Almost a year ago we left Charlotte and started our new life in Cambridge UK. Although we settled in well and we’re home now in good old England the whole family was looking forward to the first two weeks of summer break which we spent in Charlotte and surrounding.

Early afternoon, June 30th we stepped out of Charlotte Douglas Airport into the heat of North Carolina and we felt immediately home again, the smell, the sky, the streets, the houses, the friendliness, the sound… if as we never left!! The first night we slept  in an apartment in uptown, right next to the ball park. The next couple of days we stayed with friends in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina. We visited UNC Chapel Hill, one of the oldest public universities of the United States and the flagship of the 17 campuses of the University of North Carolina system. Especially the sports facilities are impressive, the Smith baseball center for example can take hold of 21’750 spectators and the Kenan football stadium even for 63’000. And yes they have a 50m pool and a soccer stadium, soon I’ll start with the family internal scholarship preparation program…

On the 4th of July we ran the obligatory 4 Miler in the morning, for the first time in Raleigh. It was hot, hilly and sweaty nonetheless a lot of fun and a perfect memory of our Raleigh days. Afterwards we hit the road again to be back in time for the Independence Day pool party at our friends house in Charlotte. A fabulous evening and great catch up.

The next days we spent in Charleston, South Carolina. For me one of the most beautiful cities in the south of the United States. I visited this charming harbor town already a couple of times but I’m over and over again impressed by the beautiful buildings, cobblestone streets and the southern friendliness. And there is always something new to discover, I could stroll for hours through the historic streets of Charleston. I always wanted to run the Cooper River Bridge run, a point to point 10k from Mt. Pleasant to downtown Charleston but it never worked out with our schedule. This time I did my personal river bridge run, round trip with a picture stop at Patriots Point.

Back to Queens City for the last couple of days, meet ups with friends, shopping, movies, trampoline park, aloha nails, pool afternoons, tcby, river rafting at the whitewater center, Wimbledon, Texas Roadhouse and some runs with my favorite running buddy. Live is good!!

I hope I’ll have this strong emotions once if we’re coming back to visit Cambridge in a couple of years. It’s a good feeling to have a home far away from home!!

Last but not least a huge thank you to the G’s and M’s which hosted my loud and crazy family during this two weeks. Thanks for brilliant entertainment, interesting conversation, delicious food and for your friendship, it’s highly appreciated!!