Darmstadt
I lived in Darmstadt for six years – unbelievable – and now I've been away for almost six months for the first time. I've rarely thought about Darmstadt during this time, but if I do think about Darmstadt, I realize how much I appreciate it.
On the one hand, during normal times there are cultural events that I miss, most of all the events that are free for everyone, like the monthly event “Die besondere Platte” where a DJ presents his all time favourite vinyl records to an audience inside a small theater. Usually it's music you don't casually discover on Spotify and it's a nice experience to just enjoy someone else's favourite music with your friends and a few other strangers.
Then, on the other hand, there is just a good availability of everything you could need. You have cheap supermarkets like Netto, Penny, Lidl and Aldi, intermediate supermarkets like Rewe and the more expensive supermarkets like Tegut, Alnatura or even Terra Verde if you feel really fancy today.
But these are not the important part. Here in Norway, you can also get everything important at Kiwi, Meny and Rema 1000.
The most important shops that I miss in Norway compared to Darmstadt are the shops for creatives like Format or Gieselberg where you can buy virtually any type of paper or sketchbook, any type of pen or pencil or brush or paint, blades for your cutters, clay for modeling, Molotow markers and spray cans for... well.
And then you have the model building shop Modellbau Profi just around the corner where you can buy not only model airplanes but also all sorts of materials, tools, glues... Actually there is no other place where you can get a bottle with 20 g of super glue for 3,95€, so my boss in the small workshop opposite of Tegut buys his super glue right there.
Then there's the parks of Darmstadt like the Bürgerpark right where I live. A lot of space to fly radio controlled airplanes, but also a great opportunity to take a walk, if you like even further trough the green triangle between the next suburbs of Kranichstein and Arheilgen.
I miss these long summer walks with friends.
What I will miss when I'm finally back in Darmstadt after 10 months are probably things that have already become part of normality for me in Borre. The view on the fjord in the morning with the blinding reflections from the sun, the long bike ride, the loud greeting by my 75-year-old colleague Per, the days full of work, the regular lunch breaks with a salad and a coffee on the terrasse in the sun.
The ride home, the feeling of being home in my own place, making some food, having the evening just for myself, going to bed early, sleeping long by sleeping early.
Getting up with the sun, making coffee in a pot, eating proper breakfast before starting my ride. The view on the fjord in the morning.
And the view on the fjord during a walk on the weekend.