I’ve officially lived in Germany for over four months, and I’m definitely not ready to leave. Even though I still have a lot of time before I go back to Austin (my finals are in June and July), every day I come up with something that I’m sure I’ll miss when I go home. Most of them are little things, because those make the most difference. So here are the top 10 little things I’m going to miss about Germany, in no particular order:

10) Apfelschorle. Why do we not have apple soda in America? This stuff is amazing! I’ve even got a favorite brand—I prefer the southern-made Adelholzener to the more common sugary-sweet Lift. Either way though, if I’m going to drink soda, 90% of the time it’s got to be Apfelschorle.

9) Rewe. I’m the kind of person who gets overwhelmed in HEB. There’s so much to choose from that grocery shopping is usually an exhausting experience for me in Texas. Here, the grocery stores are really small (think about the size of an average Dollar Store) so the selection is more limited, but I’m also more comfortable. The food is super cheap—at Rewe, my local supermarket, the store brand yogurt is 30 cents per serving! Plus the individual cups are about twice the size of an American yogurt. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on food.

8) Automatic coffee machines. Germans are technology geniuses. Their machines are fantastic, and one thing they’ve managed to build is a machine that makes coffee like a barista. It brews the coffee, steams the milk, and adds chocolate for a mocha if you’d like, all at the press of a button! Plus, it’s fresh and you add your own sugar to taste. I really want to take one of these back with me.

7) Walking everywhere. I never realized just how big Austin is until I came to Koblenz. In Germany, just about everything is within walking distance, and if you can’t get there by foot, the public transportation system is awesome. I really enjoy getting to see the city and all the different houses by walking places—and it’s healthy, too!

6) Nature. The forests in Germany are so thick that when you walk through them, it’s dark, even on the sunniest day. The shade of green in the trees right now is so bright; I guess I’m seeing “real” spring for the first time in years! They love their flowers here, too, and the climate is perfect for gardening.

5) Medieval Churches. They’re so common here that hardly anyone pays attention to them, but I just love to visit old German churches. They’re so beautiful, and even the smallest ones are incredibly intricate. Plus, they’re about all you can get for a skyline in Germany so the spires are always really beautiful.

4) Afternoons on the Rhine. Nothing is more relaxing than an afternoon by the Rhine River with friends. I love to take a walk, sit in a Biergarten, or drink coffee outside a café. There’s a big grassy area that’s good for picnics and reading, so even schoolwork is enjoyable along the Rhine.

3) Being able to hear myself think. I don’t know if America is particularly loud, or Germany is quiet. It could be both; either way, it’s good to be able to think or to relax without having to find the quietest spot. There are plenty of them!

2) Day trips. It is so easy to travel in Germany! And it should be—the entire country is smaller than Texas, so some of the most interesting things to see are all within an hour to a days’ train ride from where I live. Even London is only 2 hours away by plane! Coming from someplace where 2 hours doesn’t even get me out of the state, that’s amazing.

1) Speaking German. I’ve really fallen in love with the German language over the last four months. I don’t speak it perfectly or fluently, but I really enjoy listening to it and studying how it works. It can be a challenge, and some days I’d rather speak English, but I think I’m going to miss hearing German all the time—including the different accents and dialects. Listening to German is like listening to music; I can hear the melody of the language because it’s not my native language, and that makes it so beautiful.