get at home.
Seeing Turrets Amongst Skyscrapers - this never got old, the history of living in Europe.
Castles. They’ll never stop being cool.
Squirrels!! The special red ones with fuzzy ears. Absolutely adorable and guaranteed to bring joy to your day.
The Random Festivals - as the days got longer the festivals and street events got more lively!
Day Drinking. Boy do Germans love day drinking, especially outside! A trend Jelley loved to get behind, especially at Kleinmarkthalle.
German Windows. Wow. Genius. Still haven’t figured out the magic of how they open 2 different ways, but we were equally impressed with every building being double glazed and warm. Maybe that’s just compared to the cold old window of NZ.. Also Luften. Actually a big fan of this German requirement to open your windows and circulate the air daily.
The Parks. So many gorgeous greenspaces, and it’s so nice to see locals really enjoying life in the parks. We were so lucky to live next to one of the best!
Being able to take a train to so many cool and interesting places. The train provider (DB) aside, it was awesome how connected we were and that we didn’t need a private car to get around.
Bakeries. German bread is so yummy.
Odd Things in Germany We’re Not Sure if We’ll Miss or Not:
White Asparagus. Never heard of it, but we were there during the season and it was surprisingly fun
German Bedtime Stories. More like horror stories. Google it!
Recycling. Can’t say it’s a bad thing that we’ll miss, but there were literally 7 different coloured bins which was just confusing. Plus, the ‘pfand’ system, where you can return specific plastic and glass bottles to a machine at the supermarket for a refund, but it is very unclear which type of bottles, as Luke learnt trying to deposit a wine bottle into the machine and causing a huge outrage and shouting match at the supermarket haha.
Football as an obsessive quasi-religion. It was incredible to experience and hard to describe. At times, it was far to aggressive at local club matches, but during the Euros with the national pride
Eurovision Song Contest. We’d never watched it before or really understood it. Our friend Anita watched the finals with us and explained the oddities along the way, and we kinda rate it! It made watching this movie a lot more relevant after experiencing the real thing! Windows95man was robbed though.
Das Brot. Germany’s famous cartoon character is a depressed loaf of bread.
Green Sauce and Schnitzel. It's pretty good, but not sure if we'll miss it lol.
Words & expressions. There are too many to list, but these are some that will stick with us for a long time..
Ja Genau ('Yes, exactly'. Although it could mean anything it is used so often!).
Roter Goer, toter Goer (Literal translation of 'Red goer, Dead goer'. An expression a German may shout at you if you jaywalk/cross the road on a red light).
Tschüss , Tschüssi , Tchüssikovski, Tchüsseldorf .. (all variations on the same word, an informal way to say goodbye, and the sillier the better).
Hä? (This one is great. Similiar to 'huh?' in English, but somewhat less polite).
Things We will Not Miss About Germany:
The Deutsche Bahn (DB). Whoever spread the rumour that Germany has the most efficient public transport system in the world is sharing #fakenews
The dreaded “dong of death” announcement—always in German, always at least 30 minutes late.
Luke’s DB luck was especially bad...
Trapped in a tunnel with no power for 20 minutes in total darkness, followed by the cheerful English announcement: “Have a nice day!”
Mistook an undercover inspector for a homeless man asking for money.
Sat near a “smelly bag lady.” more than once.
Jelley’s colleague fell between the platform and train after a sudden platform change and near stampede.
Chaos at the train station after every Eintracht football match.
Four months in, Jelley accidentally took the wrong train and ended up far from Frankfurt resulting in a 90 minute uber.
Endless train strikes.
Hauptbahnhof (central station): A truly sad spot with severe drug problems—best avoided.
Supermarket Shopping. Actually, most of the things we won’t miss about Germany revolve around the supermarket haha.
Supermarkets being closed on a Sunday. And not being allowed to do housework on a Sunday or generally make noise.
Supermarkets in general … google translating things, not finding enough ingredients to make a meal, having to pack our groceries faster than the speed of light, getting shouted at..always a traumatic experience for a foreigner!
Rain. We’ve never lived somewhere that it has rained so much!!
5 Different Types of Flour. What the heck. Luke never figured out the right one to make normal tasting muffins!
German Customer Service. Or the lack of. Being a paying customer often felt like more of an inconvenience to them than anything else.
WiFi. Not sure how in 2024, but the internet always seemed to be so slow for us in Germany. Even in our work office.
Excessive taxes, fees and insurances. We avoided paying ‘church tax’ (a large deduction of your salary if you tick a box upon city registration that you’re religious), but didn’t get out of the ‘broadcasting fee’, effectively a mandatory TV tax even if you don’t own a TV. Thank goodness we didn't have a dog and have to pay a 'dog tax'.
The power of paper and paperwork. Digital signatures are not accepted here. Often a case of printing paper, signing it, scanning and returning by email.
Potatoes / Kartoffell. It was too much - while we were privileged to be fed during the football tournament, literally every single meal revolved around potatoes.
All in all, this was an unexpected and memorable chapter of our lives coming to close, and we are grateful to have had this opportunity both personally and professionally to live and work in Europe.
Now that we had wrapped up our work life in Germany, it was Jelley’s turn for a trip out of the Schengen zone for the formal transition from work visa to tourist visa. Instead of our usual social visit to London, we decided to explore new horizons together in Scotland, which is where our next post will begin with our Highlights of the Highlands.
Until then,
- A Kiwi and A Cali
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