Don't worry - this is nothing to do with Josef Fritzl...although mentions of basements seem to bring up that imagery. (To be fair, Fritzl was from Austria like another infamous German speaker). This post is about the German basements (Keller or Souterrain or...
The GW Expat Blog
Tag
moving
Housewarming Traditions in Germany
After all my complaining about finding an apartment in Berlin, it seems like everyone is moving into their home. We moved into our new place - complete with a room for our girl - almost exactly a year ago. While we were away in the States we missed two of our friend's...
Relax Berlin! You Can Still get an Anmeldung
Frequently I see panicked posts from other expats. They are frantically looking for an Anmeldung Termin (registration appointment). HELP! I need an appointment for a burgeramt asap, please! What is an Anmeldung? The Anmeldung is a necessary - and usually pain-free -...
Schäl Sick: Life on the Wrong Side of the Rhine
Here in Cologne, people tend to scrunch up their faces a bit when I tell them I live on the "other" side of the Rhine. And not in Deutz, close to the river and the city, but Kalk, deep into the hinterlands of the Falsche Seite. Kalk is a neighborhood with a reputation...
Moving to Germany: The Top 10 Things to Consider
Moving anywhere is a challenge. Even a short move across town can be problematic. An international move presents additional complications, but a little preparation will mean fewer hitches. Even if you are fortunate enough to be using the services of a relocation...
Electrical Appliances: That Old Chestnut
Facing an overseas move? If you are moving from North America to Europe or from Europe to North America, you will definitely face the question of what to do about your appliances. Because of the difference in voltage, every expat has to go through this process of...
From Bundesland to Bundesland
I received a reminder in my inbox today from my co-blogger Hyde calling to my attention that I had missed my Monday deadline to post here on the German Way blog. This was another casualty of my most recent move. In case you haven't been keeping up with my personal...
Dealing with Damage
Despite not being military or part of any diplomatic corps, my family and I move frequently. We moved in 2010, and then in 2012 - not counting the two additional moves within the same town from one temporary flat to another and then into the house we bought, and now...
Auf Wiedersehen, tschüß, Bis dann!
So goes the life of an expat hockey-wife, I am once again preparing to move to a new land. This move is one like no other as it is taking my husband and me to the most foreign place we will have ever lived: Russia. After six years in Germany and Switzerland, I really...
A different type of renting
The friends we left behind in London all had one thing in common - their desire to get themselves on the property ladder. Had we stayed I suspect we would have started hunting around for somewhere to buy in just the same way. It is simply what you do when you're a...
Winning the Recycling Game
You'll have to accept my apology for the delay in this post, but I have been busy sorting my rubbish. As those of you know, thanks to previous posts by Hyde and Ruth, this is serious business here in Germany. I am reacquainting myself with what goes in the Gelber...
Homesickness in a Global World
We have now arrived in Toronto and are busy setting up our new house. Like any move, this one has had its share of surprises, including our air freight sitting in Germany for two weeks because the movers forgot about it. Flexibility is key, and a very long fuse… so...
Re-expatriating
We've returned to the Fatherland after the grueling process of packing up and moving a household of a family of five. We drove six hours from San Diego to Las Vegas listening to Die Zaueberfloete non-stop. We saturated in ueber-Americana for three days on The Strip....
Auf Wiedersehen
This afternoon a crowd of my in-laws converged on our house for the traditional German Sunday afternoon Kaffee & Kuchen. This doesn’t happen very often, maybe once a year, as they all live over an hour away. Anyone with in-laws will sympathize with the latent...
Schaffe Schaffe Häusle Baue
That’s nice thick Swabian for “work and work to build a house”. The Swabians are probably the most home-owning obsessed of the Germans, and even here, I’m not even sure that the majority of people live in their own property. Continental Europe in general is very...
Moving with Max
Pets are becoming more and more a part of the family. They live in our homes, sleep in our beds, and the lucky ones even join us on vacations. So when considering relocation to another country many pet owners would never dream of leaving their furry family members...
Where a House is a Home
I've been living in Germany for about two years now. I knew things would be different here, but how things would be different was a big question mark. Although I had visited Germany a few times before, living here is a whole different ball game... as we Americans like...
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