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!