It’s hard to believe, but somehow almost two years have passed since we last visited the family in China. Back then it was Chinese New Year—an event best described as New Year’s Eve on steroids: fireworks, endless food, chaos, joy… basically a full-body cultural workout with zero recovery day.
This time we’re flying back after the New Year celebrations, returning to our “chosen home.” And yes, “chosen” is a flexible term. My wife, of course, wants to see her family—and I… well, I’ve grown strangely accustomed to living in a permanent state of on-call son-in-law duty. She has—just in case I haven’t mentioned this out of pure selflessness—an elderly mother, three brothers, and three sisters. All of them incredibly warm, incredibly kind, incredibly interested… and also incredibly alert whenever the topic of “so when are you FINALLY coming back?” comes up.
From 26/03/26 through 17/04/26, we’ll be right back in the middle of the Middle Kingdom. A multi-day detour to Nanjing is also planned—my former home, where I lived and worked for nearly three years. It was a fantastic time. So fantastic that when I first returned to Germany, Germany felt exotic: bureaucracy, gray buildings, Aldi. You know. The classics.
My wife’s brothers—one a banker, the other in trade—are also delighted by my job in the brewing industry. German beer culture meets the Far East, and suddenly it’s not just eyes lighting up… it’s probably business ideas too. Both have excellent connections in the local economy, which is basically gold in a smaller city like Dongxing. No, it’s not Shanghai. Or Beijing. Or even remotely somewhere with multiple international airports. But Dongxing has… a vibe. A small border city next to Vietnam, right by the sea, tropical climate, lots of charm, and—brace yourself—actual tourism potential. Who needs megacities when you can have palm trees and Vietnamese tour groups?
And right there—yes, you heard correctly—we’re hoping to finally make a long-held dream come true: a small craft beer bar. My experience meets family infrastructure. What could possibly go wrong?
(Other than, you know… everything. But hey—cheers.)
Flights are booked, locked in, and this time we even included checked luggage, which in 2026 basically counts as aristocratic privilege. No absurd detours, no 48-hour purgatory layover in Dubai—just Munich to Beijing, then onward to Nanning. Our second home. Or third. I’m losing track. My passport certainly has.
Oh—and the daughter is also flying to China: from 03/03/26 to 17/03/26. Not a fun trip, sadly, but the next chapter in her epic dental treatment saga. At some point she started getting her teeth fixed there—probably because Chinese orthodontists smile more convincingly. Now they need to check whether the bite still fits. She can’t stay longer because—surprise—university is calling. (How rude of higher education not to coordinate with our family logistics.)
Final verdict: Tickets secured, plans set, braces inspected—and maybe, just maybe, there’ll soon be German craft beer with an ocean view in southern China. If that isn’t globalized romance, I don’t know what is.
