We just chatted about the incredible experience moving to Berlin was - all the growth, development, and opportunity. And incidentally, on the wake of celebrating our one year since moving away, we decided that we should do it all over again! Of course, the situation and reasoning were more complex; we always knew that Berlin was just one stop on our destination. And while we thoroughly loved our year in Germany's capital, the timing was just right to relocate (once again), and this time to a bit more of a familiar space.
So for what seems like the hundredth time, we began the usual purge - kept all the designer clothes, and began to donate all the other pieces. Went through kitchen and bathroom items, and began to systematically catalogue, organise and pack literally everything we own. You would think that with the experience of just doing this in 2016, we would be pros now, but nope, it definitely was just as challenging to narrow down and also to discard so many things. It was, though, a good second reminder of the stark way in which we consume, and some of the unnecessity of what we own.
Most importantly though, leaving Berlin was a little bit sad. We made some absolutely amazing friends and some unbelievable memories. People from all over the world make their way to Berlin, and we had the privilege of getting to know some of those beautiful people. These handmade cards we gave them demonstrated how now, as we left from Berlin, we took a little peace of both them and their home with us in our hearts. Cliche as this sounds, it really was these people we met and connected with that made our time as amazing as it was.
And so, we gave our hugs and said our goodbyes, and we packed our luggage one more time. A 2:47 am wake-up time led to a 6:45 am flight from Berlin to London. And from London, we took one more flight. But this time, it was a one-way flight to Canada. Throughout our last year of many, many flights, train and bus rides, taxi and metro rides - we couldn't believe that this was a "moving" flight. In the air so many feet over the Atlantic Ocean, Monika and I kept looking at each other and asking each other: "wait, we are moving right?".
The world has an interesting way of working, doesn't it? Every time we visited Toronto, we always joked that maybe one day we would live there. Of course, we never took it very seriously. And then, last September, during Paris Fashion Week, we had the chance to spend some time with one of my oldest friends (who now lives in Toronto), and even she joked that we should move to Toronto. And now, fast forward six months, and we landed at Pearson International Airport, went through customs, and are now calling #The6ix home.
I'm coming home but not really.
And while "welcome back" does seem right, and I am so happy to be back in Canada, it definitely is not being back at home. Yes, our bank accounts and social insurance is all still set-up for the Canadian systems, but we are now in a brand new city and figuring out neighbourhoods and groceries and temperatures and the cityscape. So once again, we are ready (and blessed) to set-up a whole new life and continue the crazy adventure that is our life. I hope you stay tuned!