My December ‘25 and my 2025 in Review

Some in my blogging circle have already published their 2025 year in review, so I want to continue my tradition since 2019 and write a review of my own. But first, a few words about the past month.

December 2025

While December is usually a rather quiet month, 2025 turned out quite differently for me.

On December 1st, I started my new job. Instead of the automotive industry, I’m now working on product development in the IT security sector. There was and still is a lot of new stuff to learn, many topics to dive into, and new processes and workflows to get used to. So far, though, it’s fun and interesting, and the people are nice.

Our plan was actually to alternate celebrating Christmas between my family and my fiancée’s family each year. So, we rented a car (there were also a few things to transport) and drove to Southern Germany on the 23rd. Unfortunately, of all things, we had a positive rapid flu test in the family on Christmas Eve. To be safe, we cut our visit short and drove 6 hours back during the afternoon and evening of the 24th. We spent the two Christmas holidays in quarantine. Fortunately, we were spared from the flu, so we were still able to visit my grandmother and relatives from the USA over the weekend.

Combined with the fact that I worked “between the years” for the first time this year, a real Christmas mood or that typical holiday peace didn’t really arise, but oh well, maybe next time.

We spent New Year’s Eve with a friend of my fiancée and made raclette. Somehow you feel so grown-up when you buy your first own raclette grill. And misjudging the amount and buying too much food is, I think, also typical.

The year 2025

2025 was truly eventful for me.

The year started with renovation work and two moves. This allowed me to reduce the number of apartment keys on my keychain from three to one. Meanwhile, we have settled in well in the renovated apartment in Braunschweig. Sure, there’s always something to do (and new manual skills to learn in the process), but so far we feel quite comfortable here and enjoy the space we have. Everyone has their own office, currently even with its own sofa. Recently, we also got a large new sofa for the living room, which is being used extensively.

Occasionally I do miss Kassel, though, especially when it comes to cycling. While cycling in the city of Kassel was always quite difficult due to the geography, the bike path along the Fulda, in particular, always offered a great route for sporty riding and made tour planning quite simple. In Braunschweig, preparing a ride takes a bit more effort. In the meantime, however, I’ve discovered some nice routes here too and was out on my bike often again in 2025, which I also adjusted a bit over the course of the year. My distances or speeds aren’t crazy, but with a hobby, not everything has to be crazy; the main thing is that it’s fun, and it is! And even an accident with a sprained hand couldn’t change that.

I didn’t do training with Freeletics quite as often. I did a few workouts every now and then, but there was nothing really regular. Maybe more again next year …

Another highlight in 2025 was the trip to Scotland, which we survived without illness this time. We were on the road for two weeks by train, bus, ship, and rental car; we stayed in accommodations but also went camping, did a lot of hiking, and generally had a great time enjoying the breathtaking nature. Really beautiful memories! Aside from Scotland, we went on vacation again in the Rhön this autumn. Let’s see where we’ll go on vacation in the coming year.

2025 was the year in which I bought a car again after several car-free years. But due to my fiancée’s teacher traineeship, there was no other way. We like the Hyundai i10 quite well so far. Nice and small, so we can park in smaller gaps here in the area with very high parking pressure. Also, quite low fuel consumption. Unfortunately, the car got its first damage in November because someone scraped the front bumper while parking.

But I also tried to support the aforementioned traineeship as much as I could in 2025. I think with a teacher in the house, you can’t avoid helping out with cutting out materials, laminating, or helping with brainstorming. But it’s nice to see how much passion my fiancée brings to this profession.

To wrap up the review, a look at blogging: In 2025, I blogged significantly less again, even if the posts were on average a bit longer, both in English and German. While I wrote a lot about politics in recent years, looking at politics depresses me more and more, and my enthusiasm for the topic has decreased significantly. I also have no desire to just be upset all the time. Aside from politics: maybe my need to share simply decreased in 2025? For example, I drew much more energy from cycling than from writing any texts on the internet. But that’s okay; the blog is ready whenever I think I have something to tell. At least I am unbroken in following the tradition of my monthly and yearly reviews.

Outlook for 2026

Now for what’s coming up for me in the next year.

Since I write “fiancée” so often: we are getting married in 2026. We’ve already organized quite a bit, but that was probably just the basics so far; there is still a lot to settle in the next six and a half months. From catering to the wedding suit to which last name we choose. We’re starting a dance course as early as next week.

Things will also be exciting at work. I’ll likely travel to the company location three times for planning phases and take on responsibility for a few topics.

Otherwise, I hope, of course, that my fitness goes uphill again in 2026, after I’ve somehow been noticing the aging process more and more lately. Maybe I’ll succeed again in building a regular routine for sports even outside of cycling? More daily steps through the treadmill at my desk and through walks. More workouts with Freeletics, on the rowing machine, or ergometer.

And (I don’t even know how it will develop myself yet) maybe my appearance will change too? Will 2026 be the year I shave my head and grow a beard?