Yesterday somewhere in Wisconsin. We just had that great party at my friends house. All these wonderful people coming over to grill, eat, drink and talk.

Most of them I’d already met one or two times on former visits, some not. And it was such a good experience to have the chance to be together with so many open-minded, smart, interesting, lovely people.

Why do I feel the need to tell this?

Because there is a lot of rejection, misunderstanding, whenever I talk about how much I love to visit the US. I’m not blind to the reality in this country, on the contrary, I try to stay informed about the political situation. But when it comes down to the point why I like to come over visiting, then it’s (now) mostly because of the people.

Well, sure I like the nature too, all the great National Parks, the driving through the country, the campgrounds and short visits in those fascinating big cities.

Sometimes, when people ask me ‚which part of the country do you love most‘, I have fun answering ‚Wisconsin‘ – you should see their faces, probably thinking something like ‚we always knew Germans are kind of crazy‘ ;-).

Over the last few years I added some more special places like Indianapolis and Marco Island, though the farm in Wisconsin with all its ‚inhabitants‘ hopefully will always be my home far from home.

So this is a huge THANK YOU to everybody out there, making me feel so welcomed in your country, and a reminder to all of us, don’t simply judge, listen and talk, cause it’s all about the people!