198. To be fair...
Although I really can't stand so many things about Germany as you can read, and understandably so, I have to say it would probably be slightly better if we lived in a bigger city. Although Munich is the most expensive places to live and eat here, it does have it's charm and variety of being a bigger city. Vienna would be even better, in fact, anywhere outside of Germany would be better for me.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
197. If it's warm elsewhere it will be rainy here
Just checked our weather forecast this week, its spring in the rest of Germany pleasant weather finally!! and Austria was 72 and super sunny, Vienna 82 degrees! Here in the Armpit of Germany, it will be 46 degrees and rainy for 7 days! nice, I so love Spring in Germany don't you?? Also, last week I got the wrong weather report thinking Spring had arrived and I literally froze my ass off, you know thinking I could actually put my gloves, winter coats and umbrella away (BIG mistake!) and it was a nice warm 37 degrees till 2 pm. I had to walk and weather the storm literally in my spring clothes (BIG mistake!) while I could blow steam from my mouth, because it was so freaking like a freezer -ice-Armpit-cold!
Just checked our weather forecast this week, its spring in the rest of Germany pleasant weather finally!! and Austria was 72 and super sunny, Vienna 82 degrees! Here in the Armpit of Germany, it will be 46 degrees and rainy for 7 days! nice, I so love Spring in Germany don't you?? Also, last week I got the wrong weather report thinking Spring had arrived and I literally froze my ass off, you know thinking I could actually put my gloves, winter coats and umbrella away (BIG mistake!) and it was a nice warm 37 degrees till 2 pm. I had to walk and weather the storm literally in my spring clothes (BIG mistake!) while I could blow steam from my mouth, because it was so freaking like a freezer -ice-Armpit-cold!
196. Love Thy Neighbors
I just want to remind you how happy I am about my upstairs neighbor who has a huge dog, 2 grandkids that come over day for piano practice (they are merely beginning which makes it even more fun to listen to) that lasts exactly from 1 pm the time I come home to 3 pm. Then it's roller hockey in their living room that's super fun! and then they stomp all over the place, which made me discover that sound travels downward. He also has a vibrating bed or something that vibrates very loudly and makes our entire bedroom vibrate at his leisure and I believe he's hard of hearing because I can also hear his TV. He also likes to go to sleep after 12 am which is especially fun for us who get up at 7am every morning. Around 12:30am he likes to drop a load in his toilet and I can hear him pee like Austin Powers and it's quite refreshing to hear that and fall asleep for me. I am just wandering if I can hear that, what in the world can he hear from our apartment, scary! We are just so lucky to have him!
I just want to remind you how happy I am about my upstairs neighbor who has a huge dog, 2 grandkids that come over day for piano practice (they are merely beginning which makes it even more fun to listen to) that lasts exactly from 1 pm the time I come home to 3 pm. Then it's roller hockey in their living room that's super fun! and then they stomp all over the place, which made me discover that sound travels downward. He also has a vibrating bed or something that vibrates very loudly and makes our entire bedroom vibrate at his leisure and I believe he's hard of hearing because I can also hear his TV. He also likes to go to sleep after 12 am which is especially fun for us who get up at 7am every morning. Around 12:30am he likes to drop a load in his toilet and I can hear him pee like Austin Powers and it's quite refreshing to hear that and fall asleep for me. I am just wandering if I can hear that, what in the world can he hear from our apartment, scary! We are just so lucky to have him!
195. Terrified
I realized as we open up our mail everyday, we are literally petrified of legal documents from Immigration, drivers license office, real estate office, trash police, I mean every time we get something "official" we fear that we are in trouble with the Gestapo again and I HATE that, I mean really must we live in constant fear that we are in trouble, or we did something wrong, that what we did is "forbidden" my husband jokingly said I may end up in a German jail with scary big-boned German women and that I would be forced to eat wurst (hot dogs) every day, it was a scary thought.
I realized as we open up our mail everyday, we are literally petrified of legal documents from Immigration, drivers license office, real estate office, trash police, I mean every time we get something "official" we fear that we are in trouble with the Gestapo again and I HATE that, I mean really must we live in constant fear that we are in trouble, or we did something wrong, that what we did is "forbidden" my husband jokingly said I may end up in a German jail with scary big-boned German women and that I would be forced to eat wurst (hot dogs) every day, it was a scary thought.
194. Trash it!
Had a nice conversation about this recycling thing from a Vienesse guy and he said that it was confirmed that this is really not the most efficient way to recycle our trash. In Vienna, they make you throw away plastic in the restmull (other trash) so it can be burned for fuel. Plus mind you, we have 7 different trash trucks to come pick up the different assortment of goodies aka our trash and with all that gas, and emissions, you figure that one out.
Oh and while I was giving him my 2 cents about how these people are using their dishwashers to clean their yogurt bottles and cups, he said oh no! EVERYONE has a dishwasher, how funny. When it comes to things they want to use, it doesn't matter how much energy or electricity is being consumed. They are so funny these people, that's why you gotta love Germany!
oh, this is pix of german trash cans from Life magazine...
Had a nice conversation about this recycling thing from a Vienesse guy and he said that it was confirmed that this is really not the most efficient way to recycle our trash. In Vienna, they make you throw away plastic in the restmull (other trash) so it can be burned for fuel. Plus mind you, we have 7 different trash trucks to come pick up the different assortment of goodies aka our trash and with all that gas, and emissions, you figure that one out.
Oh and while I was giving him my 2 cents about how these people are using their dishwashers to clean their yogurt bottles and cups, he said oh no! EVERYONE has a dishwasher, how funny. When it comes to things they want to use, it doesn't matter how much energy or electricity is being consumed. They are so funny these people, that's why you gotta love Germany!
oh, this is pix of german trash cans from Life magazine...
193. The Closet Conspiracy
So, my local contractor came to fix our second broken blind and he nicely fixed my squeaking closet. I wouldn't call it a mere squeak though, it was the sound of grey whales in the ocean, a high pitched squealing like in the Star Trek movie, it was soooo loud, every time I opened my closet door it drove me nuts and seriously impaired my hearing. The problem was ever since we moved from the first apartment, the lazy movers didn't properly assemble everything when we moved to our 2nd apartment. I also noticed fallen chips of (fiber wood, aka fake wood) wood on the closet panels and that all the shelves were about to fall down from not being properly assembled. So I paid 2 guys to try to fix that problem (costing more money) but the truth came out. This contractor told me these closets (which are quality produced with mere fiberboard and plastic and that are sold for EXHORBITANT amounts of money) are only good for one time use. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! At last, I found out that these Germans are tricking us, by purposely not building closets in homes, then making us purchase these SUPER expensive monstrosities and then God forbid, if you decide to move, you can't even take it with you..WOW, another fun loving thing that really makes me sing for joy. It really is true, lemme refresh you on how much these suckers cost:
Price of closet
600 Euros
Delivery cost
price of assembly 4 hrs labor x 20 Euros=80 Euros
Moving of closet
Price of 2nd Closet
600 Euros
Delivery and assembly
Wait time to receive: 6 weeks
So, to be conservative, about 1300 Euros =$1700 USD
for the price of 2 closets, which lemme tell you, barely fits all our clothes, so we have to use other smaller closets as well and now you can just toss these suckers when you're done, because they will fall apart on the 2nd move.
joy.
So, my local contractor came to fix our second broken blind and he nicely fixed my squeaking closet. I wouldn't call it a mere squeak though, it was the sound of grey whales in the ocean, a high pitched squealing like in the Star Trek movie, it was soooo loud, every time I opened my closet door it drove me nuts and seriously impaired my hearing. The problem was ever since we moved from the first apartment, the lazy movers didn't properly assemble everything when we moved to our 2nd apartment. I also noticed fallen chips of (fiber wood, aka fake wood) wood on the closet panels and that all the shelves were about to fall down from not being properly assembled. So I paid 2 guys to try to fix that problem (costing more money) but the truth came out. This contractor told me these closets (which are quality produced with mere fiberboard and plastic and that are sold for EXHORBITANT amounts of money) are only good for one time use. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! At last, I found out that these Germans are tricking us, by purposely not building closets in homes, then making us purchase these SUPER expensive monstrosities and then God forbid, if you decide to move, you can't even take it with you..WOW, another fun loving thing that really makes me sing for joy. It really is true, lemme refresh you on how much these suckers cost:
Price of closet
600 Euros
Delivery cost
price of assembly 4 hrs labor x 20 Euros=80 Euros
Moving of closet
Price of 2nd Closet
600 Euros
Delivery and assembly
Wait time to receive: 6 weeks
So, to be conservative, about 1300 Euros =$1700 USD
for the price of 2 closets, which lemme tell you, barely fits all our clothes, so we have to use other smaller closets as well and now you can just toss these suckers when you're done, because they will fall apart on the 2nd move.
joy.
192. Eeewww it's starting to smell...
Let's not forget that when you start a compost under your sink, with every bit of bio remains, it will start to stink, in fact it will look and smell like a science experiment and grow certain fungus, mold, fuzz that you've never seen before in your life! Then all the liquid will seep to the bottom of the container, which means you must wash, and bleach out the science experiment remains every few days or your kitchen and house will start smelling like the back of a trash truck. I enjoy this immensely, like I have nothing better to do than this extra timely, and filthy chore...I am seriously starting to think I will defy the Gestapo Trash Police and to return to not recycling anymore, at least for bio.
Let's not forget that when you start a compost under your sink, with every bit of bio remains, it will start to stink, in fact it will look and smell like a science experiment and grow certain fungus, mold, fuzz that you've never seen before in your life! Then all the liquid will seep to the bottom of the container, which means you must wash, and bleach out the science experiment remains every few days or your kitchen and house will start smelling like the back of a trash truck. I enjoy this immensely, like I have nothing better to do than this extra timely, and filthy chore...I am seriously starting to think I will defy the Gestapo Trash Police and to return to not recycling anymore, at least for bio.
Monday, April 20, 2009
191. Kitchen is a Demolition Zone
Because there are now 6 containers, my kitchen is full of diff colored trash bins, with trash strewn everywhere and lemme tell you that BIO bag starts stinking and molding up really quick!! I hate it! Really I have glass yogurt bottles, beer bottles, wine bottles, plastic drink bottles, soda bottles, glass juice bottles all lined up and ready to go to about hmmmmm 7 different stores??! Let's see and some don't take the other bottles so you know where this is going, I swear PEOPLE!?!? does it make sense to put plastic yogurt containers and actually USE the dishwasher (for 2 hrs) for this?!?! and then drive to 7 I said 7777777777!! different places when the cost of gas is $8 dollars a gallon to drop it off, am I painting a picture here that THIS is how we are saving the world?! Makes a LOT of sense to me, completely backwards!!
190. No Garbage Disposals
It's a big one and it deserves it's own line. Think about it, if you're a cook. Just imagine not having one. You will touch more slimy, gross, food waste than you ever had in your life, you will have to clean the clogged drain every 5 seconds and everything you cook and clean, you must now clean out of the drain. gross.
That's all.
It's a big one and it deserves it's own line. Think about it, if you're a cook. Just imagine not having one. You will touch more slimy, gross, food waste than you ever had in your life, you will have to clean the clogged drain every 5 seconds and everything you cook and clean, you must now clean out of the drain. gross.
That's all.
189. The Land of Shit
Look at every single piece of trash, every single box of cookies, food packaging, milk carton, beef bone, aluminum foil wrapper, and now think of a world, where you must seperate every single fucking piece of item into it's own trash container, can you even imagine this world? It's called trash pickin and this nightmare is Germany!!! Now, I am relegated to itemizing every single, every fucking single piece of material used in every single packaging and putting it into the right bin. Do you know how much time, energy, frustration and nonsense this is? I read that Germany is soo fucking proud to be the world leader in recycling but that 1/2 the trash is in the wrong trash bins anyways. They are thinking of what other civilized countries do (you know modern ones that are not in the 70's fucking mentality! countries that HAVE GARBAGE DISPOSALS?!?!) already which is have machines sort out the trash. But some people would still like to stick to the useless traditional way, I swear they are sooo backwards here, it's unbelievable. For instance, I have to take a piece of chewing gum, put metal in one bag, paper in the paper, then the gum goes into restmuel (other trash). WOW, or remember my in law actually washing the foil lid and the plastic yogurt cup in the dishwasher before recycling>!??! I'm going to eat my pants!!!
PIX: here is a pix of the 3 Additional trash cans for glass, white, green and brown glass that is, you have to drop these suckers off yourself in your own car!
188. Every 10 minutes
Every 10 minutes the internet drops on my computer which I consider my lifeline here. When that sucker is out I am livid because that is my connection to the rest of the world, my entertainment (Slingbox and Tivo are great!) and info to Germany. It goes out consistently and even through our hundreds (no exxageration) of phone calls and Deutsche Telecom actually coming here and STILL not solving the problem I have to live with this nuisance. Which is what I've been learning to just live with all the fucking problems that go wrong here, can't beat them join them, they say!! arhhhgh! Oh, funny thing we signed up for the fastest possible dsl (we're LOCKED into this for 2 years meaning no rights, no choice in the matter to leave) and they said we can only get a certain speed because there's so many people using it here. WOW! unbelievable but typical Germany!! So, lemme get this right, I have to ask where my apartment is located before I even move in, to see if DSL reaches here (some places are remote so less speed) then if I find a highly populated location then I have the possibility that my signal will be split so I'll receive slow speed anyways. Then I am locked into the contract so nothing can be done and I am STUCK with this BS for 2 solid years. SO what is really their problem is actually my problem, nice!!!!!!!!!! I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVE GERMAN THINKING!!
Every 10 minutes the internet drops on my computer which I consider my lifeline here. When that sucker is out I am livid because that is my connection to the rest of the world, my entertainment (Slingbox and Tivo are great!) and info to Germany. It goes out consistently and even through our hundreds (no exxageration) of phone calls and Deutsche Telecom actually coming here and STILL not solving the problem I have to live with this nuisance. Which is what I've been learning to just live with all the fucking problems that go wrong here, can't beat them join them, they say!! arhhhgh! Oh, funny thing we signed up for the fastest possible dsl (we're LOCKED into this for 2 years meaning no rights, no choice in the matter to leave) and they said we can only get a certain speed because there's so many people using it here. WOW! unbelievable but typical Germany!! So, lemme get this right, I have to ask where my apartment is located before I even move in, to see if DSL reaches here (some places are remote so less speed) then if I find a highly populated location then I have the possibility that my signal will be split so I'll receive slow speed anyways. Then I am locked into the contract so nothing can be done and I am STUCK with this BS for 2 solid years. SO what is really their problem is actually my problem, nice!!!!!!!!!! I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVE GERMAN THINKING!!
187. Murder on the 5th Floor
There will one less German here and that is my real estate agent/management co. She is driving us nuts, even my well-tempered husband is near the breaking point. She completely read our contract wrong and now we are paying for the use and breakage of the faulty old apartment. Ex. We just paid 130 Euros to fix the FILTER!! of the washing machine and dishwasher which was clogged LONG before we got here. Now, we just paid for the 2nd window blinds $116 Euros, that broke because it's 20 years old and is too thin for the heavy blinds (which is not our fault at all!) plus we never used this particular blind ever, till our guest decided to pull it down for the first time and it broke. Our contractor had told us before that these were not proper for the weight of the blinds and would break anyways. All these things were here BEFORE we freaking got here and now they are making us pay for it. HELLO!!? This unit is over 20 years old and the appliances are over 11 years old?!?! It reminds me of this other blog stating how their German landlord still owed them their 2500 deposit, so I know this is NOT just happening to us!! But these people are unbelievable, oh I miss the States where you can fight for your rights and you have some legal protection against such ridiculousness! I had told you before how we had to live with the faulty washing machine and dishwasher for the first 6 mos and how long everything takes to fix and NOW THIS??! The problem is I must learn more German so I can cuss her out properly so she understands!! I'm working on it.
There will one less German here and that is my real estate agent/management co. She is driving us nuts, even my well-tempered husband is near the breaking point. She completely read our contract wrong and now we are paying for the use and breakage of the faulty old apartment. Ex. We just paid 130 Euros to fix the FILTER!! of the washing machine and dishwasher which was clogged LONG before we got here. Now, we just paid for the 2nd window blinds $116 Euros, that broke because it's 20 years old and is too thin for the heavy blinds (which is not our fault at all!) plus we never used this particular blind ever, till our guest decided to pull it down for the first time and it broke. Our contractor had told us before that these were not proper for the weight of the blinds and would break anyways. All these things were here BEFORE we freaking got here and now they are making us pay for it. HELLO!!? This unit is over 20 years old and the appliances are over 11 years old?!?! It reminds me of this other blog stating how their German landlord still owed them their 2500 deposit, so I know this is NOT just happening to us!! But these people are unbelievable, oh I miss the States where you can fight for your rights and you have some legal protection against such ridiculousness! I had told you before how we had to live with the faulty washing machine and dishwasher for the first 6 mos and how long everything takes to fix and NOW THIS??! The problem is I must learn more German so I can cuss her out properly so she understands!! I'm working on it.
186. 1.3 Feet
Do you know how wide 1.3 feet is?? That is the clearance distance between the sink and the door in our guest bath, aka our toilet room. So, I being pretty skinny still have to nudge my way to use the toilet in our bathroom. I was shocked to see how narrow these bathrooms were, but this is ridiculous. With all these big-boned German women, I would like to know how the heck they can get into these tight spaces? and not feel completely claustrophobic when you're in there like I do!!
Pix: this is NOT my bathroom, but this gives you an idea
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Just a quick note, I'm starting another blog called http://100reasonswhyilovegermany.blogspot.com/
there's nothing on there yet, but to all the naysayers and haters I thought I would try to look at the positives of being here too. It might take a lot longer to write that one but I will try. Of course there are some benefits of living here and some nice things can happen occasionally, so we'll see...
there's nothing on there yet, but to all the naysayers and haters I thought I would try to look at the positives of being here too. It might take a lot longer to write that one but I will try. Of course there are some benefits of living here and some nice things can happen occasionally, so we'll see...
185. Last night we had Shabu Shabu
here's what it takes to cook this japanese meal
-go to Munich Japanese Market purchase very, very hard to get (and very expensive) shabu shabu meat
-go to Asia market to get ingredients (udon, mushrooms)
-go to Turkish vegetable stand to get vegetables you couldn't find at Asia market (daikon, chinese cabbage)
-go to Tengelmann German market to get the stuff you couldn't get at Asia market and Turkish market. (other ingr. chicken stock)
-after 1 hour in Munich (plus 2 hrs drive time) and 2 hours going to the other markets, begin cooking.
here's what it takes to cook this japanese meal
-go to Munich Japanese Market purchase very, very hard to get (and very expensive) shabu shabu meat
-go to Asia market to get ingredients (udon, mushrooms)
-go to Turkish vegetable stand to get vegetables you couldn't find at Asia market (daikon, chinese cabbage)
-go to Tengelmann German market to get the stuff you couldn't get at Asia market and Turkish market. (other ingr. chicken stock)
-after 1 hour in Munich (plus 2 hrs drive time) and 2 hours going to the other markets, begin cooking.
184. Deduct 1 Star at Hotels
Throughout Europe, be sure to deduct one star rating for hotels, do not expect a 4 star hotel to be a 4 star hotel in the states! You may be disappointed.
1 Star = Shared public bathroom
2 Star=Twin beds, bring your own toiletries (shampoo, soap)
3 Star=Washed bedding, towels may be provided
4 Star=Standard 3 Star hotel in U.S. (bed, private bath, toiletries)
5 Star=A nice 4 Star hotel in U.S. (may even incl. breakfast!)
6 Star= Yup I've actually seen this advertised, its because they hype up the additional star, consider this your 5 Star hotel in the States
Throughout Europe, be sure to deduct one star rating for hotels, do not expect a 4 star hotel to be a 4 star hotel in the states! You may be disappointed.
1 Star = Shared public bathroom
2 Star=Twin beds, bring your own toiletries (shampoo, soap)
3 Star=Washed bedding, towels may be provided
4 Star=Standard 3 Star hotel in U.S. (bed, private bath, toiletries)
5 Star=A nice 4 Star hotel in U.S. (may even incl. breakfast!)
6 Star= Yup I've actually seen this advertised, its because they hype up the additional star, consider this your 5 Star hotel in the States
Friday, April 17, 2009
182. Effects of Hard Water
-dry, rough skin
-dehydration
-dry chapped lips (for 4 months and counting)
-hair loss
-weak, soft nails, nail breakage (sometimes one nail a day)
-cloudy drinking water (minerals)
-calcium deposits in your cofeemaker and shower
-dry, flaky skin >wrinkles>advanced signs of aging
-eczema, dermatitis
-dry, rough skin
-dehydration
-dry chapped lips (for 4 months and counting)
-hair loss
-weak, soft nails, nail breakage (sometimes one nail a day)
-cloudy drinking water (minerals)
-calcium deposits in your cofeemaker and shower
-dry, flaky skin >wrinkles>advanced signs of aging
-eczema, dermatitis
181. Dogs are More Valued than Kids
I know, sounds weird, but it's true. People will talk about it all the time here. Dogs are more important and valued than kids. My teacher told me how Germans were more interested in cooing over a passing dog, that they will ignore the cute baby in the stroller. Dogs are allowed everywhere in Germany and they are highly regarded. They will sit next to you in restaurants, in shopping areas, in stores, doggie water bowls are provided and if you have a really cute dog, you might even get a German to come up to you. They are so important here that it is considered inhumane to leave them at home for more than a few hours. Ok, I see your point but in America, most people have 8 or more hour jobs and they have dogs, it caused quite a debate with my European friends over here. They thought it was cruel and unusual punishment to do so, and it's better not to have one than to leave them unattended for a few hours. Wow. So, I guess all the Americans who took the abandoned dogs out of shelters to give them TLC, food and care are all a bunch of selfish bastards.
I know, sounds weird, but it's true. People will talk about it all the time here. Dogs are more important and valued than kids. My teacher told me how Germans were more interested in cooing over a passing dog, that they will ignore the cute baby in the stroller. Dogs are allowed everywhere in Germany and they are highly regarded. They will sit next to you in restaurants, in shopping areas, in stores, doggie water bowls are provided and if you have a really cute dog, you might even get a German to come up to you. They are so important here that it is considered inhumane to leave them at home for more than a few hours. Ok, I see your point but in America, most people have 8 or more hour jobs and they have dogs, it caused quite a debate with my European friends over here. They thought it was cruel and unusual punishment to do so, and it's better not to have one than to leave them unattended for a few hours. Wow. So, I guess all the Americans who took the abandoned dogs out of shelters to give them TLC, food and care are all a bunch of selfish bastards.
179. Thank God for IKEA!
Everything in my apartment is from IKEA, the dining, the kitchen stuff and thank god for it, really! They do have some cute things and as an immigrant (haha! like me) you are forced to either choose IKEA, or Super-super-modern-expensive-I-couldn't-afford-a-thing, or the Orange/Red color crap stuff in no. 178. So, I chose IKEA. Now, the bad thing about IKEA (besides the quality) is that it is all do-it-yourself-carry-that-heavy-chair-back-yourself so every single thing in our apartment was carefully shopped, priced out, bought, carried out, carried up 4 flights of stairs, assembled, or returned (and there were a LOT of returning), and placed in our apartment by me. Now, that's a lot of stuff. I can now laugh at how I stuffed my husband's car filled to the brim with pots, pans, candles and every stupid kitchen item needed to furnish an apartment. It's funny to remember there was not an inch of space left in the poor car and I could barely drive as a bamboo rug was thrust upon my shoulder as I drove home. I fondly remember lugging each and every blue IKEA bag till I was heaving for air and sweating like a schwein (pig in german) up the 4 flights of stairs, screaming "I'm just a girl!" Thank god, those days are over. It only took 4 months and driving to 6 different IKEAS in 3 different countries (Germany, France, Austria-oh and you must return each item back in the same country) to get this place in order. Yes, it looks like an IKEA catalog but gosh darn it, it's the best I could do.
Everything in my apartment is from IKEA, the dining, the kitchen stuff and thank god for it, really! They do have some cute things and as an immigrant (haha! like me) you are forced to either choose IKEA, or Super-super-modern-expensive-I-couldn't-afford-a-thing, or the Orange/Red color crap stuff in no. 178. So, I chose IKEA. Now, the bad thing about IKEA (besides the quality) is that it is all do-it-yourself-carry-that-heavy-chair-back-yourself so every single thing in our apartment was carefully shopped, priced out, bought, carried out, carried up 4 flights of stairs, assembled, or returned (and there were a LOT of returning), and placed in our apartment by me. Now, that's a lot of stuff. I can now laugh at how I stuffed my husband's car filled to the brim with pots, pans, candles and every stupid kitchen item needed to furnish an apartment. It's funny to remember there was not an inch of space left in the poor car and I could barely drive as a bamboo rug was thrust upon my shoulder as I drove home. I fondly remember lugging each and every blue IKEA bag till I was heaving for air and sweating like a schwein (pig in german) up the 4 flights of stairs, screaming "I'm just a girl!" Thank god, those days are over. It only took 4 months and driving to 6 different IKEAS in 3 different countries (Germany, France, Austria-oh and you must return each item back in the same country) to get this place in order. Yes, it looks like an IKEA catalog but gosh darn it, it's the best I could do.
178. Yellow and Red
Really people, this color combination is perhaps one of the tackiest colors in the world. However, the Germans love them, you'll see it everywhere on the curtains, sheets, pillows, rugs, towels, decorative pieces, clothes..
ok, I figured it out, these damn people are using the colors of their flag. How tackily patriotic.
177. The Cost of Magazines
Let's expand on this, I LOVE fashion mags, in America you can do a little research and get some pretty good deals on magazine subscriptions maybe $18/year for 12 issues of Vogue, less for the cheaper ones (Bazaar, Elle). In Germany, it costs $6 Euros =$10 USD for one German Vogue! Now, I don't know why but that's freaking expensive, a yearly subscription can cost around $40 Euros=$60 USD a year! But here's the catch, they have this weird promotion thing and they're always giving away some stupid bonus gift?! Which I don't trust cause there's ALWAYS a catch here, nothing is for free. I think they lock you into another German Iron-Clad contract that you can't get out of and have to cancel your subscription at a certain time or you are locked into another year or something, SCARYY!! Now even in France, the mags are cheaper normal prices, shall we say $3 Euros? so I know it's not the cost of printing the darn thing in Europe right?! So, these things to me are now like "the price of gold" to me now-ex. fashion mags, kimchee, Asian ingredients, everything I miss and now I must pay a lot, a lot of money for..
Let's expand on this, I LOVE fashion mags, in America you can do a little research and get some pretty good deals on magazine subscriptions maybe $18/year for 12 issues of Vogue, less for the cheaper ones (Bazaar, Elle). In Germany, it costs $6 Euros =$10 USD for one German Vogue! Now, I don't know why but that's freaking expensive, a yearly subscription can cost around $40 Euros=$60 USD a year! But here's the catch, they have this weird promotion thing and they're always giving away some stupid bonus gift?! Which I don't trust cause there's ALWAYS a catch here, nothing is for free. I think they lock you into another German Iron-Clad contract that you can't get out of and have to cancel your subscription at a certain time or you are locked into another year or something, SCARYY!! Now even in France, the mags are cheaper normal prices, shall we say $3 Euros? so I know it's not the cost of printing the darn thing in Europe right?! So, these things to me are now like "the price of gold" to me now-ex. fashion mags, kimchee, Asian ingredients, everything I miss and now I must pay a lot, a lot of money for..
176. How to Spend $50 in 5 min
-park the car in Munich, city center
-go to an Asian market (Japanese or Korean) and buy 1 small bag of groceries
-put half a tank of gas in your car
-drop off a few clothes to a stinky dry cleaner (read no.27)
-buy 1 bag of groceries at penny markt
-buy 2 big bottles of kimchee
-get a haircut ( a decent one and not in the mall to get a mullet)
-buy a monthly bus ticket
-buy 4 fashion magazines Vogue Deutsch ($10 USD), US Vogue ($14 USD), US Elle ($10 USD)
British Vogue ($20 USD)
note: these are not subscription prices, these are EACH!
-buy 5 mexican papayas ($7 Euro each)
-have dinner-2 waters and 2 entrees
-park the car in Munich, city center
-go to an Asian market (Japanese or Korean) and buy 1 small bag of groceries
-put half a tank of gas in your car
-drop off a few clothes to a stinky dry cleaner (read no.27)
-buy 1 bag of groceries at penny markt
-buy 2 big bottles of kimchee
-get a haircut ( a decent one and not in the mall to get a mullet)
-buy a monthly bus ticket
-buy 4 fashion magazines Vogue Deutsch ($10 USD), US Vogue ($14 USD), US Elle ($10 USD)
British Vogue ($20 USD)
note: these are not subscription prices, these are EACH!
-buy 5 mexican papayas ($7 Euro each)
-have dinner-2 waters and 2 entrees
175. No We Do Not All Look Alike!
Ok, I'm Asian and each culture has their own delicacy specializations. Japanese know sushi, Koreans know korean food, Germans know German food, Indians know Indian food, you get the idea. Being Asian, you can't mix the two (and we can tell the difference!), we want a japanese guy making our sushi. In Germany, you have Vietnamese, and they are everywhere, especially running restaurants. They will open up anything Asian -Thai, Chinese, Korean, Sushi restaurants and claim to know how to make sushi. I almost walked out today, because sorry people it's just NOT the same! If I have to eat at one more Vietnamese-pretending-to-be-Japanese sushi restaurant again in Germany...
Ok, I'm Asian and each culture has their own delicacy specializations. Japanese know sushi, Koreans know korean food, Germans know German food, Indians know Indian food, you get the idea. Being Asian, you can't mix the two (and we can tell the difference!), we want a japanese guy making our sushi. In Germany, you have Vietnamese, and they are everywhere, especially running restaurants. They will open up anything Asian -Thai, Chinese, Korean, Sushi restaurants and claim to know how to make sushi. I almost walked out today, because sorry people it's just NOT the same! If I have to eat at one more Vietnamese-pretending-to-be-Japanese sushi restaurant again in Germany...
174. Speaking of Pins...
So I wrote in no. 166. about the number of pin numbers you must memorize here for all your cards, along with the 11 digit telephone numbers (which is why I am getting a headache here)...so I called my German bank to tell them my bank card (debit card, they call it EC card) didn't work anymore so they said they would send me a new one and that I would not be able to use mine, mine is no longer valid. It would take at least 3 days to get it, in the meantime that leaves me with no license to drive and now no money either. Hmmmm, this would now require me to carry wads of cash (are you reading this muggers!?!?) with me at all times, in fear of not having enough money out there in the wilderness, I mean Germany. Well funniest thing happened today, we didn't have time to go to our specific bank (and going to other banks and withdrawing money will cost you around $8 USD bank fee to take out $20 while you pay $3 Euros to park) so we decided to chance it. We scrounged up our coins had enough for parking in Munich (whew) and my husband gave me his bank card just in case. Having 2 hrs to kill I went shopping and lo and behold he gave me the wrong pin number. So here I was in a store in Munich, trying to use my husband's card to pay and it's not working! I tried 2 more times and finally I told him I would be back in 2 hrs when my husband was done with his appointment. 2 hours later, we come back and my husband realized he gave me the wrong pin, we pay with his credit card and proceed to go eat. Then he tells me that in Germany if you enter the wrong pin 3 times, they take your card. Ok, I understand security, so we had one more chance to try out his pin number. Well, he forgot and the atm ate his card. Hmph! We asked the bank teller and they said it would be sent to our German bank. Ok, now we were both out of our bank cards! What luck! and most places in Germany don't take credit cards, it's a weird thing here, they really like cash most of the time. So we took out some cash from his credit card (and will be paying the $8 fee) ate lunch and headed to our German bank. We took out wads of cash and that's when he told us, we would have to order a new card for my husband (who hasn't memorized half his pin numbers and still doesn't know our home or cel numbers by memory either, but really I don't blame him there's just too many to memorize!) and that it would take 3 days to get the card and 3 days later to get the new pin number and now we are both out of our cards for a week, fun! Now I understand this can happen anywhere, but in Germany it's just scary not to have enough cash!
So I wrote in no. 166. about the number of pin numbers you must memorize here for all your cards, along with the 11 digit telephone numbers (which is why I am getting a headache here)...so I called my German bank to tell them my bank card (debit card, they call it EC card) didn't work anymore so they said they would send me a new one and that I would not be able to use mine, mine is no longer valid. It would take at least 3 days to get it, in the meantime that leaves me with no license to drive and now no money either. Hmmmm, this would now require me to carry wads of cash (are you reading this muggers!?!?) with me at all times, in fear of not having enough money out there in the wilderness, I mean Germany. Well funniest thing happened today, we didn't have time to go to our specific bank (and going to other banks and withdrawing money will cost you around $8 USD bank fee to take out $20 while you pay $3 Euros to park) so we decided to chance it. We scrounged up our coins had enough for parking in Munich (whew) and my husband gave me his bank card just in case. Having 2 hrs to kill I went shopping and lo and behold he gave me the wrong pin number. So here I was in a store in Munich, trying to use my husband's card to pay and it's not working! I tried 2 more times and finally I told him I would be back in 2 hrs when my husband was done with his appointment. 2 hours later, we come back and my husband realized he gave me the wrong pin, we pay with his credit card and proceed to go eat. Then he tells me that in Germany if you enter the wrong pin 3 times, they take your card. Ok, I understand security, so we had one more chance to try out his pin number. Well, he forgot and the atm ate his card. Hmph! We asked the bank teller and they said it would be sent to our German bank. Ok, now we were both out of our bank cards! What luck! and most places in Germany don't take credit cards, it's a weird thing here, they really like cash most of the time. So we took out some cash from his credit card (and will be paying the $8 fee) ate lunch and headed to our German bank. We took out wads of cash and that's when he told us, we would have to order a new card for my husband (who hasn't memorized half his pin numbers and still doesn't know our home or cel numbers by memory either, but really I don't blame him there's just too many to memorize!) and that it would take 3 days to get the card and 3 days later to get the new pin number and now we are both out of our cards for a week, fun! Now I understand this can happen anywhere, but in Germany it's just scary not to have enough cash!
173. These Eggs Can Fly...and I hope I don't Die!
Don't be surprised if you open a box of eggs here and it will be full of feathers or still covered in chicken poop. Always the optimist, my husband says it's because it's more organic here, less hormones etc. but I really don't want to see where they came from, really. They also have a weird way of leaving eggs out in the open. I recently read an article that Germany has the worst case of salmonella, 30% of eggs are contaminated due to lack refrigeration, yikes!
Don't be surprised if you open a box of eggs here and it will be full of feathers or still covered in chicken poop. Always the optimist, my husband says it's because it's more organic here, less hormones etc. but I really don't want to see where they came from, really. They also have a weird way of leaving eggs out in the open. I recently read an article that Germany has the worst case of salmonella, 30% of eggs are contaminated due to lack refrigeration, yikes!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
172. The Sour (Cream) German Teacher
We have 2 language teachers in our class, one is half Romanian/half German and she is sooo nice (let's call her Ms. Happy), she smiles and laughs all the time and she teaches us like we were kindergarten students. Making sure each one of us understands, she pantomimes exhaustively to teach us new German words and she treats the foreigners (Turkish, Thai) with even more attention because she has a huge heart, I love her for that. We all love her and all of us in class have great days full of laughter, active participation on the days she teaches. On the other days, Ms. Sour teaches, she is German and very, very (as the Germans say) "SOUR." She on the other hand, has a fixed frown on her face, her forehead is furrowed and her lips are pursed (like she's sucking a lemon), wears glasses and her entire wardrobe consists of browns and black, very drab (you get the picture). She is ever so strict in class and on those days, we are all very, very quiet and very, very bored. She barely leaves her seat all day and no one, no one ever raises their hands or asks questions, because she is so dismissive and gets flustered anyways, so why bother.
We have 2 language teachers in our class, one is half Romanian/half German and she is sooo nice (let's call her Ms. Happy), she smiles and laughs all the time and she teaches us like we were kindergarten students. Making sure each one of us understands, she pantomimes exhaustively to teach us new German words and she treats the foreigners (Turkish, Thai) with even more attention because she has a huge heart, I love her for that. We all love her and all of us in class have great days full of laughter, active participation on the days she teaches. On the other days, Ms. Sour teaches, she is German and very, very (as the Germans say) "SOUR." She on the other hand, has a fixed frown on her face, her forehead is furrowed and her lips are pursed (like she's sucking a lemon), wears glasses and her entire wardrobe consists of browns and black, very drab (you get the picture). She is ever so strict in class and on those days, we are all very, very quiet and very, very bored. She barely leaves her seat all day and no one, no one ever raises their hands or asks questions, because she is so dismissive and gets flustered anyways, so why bother.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
167. Rules of the German Gym
-you must bring and use a hand towel at all times
-you must bring a seperate pair of gym shoes (not street shoes) so as not to bring in dirt
-you must wipe with a paper towel and disinfectant (that will be provided) every machine that you touch
-you must put all weights back and keep gym in proper order at all times
-you must listen to loud techno music, even if you don't like it
-you must bring and use a hand towel at all times
-you must bring a seperate pair of gym shoes (not street shoes) so as not to bring in dirt
-you must wipe with a paper towel and disinfectant (that will be provided) every machine that you touch
-you must put all weights back and keep gym in proper order at all times
-you must listen to loud techno music, even if you don't like it
166. The number of Pin Numbers to know in Germany
-your EC bank card pin (all are 5 digits)
-your bank card pin for telephone banking
-your bank card pin for online banking
-your cel phone pin (4 digits)
-anonymous TAN no.s for numerous banking transactions
(this is pretty funny, they send you in a very secret envelope a list of 100 TAN numbers with 5 different coded numbers for each TAN, you must never lose this (keep it safe and heck you will never be able to memorize these numbers! You must use them to do any banking transaction with your bank.)
-your wireless internet
note: and you can't try to change these pin numbers, you're stuck with each one so you better just start memorizing!
-your EC bank card pin (all are 5 digits)
-your bank card pin for telephone banking
-your bank card pin for online banking
-your cel phone pin (4 digits)
-anonymous TAN no.s for numerous banking transactions
(this is pretty funny, they send you in a very secret envelope a list of 100 TAN numbers with 5 different coded numbers for each TAN, you must never lose this (keep it safe and heck you will never be able to memorize these numbers! You must use them to do any banking transaction with your bank.)
-your wireless internet
note: and you can't try to change these pin numbers, you're stuck with each one so you better just start memorizing!
164. We have a swimming pool in our Apartment building
I never use it, because the first time we went, we were told by our nosy neighbors we had to wear swimcaps to swim there. The second time we went, we took our guests (all of us wearing shower caps and looking ridiculous) and another set of friendly neighbors asked my guests if they lived here and that this would be the last time they could use the pool, because it was only for residents. Then she had the gall to ask me where I lived in the building, do you see how this may annoy the hell out of you??!! All the time, you may be breaking the rules, there’s always a busy body German trying to tell you it’s forbidden, illegal whatever, and you can never relax, even in your own pool.
I never use it, because the first time we went, we were told by our nosy neighbors we had to wear swimcaps to swim there. The second time we went, we took our guests (all of us wearing shower caps and looking ridiculous) and another set of friendly neighbors asked my guests if they lived here and that this would be the last time they could use the pool, because it was only for residents. Then she had the gall to ask me where I lived in the building, do you see how this may annoy the hell out of you??!! All the time, you may be breaking the rules, there’s always a busy body German trying to tell you it’s forbidden, illegal whatever, and you can never relax, even in your own pool.
163. Short FUSE!
I feel I have acquired a short fuse here and now every time someone says NEIN to me, all the memories and feelings of frustrations seem to bubble within in me and I feel like I’m going to burst!!! Read all the blogs and you’ll know why!??! ! !! All this happened in less than a year here!
I feel I have acquired a short fuse here and now every time someone says NEIN to me, all the memories and feelings of frustrations seem to bubble within in me and I feel like I’m going to burst!!! Read all the blogs and you’ll know why!??! ! !! All this happened in less than a year here!
162. Sometimes for fun, I like to hear the word, NEIN!
So we’re at Hugo Boss outlet in Metzingen this weekend, I asked the friendly cashier if I could have the hangars for our overpriced clothes we just purchased and she said, “NEIN!” (which means NO) We had shopped there many times before and they always gave us hangars, and being that we are in Germany and getting anything costs money I had to ask. Then I asked her for an extra bag, she said, “NEIN!” then she ran my credit card and then said, “NEIN!” Guess I gotta go to the bank and get a new card, it’s happened to me many times before where my stupid EC card (debit card) doesn’t work sometimes, that’s why I feel it is imperative to carry large amounts of cash with me at all times to spare me the humiliation and jeers in line at any shopping establishment. I was so flustered with her NEIN’S!! I ran out the door huffing and puffing, “I am so sick of the NEINS!” She probably thought I was a crazy American. My ever-compassionate husband said she probably only knew a few words in English and could only say yes or no…I hate him.
So we’re at Hugo Boss outlet in Metzingen this weekend, I asked the friendly cashier if I could have the hangars for our overpriced clothes we just purchased and she said, “NEIN!” (which means NO) We had shopped there many times before and they always gave us hangars, and being that we are in Germany and getting anything costs money I had to ask. Then I asked her for an extra bag, she said, “NEIN!” then she ran my credit card and then said, “NEIN!” Guess I gotta go to the bank and get a new card, it’s happened to me many times before where my stupid EC card (debit card) doesn’t work sometimes, that’s why I feel it is imperative to carry large amounts of cash with me at all times to spare me the humiliation and jeers in line at any shopping establishment. I was so flustered with her NEIN’S!! I ran out the door huffing and puffing, “I am so sick of the NEINS!” She probably thought I was a crazy American. My ever-compassionate husband said she probably only knew a few words in English and could only say yes or no…I hate him.
161. Memory of Concentration Camps
Every time I drove by Munich, I was taunted by the city of Dachau on the Autobahn, I had always wanted to go and so today we went to Dachau Concentration Camp, the second concentration camp I visited while living in Germany. The first was Mauthausen, Austria and it was quite an experience. I had first learned about the horrors of the holocaust when I was in Junior High School where we were visited by survivors of the concentration camps, they showed us a propaganda film produced by the Nazis and the black and white horrors I had seen were permanently ingrained in my mind. On the film, they had shown us how they used human hair to fill furniture, used human flesh for lampshades and the hundreds of thousands of emaciated bodies lying in open graves were absolutely graphic and horrifying. They even showed us their concentration camp i.d. number tattoo that was a permanent reminder that the nightmare they experienced had really happened and would be a memory they could never forget. Today, I learned more horrors of this true and tragic history of Germany. That Dachau was the first and largest concentration camps, for not only Jews, but homosexuals, handicapped, political prisoners from over 30 countries and anyone that defied the Nazi regime. Over 200,000 visitors came to Dachau, the total number of deaths were never known (but there were almost 30,000 registered deaths) and thousands suffered from torture, disease and suffering beyond words. As the sign on Dachau reminds us all, “Never Again” we should all remember this tragic event and we should never, ever let this happen again.
Every time I drove by Munich, I was taunted by the city of Dachau on the Autobahn, I had always wanted to go and so today we went to Dachau Concentration Camp, the second concentration camp I visited while living in Germany. The first was Mauthausen, Austria and it was quite an experience. I had first learned about the horrors of the holocaust when I was in Junior High School where we were visited by survivors of the concentration camps, they showed us a propaganda film produced by the Nazis and the black and white horrors I had seen were permanently ingrained in my mind. On the film, they had shown us how they used human hair to fill furniture, used human flesh for lampshades and the hundreds of thousands of emaciated bodies lying in open graves were absolutely graphic and horrifying. They even showed us their concentration camp i.d. number tattoo that was a permanent reminder that the nightmare they experienced had really happened and would be a memory they could never forget. Today, I learned more horrors of this true and tragic history of Germany. That Dachau was the first and largest concentration camps, for not only Jews, but homosexuals, handicapped, political prisoners from over 30 countries and anyone that defied the Nazi regime. Over 200,000 visitors came to Dachau, the total number of deaths were never known (but there were almost 30,000 registered deaths) and thousands suffered from torture, disease and suffering beyond words. As the sign on Dachau reminds us all, “Never Again” we should all remember this tragic event and we should never, ever let this happen again.
155. GUTEN TAG!! Can you please turn down the volume?
My best friend came over from America and made a point, he stated the language is not easy on the ears, I agree with him, it’s definitely a harsh language not soft or pretty like Spanish or Italian, romantic languages. And when you don’t understand it on tv or the radio, listening to it is really relaxing and soothing.
My best friend came over from America and made a point, he stated the language is not easy on the ears, I agree with him, it’s definitely a harsh language not soft or pretty like Spanish or Italian, romantic languages. And when you don’t understand it on tv or the radio, listening to it is really relaxing and soothing.
151. Rules of a Houseguest and the Ungrateful Guest
-don’t invite yourself over
-don’t invite your family (parents, baby, brother) to come with you
-don’t be 1.5 hours late and not call, we may be waiting for you
-don’t decide to go shopping and be another 2 hours late without calling, we may be waiting for you again
-bring something of good gesture (ex. wine, chocolates) when staying over someone’s house or offer to pay for dinner or drinks
-don’t eat all the chocolates or drink all the wine when you’re here
-don’t invite yourself over
-don’t invite your family (parents, baby, brother) to come with you
-don’t be 1.5 hours late and not call, we may be waiting for you
-don’t decide to go shopping and be another 2 hours late without calling, we may be waiting for you again
-bring something of good gesture (ex. wine, chocolates) when staying over someone’s house or offer to pay for dinner or drinks
-don’t eat all the chocolates or drink all the wine when you’re here
150. Living With Broken Appliances
Everything has broken in our apartment the dishwasher didn’t wash, the washer didn’t work properly and kept buzzing every 10 min, 2 window blinds broke, the plumbing leaked, the faucet was loose, every time something broke, it took FOREVER to get fixed, how about 6 mos??! You know what you do? You just start to live with it-if it is broken, don’t fix it!
Everything has broken in our apartment the dishwasher didn’t wash, the washer didn’t work properly and kept buzzing every 10 min, 2 window blinds broke, the plumbing leaked, the faucet was loose, every time something broke, it took FOREVER to get fixed, how about 6 mos??! You know what you do? You just start to live with it-if it is broken, don’t fix it!
149. Dryers that Don’t Dry
Maybe cause there’s no direct air tubing from the dryer to the outside wall, but the Europeans have created this process of condensation tanks, that suck the water out of clothing and empties it into a tank, that you have to drain every time, anyways it doesn’t work very well and you will end up using the clothes rack as well!
Maybe cause there’s no direct air tubing from the dryer to the outside wall, but the Europeans have created this process of condensation tanks, that suck the water out of clothing and empties it into a tank, that you have to drain every time, anyways it doesn’t work very well and you will end up using the clothes rack as well!
148. Living with Half a Refrigerator
I learned a trick, how to play musical chairs with the food in your refrigerator and freezer, you rotate everything, cram it in, remove packaging, anything to stuff more food into the fridge and freezer, that is the ¼ size of the one in America!
Pix: no, this isn't my refrigerator, but it might as well be!
147. Let Us Control Your Heating For You
If I am going to pay for the heating, don’t you think I should be the one controlling the amount of heat and when it should be on or off in my own apartment>?!!? Hello?! No, in our apartment, they regulate the temp. and turn down the heating in the middle of the night!!! What a joke, that pisses me off and I’m cold!! Back to my trusty little heater!
If I am going to pay for the heating, don’t you think I should be the one controlling the amount of heat and when it should be on or off in my own apartment>?!!? Hello?! No, in our apartment, they regulate the temp. and turn down the heating in the middle of the night!!! What a joke, that pisses me off and I’m cold!! Back to my trusty little heater!
146. The Dishwasher That Holds 1 Pot
Why do I feel like I am spending half my life here washing dishes and doing laundry?!?! Because they are so small!! The dishwasher is half the size of the good ‘ol USA and holds about 8 plates, 1 med pot, (don’t think about big pots) it also takes over 2 hours to wash, I really don’t think this is conserving energy, hello?!?! Same goes for the washer and dryer!
Why do I feel like I am spending half my life here washing dishes and doing laundry?!?! Because they are so small!! The dishwasher is half the size of the good ‘ol USA and holds about 8 plates, 1 med pot, (don’t think about big pots) it also takes over 2 hours to wash, I really don’t think this is conserving energy, hello?!?! Same goes for the washer and dryer!
143. The Friendly Delivery Man
SEGMULLER!!!!! Is the name of our furniture store that we ordered our couch and closet from, it took 6 weeks to get our closet and 10 weeks to get our couch. Get used to it, bribery, begging, pleading or even shopping around in other stores will do nothing to expedite this process. You’re clothes will be on a rack and you will be sitting on the floor for this time. So when the time finally came near Easter!! for our couch to arrive I was shocked to pick up the intercom and the gruff German delivery man yell SEGMULLER!!!!! On the intercom, I said “..uh, ok, ein moment..” He walks in the room and starts demanding something to drink, “Uh..ok, “ I said, shrugging my shoulders totally taken aback by his behavior, I felt like I was here to serve him, he was huffing and puffing the whole time and so rude, I really couldn’t believe it. What the fuck!?! I couldn’t wait till he left and never felt so uncomfortable in my own home!
SEGMULLER!!!!! Is the name of our furniture store that we ordered our couch and closet from, it took 6 weeks to get our closet and 10 weeks to get our couch. Get used to it, bribery, begging, pleading or even shopping around in other stores will do nothing to expedite this process. You’re clothes will be on a rack and you will be sitting on the floor for this time. So when the time finally came near Easter!! for our couch to arrive I was shocked to pick up the intercom and the gruff German delivery man yell SEGMULLER!!!!! On the intercom, I said “..uh, ok, ein moment..” He walks in the room and starts demanding something to drink, “Uh..ok, “ I said, shrugging my shoulders totally taken aback by his behavior, I felt like I was here to serve him, he was huffing and puffing the whole time and so rude, I really couldn’t believe it. What the fuck!?! I couldn’t wait till he left and never felt so uncomfortable in my own home!
141. The Beef Dilemma
Wow huge problem for me, especially since I like to cook, but the beef here is truly, truly inedible! First there is only a few cuts of meat like Tafelspitz which is like brisket in the US they have no beef bones, so forget BBQ beef ribs, then maybe rinderfilet which is super expensive and tasteless or some lower grade that you can ONLY make soup out of and must cook for hours otherwise it’s like chewing leather, trust me! Sometimes to add more fun, the Tafelspitz can be $14/Euros per Kilo which now you have to convert to make any sense for yourself and that is really expensive, so here’s a TIP: find a Metro which is kinda like a Costco in the States and get the big package of Argentinian entrecote steaks, it will be around 30/Euros but you will be able to slice into 10 steaks, it comes out to $3/Euro per steak and that’s even cheaper than Tafelspitz! Plus it’s cheaper than the US steaks there and it will be delicious..trust me I had to learn the hard way…
Wow huge problem for me, especially since I like to cook, but the beef here is truly, truly inedible! First there is only a few cuts of meat like Tafelspitz which is like brisket in the US they have no beef bones, so forget BBQ beef ribs, then maybe rinderfilet which is super expensive and tasteless or some lower grade that you can ONLY make soup out of and must cook for hours otherwise it’s like chewing leather, trust me! Sometimes to add more fun, the Tafelspitz can be $14/Euros per Kilo which now you have to convert to make any sense for yourself and that is really expensive, so here’s a TIP: find a Metro which is kinda like a Costco in the States and get the big package of Argentinian entrecote steaks, it will be around 30/Euros but you will be able to slice into 10 steaks, it comes out to $3/Euro per steak and that’s even cheaper than Tafelspitz! Plus it’s cheaper than the US steaks there and it will be delicious..trust me I had to learn the hard way…
137. I am a HUMAN transporter/mule, I lugged everything from the US
Like a donkey but with 4-5 huge overweight bags lemme give you an example of what I went through..
Wow, wonder if they have this stuff in Germany? Probably not, but gosh how much does this weigh? Shit feels like a pound, can’t do it! Maybe if I transfer to a plastic bag? Man, I really want to bring this heavy jacket but it’s tooo big for the bag!?! UGHHGH get the scale and put yourself on it then deduct your own weight while you are holding a 70 lb bag on your arm, damn that’s so heavy, I can’t even read the scale screen, the bag’s in the way!!! I AM NOT A GUY!! This is soo heavy! OMG how the fuck am I going to put 4 overweight bags and a 50lb carryon in this car?!?! Shoot the window popped out, don’t push too hard! Wait, I have to measure the dimensions of this bag, it may be too big! When did all the freakin airlines get so strict with luggage!! Terrorists!! Oh please let me get a nice airline check in girl! Hi, 4 bags overweight costs $400 dollars?!??! …Uh, ok better than buying clothes in Germany. Please don’t weigh the carry on, please, please..SHIT London Heathrow caught me the carryon has to be the size of a purse because of airport security, are you kidding me??! Look at that guys bag it’s way bigger!! Bugger! Ok, make sure you bring 2 carts to pick me up I have a LOT of luggage as always..now times this by 4 trips in the last year to America..and you get one Desperate Expat Housewife.
Like a donkey but with 4-5 huge overweight bags lemme give you an example of what I went through..
Wow, wonder if they have this stuff in Germany? Probably not, but gosh how much does this weigh? Shit feels like a pound, can’t do it! Maybe if I transfer to a plastic bag? Man, I really want to bring this heavy jacket but it’s tooo big for the bag!?! UGHHGH get the scale and put yourself on it then deduct your own weight while you are holding a 70 lb bag on your arm, damn that’s so heavy, I can’t even read the scale screen, the bag’s in the way!!! I AM NOT A GUY!! This is soo heavy! OMG how the fuck am I going to put 4 overweight bags and a 50lb carryon in this car?!?! Shoot the window popped out, don’t push too hard! Wait, I have to measure the dimensions of this bag, it may be too big! When did all the freakin airlines get so strict with luggage!! Terrorists!! Oh please let me get a nice airline check in girl! Hi, 4 bags overweight costs $400 dollars?!??! …Uh, ok better than buying clothes in Germany. Please don’t weigh the carry on, please, please..SHIT London Heathrow caught me the carryon has to be the size of a purse because of airport security, are you kidding me??! Look at that guys bag it’s way bigger!! Bugger! Ok, make sure you bring 2 carts to pick me up I have a LOT of luggage as always..now times this by 4 trips in the last year to America..and you get one Desperate Expat Housewife.
136. Any research, phone calls everything takes forever…..
Think about it, you need to find something, or buy something. You have to first do a translate and figure out what it is in German, then you search on Google, which will keep goin to German anyways which you can't read, then you take the freakin page and you try to auto-translate it which only works half the time so then you cut and paste it to Google translate page, which gives you the info in garbled english which you try to decipher and try to make sense. It's like detective work without the thrill, then you end up getting so frustrated and exhausted you don't even want to go out anyways!
Think about it, you need to find something, or buy something. You have to first do a translate and figure out what it is in German, then you search on Google, which will keep goin to German anyways which you can't read, then you take the freakin page and you try to auto-translate it which only works half the time so then you cut and paste it to Google translate page, which gives you the info in garbled english which you try to decipher and try to make sense. It's like detective work without the thrill, then you end up getting so frustrated and exhausted you don't even want to go out anyways!
129. The 4 month Pillow Dilemma
Sizes of pillows in Germany??-ridiculous!!! It’s 60x60 or 80x80 and it will be hard to get used to! None of your pillowcases will fit so don’t even bother, and don’t buy the feather ones that will completely flatten out and you will be lying flat on your bed with no pillow support! I had to bring my own king size pillows and cases from America, that was fun!
Sizes of pillows in Germany??-ridiculous!!! It’s 60x60 or 80x80 and it will be hard to get used to! None of your pillowcases will fit so don’t even bother, and don’t buy the feather ones that will completely flatten out and you will be lying flat on your bed with no pillow support! I had to bring my own king size pillows and cases from America, that was fun!
128. Sneaky Radars
Watch out, they’re everywhere and the least expected places, plus I heard they’re pretty strict on the speeding, 5-10 km more is speeding! Watch out for bridges, behind construction signs, they even have private individuals who do this as a business! They buy their own radars, hide and take pictures of your car and report it to the police for commission!! No joke!
116. Just another Friday night at the English speaking Cinema NOT!
Only on Tuesdays, or certain days can you watch an English subtitled movie, at least where I live in Germany and it's called sneak preview, so you don't even have a choice, what you will be watching!
Haven't been to a theater in a year :(
Only on Tuesdays, or certain days can you watch an English subtitled movie, at least where I live in Germany and it's called sneak preview, so you don't even have a choice, what you will be watching!
Haven't been to a theater in a year :(
105. Why I LOVE Super U Hypermarkets and France
It’s cheaper, it has more selection, it’s massive and has everything you need all in one place, you can even get contact solution here and a dryer! Plus the French food is soooo much better even the cheaper stuff! The breads, the cheeses, even the frozen escargot and everything, everything is about 30-50% cheaper than in Germany...ahhhhh
It’s cheaper, it has more selection, it’s massive and has everything you need all in one place, you can even get contact solution here and a dryer! Plus the French food is soooo much better even the cheaper stuff! The breads, the cheeses, even the frozen escargot and everything, everything is about 30-50% cheaper than in Germany...ahhhhh
104. Viva La France and Freedom over the Border!
We used to live 10 min from France, and I am not kidding, as SOON as you cross over the border, you will feel free and relaxed a certain joie de vivre will take over, there will be smell of croissants, people smiling, great shopping, delicious desserts, everything is fairy tale, romantic, softer, more shall we say, French? And you will begin to relax and take all that German tenision away. I love France!
Monday, April 13, 2009
100. Getting stuck on a mountain
We did, we didn’t see the sign about the non-maintained road and really 5 minutes down the mountain it was fine! But 5 min up and in our new company leased car we were suddenly stuck on black ice and slowly sliding down the hill. The only thing that saved us was the rail along the steep mountain. The front of the car was almost touching the steel rail and with the scary $1000 Euro deductible we couldn’t afford to damage the car! The back of the car was against the jagged rocks on the mountain and it was almost perpendicular. Somehow the car had managed to roll down this way. We stuffed his scarf between the rail while the car kept rolling. Of course on that freezing night, I was dressed without a jacket and wearing slippery shoes so moving about the car was cold and quite slippery. And he had to hike up the mountain to the castle to look for help. The castle was closed so he hiked down the mountain and returned with a bucket of sand and a shovel and nice German guy (Wow a first in my blog!) Then with me in the car while 2 men were trying to put sand underneath the tires we ever so carefully inch by inch was able to straighten out the car and drive it down the hill, it was 2 hours of freezing and a lot of fun.
We did, we didn’t see the sign about the non-maintained road and really 5 minutes down the mountain it was fine! But 5 min up and in our new company leased car we were suddenly stuck on black ice and slowly sliding down the hill. The only thing that saved us was the rail along the steep mountain. The front of the car was almost touching the steel rail and with the scary $1000 Euro deductible we couldn’t afford to damage the car! The back of the car was against the jagged rocks on the mountain and it was almost perpendicular. Somehow the car had managed to roll down this way. We stuffed his scarf between the rail while the car kept rolling. Of course on that freezing night, I was dressed without a jacket and wearing slippery shoes so moving about the car was cold and quite slippery. And he had to hike up the mountain to the castle to look for help. The castle was closed so he hiked down the mountain and returned with a bucket of sand and a shovel and nice German guy (Wow a first in my blog!) Then with me in the car while 2 men were trying to put sand underneath the tires we ever so carefully inch by inch was able to straighten out the car and drive it down the hill, it was 2 hours of freezing and a lot of fun.
99. Slippery when Snow
Experiencing my first winter here with 3 months of eternal gloom, grey skies and not one ounce of sun. I did not enjoy it, I kid you not, I now know why people in Seattle commit suicide it is depressing. And in Augsburg, something about the 3 lakes or make it LOOK and FEEL like the inside of a freezer! I SWEAR it was ICE BITING COLD here and it would not let up at all! 3-4 months of wearing head to toe clothing, and freezing my butt off. Then trudging in snow to catch the tram, I can now tell my kids, “ You know I walked 20 miles in the snow when I was young..”
Pix: of a German winter traffic jam
98. The Hype of Schloss Neuschwanstein, Disneyland is even better!
So we went to this tourist trap and after seeing all the beauty and glam in France, Italy and Vienna you may be disappointed. Most of the castle rooms were not completed so you will only see a few rooms, all dark woods, not too exciting. Even the jewels on the chandelier they said were not real, typische Deutsche!
So we went to this tourist trap and after seeing all the beauty and glam in France, Italy and Vienna you may be disappointed. Most of the castle rooms were not completed so you will only see a few rooms, all dark woods, not too exciting. Even the jewels on the chandelier they said were not real, typische Deutsche!
91. Rules of the Autobahn, no passing on the right!
Just try to remember that one
I know I couldn't get used to it, and it confused the heck out of me, so if you drive on the left lane you must go super fast otherwise it's impeding on the traffic, so drive on the right slow lane with the trucks. But if you want to pass the car in front you, make sure you highbeam him and get on his tail, because you cannot move to the right lane and pass him, got it??!
Just try to remember that one
I know I couldn't get used to it, and it confused the heck out of me, so if you drive on the left lane you must go super fast otherwise it's impeding on the traffic, so drive on the right slow lane with the trucks. But if you want to pass the car in front you, make sure you highbeam him and get on his tail, because you cannot move to the right lane and pass him, got it??!
90. Country roads, I’m going to fall off the edge!
Some of these well-maintained roads will have the edge fall into a big ravine of 3-4 feet or even deeper, one wrong turn will leave your car in the ditches. Oh and the streets are WAY more narrow here, you cannot drive a hummer here, no way! and in the parking structures?? you better practice your driving skills, cause everything is tight!
Some of these well-maintained roads will have the edge fall into a big ravine of 3-4 feet or even deeper, one wrong turn will leave your car in the ditches. Oh and the streets are WAY more narrow here, you cannot drive a hummer here, no way! and in the parking structures?? you better practice your driving skills, cause everything is tight!
85. That condiment will cost you!! Don’t order extra ketchup, or mustard, or mayo…
Yeah when they asked if I want some ketchup, I said yes. Want some mustard, I said yes and the burger costs me 8 Euros plus more for condiments, each one costs. Yeah and speaking of burgers it is so expensive here and Burger King is way better than McDonalds here but you will be paying for it.
Yeah when they asked if I want some ketchup, I said yes. Want some mustard, I said yes and the burger costs me 8 Euros plus more for condiments, each one costs. Yeah and speaking of burgers it is so expensive here and Burger King is way better than McDonalds here but you will be paying for it.
65. Rules of the German Road
Autobahn not worth it, scary as shit!! And the 2 lane fiasco
Ok explain this one, one lane has Porsches, Beemers and Audis driving at 240 km/hr that’s around I dunno 150 miles per hour or something? Now in the other lane, there are huuuuggggge trucks and old Fiats, put-putting around. You now have a choice of which lane to be in. But don’t forget no passing on the right, meaning you can’t go to the right lane to pass the one on the left. So, if you dare to be in the supersonic left lane, prepared to have the Porsche start high-beaming you like crazy and suddenly appearing in your rearview mirror on your ass!! Scary, so you quickly signal and sneak in between the HUGE trailer truck and the Fiat from 100 km/hr down to 50. You do the math, the Autobahn is one of the most deadly roads to drive in the world. Many accidents, and we're not talking fender-benders, but total deadly car wrecks!
Autobahn not worth it, scary as shit!! And the 2 lane fiasco
Ok explain this one, one lane has Porsches, Beemers and Audis driving at 240 km/hr that’s around I dunno 150 miles per hour or something? Now in the other lane, there are huuuuggggge trucks and old Fiats, put-putting around. You now have a choice of which lane to be in. But don’t forget no passing on the right, meaning you can’t go to the right lane to pass the one on the left. So, if you dare to be in the supersonic left lane, prepared to have the Porsche start high-beaming you like crazy and suddenly appearing in your rearview mirror on your ass!! Scary, so you quickly signal and sneak in between the HUGE trailer truck and the Fiat from 100 km/hr down to 50. You do the math, the Autobahn is one of the most deadly roads to drive in the world. Many accidents, and we're not talking fender-benders, but total deadly car wrecks!
63. German Traffic and getting stuck on the Autobahn
You will get stuck, there will be no offramp and you will sit in your car for hours, don’t even think about going to the bathroom! In LA it's consistent, you know there will be traffic, in Germany, it
can be unexpected then your 1 hour trip will turn into 3 hours, there will be no offramp for miles, and you will be stuck, completely stuck in your car for hours.
You will get stuck, there will be no offramp and you will sit in your car for hours, don’t even think about going to the bathroom! In LA it's consistent, you know there will be traffic, in Germany, it
can be unexpected then your 1 hour trip will turn into 3 hours, there will be no offramp for miles, and you will be stuck, completely stuck in your car for hours.
61. Akkusativ, Nominativ, Dativ, Genitiv, Prepositions, Perfekt, Imperfekt
You have NOOOOO idea how difficult the German language is, we in class laugh at the ludicrousness of it, the illogical, makes-no-sense how difficult it is and why it is. It's like a puzzle, you have to learn if a word is feminine, masculine or neutral then if the sentence is akkusativ, nominativ or dativ or even genitiv, then you have to see if its in the past or future, then you mix it all up sometimes the verb moves around, there is absolutely NO LOGIC and you try to decipher a whole sentence. Try it, you'll see. I heard most Germans don't even know proper German.
You have NOOOOO idea how difficult the German language is, we in class laugh at the ludicrousness of it, the illogical, makes-no-sense how difficult it is and why it is. It's like a puzzle, you have to learn if a word is feminine, masculine or neutral then if the sentence is akkusativ, nominativ or dativ or even genitiv, then you have to see if its in the past or future, then you mix it all up sometimes the verb moves around, there is absolutely NO LOGIC and you try to decipher a whole sentence. Try it, you'll see. I heard most Germans don't even know proper German.
59. My trash is your trash
Yup, we got it, a letter today stating that the tenants in our particular building are not separating the trash and it is "forbidden" to do so. Wow, I really thought we could get away with it, but somehow, they caught us again, there must be some poor German sorting our trash and finding that we put the yellow trash shit in the grey one, darn!! Now we’re in trouble with the Trash Police! So, now our tiny kitchen will be half full of sorted trash and 5 diff trash containers, AGAIN!!
Yup, we got it, a letter today stating that the tenants in our particular building are not separating the trash and it is "forbidden" to do so. Wow, I really thought we could get away with it, but somehow, they caught us again, there must be some poor German sorting our trash and finding that we put the yellow trash shit in the grey one, darn!! Now we’re in trouble with the Trash Police! So, now our tiny kitchen will be half full of sorted trash and 5 diff trash containers, AGAIN!!
55. German sandals and white socks
So my language teacher again, makes the funniest joke in class that the Typical German always wear white socks, sandals and shorts when they travel, you can always tell by their uniform, I thought that was soo funny! It’s nice to get a laugh when you’re working so hard on learning their impossibly difficult language! btw, she's half-German.
54. Tram tickets and refunds
So couple weeks ago, I was super nervous that I might forget to purchase my monthly tram ticket that I bought one in the kiosk at the tram stop. First, the stupid machine did not give me a receipt then I realized I didn’t need the monthly, because I had 2 weeks off!! Well, I just blew $70 USD!! I tried calling the tram co. and the German guy on the phone pretty much told me NEIN, NEIN, and NEIN because I purchase the ticket at a kiosk there was no way I could get a refund and that was the rule!!!! Well I was soo sad, I made another costly mistake but I thought I would just try at the main office. As soon as I asked the kind sir, I saw him in my disbelief start getting the $50 Euro bill out, he grabbed my ticket and gave me all my money back, just like that! WOW, can you believe it?! First time getting a refund, shock! And I was soo pissed with the guy on the phone, Germans!! Don’t you love ‘em!??!
So couple weeks ago, I was super nervous that I might forget to purchase my monthly tram ticket that I bought one in the kiosk at the tram stop. First, the stupid machine did not give me a receipt then I realized I didn’t need the monthly, because I had 2 weeks off!! Well, I just blew $70 USD!! I tried calling the tram co. and the German guy on the phone pretty much told me NEIN, NEIN, and NEIN because I purchase the ticket at a kiosk there was no way I could get a refund and that was the rule!!!! Well I was soo sad, I made another costly mistake but I thought I would just try at the main office. As soon as I asked the kind sir, I saw him in my disbelief start getting the $50 Euro bill out, he grabbed my ticket and gave me all my money back, just like that! WOW, can you believe it?! First time getting a refund, shock! And I was soo pissed with the guy on the phone, Germans!! Don’t you love ‘em!??!
53. I’m always nervous HERE!!
Even my Romanian language teacher who is half German said she is NERVOUS here especially on the trams and buses, afraid that she will forget to get her ticket stamped, which is EXACTLY how I feel ALL the time, seriously!! Who can relax in a country where you can make a mistake, get in trouble all the time or pay expensive fines, with NO exceptions. It is your responsibility to know the rules, even if they are in German and you must adhere to them! Which leads me to..
Even my Romanian language teacher who is half German said she is NERVOUS here especially on the trams and buses, afraid that she will forget to get her ticket stamped, which is EXACTLY how I feel ALL the time, seriously!! Who can relax in a country where you can make a mistake, get in trouble all the time or pay expensive fines, with NO exceptions. It is your responsibility to know the rules, even if they are in German and you must adhere to them! Which leads me to..
52. $3 Euros/hour parking and don’t forget to pay!
In Munich, it can cost around $28 Euros/40 USD to park 8 hours, you do the math! Parking is PAY EVERYWHERE hardly any streets with free parking, whether it’s 5 min or 5 hours YOU WILL PAY! And IT DOES ADD UP!! Tip-and don't forget to carry the ticket with you to pay at the machine before coming back to the car, I learned the hard way.
In Munich, it can cost around $28 Euros/40 USD to park 8 hours, you do the math! Parking is PAY EVERYWHERE hardly any streets with free parking, whether it’s 5 min or 5 hours YOU WILL PAY! And IT DOES ADD UP!! Tip-and don't forget to carry the ticket with you to pay at the machine before coming back to the car, I learned the hard way.
50. Utilitarian clothes, black is the new black
It’s everywhere the bright sunny colors like yellow and pink, no I’m kidding it’s very utilitarian here (and understandably so, don’t even think of wearing your beige Prada shoes, cobblestones are the WORST!!!) you will get dirty, your shoes will be scuffed and the heels will wear down very, very fast here. So utilitarian black is the uniform and flat, flat, comfy shoes! No fashion plates here! Speaking of..
It’s everywhere the bright sunny colors like yellow and pink, no I’m kidding it’s very utilitarian here (and understandably so, don’t even think of wearing your beige Prada shoes, cobblestones are the WORST!!!) you will get dirty, your shoes will be scuffed and the heels will wear down very, very fast here. So utilitarian black is the uniform and flat, flat, comfy shoes! No fashion plates here! Speaking of..
48. 2 months of bunny drops and dry cracked lips forever
Ok I know its kinda graphic but I must tell you what my poor body endured..I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of both these problems, all to no avail..I am still eating prunes, prune juice, flaxseed and still looking for something to cure my lips (Kiehls, petrolatum, 8 hour cream, Aquaphor, Blistek lip care..) An Austrian suggested pig fat, were they kidding??!
Ok I know its kinda graphic but I must tell you what my poor body endured..I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of both these problems, all to no avail..I am still eating prunes, prune juice, flaxseed and still looking for something to cure my lips (Kiehls, petrolatum, 8 hour cream, Aquaphor, Blistek lip care..) An Austrian suggested pig fat, were they kidding??!
46. No drugs, vitamins to ship here!
I was shocked to go to the Zollamt, (the stupid customs office for imported packages or anything bigger than a letter! Seriously!) to learn that I could not even ship any ANY drugs, medications, or even vitamins here, it would get TOSSED out! WOW! That sucks for me cough cough!
I was shocked to go to the Zollamt, (the stupid customs office for imported packages or anything bigger than a letter! Seriously!) to learn that I could not even ship any ANY drugs, medications, or even vitamins here, it would get TOSSED out! WOW! That sucks for me cough cough!
45. Thank God for US Imports but don’t even try importing anything yourself
You will pay 20% VAT then Import Tax then other fees, and the item will cost double the price by the time it gets here! You won’t even find many companies ship here anyways, with all the paperwork and customs crap it has to go through!
You will pay 20% VAT then Import Tax then other fees, and the item will cost double the price by the time it gets here! You won’t even find many companies ship here anyways, with all the paperwork and customs crap it has to go through!
43. Hold time on the phone or they just hang up anyways
Every freaking time we call any company in Germany, ex. Tmobile, Deutsche Telekom, Base we get the longgggest computer generated operator (of course all in German) then we either get dropped/hung up completely or have to wait forever, it requires us to call at least (no exxageration) 10 times to even get through to them, very efficient country, really!!
Every freaking time we call any company in Germany, ex. Tmobile, Deutsche Telekom, Base we get the longgggest computer generated operator (of course all in German) then we either get dropped/hung up completely or have to wait forever, it requires us to call at least (no exxageration) 10 times to even get through to them, very efficient country, really!!
41. Cold dinners! Or No dinners
Did you know some Austrians and Germans don’t eat anything for dinner except cold meats and cheese with brown bread?!?! Are you kidding?? I was SOOO hungry at my in-laws house, after the 3rd day I was craving a hot meal for dinner, WE Americans are used to eating a HOT, HEARTY MEAL for dinner, case closed!
40. Salami and Cheeese, salami and cheese, salami and cheese (and brown bread)
STOP it!! I don’t even like cold turkey sandwiches in America! But this is ridiculous, every day in my in-laws refrigerator it is full of JUST meat and cheese and we’re NOT talking of Italian delicious cold cuts, it is tasteless once again and the cheese ARHGGH this is the most truly tasteless society! Lemme give you a recap of a typical German/Austrian refrigerator contents:
5 kinds of Cold Cuts
3 kinds of Cheese
2 Cartons of Yogurt
Horseradish paste
Olives
½ Cucumber
Some cheese spread
2 eggs
Milk
Creamer
Cream
4 pieces of dark brown bread
That’s about it, pretty much every time I go there, Yup, plenty to eat.
39. The $500 Euro garden-Learning Things the Expensive Way!
So in our first German humble abode, we had a tiny, tiny terrace. It had room for a few plants, some herbs and a tiny table, I had to learn the hard way cause I had NO IDEA!! How expensive dirt was at Obi (the hardware store) so for a few herbs, planters and fertilizer I spent $500 and 10 trips to Obi, it was not fun, especially since they all died in the winter..fun
So in our first German humble abode, we had a tiny, tiny terrace. It had room for a few plants, some herbs and a tiny table, I had to learn the hard way cause I had NO IDEA!! How expensive dirt was at Obi (the hardware store) so for a few herbs, planters and fertilizer I spent $500 and 10 trips to Obi, it was not fun, especially since they all died in the winter..fun
38. You Must You Must! I HATE RULES!
Coming from a land of returns, customer service and how can we help you? I have to say I am sick of the tons of rules and regulations here, everything has a sign of what you can’t do and I am sick of it! I like getting upgraded for rooms, I like a perk, I like getting extras, and getting away with little things, here??! No freaking way it’s all stay within the lines!
Coming from a land of returns, customer service and how can we help you? I have to say I am sick of the tons of rules and regulations here, everything has a sign of what you can’t do and I am sick of it! I like getting upgraded for rooms, I like a perk, I like getting extras, and getting away with little things, here??! No freaking way it’s all stay within the lines!
36. Rushing or Running everywhere
What the heck?!! Everywhere you turn, people are in a rush, I thought I was fast in L.A. and could out walk everyone but this is ridiculous!? How do these people walk so darn fast, and why?! I refuse REFUSE to run with my 2 heavy bags and look like them, taking these trams always makes you run and I am rebelling! I will take the next one!
What the heck?!! Everywhere you turn, people are in a rush, I thought I was fast in L.A. and could out walk everyone but this is ridiculous!? How do these people walk so darn fast, and why?! I refuse REFUSE to run with my 2 heavy bags and look like them, taking these trams always makes you run and I am rebelling! I will take the next one!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
33. Lack of International Foods Period!
O.K. they do have a Chinese/Vietnamese/Sushi buffet restaurant in every corner, but they will ALL taste the same, greasy, tasteless, not spicy and really really gross! You eat it once, hmm ok, pretty average, but why the heck is everything fried here? hmm what is up with all those fried bananas? I dare you, go in to any one of these stupid Vietnamese-runned restaurants that all claim to do sushi and you will notice, the selecton-same, the taste-same it's all the same...and it is AWFUL! take it from an Asian! Well the Germans seem to like it
O.K. they do have a Chinese/Vietnamese/Sushi buffet restaurant in every corner, but they will ALL taste the same, greasy, tasteless, not spicy and really really gross! You eat it once, hmm ok, pretty average, but why the heck is everything fried here? hmm what is up with all those fried bananas? I dare you, go in to any one of these stupid Vietnamese-runned restaurants that all claim to do sushi and you will notice, the selecton-same, the taste-same it's all the same...and it is AWFUL! take it from an Asian! Well the Germans seem to like it
32. Variety of Furniture Selection
Nussbaum (fake wood), Nussbaum, or laminated wood crap?! R u kidding, these creatures of habits have such a few selection of furniture, especially in smaller towns that your house will look like the ads posted in the German newspapers, ahh if I see one more laminated fake wood product in my house!
Nussbaum (fake wood), Nussbaum, or laminated wood crap?! R u kidding, these creatures of habits have such a few selection of furniture, especially in smaller towns that your house will look like the ads posted in the German newspapers, ahh if I see one more laminated fake wood product in my house!
31. Bug Screens
Hello?!?! Is there anyone out there?? Do they not understand the idea of installed bug screens or is it another thing I have to learn very quickly which I did and installed 7 bug screens, cut them, pasted them on with many tries after I had to convert inches to metric and get the proper sizing and color (black or white, black is more neutral I learned) and take half the afternoon installing them. Of course, after going to 3-4 stores trying to locate them and don’t even look for them after a certain period of the year, because then they become unavailable as I learned the hard way.
Hello?!?! Is there anyone out there?? Do they not understand the idea of installed bug screens or is it another thing I have to learn very quickly which I did and installed 7 bug screens, cut them, pasted them on with many tries after I had to convert inches to metric and get the proper sizing and color (black or white, black is more neutral I learned) and take half the afternoon installing them. Of course, after going to 3-4 stores trying to locate them and don’t even look for them after a certain period of the year, because then they become unavailable as I learned the hard way.
29. Coffee Breaks
Which take half the afternoon, at least 2-3 hours of non-stop talking in German. Is there that much to say??! Every day??! Typical conversation of them “shooting the shit” as they say in America, translated to German for you..
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Hey"
“So, what kind of poop did you have today?”
“Oh yeah, mine was kind of watery, how about you?”
“Oh, mine was kinda hard, but a lot you know, but did you hear about Gunther’s poop man did he poop a lot today.”
“Wow that’s a lot of poop..”
Which take half the afternoon, at least 2-3 hours of non-stop talking in German. Is there that much to say??! Every day??! Typical conversation of them “shooting the shit” as they say in America, translated to German for you..
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Hey"
“So, what kind of poop did you have today?”
“Oh yeah, mine was kind of watery, how about you?”
“Oh, mine was kinda hard, but a lot you know, but did you hear about Gunther’s poop man did he poop a lot today.”
“Wow that’s a lot of poop..”
27. Stinky Dry Cleaning
You won’t believe this one, and this is NO JOKE! I assure you, so we moved to the “Armpit of Germany” otherwise known as Augsburg which looks like Pittsburgh or Detroit on a bad day, especially the weather and the industrial train tracks, anyways so we acquired some dry cleaning, which I had been meaning to do but couldn’t find anywhere. I finally found one near the tram stop in Univertal which is not a good sign, cause how many students will be doing dry cleaning, well instead of testing it out, I just dropped off a bagful of clothes including of course my favorite dresses, hello! It’s dry cleaning?! So what in the world do you think happened in my eventful life in Germany, I get the clothes all packaged neatly in plastic bags, I take it home and suddenly I start smelling something very peculiar..hmm what is this smell??? Is it the chemicals they use here? Is it a special process in Germany? What is this smell and boy it is SO strong, hmm…..wait this smells like, NO it can’t be, wait this shit smells like, like..I think this smells like B.O?!?!?! WHAT THE FUCK!? I JUST paid $70 of dry cleaning to have my favorite clothes and COAT, smell like body odor/?!! No, this is TRUE, REALLY TRULY! I DO NOT LIE! I ask my husband and he says it smells like B.O. so now this is at the beginning of my move here unable to complain to the German bitch who ruined my clothes but now I am stuck and it’s starting to make my other clothes stink!? I run all over town looking for Febreze, I spray and dry my clothes outside for 2 weeks and the smell is so bad, I end up hand-washing some of them that can be hand-washed, except my brown wool coat and now every time I wear it, I am reminded of how much I LOVE Germany.
26. Tiny Refrigerators and Freezers
No wonder they don’t have Thanksgiving Turkey here, you can never fit one in a fridge!!! Our first one was absolutely tiny, the size of 4 shoe boxes I think, you can’t do weekly shopping here because it DOESN’T FIT in the fridge! Or the freezer, after few months of stuffing boxes into the freezer I learned the hard way of buying less, rearranging foods and buying less packaging, good for me!!! ARHGHGGHH!
24. What to Carry in Your Purse at All Times
I hate carrying sh*&, I hate it, I hate it! I hate it so much, I invented a purse that goes on your waist, so you don’t have to carry anything on your shoulder. In Germany, get ready to carry a very heavy purse. You must have at all times these items:
-Money
$50 Euros at least, your EC card will be rejected at many institutions in which you will feel embarrassed, upset, knowing there’s money in there and asking the cashier to swipe it again. Many don’t even accept this card, and because they don’t have checks here, you MUST carry cash at all times!
-Change
Carry lots of 1 and 2 Euros, and 50 cent coins. You will be needing them to pay for parking everywhere and using all public restrooms, no exceptions.
-Umbrella
It will rain and even if there’s not a cloud in the sky, it will rain. Carry one.
-Gloves
I can’t tell you how freakish cold it can get here, I used my leather gloves every single day in winter, all extremities MUST be covered. That means head, hands and feet, always!
-Pack of Tissue
Even if you normally don’t have one, your nose will run in Germany. Look around in winter, there will always be people blowing their nose here from the ice cold, or having a flu etc. Do it, you may even need it for the bathroom if you know what I mean.
-Map
Information is crucial at all times, if you’re new to the city (and good luck driving without Navigation!!!) you must carry a map to have a vague idea of where you are and where you’re going. If taking a tram/bus a schedule and tram map is useful too.
-Cel Phone or Handy
It is pretty “handy,” (if you don’t mind paying 25 cents per min. depending on the service) to have a handy or cel phone with you at all times.
-All phone numbers written down
There is no way your normal seven digit telephone memory will be able to remember 11-12 German telephone numbers!
-2 cloth bags
for groceries, stuff, I use them ALL the time!!
-pad of paper and pen
-keys
don’t laugh we just locked ourselves out of our apartment last week and paid 70 Euros/100 USD for the locksmith! All labor is very expensive here!
-Passport
You must carry your darn ID papers in Germany at all times, it’s not my rule, it’s theirs!
-Sunglasses
even though you might not be using them often in the winter if at all! When the sun does come out, it gets super bright here, so protect your eyes, it won’t be used to all that sunlight
-Drivers License
don’t even think about driving without your proper license, the car insurance will not cover expenses if you’re not legally allowed to drive
I hate carrying sh*&, I hate it, I hate it! I hate it so much, I invented a purse that goes on your waist, so you don’t have to carry anything on your shoulder. In Germany, get ready to carry a very heavy purse. You must have at all times these items:
-Money
$50 Euros at least, your EC card will be rejected at many institutions in which you will feel embarrassed, upset, knowing there’s money in there and asking the cashier to swipe it again. Many don’t even accept this card, and because they don’t have checks here, you MUST carry cash at all times!
-Change
Carry lots of 1 and 2 Euros, and 50 cent coins. You will be needing them to pay for parking everywhere and using all public restrooms, no exceptions.
-Umbrella
It will rain and even if there’s not a cloud in the sky, it will rain. Carry one.
-Gloves
I can’t tell you how freakish cold it can get here, I used my leather gloves every single day in winter, all extremities MUST be covered. That means head, hands and feet, always!
-Pack of Tissue
Even if you normally don’t have one, your nose will run in Germany. Look around in winter, there will always be people blowing their nose here from the ice cold, or having a flu etc. Do it, you may even need it for the bathroom if you know what I mean.
-Map
Information is crucial at all times, if you’re new to the city (and good luck driving without Navigation!!!) you must carry a map to have a vague idea of where you are and where you’re going. If taking a tram/bus a schedule and tram map is useful too.
-Cel Phone or Handy
It is pretty “handy,” (if you don’t mind paying 25 cents per min. depending on the service) to have a handy or cel phone with you at all times.
-All phone numbers written down
There is no way your normal seven digit telephone memory will be able to remember 11-12 German telephone numbers!
-2 cloth bags
for groceries, stuff, I use them ALL the time!!
-pad of paper and pen
-keys
don’t laugh we just locked ourselves out of our apartment last week and paid 70 Euros/100 USD for the locksmith! All labor is very expensive here!
-Passport
You must carry your darn ID papers in Germany at all times, it’s not my rule, it’s theirs!
-Sunglasses
even though you might not be using them often in the winter if at all! When the sun does come out, it gets super bright here, so protect your eyes, it won’t be used to all that sunlight
-Drivers License
don’t even think about driving without your proper license, the car insurance will not cover expenses if you’re not legally allowed to drive
23. BYOC, BYOL, BYOK (translation Bring Your Own Closets, Lights and Kitchen)
Speaking of the lovely experience of finding your humble abode, you will get one with nothing in it. I’m serious, being an American I was completely unaware of this situation. Had I known!! PEOPLE!!- German apartments (and some other European countries) are bare- 4 walls and a floor and some plumbing pipes on the walls!! They will not have any built-in closets, kitchens or lights. Some don’t even have bathroom mirrors, drapes, or appliances. Ok, cost of typical German closet approx $500 Euros/700 USD x 3 closets?? There is a lack of storage space in most German apartments and you are lucky if you have any closets at all, drawers, shelves, utility closets, and cellars are a luxury!! I never thought of these things in the U.S. Once you purchase a closet, you will have to wait 10 weeks to get it, pay for assembly and will have to pay someone to dismantle it when you move. That means your closet will be a hanging clothes rack for many months, cluttering your bedroom or living room with shoes all around it. Don’t fight it, accept it you know what they say…Now, when you move in, you better start counting the empty wires hanging on your ceilings because you will be buying lights for every one of them. Make sure you carry around a metric tape measurer at ALL TIMES! And a notepad and pen (see number 24. for What to carry in your purse at all times). You will then be hiring someone at an exorbitant amount per hour to have them assemble and install the lights. If you’re lucky and if you look very, very hard you may be able to find an apartment with a kitchen included, if not, good luck, welcome to home ownership without owning a home! You will be learning very fast how to research, buy, measure, a full kitchen with all the appliances ovens, refrigerator, dishwasher etc. and waiting months to have it installed. FUN! All while storing your food on the balcony if the weather is cold enough. In America, if you rent an apartment the landlord or the property management handles repairs most likely. In Germany, you do. We moved into our apartment the washing machine and dishwasher never seemed to work properly, the dishes were dirty and the washing machine lovingly rings an alarm 7 times every 10 minutes when I do a load of laundry. We called our property management and they said we would have to pay the first 100 Euros/130 USD because the wear and tear of usage. That’s funny it happened the first week we moved in. My husband is much more understanding and doesn’t like to cause any waves especially in Germany, he just accepts it and pays, I was furious!!! I KNEW it was a problem with the water supply or something because they were coming from the same pipes! I was told by the Siemens tech which we paid for that it was a clogged pipe filter, which should be cleaned every year or two. Nice, we were fixing the previous tenants dirty filter, that’s B.S. if you ask me, but because I CAN’T curse in German, I am not allowed to voice my concern about that injustice. Welcome to Germany!
Speaking of the lovely experience of finding your humble abode, you will get one with nothing in it. I’m serious, being an American I was completely unaware of this situation. Had I known!! PEOPLE!!- German apartments (and some other European countries) are bare- 4 walls and a floor and some plumbing pipes on the walls!! They will not have any built-in closets, kitchens or lights. Some don’t even have bathroom mirrors, drapes, or appliances. Ok, cost of typical German closet approx $500 Euros/700 USD x 3 closets?? There is a lack of storage space in most German apartments and you are lucky if you have any closets at all, drawers, shelves, utility closets, and cellars are a luxury!! I never thought of these things in the U.S. Once you purchase a closet, you will have to wait 10 weeks to get it, pay for assembly and will have to pay someone to dismantle it when you move. That means your closet will be a hanging clothes rack for many months, cluttering your bedroom or living room with shoes all around it. Don’t fight it, accept it you know what they say…Now, when you move in, you better start counting the empty wires hanging on your ceilings because you will be buying lights for every one of them. Make sure you carry around a metric tape measurer at ALL TIMES! And a notepad and pen (see number 24. for What to carry in your purse at all times). You will then be hiring someone at an exorbitant amount per hour to have them assemble and install the lights. If you’re lucky and if you look very, very hard you may be able to find an apartment with a kitchen included, if not, good luck, welcome to home ownership without owning a home! You will be learning very fast how to research, buy, measure, a full kitchen with all the appliances ovens, refrigerator, dishwasher etc. and waiting months to have it installed. FUN! All while storing your food on the balcony if the weather is cold enough. In America, if you rent an apartment the landlord or the property management handles repairs most likely. In Germany, you do. We moved into our apartment the washing machine and dishwasher never seemed to work properly, the dishes were dirty and the washing machine lovingly rings an alarm 7 times every 10 minutes when I do a load of laundry. We called our property management and they said we would have to pay the first 100 Euros/130 USD because the wear and tear of usage. That’s funny it happened the first week we moved in. My husband is much more understanding and doesn’t like to cause any waves especially in Germany, he just accepts it and pays, I was furious!!! I KNEW it was a problem with the water supply or something because they were coming from the same pipes! I was told by the Siemens tech which we paid for that it was a clogged pipe filter, which should be cleaned every year or two. Nice, we were fixing the previous tenants dirty filter, that’s B.S. if you ask me, but because I CAN’T curse in German, I am not allowed to voice my concern about that injustice. Welcome to Germany!
22. Friendly, competent, hard working real estate agents
In Germany you can pay up to 2.38 x 1 months rent (approx $1800 Euros/2500 USD) for commission for their services paid by the renter, yours truly. Services include-opening the door of the apartment. No really, that’s about all they do, unlike America, where they earn their commission showing you a variety of homes, chauffeuring you in their luxury car, educating you about the schools and the quality of the neighborhood, doing all the mortgage/sales contract paperwork, and actually helping you find your perfect home. In Germany, they really don’t care and you have to pay them anyway, even if you did all the work locating it, they show you the apartment and that’s all, sometimes they even make it harder or cause more problems as indicated in number 21. Good times, good times.
In Germany you can pay up to 2.38 x 1 months rent (approx $1800 Euros/2500 USD) for commission for their services paid by the renter, yours truly. Services include-opening the door of the apartment. No really, that’s about all they do, unlike America, where they earn their commission showing you a variety of homes, chauffeuring you in their luxury car, educating you about the schools and the quality of the neighborhood, doing all the mortgage/sales contract paperwork, and actually helping you find your perfect home. In Germany, they really don’t care and you have to pay them anyway, even if you did all the work locating it, they show you the apartment and that’s all, sometimes they even make it harder or cause more problems as indicated in number 21. Good times, good times.
21. Blatant Discrimination
I will just describe the few instances this happened to me here, hmm…let me see the VERY first day I arrived in Germany. We had taken a long 5.5 hour drive from Austria to Badem Wurttemberg, Germany, leaving at 5 in the morning so we could register at the immigration office in time. (Because in Germany, you must register with the city at all times, so the police know exactly where you are at all times, very German) I was wearing a California uniform of Juicy-type sweats (no I did not have “Juicy “on my butt!), flip flops and had my hair up in hairclip. Not my best look, but geesh it was early and a very long drive! Well the lovely lady at the immigration office greeted us with a warm welcome hug and shouted, “Welcome to Germany!!” We’re sooo happy to have you!” NO!! that wasn’t it, it was more like the girls in school that would check you out from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, with a stern, judgmental yet disgusted look on her face. WOW! What a welcome! She was also curt, rude and dismissive to my Austrian husband who spoke perfect German. We were so polite because she had the power to let me stay in Germany and work on my Visa) She said a lot of No’s and was not very responsive to us, the process just seemed arduous and uncalled for, but the stare was the best. It felt like elementary school, I hadn’t felt discriminated since I was in 3rd grade where some stupid 8 year old kids would state racial slurs to me, “Hey chink!” But that was a LONGGGGGG time ago, and as an adult, I never felt any discrimination in a big city like Los Angeles. I would have kicked their ASS! Here in Germany, I felt like an outsider, they looked at me like I was a Vietnamese picture bride who had taken another one of their men away, but I wasn’t, I was an American citizen!! I understood why though, because there are a lot of Asian women with German men, hmmm I can’t figure out why that would be?? Subservient, sweet, Asian women v.s. the Cold Germanic women? Let’s continue, so next stop our move to Augsburg, located just an hour from Munich in Bavaria. We had frantically looked for housing online for a few months, looking at hundreds of apartments. The problem was being in a University town, there were few apartments that were bigger than 100 sq meters. Most were 40-70 sq meters= less than 500 sq ft which would barely fit our closet. (OH Closets!! More on that later!!) It took months, and many hotel trips to look for apartments that came with a kitchen, was clean, updated, had parking, some space for our furniture and within our price range. We gave up on the good neighborhood and time was of the essence. At the beginning of our search we had found what we thought was the perfect apartment. It was beautiful, modern, only 3 years old a single guy had lived there, dark wood floors, modern 2 baths, great kitchen, floor heating, balcony and only 4 other tenants on a quiet street, perfect! We talked to the owner of the Real Estate agency over the phone and after a 30 minute interview, the agent agreed we would be the perfect candidate, a couple with no kids, no pets and able to move in on their date. He promised we would be the first to see it and that it was ours and all we would have to bring was our last few paychecks to verify funds. So we made the 3 hour trek, paid for a hotel and even detoured our wedding plans, just to see this apartment!! When we showed up, we were surprised to see 2 agents there with 2 other couples showing them our apartment! The agent (who worked under the owner) seemed distant and non-engaging, did she even want to sell us the apartment?? I had a weird feeling when I left and after we requested to meet the landowner of the unit, they said they were busy and couldn’t meet us. This was almost a sure thing, till we got there, something had gone wrong, I wanted this soooo bad and was desperate, we had no other apartment lined up and we already had a move out date! I was sooo stressed out!! The day we had to leave for work, they met with the other couple and we lost our apartment, weird. Now, I had no idea what had happened and I was so pissed that guy led us on, what had gone wrong? Till the next incident, few weeks later after researching many more apts online, I finally found another nice looking apartment within our price range. Again, a conversation with a real estate agent, and a discussion with the landlord who would be there to meet us. She said we had a very good chance of getting the apartment, because the other prospective tenants had kids and all we would have to do was meet the landlord, she would also be bringing the rental contract. So the decision was ours, if we wanted it, or so I thought. It was cute, very modern, few flaws but then we met the owner, he was a gruff German man in his contractor pants, we complimented him on the construction of his unit, he owned the building and the unit. After a quick tour and him telling us we could not put any holes (not one nail) on the walls and that we had to move the 50 stacks of firewood on the balcony to the cellar, we were told we had to decide right then and there if we wanted it, I asked for a few hours to think about it but we had to give them an answer at that moment. I remember seeing the rental agreement in the real estate agent’s hands and she seemed cold and aloof the whole time to us. (More on real estate agents later!!) So we said yes, they said they would call us in a few hours on their decision, probably after another appointment, ok….then we got a call after we waited in the car for hours waiting for them, we had nowhere else to go! Then they said he wanted a few more days to think about it and would call us in 2 days, we knew that was weird again, I couldn’t figure it out, my husband said it was nothing but 2 apartments in a row? I knew something smelled fishy here! How come everything was a go, till we showed up and we arrived to meet them, an Asian girl and a white guy, then suddenly a change of plans?? I finally knew how black people feel when they are discriminated against for the color of their skin, we were perfect candidates till they saw us, it was a first in my life for me, blatant in your face discrimination, I call this more than a coincidence. We never got the return call from that agent, we gave up on that apartment too.
I will just describe the few instances this happened to me here, hmm…let me see the VERY first day I arrived in Germany. We had taken a long 5.5 hour drive from Austria to Badem Wurttemberg, Germany, leaving at 5 in the morning so we could register at the immigration office in time. (Because in Germany, you must register with the city at all times, so the police know exactly where you are at all times, very German) I was wearing a California uniform of Juicy-type sweats (no I did not have “Juicy “on my butt!), flip flops and had my hair up in hairclip. Not my best look, but geesh it was early and a very long drive! Well the lovely lady at the immigration office greeted us with a warm welcome hug and shouted, “Welcome to Germany!!” We’re sooo happy to have you!” NO!! that wasn’t it, it was more like the girls in school that would check you out from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, with a stern, judgmental yet disgusted look on her face. WOW! What a welcome! She was also curt, rude and dismissive to my Austrian husband who spoke perfect German. We were so polite because she had the power to let me stay in Germany and work on my Visa) She said a lot of No’s and was not very responsive to us, the process just seemed arduous and uncalled for, but the stare was the best. It felt like elementary school, I hadn’t felt discriminated since I was in 3rd grade where some stupid 8 year old kids would state racial slurs to me, “Hey chink!” But that was a LONGGGGGG time ago, and as an adult, I never felt any discrimination in a big city like Los Angeles. I would have kicked their ASS! Here in Germany, I felt like an outsider, they looked at me like I was a Vietnamese picture bride who had taken another one of their men away, but I wasn’t, I was an American citizen!! I understood why though, because there are a lot of Asian women with German men, hmmm I can’t figure out why that would be?? Subservient, sweet, Asian women v.s. the Cold Germanic women? Let’s continue, so next stop our move to Augsburg, located just an hour from Munich in Bavaria. We had frantically looked for housing online for a few months, looking at hundreds of apartments. The problem was being in a University town, there were few apartments that were bigger than 100 sq meters. Most were 40-70 sq meters= less than 500 sq ft which would barely fit our closet. (OH Closets!! More on that later!!) It took months, and many hotel trips to look for apartments that came with a kitchen, was clean, updated, had parking, some space for our furniture and within our price range. We gave up on the good neighborhood and time was of the essence. At the beginning of our search we had found what we thought was the perfect apartment. It was beautiful, modern, only 3 years old a single guy had lived there, dark wood floors, modern 2 baths, great kitchen, floor heating, balcony and only 4 other tenants on a quiet street, perfect! We talked to the owner of the Real Estate agency over the phone and after a 30 minute interview, the agent agreed we would be the perfect candidate, a couple with no kids, no pets and able to move in on their date. He promised we would be the first to see it and that it was ours and all we would have to bring was our last few paychecks to verify funds. So we made the 3 hour trek, paid for a hotel and even detoured our wedding plans, just to see this apartment!! When we showed up, we were surprised to see 2 agents there with 2 other couples showing them our apartment! The agent (who worked under the owner) seemed distant and non-engaging, did she even want to sell us the apartment?? I had a weird feeling when I left and after we requested to meet the landowner of the unit, they said they were busy and couldn’t meet us. This was almost a sure thing, till we got there, something had gone wrong, I wanted this soooo bad and was desperate, we had no other apartment lined up and we already had a move out date! I was sooo stressed out!! The day we had to leave for work, they met with the other couple and we lost our apartment, weird. Now, I had no idea what had happened and I was so pissed that guy led us on, what had gone wrong? Till the next incident, few weeks later after researching many more apts online, I finally found another nice looking apartment within our price range. Again, a conversation with a real estate agent, and a discussion with the landlord who would be there to meet us. She said we had a very good chance of getting the apartment, because the other prospective tenants had kids and all we would have to do was meet the landlord, she would also be bringing the rental contract. So the decision was ours, if we wanted it, or so I thought. It was cute, very modern, few flaws but then we met the owner, he was a gruff German man in his contractor pants, we complimented him on the construction of his unit, he owned the building and the unit. After a quick tour and him telling us we could not put any holes (not one nail) on the walls and that we had to move the 50 stacks of firewood on the balcony to the cellar, we were told we had to decide right then and there if we wanted it, I asked for a few hours to think about it but we had to give them an answer at that moment. I remember seeing the rental agreement in the real estate agent’s hands and she seemed cold and aloof the whole time to us. (More on real estate agents later!!) So we said yes, they said they would call us in a few hours on their decision, probably after another appointment, ok….then we got a call after we waited in the car for hours waiting for them, we had nowhere else to go! Then they said he wanted a few more days to think about it and would call us in 2 days, we knew that was weird again, I couldn’t figure it out, my husband said it was nothing but 2 apartments in a row? I knew something smelled fishy here! How come everything was a go, till we showed up and we arrived to meet them, an Asian girl and a white guy, then suddenly a change of plans?? I finally knew how black people feel when they are discriminated against for the color of their skin, we were perfect candidates till they saw us, it was a first in my life for me, blatant in your face discrimination, I call this more than a coincidence. We never got the return call from that agent, we gave up on that apartment too.
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