0. Before

I am a French national, raised and educated in France. English was my first foreign language at school, and German the second.
In the late 2000's, I spent a year studying in Berlin, as part of the Erasmus Exchange Programme.
I was very excited to go and live in the German capital city, as at that time, it was very "alternative" and affordable. It turned out that Berlin exceeded my expectations, in many good ways. I was blessed with exceptionally open and nice classmates, my rent in my WG was below 200€/month, and I was able to live on the scholarships I was granted for all my expenses, plus all my nights out once a week, including twice at the Berghain (!!) and my weekly Burger King's Double Whooper.
Unfortunately, I could not find a job in Berlin once graduated, so I had to go back to Paris where I landed a good position eventually.
A decade later, for professional reasons, I spent a couple of months in Frankfurt am Main and then almost a year in Düsseldorf, as an expatriate, meaning my flat's rent was taken care of by the company and I even received some daily allowances. Nonetheless, I was very happy to be back in Germany where I always felt that the quality of life was much better than in Paris: cheap organic food, cheap and delicious beers, good reliable transportation, lots of options for vegetarians or vegans, generally civilised population (compared to the rude Parisians).
Like when I had to leave Berlin, I was also sad to say goodbye to Düsseldorf.
The Germany I experienced and the Germans I met left me with a positive impression: the Nazi past is still remembered but I felt they wanted to prove that they were distancing themselves from their grand-parentsby showing more openness and respect. I never felt that they were attached to their traditions and wandering in the streets of Berlin or Düsseldorf, never have I felt that I was walking in the remains of the Third Reich in term of architecture or culture.
Therefore, when another opportunity to live again in Germany came last year, I was thrilled.
"Eh ben mon vieux, si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas venu"