2021 was the year we moved to Germany. Before the castles, the cathedrals and the hiking trails, there was our last spring in Maryland, and then the day we arrived in Wiesbaden. This post is a look back at the whole year.

Fort Meade, Maryland

We spent our last spring in the States at Fort Meade, Maryland, and the kids made the most of it.

Tadpoles, Snakes and a Buffet

The stream and the woods near the house were the kids' territory, and our last spring there was a good one for it. In April the boys found tadpoles.

We released the tadpoles into a calm area of the stream.

The kids always found snakes. This small one was feeding on the tadpoles, like it had found a buffet.

The Canada geese had a good spring too.

Bags Packed

The bags are packed, and we're ready to go.

Arrival: Wiesbaden

We landed in the Rhine-Main area in mid-May, and of course the first stop was one of the most famous places in town: the golden domes of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Elisabeth on the Neroberg in Wiesbaden, which the locals call the Griechische Kapelle ("Greek Chapel").

The rest of the year was about getting our feet wet in Europe: wandering around Wiesbaden, exploring up the Rhine in Rüdesheim, just beginning to learn some German, and taking the first steps on the Lahnwanderweg.

Looking Back

This view over Wiesbaden at dusk is from the Christmas market on November 27. It was a good place to look back at how far we had come in one year, from a puddle of tadpoles in Maryland to a new home in Germany.

Possum et ego.