I arrived in Germany a week ago with a few goals (in no particular order).

Eins. Find a home.

Zwei. Make sure Jay and I are comfortable with the work situation.

Drei. Make sure the school is as good as I had heard.

Vier. Go shopping and figure out what I need to ship vs buy when we move here.

Fünf. Get comfortable with driving.

Sechs. Spend time with Zack and Maggie.

Sieben. Meet the softball and baseball teams.

Acht. Speak some German.

Neun. Try some new German foods.

Zehn. Buy a dirndl.

We were able to confirm the Königstein home definitely has 175 m/s landline, with the strong possibility of getting Glasfaser (high speed) in the next few months. We are rolling the dice and GOING FOR IT!! We submitted our applocation and are waiting (impatiently) for the owners to accept. Hopefully we will hear confirmation of their decision this week. We mapped out a route to our friends’ home – 2.5 mile bike ride, about 13 minutes. Perfect!

Meat. We walked through the grocery store in Königstein and Jay got excited when he saw some meat that was labeled Black Angus. Then he saw the price. 47.90 EUR per kilogram. 1 KG = 2.2 pounds, so €21.77per pound. The exchange rate is roughly €1 = $1.05, so $22.86 per pound. We are used to grain fed farm fresh Shivers Farms beef, bought in bulk, so this will be an adjustment for us.

Beds. The most common bed sizes in Germany are Children, Single, 3/4, and Double. The Double is just what it says – 2 singles. Unless you want to get a French bed, which is one big mattress. Only one person sleeps in a Single, therefore one blanket is required. Two people sleep in a Double, so logically two blankets are required. They are both folded nicely on the bed, on each side of the bed (even if it is a French bed). Of course (natürlich), in the US we are used to one giant blanket for the whole bed. How many people have fought over someone hogging all of the blankets? This dual blanket approach, while different, I think is a great solution.

Saturday we met Zack and Maggie at the big mall in Frankfurt, MyZeil (My Goal). Maggie and I shopped while Zack filled Jay in on all of the things he has learned in the past 8 weeks. There are several unfamiliar shops, but surprisingly quite a few brands that we recognize. We wandered around the pedestrian mall and outdoor market. As we were wrapping up we noticed a large gathering of Palestinian supporters. The Polizei were out in full riot gear. We didn’t stick around.

In the evening, Jay and I wandered down to the Main River, crossed the pedestrian bridge, drank a beer, and found ourselves in the most perfect German Square – Gedenktafel Bücherverbrennung. We drank beer, ate Flam Kuchen, Sauerkraut, and potato salad. And I bought a dirndl. Because, when in Germany….

Rick update. A good friend sent me a message after my last post with the picture of Jay and I and she said, “Germany looks good on you.” 46 days ago I was thrown into a mental tailspin when I heard about my brother’s accident. I spent 3 weeks watching him sleep, wondering if he was going to wake up, and if he did, what his life post-accident would be like. I was scared, sad, frustrated, anxious – all the bad feelings were bubbling under the surface. We seriously contemplated revoking our acceptance of the Germany assignment. But we also knew that Rick would not want us to miss this opportunity.

This week has felt so good. I started out anxious about finding a suitable home, knowing from our Australia expat experience how important this decision is for our family’s mental health (I can explain more on that later). As we began the house viewings I felt good that we would find a nice place to live. I feel great about the school the kids will attend. I feel like I will be able to find ways to integrate into the local work teams. And Jay is excited about his new role and team. I could really picture what our lives will be like here for the next couple of years. We have so much to look forward to.

AND!!!! Rick chose this week to finally get out of the ICU and go to a care facility that can spend more time working on his rehabilitation and less time on simply keeping him alive. It’s like we both are starting fresh this week. We are both embarking on incredible life adventures. A lot of work awaits us over the coming months, unpredictable bumps will lie in the road ahead, but I am ready to take them on, one challenge at a time. I needed this week, on so many levels.

Saturday night is our last in Germany before we head back to the US on Sunday morning. We were able to accomplish nearly all of the goals on my list. The only one that didn’t happen was meeting the softball team, but I think this will be just fine. Everything else – great big ginormous CHECK!!!

Auf Wiedersehen!!

After my last blog post we got some new information that I am hoping we can overcome. Internet. It is unclear if internet is available in the home, and if it is, what speed is available. Ugh. This. This is on the MUST have list. I will be working from home 5 days/week. Jay will be working at home ~2 days/week. Our TV will be streamed via internet. And the kids NEED it. Lily said, “Mom, I can survive 2 days without internet, but not 2 years.” So the #1 mission today was to get confirmation on the internet availability.

Jay met Uli and I first at the modern home so that he could see the neighborhood. While we could not go inside for a second showing, we could show him what I meant by the area around the home. It’s fine, everything’s fine….. I’m other words, it is an acceptable backup plan.

And then, we drove to Königstein. Driving into the village is kind of like driving into the foothills of a mountain town. No, it is nothing like Wyoming mountains, but there are tree-covered hills surrounding the town. Cobblestone streets. Tudor style buildings. Flowers in window boxes. Ice cream shoppe on one end of the Haupßtrause (Main Street), which is critical for Ty since he will no longer be able to raid Memaw’s ice cream supply. Cake (Kuchen) shop on the other end of the Haupßtrause. Italian restaurants, German restaurants, clothing shops, barber shop, nail salon…. Did I mention the castle that was built in 900 AD? You get the idea.

We first walked Jay around the outside of the home, so he could start to understand the “special factor”. He quickly understood. Then we met the realtor and she let us indoors. Jay walked through, and then the owners showed up. We were able to ask them questions, get answers, get to know them. They showed us where the telephone internet was wired into the home, and where the fiber optics high speed internet was recently installed into the electrical room that supports 3 homes. We could clearly see that unit 25 has high speed internet. And 25B did not. Well shoooooooot.

So we CAN get a landline, just much slower. I THINK it would be sufficient, but we all know the first time the internet is too slow for anyone in the home, I will catch all sorts of complaints. I am not ready to give up yet. I am trying to get the fiber company to go see if it is possible to wire the home with the high speed. And then need to decide if we say yes anyway. If any of my readers are network experts and want to comment on how much upload/download speed we absolutely need to live without Jay and the kids in a state of panic, feel free to comment. Landline is 125 mb/s, should be unlimited data. Will that be enough???

But, despite this minor bump in the road, Jay understood why I fell in love with the Königstein home. And he was on board with my choice – as long as we can get the internet confirmed. This is a big deal, because remember – the home does not have air conditioning. And is a farther drive for Jay. But he could picture our life there. And he saw how happy I was. Ladies, he’s all mine. So, it is not confirmed yet, there is a process for acceptance anyway, but I am hopeful!

Something I have to mention that is quite different than life in the US is constantly walking into a cloud of cigarette smoke. Driving down the road with the windows down. Car in front is smoking. Take the outdoor seating at a restaurant on a beautiful day. Breathe in the fresh ai…..cough cough….smoke. Walk out of a shop. Smoke in the face. This will take some getting used to.

Table Knocking. Another thing I learned is that in a professional setting, clapping after a presentation is not normal. Clapping after a theater performance – go for it! Bravo!! But in a professional setting, don’t do it. So how do you express a job well done? By knocking on the table. I found this out because on Thursday I did not have any home viewings scheduled, so I planned on working in the hotel room all day. Jay suggested that I go to the office and have lunch with him. I didn’t realize that I would also stick around for the next hour or so of his team’s meetings. I was so glad that I decided to go meet his team, put some faces to names that I have only interacted with over email, introduce myself and let them hear first hand that I want to get involved in the local unit however possible, and learn how to clap.

Weiner Schnitzel. Most of you probably know that Weiner Schnitzel is a very popular (and delicious) German food. I have had it a couple times this week. When I don’t know what else to order (thank goodness for Google Translate), the safe bet is Weiner Schnitzel. Weiner Schnitzel is NOT to be confused with the American nickname for the German dog – Dachshund (Badger Dog), aka Weiner Dog. I had mentioned to Uli earlier in the week that someday I would like to get a Dachshund. Uli is more of a German Shepherd sort of guy, so he said he would need to see a Dachshund to know what I was talking about. Today we were trying to find a parking spot and I saw someone walking a Weiner Dog on the sidewalk. I shouted, “Uli look!! There is a Weiner Schnitzel!!!“. I immediately realized my mistake and we both busted out in laughter. I mean Weiner Hund! Dachs Hund!!!!

Yellow stop lights. In the US, stoplights go from Green to Yellow to Red. Then from Red to Green. In Germany, stoplights go from green to yellow to red (same). And from red to yellow to green (different). Most vehicles have engine stop/start technology, which takes a second or two to go from stopped (engine off) to start (engine on). The yellow light before green is a way to be ready to roll as soon as the light turns green.

After a pretty successful week, Jay and I have transitioned into weekend mode, and are sneaking in a couple kid free “vacation” days in Frankfurt before we fly back to the US. We can relax a bit after feeling like we accomplished quite a lot in a short period of time. We arrived a week ago with a million questions. We don’t quite have a million answers, but feel like we know how to find answers to what remains.

Auf Wiedersehen!

House hunting is never perfect. As my friend Jill pointed out, and Uli reinforced, there are always trade offs. Why is MOST important? What are nice to haves?

When I was sitting at my desk in the US looking at available homes, I would start by glancing at the pictures, making sure there were 3+ bedrooms, 2+ bath, within budget. Then I looked at the map. Having never been here, my navigational guideposts were the office (Jay’s commute), and both schools (one to start and the other that Ty has to move to in 9th grade). I was also keeping an eye on how far to our friends’ home. Some photos of homes look great. Others, not so much. What a picture can NEVER show is how a home FEELS.

Decisions start happening subconsciously before you even arrive on the street (ßtrase – sounds like straw-say) that the home is on. What is the neighborhood like? Are there shops nearby? How is the traffic? Is there parking available (this is a whole other blog topic)?

And then there is the typical “curb appeal” factor. How does the yard look? Front door? Again, parking? Neighbor homes?

Then you walk inside, and literally within moments you can usually tell if a house feels like a home or just a house.

Today Uli and I viewed 5 homes (Jay had to go to the office). The first one was a very modern, all the bells and whistles home, closest of all options to Jay’s work, OK neighborhood (but close to an industrial area). Think Chicago suburbs. I left thinking that it was an option, but I wasn’t sold.

The second home was gorgeous, and had all the bells and whistles. But again, the neighborhood was fine, but had a suburb feel. I knew Jay would love it. Exactly what he envisioned for a home.

The third home was trash. I was hoping it would be a diamond in the rough due to its proximity to our friends, but it was nein gut (not good). Horrible outside steps, funky smells, dirty, and gross. It did have a cool lift in the garage.

And then we went to the 4th house…. Let me see if I can take you through my experience.

It is in the town of Königstein. Close your eyes and imagine an idyllic German village. Then click in this link to see if I read your mind: Königstein

The Google map took our car as far as our car could go, then it transitioned to walking directions. This is as far as we could get by car:

We arrived a little early, so we walked up the little hill to the pedestrian mall, then THROUGH the pedestrian mall, past a barber shop, a restaurant with outdoor seating, cute clothing shops, turned right at the wine & fresh fruits and veggies shop, into a cobblestone courtyard, and saw the frosted glass front entry of a very old home that had clearly been renovated. My first concern was obviously parking. Do we drive through the pedestrian mall into this cobblestone courtyard? Is there room for 2 cars?

The realtor still had not arrived so we walked behind the home and entered a gorgeous park, with another restaurant that had lots of outdoor seating. We wandered down the path and passed by several older couples sitting on park benches, people out walking their dogs, kids playing in the skatepark and playground, and OMG there is a castle!!! Uli look!!! There is a CASTLE!!! “I am German. I see castles all the time.” Zoom in and look above the tree line.

We looped around back to the pedestrian mall and saw a beautiful old church, more cute shops in adorable old buildings, and met up with the realtor.

She first showed us the parking lot BEHIND the home, so definitely room for 2 cars. Plus bicycle storage. She explained that we will get a special permit from the town that will allow us to drive either on the pedestrian mall or through the park that literally is adjacent to the back yard of the home. Next she showed us a cellar/dungeon that will not be useful for storing much other than a few bottles of wine.

We entered the home and despite it clearly being a very old home (not sure when it was built), it has been renovated very well. There was some sort of marble tile on the main floor and throughout the bathrooms. The kitchen was tastefully modern, and OMG LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT FRIDGE!!! Let me explain. Close your eyes again and picture your college dorm fridge. That is roughly the size of the “typical German refrigerator.” But this home had a proper oversized American refrigerator. SOLD!!!!

The yard has a decent size patio and grassy area – not huge, but remember what is literally just beyond the back yard.

The second story (which is considered the first floor – main floor is the ground floor) has a beautiful bathroom with washer/dryer hookups for the kids/guests, Lily’s bedroom, a small guest room/office, and a master bed and bathroom overlooking the park.

Then we walked up to the third story (level 2) where they are renovating a former attic space. Picture tall vaulted ceilings, exposed wooden beams, and open space that would be a perfect Teen Cave for Ty.

Pros: central to both schools, ~7 km to our friends, picturesque German village, ideal hiking trails, a freaking castle, adorable shops and cafes in our front yard, freedom for the kids to explore independently, a once in a lifetime opportunity to truly experience German lifestyle.

Cons: Jay hates old homes, longer commute for Jay, no air conditioning (but old German homes really do have good insulation), no covered parking, weird to drive through park or pedestrian mall (some might argue this is a pro), and did I mention that Jay hates old homes so if ANYTHING goes remotely wrong with the home and we hear “this is a common problem in old German homes” Jay might repatriate to the US as a single man.

Jay is at a work dinner as I type this up, so I have to discuss our options with him when he returns. My #1 choice is the castle home (obviously), but we do have ~3 other decent backup plans if this one falls through. I need a little bit of Powers of Persuasion energy sent my way, and a little dash of good luck. So, you all get to wait in suspense along with me to see how this all unfolds.

Auf Wiedersehen!

The update that you have all been waiting for. Drumroll please…..

My luggage arrived!!!!

Jay (aka my hero) walked down to baggage claim on Monday morning at 7:00, smooth talked his way into the international baggage claim area, and picked up my bag from the carousel. I have never been so happy to see my suitcase. Hooray for clean clothes!

We got checked out of our room, had another hotel breakfast (this time there were mushrooms and potatoes!!), and waited in the lobby for our fearless leader, Uli, to arrive. We noticed last night a lot of people waiting around the hotel entrance with jerseys, pens/paper, and video cameras. Today the crowd was even bigger. We figured out what all of the excitement was. The German National Football (soccer) team was staying at the hotel before they fly to Connecticut for a Friendly (which I think means soccer game). We saw a couple players, no idea who they are.

Uli arrived and we headed out to look at the first home on our list.

Some observations.

Landlords do not provide light fixtures???? We think the landlord does not want to have to provide light bulbs or something? It’s so weird.

Parking spaces are gold. Parking spaces that have enough room to fully open the car door are basically non existent. We saw one home with “1 garage” which actually means a tiny container that you can pull into but might not be able to actually exit the car.

So if you don’t want to drive your car for fear of not being able to find a parking spot, Germany is incredibly bike friendly. When people are considered too old to drive, they can still get around town on their bicycles. Have young kids? No problem! Check out these sweet bikes. There are many variations – some have seats for kids, some just have storage space for groceries/etc.

Curtain/blinds are not really “in” anymore. Privacy is provided from blinds that are OUTSIDE the windows.

Air conditioning. American friends who typically wear sweatshirts inside your 68 degree home in the middle of summer….never take that for granted again. A/C is a rarity here.

Jay hates old homes. And cities.

We only saw 2 homes today. Most will be seen on Wednesday and Friday. We would be happy with one of the two. No guarantees that we would be “approved” but I feel like there is hope we will find something suitable this week.

After a quick lunch, we drove down to Mannheim – our home base until Friday. Wait. Did I just say “we” drove down to Mannheim? That was a typo. “I” drove down to Mannheim. First time driving in Germany, first time driving on the autobahn (highway with sections that don’t have a speed limit). Success!!

Mannheim is the home of the Deere European headquarters. The green and yellow influence is strong.

We walked along the Rhine River a bit and found a nice restaurant with a great outdoor patio for dinner.

Tomorrow I am driving myself back up to Wiesbaden to tour the school. Jay gets to go into the office and meet his new team.

Auf Wiedersehen!