From Cherry to Kirsche

A Day Trip from Venice to the Dolomites: How much can you see in a day?

2021-10-05T10:00:00.006-04:00

"How much time should I plan for the Dolomites?" Most people would say at least several days, but things don't always work out. In my case, the pandemic cancelled my Dolomites trip. BUT we were able to keep a Venice trip when things were looking up. So my husband suggested we could at least take one day out of Venice to try and see some of the Dolomites.

Is 1 day anywhere near enough time? No. But was it still worth taking a day to try and see some of it? Absolutely!

Lago di Carezza

So how much of the Dolomites can you see in a day trip from Venice?

We needed to factor in renting a car, the 3 hours between Venice and the Dolomites, and not wanting to drive the windy, unlit mountain roads in the dark. Car rentals didn't open until 8am and the sun set at 8pm (August). So the plan was to be on the road by 8:30am, arrive in the Dolomites by 11:30, and then leave the area around 6pm. Roughly 6 hours with some time to eat. So the question is - do you spend that with 1 hike or several non hike spots? I chose the latter.

I was able to narrow things down to 3 spots - Lago di Braies, Seceda, and Lago di Carezza. Don't let the map fool you. There are some things nearby that you'll think you can also fit in, but there are mountains in between that require long drives going around them.

Both of the lakes are right next to the parking and Seceda is a quick cable car up which allowed us to maximize our day. We went in the order of Carezza > Seceda > Braies, but after seeing the lighting, I highly recommend going the other way.

We chose to rent our car at the Venezia Mestre Station right off of the island. It was far more expensive to rent directly on the island. Prices at the airport were similar to the train station, but it took longer to get there. Neither opened before 8am.

Start at Lago di Braies

This lake is most famous for its boat rides.

The parking leads you right up to the lake. Parking is free for the first hour, then it’s €8 per day.
Boat Rentals: June – September / 9:30am to 5pm / €25 EUR for one hour
Food is available at the restaurant and hotel right on the lake

Seceda

Most famous for it's 360 view at the top

Parking is available at the cable car station
Cable car - €35 per person (last cable car descends at 5pm)
Food is available at the top

Get to this viewpoint by walking up to the left of the cable cars

Lago di Carezza

Most famous for it's "rainbow lake" and reflections

Parking is free for the first 15 minutes, then €1 per hour after
There is a restaurant and cafe serving food & drinks

You may have seen photos on Instagram of people standing on a rock by the lake, but those shots were taken illegally. This lake is a protected conservation area that’s fenced off and clearly marked by signs that say do not trespass in several languages all along the fences. To get the infamous "instagram shot," you'd have to jump the fence.

I hope that helps you get an idea of how much of the Dolomites you could see in a day if you needed. We didn't feel rushed at each spot, but we did not get to hike any paths at all. It also would've been nice to have longer on the boat at Lago di Braies. But we did get plenty of time to take photos everywhere and stops along the drive.

How to Travel SAFELY During the Covid-19 Pandemic | Safety measures you need to know if you're traveling

2020-11-30T18:43:00.005-05:00

How can I travel safely during the pandemic? Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. But sometimes life isn't about choices. You could be traveling for an emergency for all I know. This post is solely to help inform those that have already decided to travel. Cause if you have to do it, I'd rather you do it right.

As for the ethics of your travel, I discuss them here. Is travel currently irresponsible?

*I am not a medical specialist. All sources have been provided and linked. Please consult with your medical professional for additional up to date information.

Before we even discuss travel, I believe it's important to understand some things about the virus to understand the safety measures you'll need to take.

Symptomatic vs Asymptomatic

The only way to know if you're infected is to get properly tested because a large proportion of infected individuals don't show obvious symptoms (asymptomatic). Asymptomatic individuals can cause Covid-19 spikes because they behave as normal but can be just as contagious. To be safe when traveling, treat everyone as if they're infected and get tested periodically.

How are you exposed to the virus?

You can only be exposed to the coronavirus by an infected individual. This can mean:

Direct physical contact - exchanging bodily fluids (kissing, sharing food, sex, etc)
Touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your face or food
Airborne exposure - breathing, talking, coughing, & sneezing

The more closely you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of spreading the virus.

So what safety measures are important for your travels?

Planning Your Travel

Are covid cases in your area high? Testing is the only way to know if you're infected. Test before your trip so you don't infect others.

Are covid cases at your destination high? How crowded is your destination? Are you putting yourself at risk of bringing it back home? Will you need to quarantine when you return home (or test out)?

Do you have the time to quarantine/test before and after your travels? Making sure your travels are responsible and safe can take time. How much time will you need for test results and quarantining? I'll explain below how to allot enough time for proper testing.

Does your destination have outdoor activities? Choose outdoor activities and places where it’s easy to stay at least 6ft apart with good ventilation. "Recent research shows that in confined spaces there can be "airborne transmission" of the virus - with tiny virus particles lingering in the air." (source)

Can your plans be cancelled if covid cases rise? A lot of businesses are now offering flexible cancellations. Make your plans flexible in the case that numbers rise or locations lockdown.

Getting Tested PROPERLY

I've seen travelers test for the coronavirus right when they arrive at the destination either of their own volition or because their destination may require it. But what a lot of people may not understand is that testing right away may not accurately identify whether you've been infected.

Your results can differ according to what type of test and when you're taking it.

This chart shows how "After an initial exposure, the number of virus particles in a person’s body, or viral load, takes time to build up..." (source)

"Many of these screenings are rapid tests, delivering actionable results within minutes without needing to send samples to a laboratory. Such speed and convenience can come at the cost of accuracy: Rapid tests are worse at picking up on low viral loads and very recent infections, and more often produce false negatives or false positives." (source)

So let's say you tested negative before leaving for your trip. Great! But now you have to get to your destination. This can mean going through airports and flights or taking a train/bus with other passengers where you are exposed. Now let's say you get infected during transit. If you test right when you arrive, because you were very recently infected, your viral load may still be very low. This means a test may not be able to detect the virus yet.

"If you are tested on the day you were infected, your test result is almost guaranteed to come back negative, because there are not yet enough viral particles in your nose or saliva to detect. The chance of getting a false negative test result decreases if you are tested a few days after you were infected, or a few days after you develop symptoms." (source)

This is why alloting enough time for quarantines and testing can be so important. Exactly how long you should wait has yet to be accurately determined by experts, but some countries like Germany say "...testing negative, at the earliest after 5 days, means home quarantine is no longer required." (source)

Transportation

We've established that testing when you arrive at your destination is important because you can be exposed during transportation. Airports, bus stations, train stations, gas stations, and rest stops are all places travelers can be exposed to the virus in the air and on surfaces.

Traveling by car would allow you to have the least amount of contact with those outside of your household. Just make sure to reduce your stops. Stops along the way for gas, food, or bathroom breaks can put you in close contact with other individuals and frequently-touched surfaces.

Traveling by air "requires spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people and frequently touched surfaces. Most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes. However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and sitting within 6ft of others, sometimes for hours, may increase your risk of getting COVID-19." (source)

Traveling by bus or train for any length of time can involve sitting or standing within 6 feet of others which increases your risk of infection. If you must travel by bus or train, consider traveling during non-peak hours when there are likely to be fewer people. Support businesses that require masks & distanced seating. For example, during our Venice trip, trains in Italy were required to distance passengers so aisle seats were blocked off to keep us apart. We also traveled during the weekdays during off hours so the trains were quite empty.

Utilizing taxis and call for hire vehicles such as Uber or Lyft could be a high risk. You are guaranteed close contact with somebody outside of your household in an enclosed area.

Don’t ride in a vehicle if the driver is not properly wearing a face mask.
Avoid shared rides where multiple passengers are picked up who are not in the same household.
Try to touch as little as possible, and don't accept things such as free water bottles.
Sit as far as possible from the driver, such as in the rear seat diagonally across from the driver.
You can also ask the driver to improve the ventilation in the vehicle if possible — for example, by opening the windows or setting the air conditioning on non-recirculation mode.

Social Distancing

Social distancing is one of the most important factors in Covid prevention. A sneeze can spray out to 27 feet (source). A cough can spray out to 19 feet. Even just breathing and talking sprays droplets that can stay in the air for 8-14 minutes (source).

So why is the general distancing guideline 6 feet? Dr. Paul Pottinger, an infectious disease professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said “The biggest threat – we think – with the coronavirus is actually the larger droplets. Droplets of saliva, snot, spit. Droplets that almost look like rain, if you will, when someone sneezes. Those droplets are large enough that gravity still acts on them. Usually, within about six feet of leaving somebody’s body, those larger, more infectious droplets will drop to the ground. That’s where the six-foot rule comes from.” (source)

But other researchers, such as Dr. Lydia Bourouiba, an associate professor at MIT, believe it's not enough. "Although there remains a lot of questions to be addressed about how much virus is at a given distance or not, we have no answer one way or another at this time," she said. (source)

In conclusion, it seems the further you are from other individuals, the better. The safest trip would be one where you avoid other people entirely. "Of all the precautions you can take while out in public or traveling, maintaining physical distance from others outside of your household is still the most important to curtail the spread of COVID-19," says Dr. Joyce Sanchez, an infectious disease specialist and medical director of the Travel Health Clinic at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

If you really have to come into contact with a person, keep it short and distanced with masks on - even if it's not required.

Mask Up

I'm sure we're all aware of this one. Masks have been proven to significantly slow down the spread of the coronavirus. But did you know that masks are better at protecting others rather than the wearer? Depending on the type of mask, they're not good at keeping viruses out, but they're great at muffling what comes out of us. So if everyone wears a mask, we are all protecting one another.

"The science is simple. “Wearing masks drastically drops the distance that droplets travel, thereby protecting individuals that come close to us,” says (Dr. Joyce) Sanchez, adding “the overwhelming majority of people, including those with chronic lung and heart problems, can safely wear them. Their use does not affect the body’s oxygen or carbon dioxide levels.” (source)

The CDC recommends wearing a mask whenever you're around anyone not part of your household. Even outdoors.

In your own backyard with your household only? No masks needed.
In your own backyard with friends not in your household? Masks and strict physical distancing.
In an empty park? No masks needed.
In a busy park? Masks.
Walking down a crowded street in a city? Masks.
Walking on a quiet street where you can stay more than 6 feet away from anyone? Have a mask on hand in case you can no longer stay at a distance.

Source: CDC US 2020

So what type of masks should we be wearing? The CDC has published the visual guideline above to help us choose the best masks. They currently recommend cloth masks because surgical masks and N95 respirators are considered critical supplies that could be reserved for healthcare workers.

N95s are technically respirators, not masks. When fitted and worn properly, they can remove particles from the air before you breathe it in making it vital for healthcare professionals that are in close contact with those infected. N95s must be approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to ensure that they work properly.

You may have also seen respirators classified as KN95s, but are not NIOSH-approved. These are regulated by China. Normally, these are not allowed to substitute for N95 masks in the US. However, the FDA authorized use of KN95s as an alternative because of N95 shortages.

Rather than filtering the air coming in like respirators, surgical masks and cloth masks mainly function to prevent the wearer from spraying out droplets. Even though these masks don't directly protect us from incoming exposure, if everyone wears a mask, we are being indirectly protected from others. Wearing masks in public areas can also prevent individuals from depositing viruses onto shared surfaces.

But are all cloth masks created equal? A recent study tested a variety of fabric types and found that tight-weave 100% cotton is the best option. The CDC also recommends masks with multiple layers. And because cloth masks function more to keep particles from leaving us, masks with exhalation valves would defeat the purpose.

With all of this information, you've now chosen a proper mask. But what about upkeep? Should you wash it after every use? “It’s definitely recommended to wash that mask every day,” said Dr. Ravina Kullar, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist. Kullar points out that the purpose of the mask is to prevent the virus from spreading, so if there are virus particles on yours, wearing an unwashed mask is counterproductive." (source)

"Cloth masks can be washed by hand or in a washing machine. Surgical masks, another popular option, cannot be washed and should be discarded after one use. There is very little peer-reviewed information about how to wash an N95 mask." (source)

But over time, washes can make your cloth mask more porous and lose its usefulness. “Depending on the fabric, and of course that’s the million-dollar question with a handmade mask, but most fabrics are very durable for about 100 washes if they’re not in the dryer,” says Patric Richardson, the "Laundry Evangelist." So make sure to replace your cloth masks on occassion.

Stay Outdoors

As mentioned earlier, staying away from others is one of the safest things we can do right now. And staying outside helps us keep our distance. But some people have asked, what if the cafe is empty and there's only a few staff working. Can we relax in there?

How much you're at risk depends on the length of time, amount of air circulation, number of people, how far others are from you, and so on. Aerosols (small particles) can stay suspended in the air so if they're not quickly diluted with fresh air, your exposure risk is much higher.

The CDC says, "There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than 6 feet away. These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation. Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising. Under these circumstances, scientists believe that the amount of infectious smaller droplet and particles produced by the people with COVID-19 became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people. The people who were infected were in the same space during the same time or shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left." (source)

Since you're probably not aware of how well ventilated a business could be, experts would suggest you minimize your time indoors. Plan your trip around outdoor activities and restaurants with outdoor seating. Plan your meals before rush time so that you can have the area to yourselves or if the restaurant is busy, grab it togo and eat at your hotel or an empty park nearby.

Hygiene

We all know washing our hands as much as possible is a good preventative, but are you washing it properly for long enough? The CDC states, "Scientific studies show that you need to scrub for 20 seconds to remove harmful germs and chemicals from your hands. If you wash for a shorter time, you will not remove as many germs. Make sure to scrub all areas of your hands, including your palms, backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your fingernails." (source)

Hopefully, you're pretty good at remembering to wash your hands now, but are you washing your hands only to then touch contaminated items like your phone or your mask? Are you crumpling up your mask into your pockets and then rewearing them without checking which side is which? These are the questions you can ask yourself to practice better hygiene.

Packing disinfecting products for your trip is a good idea. Disinfect any areas you'll be at for prolonged periods of times - such as your plane seat. When you arrive at your accommodation, disinfect high-touch surfaces, such as doorknobs, light switches, countertops, tables, desks, phones, remote controls and faucets.

“Most accommodations have implemented extra precautions and cleaning services,” says Dr. Abe Malkin, founder and medical director of health care provider Concierge MD LA. Check websites for details or ask. It doesn’t matter whether a hotel is a chain motel or a boutique inn. It’s more important that the property has a good record and follows recommended guidelines." (source)

Thanks for sticking with me this far! I know that was A LOT of information. But if you're choosing to travel during this pandemic, I believe it's responsible to do the best we can to not only keep ourselves safe, but also those around us. You never know who you could be putting at risk. And remember, these precautions alone are flawed, but all together, they can make a huge difference.

*I am not a medical specialist. All sources have been provided and linked. Please consult with your medical professional for additional up to date information.

Should You Travel During the Covid-19 Pandemic? Is there a safe way to travel during the pandemic?

2020-11-30T18:42:00.004-05:00

Should you travel when coronavirus is still an issue? What a tricky question! It's something being discussed as the holiday season is here, and large family gatherings are being discouraged. If seeing family isn't an option, can we use our vacation days for...vacation?

Travel has become a sensitive issue these days due to Covid-19. When I decided to travel to Venice in August, I was really concerned I would get a flood of comments telling me it's unethical to travel or irresponsible to promote it. I was afraid I would get "travel shamed." Thankfully, my followers understood that I put a lot of thought into the trip and wasn't carelessly risking myself & others. But I can't say the same for others.

The problem with it all is that there isn't a straightforward answer. There are so many factors to traveling - especially during this pandemic. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 1 in 10 jobs worldwide is supported by the Travel & Tourism sector. Can we really tell 10% of the world, “Sorry, you'll lose your job and home and go hungry. Nobody should travel till there is a vaccine. Your life doesn't matter as much as other lives."?

When COVID first struck earlier this year, hospital systems were overrun and "flattening the curve" became first priority. We were told the best way to do so was to lockdown and stay home. I wholeheartedly agreed and did so. But is that still the case? Should we still be in lockdown mode 9 months later? Does this situation appear to be human lives vs the economy? Or are the human lives linked to the economy? And does all travel have to be dangerous?

I'm not here to downplay the coronavirus. It is very real. It's scary how fast it spreads, and it leaves long term health issues even if it doesn't kill you.

At the same time, the world can't shutdown for a year and expect to bounce back. The lockdown was necessary at the beginning because the virus was new and hospitals weren't prepared. Travel then was 100% irresponsible. But now, months later, we know much more about the virus and how to handle it. We may even have a vaccine on the horizon as Pfizer announces promising vaccine trial results.

If you're cautious and prefer to stay home for your health, that's awesome. It's the safest way to do so. I'm not telling everyone to leave their home. Just that we shouldn't be so quick to judge those that do choose to travel now - that it doesn't have to be reckless endangerment. It just really depends on the who and how.

So what are the factors that set the responsible travelers apart?

Making flexible travel plans according to the Covid numbers in both your area and destination. The less crowded your destination, the better. Do your research. We looked at Venice's live cams on Youtube to track crowd levels every day before leaving.
Getting tested before and after travel to/from destination. Keeping viral loads in mind and leaving enough quarantine/testing times into your travel schedule there and back. Don't be responsible for bringing the virus to other countries. Not all countries have the resources to handle the virus.
Following the rules. If they require you to quarantine, make sure you do so properly. If they require you to stay in a certain area, do it. No questions asked.
Social distancing is one of the most important factors in Covid prevention. A sneeze can spray out to 27 feet (source). A cough can spray out to 19 feet. Even just breathing and talking sprays droplets that can stay in the air for 8-14 minutes (source). Traveling to busy areas, attending concerts, and clubbing are entirely unnecessary and completely irresponsible. But taking a road trip to quiet areas is reasonable. See the difference?
If you really have to come into contact with a person, keep it short and distanced with masks on. Even if it's not required, these are the factors that will keep your travel responsible and ethical.
Keep everything outside. Droplets can build up inside of a room. This is all factored by length of time, air circulation, room size, talking volume, etc. 95% of our plans in Venice were outdoors, and we always picked outdoor seating when eating. Too cold to sit outside now? Order your food togo and eat at your hotel, or choose accomodation with kitchens and learn local recipes.
Hygiene! We all know washing our hands as much as possible is a good preventative, but are you washing it properly for long enough? Are you washing your hands and then touching contaminated items like your phone and your mask? Are you crumpling up your mask into your pockets and then rewearing them without checking which side is which?

Confused about what some of these meant? Check out How to Travel SAFELY during the Covid-19 Pandemic | Safety measures you need to know if you're traveling

As you can see, there are a lot of components to travel, and we all travel differently. I don't think we should be lumping all travelers into the same group. Even before the pandemic, "bad tourists" were a thing. It's HOW we travel that sets us apart.

If you aren't willing to be respectful, follow the rules, and care about the well being of others, you shouldn't be traveling. Travel is a privilege - especially these days. Don't be selfish assholes like these French tourists. Take care of the communities you are visiting. An entire industry doesn't have to crumble because of carelessness. If everyone followed the rules and actively social distanced, travel could be sustainable.

TLDR; Travel, ONLY when done responsibly, is possible and doesn't have to be unethical. Social distance. Wear a mask. Follow the rules. Don't ruin travel for others.

Ultimate Guide to the Largest Pumpkin Festival in the World | Ludwigsburg, Germany | 2020 Travel

2020-11-12T15:19:00.005-05:00

With Autumn as my favorite season, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the largest pumpkin festival in the world took place in Germany! It was easily accessible by train and wasn't too far so I arranged a quick trip right away. This all happened before the second Covid wave hit Europe so it was supposed to be a "safe" time to travel, but I planned a short 2 day trip to the area to keep our time to a minimum (remember that safety and health comes first!). You can spend all day at the festival, but you shouldn't need more than the one day there.

So where is the festival?

The festival takes place in Southern Germany in a smaller town called Ludwigsburg - only a 20 min metro ride from Stuttgart. It's hosted by the Ludwigsburg Palace Gardens which is only a 15 min walk from the Ludwigsburg train station.

What is there to do?

There is a surprisingly large amount of things to do at the festival! There are pumpkin sculptures to see, pumpkin delicacies to try, pumpkin carving stations, pumpkin related competitions, boat rides, beautiful palace grounds to walk through, and so much more. Because the festival is hosted at the Ludwigsburg Palace Garden, you get access to the entire palace garden grounds which is massive and took us hours to walk through. But the inside of the palace is a separate tour that you can also purchase and make into one trip.

Every year, the festival has a theme, and for 2020, it was Music. We were pretty bummed out to hear that we missed out on previous themes such as Dinosaurs or Fairytales because that sounds pretty amazing, but we still enjoyed the pumpkin scupltures this year.

Did you notice what the Germans call boomboxes? GHETTO BLASTERS. Apalling? or Hilarious?

What is there to eat?

There were a variety of festival tents that offered pumpkin themed cuisines such as pumpkin soup, pumpkin fries, pumpkin balls, pumpkin pasta, candied pumpkin seeds, and so on. There were also plenty of vendor stalls that offered pumpkin based items to bring home such as pumpkin ketchup, oil, seasonings, tea, crackers, drinks, and so on.

This pumpkin maultaschen in pumpkin soup is an absolute must try! I inhaled it...

The candied pumpkin seeds were one of my favorite treats at the festival

Pumpkin Balls & Pumpkin Fries!

There were also sit down restaurants that looked like they were the normal palace grounds restaurants available year round if you're not interested in any pumpkin based meals. They had the usual German fare such as bratwursts.

Is it worth a trip?

Most definitely!!! My husband didn't believe we could spend the whole day at a "silly pumpkin festival," but he ended up being the one dragging me to see the next thing at the end of the day! Here's everything you should know:

Entrance was only 10 Euros per person!
Food was affordable, but serves at different times from festival hours so make sure you check that on their website when you go
You can't pre-purchase the tickets online so go early before lines form. (Technically you can buy tickets on their website, but it's not sent electronically. They would send you the physical tickets by snail mail which they say can take 1-2 weeks, and I don't know if it gets you priority entry.)
There seemed to be two entrances to the festival. We entered through the palace area as it was closer to our hotel, and it appeared to be far less crowded than the other entrance near the big garden fountain area (pictured below). Maybe that will help if you can't arrive early.
All of the events that take place at the festival can take place on different weeks/days so make sure to check their website and plan accordingly! For example, the pumpkin carving booth this year was only open on weekends starting from mid September.
Expect to spend several hours at the festival. Not only are there plenty of pumpkin related activities to partake in, but the gardens are vast and include their usual exhibits and activities such as the fairy garden section, open space bird habitat, exotic themed gardens, rides, etc

Named 'Baby Boos'! How Cute!

How was the festival during Covid?

Unfortunately, the pumpkin festival is now cancelled for the rest of the year due to the second wave of Covid hitting Europe. We were glad to be able to attend before things got bad as this is probably our last year in Germany. There were plenty of people in attendance, but because the grounds are so large, masks were required (unless sat and eating with distanced tables), and it was all outdoors, we felt safe being able to partake in all of the activities without coming into close contact with others. The festival was also required to restrict the number of people so I'm sure that helped it from getting too crowded. We were pretty bummed out though because plenty of events had already been cancelled due to Covid restrictions even before the second wave. For example, the pumpkin boat race! They apparently carve out the massive pumpkins into boats to race in every year. Let us know if you guys get to see it in the future!

WHERE NEXT?

If you found this guide useful, please head over to Instagram and follow us to stay up to date with our adventures. And if you have any questions, ask them in the comments below!

You'll also love "10 Cities Off the Beaten Path in Germany - Germany's Hidden Gems"

Ultimate Packing Lists for Travelers, Travel Bloggers, & Photographers

2020-08-18T17:06:00.004-04:00

It's currently a difficult time for traveling, but that doesn't mean we can't make it into an opportunity! I've been using this time to continue brainstorming for future travel and how to improve the experience. I noticed it can be pretty annoying to write out a packing list every time so I made these Ultimate Packing Lists. You can print them out or check them off right on your phone/computer as you pack. I even made extra slots for you to customize it into your own list! These lists will make sure you're relaxing on your trip instead of shopping for everything you forgot.

GLOBETROTTER EDITION

DOWNLOAD FILLABLE PDF - GLOBETROTTER EDITION

TRAVEL BLOGGER EDITION

DOWNLOAD FILLABLE PDF - TRAVEL BLOGGER EDITION

Please let me know if y'all have any other ideas! Would love to create more stuff for my readers 💕 Comments & suggestions always welcome below~

10 Cities Off the Beaten Path in Germany - Germany's Hidden Gems

2020-05-02T12:21:00.001-04:00

For those who like traveling off the beaten path, or maybe you've just already seen the major stops and want somewhere new. Either way, I've gathered some amazing spots to see in Germany that you may have yet to hear of. I'll start closest to one of Europe's major airport hubs, Frankfurt, and work around.

Heidelberg

A stunning riverside city with views all around. The perfect city to simply enjoy walking through with the classic city squares, half-timbered homes, striking bridges, castles, tales, and river views. Make sure to stop by the red-sandstone ruins of Heidelberg Castle on top of Königstuhl hill.

Schwäbisch Hall

Looking for classic fairytale towns? This tiny little town looked like something straight out of a storybook! There isn't actually much to do here, but it's a perfect little stop on your way somewhere. And the town is so quiet, it's an instagrammers dream!

Not far from the town also lies a German Rural Life Museum (Hohenlohe Freilandmuseum Schwäbisch Hall Wackershofen) if you want to go back in time to an old German farm town.

Berchtesgaden

Have you always wanted to see the Swiss Alps, but scared off by the price tag? Well there are plenty of other countries to see the infamous Alps in! The Alps also run through the south of Germany where Berchtesgaden lies. Not only is it far more affordable, but a great place to see some amazing views.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BERCHTESGADEN 🏞️ (@berchtesgaden) on Sep 16, 2018 at 10:37am PDT

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🎀 𝓓𝓻𝓪𝔃𝓮𝓷𝓴𝓪 𝓚𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 (@drazenka.run) on May 1, 2020 at 4:41am PDT

And you may have seen the nearby lake, Königssee, around on Instagram. You can spot some stunning ice caves around this lake!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christoph Schramm | Austria (@christoph_schramm) on Nov 19, 2019 at 12:08am PST

Bamberg

Home of the smoked beer! Need I say more? Even if you're not a beer lover, this unique local beer is worth trying. Bamberg's most famous brewery is a historic smoked beer brewery called Schlenkerla. This 6th-generation family brewery has been brewing beer since 1405 and still taps beer the traditional way with wooden barrels. Make sure you stop by the Rathaus (City Hall) afterwards to check out the unique architecture.

Luisenburg

A must stop is the Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth. This naturally formed rock labryinth was stunning to walk through. As it's built around natural formations, it made for a pretty funny adventure of maneuvering through small openings and even some floor crawling. So make sure you have good shoes on for this adventure! We were told there was an entry fee, but nothing was around other than a "pay what you can" donation box making this a perfect stop for those on a budget.

Weimar

You may not have heard of Weimar before, but Weimar is known for its German cultural heritage and its importance in German history. The city was home to the Bauhaus movement, the leading personalities of German literature, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, the Weimar Republic, and was one of the cities mythologized by the National Socialist propaganda. Today, many places in the city centre have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Duchess Anna Amalia Library (pictured below).

Lübeck

Lübeck is a northern German city that was once the medieval capital of the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading confederation. It's worth stopping by as the city is not only filled with beautiful brick Gothic architecture, but it is home to major marzipan producer, Niederegger! Niederegger marzipan is famous for it's quality as their marzipan is made of 100% almond paste – no added sweeteners or other additives. So stop by their cafe for some unique marzipan treats like marzipan icecream, marzipan cake, or marzipan coffee!

Bremen

Bremen may sound familiar due to the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale, "Town Musicians of Bremen" (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten). If so, there's a statue dedicated to it next to the city hall that you can visit and rub for luck. But Bremen is filled with so much more to see than just the statue. I'd highly recommend taking a city tour while you're in town because there are so many fun stories about the city. We were lucky enough to have a friend from Bremen show us around, and we thought the city was absolutely interesting!

Bonn

You may have actually seen photos of this city rotating around Instagram. It's started to get some attention internationally due to it's street lined with cherry blossoms.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 𝐁 𝐎 𝐍 𝐍 • 𝐆 𝐄 𝐑 𝐌 𝐀 𝐍 𝐘 (@bonn.germany) on Feb 23, 2019 at 11:49am PST

While I was passing by this town, it wasn't cherry blossom season, but I still thought I had to return. Why? Because of the 'Haus der Geschichte' Museum! If you have an interest in history or will be moving to Germany, this German post-war history museum is a must see.

Rhine Valley Gorge

I've unfortunately only had the opportunity to drive through this area. I hadn't even heard of the area before, but I fell in LOVE as we were passing through. I will definitely have to return one day, possibly for a river cruise. Winding rivers, vineyards, castles, riverside cities - what more can you ask for?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Uschi W. (@ggirl115) on Oct 30, 2019 at 8:01am PDT

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rale (@rale_p) on Nov 12, 2019 at 9:56am PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vineum Boppard (@vineum_boppard) on Jun 24, 2019 at 2:48pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Holidays by Orient Travel (@holidaysorient) on Jul 22, 2019 at 2:00am PDT

What did I miss? Do you have favorite hidden gems in Germany? Let me know in the comments below!

Jena the Science City: What it's like living here

2020-01-09T10:23:00.007-05:00

I wanted to write this post about the small city we live in because, albeit not the usual expat destination in Germany, Jena does get its fair share of international residents. So to those who may be planning to move to Jena and would like to know what the town is like, I hope this is insightful.

When we first asked about the city, we were told things like "Jena is a nice small town with lots of people." "25% of the population is students so there is a lot happening." "It's very international." "There are plenty of English speakers so you don't have to worry." I would say all of those statements are more complimentary than accurate. We felt very differently when we moved here.

There is not a lot of things happening

Moving from a big city like Atlanta, we knew moving to a smaller town of ~110,000 people would be a big adjustment. But we were told it was still a "young" university town so there is always a lot happening. I really can't see it that way because we are not students. FSU (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität) does organize student events throughout the year and provide clubs to join, but none of that applies if you're not a student. The city itself doesn't have much to offer. Outside of the occasional markets (Christmas Market, Summer Market, Craft Market, etc), the town is pretty quiet and uneventful.

You definitely have to worry if you don't speak English

I don't know who had the gall to say we didn't have to worry about speaking German here. Completely false. You should definitely learn as much German as you can before moving to Jena unless you have a German you can always depend on (you lucky ducks with German partners). FSU has an "International Office" that helps only students. Yes that's right, even though my husband was an employee at FSU, they turned him away saying the integration help was only for students - not employees.
Thankfully Jena's Ausländerbehörde (Immigration Office) and Bürgeramt (Citizen's Office) is much more English friendly than it was several years ago so this part of the moving process is easy. We did run into issues at the banks though and with finding an apartment. Banks turned us away for not speaking German, and all but one of the apartment agencies were phone only with German prompts that we couldn't understand.
It's not completely impossible to survive here without German - we made it. But we definitely struggled because of our lack of German. The English standard is significantly lower here in a smaller East German town - even with the younger students. Once my husband was able to warm up to his coworkers after SIX months (so German...), some of them were willing to help us with more difficult processes such as the Finanzamt (Financial Office) or translating contracts.
Which reminds me of another issue we run into frequently here. Jena locals love lying about not knowing English. I understand we are at fault for not learning German before moving here, and I don't demand/expect everybody to speak English for me. But I believe it's human decency to not lie about it. We have had employees at Deutsche Bank, Vodafone, and even prestigious institutions speak English to us one day and then lie to our face another day about not knowing English.
TLDR; Just be aware that you should learn as much German as you can before moving to Jena. There are lessons available here, but they're geared for learning from any foreign language and may be paced slow for those who know English (since the languages are so similar). You could probably find better books for learning German specifically designed for English speakers back home.

"Very International" Well...

I'm a little divided on this one. Is moving to Jena like moving to a podunk town in America's Bible Belt? No, it's not completely white washed. You do see a little bit of diversity from the international students. But are they plentiful? Definitely not. Non-Germans are a small percentage, and POC are an even smaller percentage. Middle Easterners and Asians are the biggest POC groups here with very little of other ethnicities. But are we welcomed here? No. Any POC will get their fair share of stares. Anybody remotely brown has stories about their xenophobic neighbors. Interracial couples are given dirty looks. For the East, Jena is a liberal haven, but it still has it's share of far-right AFD members here and political correctness is not a European trait.

So what is there to do if you're not a student?

As much as the Jena locals are unwelcoming and the city is quiet, the surrounding area is admittedly pretty and not completely without. We have 1 skyscraper, called the Jentower, located smack dab in the middle of town so they say it's impossible to get lost in Jena. It has a viewing tower at the top so you can grab a view of the whole city if you'd like.
Jena lies in a hilly landscape within the wide valley of the Saale river so if you love nature, there's plenty of hikes and scenic paths to walk through. We also have a large city park that's bustling during the warmer seasons complete with barbeque grills and a skate park. In it are some riverside bars and restaurants to enjoy. If you like swimming, neighborhood pools don't exist so you'll have to head to city water parks/pools like "GalaxSea Jena."
We have a little planetarium, botanical garden, and some museums to enjoy. I'll warn you, the museums only provide information in German. But you can put your German to the test at the Stadt Museum (City Museum), Phyletisches Museum, Optical Museum, and the Romantikerhaus. Other family friendly activities available here are bowling, movies available in English ("Original Versions [OV]" are limited but available for mega blockbuster movies), Lasertag, and Go-Karting. Otherwise, here are a list of city "events" you can attend https://www.visit-jena.de/en/events-sports/events-tickets/.
Nightlife consists mostly of just relaxed bars, but they are plentiful here and drinks are all reasonably priced. If you're looking to club, I've only been told of one or two - both with horrible reputations of trashed teenagers looking to hook up. If you want a place to catch sports games, Cheers, the "American themed sports bar," could be a good start. We have stopped by because they show the Superbowl every year.
There are also great cities nearby worth visiting for weekend day trips like Weimar, Leipzig, and Erfurt. Weimar is only a 15min train ride away and hold several fun events a year such as the Onion Festival, City Art Day, and so on. Due to being a UNESCO World Heritage City, Weimar also has several museums with English prompts available.

Is Jena a "foodie" town?

Obviously, you have to try German sausages while you're here. Every state has a different style of sausage that they take pride in. Thankfully, Jena is located within the state of Thüringen which is most famous for their style of sausage. Make sure you grab a wurst at a street cart while you're here! Otherwise, foodie culture is not a thing in Jena. There are plenty of restaurants, but I can't rave about many of them. It is very vegetarian friendly in Germany though! And the city is growing so more restaurants open every year. Here are some places you may enjoy:

Cafe Stilbruch - awesome breakfast (reservation needed - always crowded)

Fritz Mitte - steak fries hut
> They also have a restaurant elsewhere with a bigger menu with just ok burgers

Asian Restaurants (don’t expect anything real authentic)
> Mrs Bao - decent bao and they have real bubble tea (never go to Dr Wok)
> Saigon - expensive but just ok; never go to their buffet
> JEN Ramen - not my favorite but I have yet to try their recommended udon
> Bunshu - only sushi we’ve been to but ok, very westernized
> Hanoi Express - a Vietnamese student brought me here and it was quite decent;
don't order their takeout - sit down in their restaurant

Middle Eastern Cuisine
> Azad Grill - my husband's favorite
> City Kebap - great alternative
> Koz - more of a sit down Turkish restaurant but they have an extensive tasty menu
> Alibaba
> Shawaland - good falafel, amazing prices

Pizza
> L’Osteria - decent affordable pizza
> Versilia Pizzeria - equally good but smaller portions

Dionysos - amazing Greek food, but bit expensive

Papiermuhle Brewery - great beer, food is just ok

City Pizza - best delivery, I like their butter chicken

Lelek - good Langos and Stockbrot

Cafes
> Boulangerie und Patisserie Carlos P - real pastries and extensive breads
> Eiscafe Riva - the gelato place
> Gräfe Kaffeehaus - German desserts
> Schafers - chain bakery that you’ll see everywhere

If you're a homebody, the city is great for you

Everything I've criticized up to this point has mainly been cultural aspects of the city. If that's not of importance to you and you're just a homebody anyways than Jena is perfectly functional. Public transportation is great and extensive, there are good job opportunities here, and it's a relatively affordable city. Jena is also a very safe city. Outside of the bike thefts, crime is low here and danger isn't a big concern.

You're also right in the middle of the country so most cities are of equal distance from here. This means you're not really close to any major airport, but at least they all take the same amount of time to get to no matter where you need to go (better flight coverage).

I hope this information was helpful! If you have any questions about my time in Jena, please feel free to reach out via Instagram or leave a comment below.

Is traveling to an Asian country and dressing in traditional clothing unethical?

2019-11-26T07:58:00.004-05:00

As an Asian-American traveler, something I've been frequently asked is, "Is traveling to an Asian country and dressing in their traditional clothing also cultural appropriation or ethically wrong?" Generally, I think there is a difference between traveling to a country, learning about their culture, and trying on their traditional clothing in a respectful manner VS wearing it elsewhere as a "fun, exotic costume" or defacing it by creating "sexualized versions."

BUT there are other aspects you should consider from country to country like colonization history, the impact of western imperialist violence,and the cultural meaning behind the clothing. True appreciation entails some level of understanding and respect. If you have the ability to travel to another country and try on the local clothing, you have access to google. It's so easy to do a simple search on the clothing or the impact of western imperialism in a country. If you can't dedicate such a small amount of time towards educating yourself on something you'd like to be involved in, are you truly respecting the culture?

Some things to make sure:

>> Do your research. Will the locals have an issue with you wearing their traditional clothing? Does the item have religious significance?
>> Rent/purchase from local businesses
>> Wear the clothing properly! Something as simple as draping one side over the other can be significant.

Example of something that is OK:

>> Traveling to Korea, learning about our traditional wear, renting a real hanbok from a local Korean business, and taking photos IN Korea WITHOUT racist posing (no 'slant eyes,' no weird praying pose, no chopsticks in hair, etc)

Examples that are NOT ok:

>> Wearing a hanbok and calling it a kimono - Asia is the biggest continent and made up of 48 different countries; it is ridiculous to lump us all in together and assume all Asian countries the same
>> Wearing a "sexualized" qipao/kimono/any other traditional clothing ANYWHERE - fetishizing and hypersexualizing Asian women/culture is already a gross, rampant issue; let's not perpetuate and participate in it
>> Wearing traditional clothing for parties, Halloween, raves, etc - our culture is not a toy; especially not something for someone to mock with cheap knockoffs, racist poses, and fake, inaccurate accessories
>> Dressing up as a geisha - Westerners glorifying geisha culture when many geishas were forced into prostitution due to Western occupation is weird

And PLEASE don't wear it back at home! POC immigrants around the world are mocked for how we dress, talk, eat, etc and often criticized for not "assimilating." But when a non-POC tries foreign clothing on, they're praised for being trendy, unique, and "cultured." You can see how insulting it may be to the immigrants who have to witness the double standard.

Well I hope this perspective from an Asian-American has enlightened some travelers! Never hesitate to ask me a question.

If you found this useful, please head over to Instagram and follow us to stay up to date with our adventures. And if you have any questions, ask them in the comments below!

How to Navigate German Grocery Stores: Finding Your Ingredients

2019-07-24T15:24:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the wonders of Google Translate, it's no longer as intimidating to move to another country. So we assumed the groceries would be a breeze for Google Translate after pages of rental agreements, insurance documents, etc, right? W R O N G!
Navigating kitchen staples have actually been harder because some items translate literally instead of to the German equivalent. And there are some things just unique to Germany/Europe overall. So here's everything we've picked up over the year that should make your first time way easier~

Allergens

Allergies/Food restrictions have actually been amazingly easy to navigate in Germany. All common allergens are required to be bolded on food labels and the spectrum for common allergens is larger than in the US for more reassurance. So if you have some dietary restrictions, you no longer have to spend all day nit picking every food label~ It has been a godsend with my husband's Celiacs.

Dairy

Milk

Milk might be an overwhelming item for your first grocery trip 😂 In the US, it's usually just different levels of fat and then brands. But in Germany, there are also several levels of pasteurization to provide you with an overwhelming amount of options.
  Rohmilch - raw milk; only found on farms
  Vorzugsmilch - filtered raw milk that has not been heated or homogenized
Frischmilch - pasteurized milk; closest to milk in America
  ESL Milch (Laenger-Frisch Milch) - longer-lasting fresh milk; should last about a month refrigerated
  H-Milch - long life milk; unopened, can last 6 months at room temp
Once you've decided which milk you'd prefer, you can narrow it down to the usual level of fat you prefer.
Landmilch - country milk; no fat removed
Vollmilch - whole milk; minimum 3.5% fat
Fettarme milch - lowfat milk
Magermilch - skimmed milk

Condensed Milk

This one will trick you! Germany has something called 'Kondensmilch' which is actually unsweetened evaporated milk and not the traditional sweetened condensed milk you think of in the US. To get the right thing, look nearby for 'Nestlé Milchmädchen' or a Russian/Turkish can label that translates into condensed milk.

Sour Cream

Another tricky item that Google will translate to Saure Sahne, but what you're actually looking for is Schmand. In the US, sour cream contains at least 18% fat so you'll want to select the Schmand accordingly. I've found Saure Sahne to be closer to Mexican crema.

Cheese

Quark - a very popular dairy product in Germany; the texture/taste is if cream cheese and sour cream had a baby
Emmental - what Americans call 'swiss cheese'
Butterkäse - a mild, semi-soft cheese with a creamy buttery taste
Tilsiter - a mild, semi-hard cheese with many small irregular holes
Körniger Frischkäse - cottage cheese; don't listen to google translate, it's not hüttenkäse
Edelpilzkäse - blue cheese
Frischkäse - cream cheese; you may find the texture slightly different as Germans like it particularly spreadable and gelatinous

Baking

Brown Sugar

German brown sugar is closer to sugar in the raw and dry instead of moist like in the US. If this will interfere with your American recipes, you can find some brown sugar or molasses on Amazon.

Flour

Flour is numbered in Germany rather than labeled terms such as “all purpose." The lower the number, the more processed the flour is. The higher the number, the more whole grain. Here's a list of the equivalent terms:

Type 405 – all-purpose white flour
Type 550 – baking flour
Type 812 – bread flour
Type 1015 – bread flour, darker bread
Type 1050 – white, whole wheat
Type 1600 – bread flour, whole grain

Baking Soda

Google translate will tell you that baking soda is "backsoda." But it's actually called Natron or Speise-Natron (Natrium-Hydrogen-Carbonat)

Baking Powder

Baking Powder is called backpulver, but it's not strictly interchangeable with American baking powder. German baking powder is usually single-acting, which means it has a mixture of a heat-activated (slow acting) acid and baking soda while American baking powder is fast double-acting.

Eggs

Eggs come in packs of 10 in Germany instead of the dozen. Eggs are also stamped with a code here. The first number determines the quality of the egg:

0 Ökologische = Organic
1 Freilandhaltung = Free Range (not organic)
2 Bodenhaltung = Chickens raised on the ground (not organic)
3 Käfighaltung = Chickens raised in a cage (not organic)

The next two letters refer to the country of origin. They are the standard two letter country codes. Some examples below:

AT Austria
DE Deutschland (Germany)
ES Spain
FR France

The last number is supposed to be the expiration date. However, it seems hard to decipher at times.

Meat Cuts

Germany has different meat cuts than America so it may be hard to figure out what you need at times - particularly with beef. Here are some helpful photos and comparisons.

This website (www.fleisch-teilstuecke.at) will also offer all of the cuts in both German and English. You can use the search function to type in 'brisket,' and it will show you what it's called in German.

Everything Else

Tahini

Tahini is simply called Sesam-Paste, but I would highly suggest buying it from your local Oriental shop instead. The German ones I have found have been very burnt and bitter tasting. Not good at all!

Pepperoni Pizza

Alas, I have yet to find true American pepperoni here. Salami pizza is NOT the same at all. It's a sad day everytime I crave real pepperoni pizza.

Hope this has been helpful! If you have any questions, never hesitate to ask~

@to.unknownthings

10 Must Try German Christmas Market Drinks!

2019-01-08T16:16:00.006-05:00

This past holiday, I made sure to check out all of the drinks at the German Christmas Markets - just for y'all 😉🍷 So to my new expats, bookmark this post so you won't struggle to understand what's what when the Christmas Markets come back around!

Glühwein 🍷

probably the most famous of all #ChristmasMarket drinks. It's hot mulled wine, but less sweet than you'd find in America. You can get both red (rot) and white (wieß) #glühwein here in Germany. I find the taste can vary quite a bit from stand to stand and also from city to city

Flavored Glühwein

There are tons of variations of glühwein available so you won't get bored.

Some common ones you'll find are:

⤞ Kirsche - Cherry

⤞ Apfel Zimt - Apple Cinnamon

⤞ Orange Ingwer - Orange Ginger

⤞ Heidelbeere - Huckleberry

⤞ Pflaume - Plum

Feuerzangen Tasse/Bowle 🔥

A traditional form of glühwein where a rum soaked sugar cone is set on fire to drip into the cup (pictured above!) or a large pot of glühwein

Eierpunsch/Eierlikor 🥚

The German eggnog - very different from the American eggnog. I'd say it's a bit thinner and not as rich. It's also made with white wine, not rum. It's a good alternative if you're looking for a creamy drink, or you just don't like wine.

Met 🍯

Just the German word for Mead (alcohol made from honey), but warmed up~

Jager Tee 🍵

Sometimes spelled Jaga Tee, but it's simply hot black tea with rum. Perfect for a non-sweet alternative!

Williams Birne/Christ 🍐

Some of the markets will have this delicious pear brandy warmed up for you, but I haven't seen it in many cities. If you love pear though, you can find a bottle of this at the grocery store, mix some pear juice in, and just warm it up at home. You'll see it right away because there is often a whole pear in the bottle!

Non-alcoholic drinks 🔞

Non-alcoholic drinks you could try are KinderPunsch (hot mulled juice) or Schokolade (hot chocolate). If you also just love hot chocolate, but don't need to stay away from alcohol, all of the stands will happily add in a shot of rum or amaretto for you.

Glühbier 🍺

Something bizarre that I haven't seen but heard of is Glühbier. Hot, spiced BEER exists! 😰 Apparently often served with cherry juice to give it a bright red color. Sounds horrific to me, but I haven't tried it yet so I can't tell you for sure! Would you give glühbier a try?

Hope this comes in handy for some of y'all! Thanks for reading ✌

The Culture Shock of Living in Germany: German Social Oopses!

2018-10-03T12:17:00.005-04:00

When we first arrived in Germany, we were so busy trying to figure out the paperwork and finances that I didn't even think social etiquette may be an issue. You may be thinking, is there really such a cultural difference in Germany? Yes, yes there is. I've come across so many expats who struggle socializing with Germans here, and sadly, I had found myself in the same boat. So what follows is my list of social oddities discovered as an American expat living in small town East Germany.

Cultural differences between an American and a German

1. Making Friends

Back home in the States, it's totally normal to ask a few questions to get to know somebody - what they do for work, where they live, relationship status, and so on. But that's not the case here in Germany! Apparently these are personal questions and to ask them right away can be seen as invasive or nosy. It’s simply too much information for your first meeting. Germans tend to be more reserved and aren't so "personal" right away.
So if these questions are too personal, what do you talk about when first meeting a German? Apparently hobbies are a good first topic. Trying to find common activities or interests are your best bet. If it turns out you have nothing in common, prepare for silence! Rather than filling in the gaps with small talk, many Germans are perfectly comfortable with sitting in silence.
Another social oddity is to ask, "How are you?" In the US, this is just a light customary practice that can be asked of anybody, but the casualness baffles Germans. Why would you ask me how I'm doing if you don't really want to know? Why would you want to know about my life if we barely know each other? Are you just nosy or really strange? 😂 I can kind of see their point. I think another blogger put it perfectly when they said,

"I think Germans are like coconuts; cold and hard on the outside — soft and sweet on the inside. Americans are more like peaches; soft and sweet on the outside, but inside we’re cold, hard and full of cyanide."

It's true, American customs can be superficially friendly. Which leads to me something I'm still struggling with here...

2. Smiling!

Coming from the South, smiling is something expected of everybody - even just strangers walking down the street. Unfortunately, it's expected all the more so from women. So imagine my struggle coming to Europe where smiling at strangers is weird!!! You don't smile at your little old neighbor, your regular bus driver, or even the lady scooping your icecream for you. And don't expect them to ever smile back. If you're smiling at a stranger, they'll assume you're trying to sell them something or you have a loose screw. Or in some instances, that you're flirting! As a married woman, that's the last thing I want 😂 So here I am in Germany, still practicing my 'resting bitch face' as after almost a year here, I still find myself accidentally smiling at everybody in town...

3. Personal Space

Personal space is definitely a foreign concept to Germans which I never would've expected! For a non-smiling, rule-following, reserved society, you'd expect them to be all about personal bubbles. Nope! My first experience with this was at the grocery store. I had just grabbed a box of something off of the shelf to read the ingredients when somebody passing through chose to squeeze in between me and the shelf instead of going around me. I was so baffled! The rest of the aisle was empty, and as you're probably imagining, I was close to the shelf since I was grabbing stuff right? Well apparently it's enough space for somebody to walk through...

Imagine yourself standing in line. You usually stand a step back so that you're not breathing down somebody's neck right? Well apparently that small step back is grounds for squeezing in! That little gap of space, the bubble that should always exist between you and another person, is just enough for a German to squeeze in and cut in front of you, as if you weren’t even standing there. So watch out! They're not afraid to rub right up against you...

4. Honesty

Germans see bluntness as a positive thing. Americans tend to soften their words to avoid offending someone, but Germans think it's more helpful to say the brutal truth than to dance around it. For example, my husband's workplace takes turns baking some form of dessert for birthdays. One colleague made a pudding dessert that didn't turn out too well, and somebody told him that it was terrible and that he shouldn't make it ever again - in front of everybody. You don't really hear that kind of bluntness in the US. 😂 We've also heard some pretty funny flirting/dating stories. For example, if they don't like a gift you got them, they will let you know. Also, if you plan on dating, you won't have to wonder what went wrong in the relationship. Apparently they will let you know what they didn't like about you! (Which I actually think is good point - I appreciate closure).

5. Helping others

This one's still something that irks us! Germans will NOT help you when they see you struggling unless you explicitly ask for it. They will watch an old lady fall on the bus, and nobody will help her until she asks for help (no joke, we've witnessed this multiple times). One time my husband was struggling to reach the 'stop' button on the tram because it was crowded, and the guy standing right in the front of the button was staring at his struggling hand without a single motion to help press it.
Our German just isn't good enough to ask for help sometimes so we get frustrated at the lack of what we believe to be common decency. If you see somebody fall, shouldn't you try to help them up or at least ask if they need help? If you see somebody carrying heavy/large boxes trying to open the door, shouldn't you automatically help them open the door? No, they will just stare at you struggle. Some will even get frustrated that you're taking so long...

6. Noisiness

If you somehow haven't figured it out yet, Americans are loud. We're so much louder than the Germans. You can always pick out the foreigners at a restaurant or bar because they talk so much louder than the Germans do. After several beers, the Germans do catch up, but it's obvious at first. 😂 My father-in-law has definitely received a few dirty looks for talking so loudly in a cafe.
The Germans appreciate the quiet, and they're very strict about quiet hours. If you're running loud machinery late at night (no more late laundry nights) or on Sundays, you can get fined for disrupting your neighbors. And yes, you read that right - on Sundays! Sundays are days of rest, and excessive noise is not allowed. This means no lawn mowing, hammering nails into the wall/renovating, etc. Even your bbq/grilling time outside is regulated. And if you have young children, some grouchy neighbors may complain that they're playing too loud! Oh boy...

7. Staring

Man do I hate this one. Apparently Germans aren't taught that staring is rude. Staring is one of my pet peeves so imagine my struggle as an Asian in an old East German town. We live in a neighborhood with what seems mostly elderly so I was constantly stared at when I first arrived. Children are also a problem with their unashamed, big eyes staring up at me. It's completely written on their foreheads, ' Mummy, that lady looks different from us!' 😂 The staring has definitely not helped with assimilating here unfortunately. The worst is when you stare back, and they still don't look away! Quite possibly the most awkward encounters in my life...

8. Following the rules

Germans are not kidding when they say they enjoy order and rules! Of course this is a generalization and doesn't apply to every single German, but overall, they're pretty "by the book." It will be late at night with no cars in sight, but my neighbors will refuse to cross the street because of the little red man in the light. Don't even think about doing this during the day with children around! They will yell at you for setting a bad example! 😂 We were going to miss our tram one day so we were sprinting across the street, but I felt so guilty listening to people gasp, "In front of the children?!"
When we first arrived, we were also intrigued by the trust system of public transportation here. You normally have to scan a ticket/metro card to enter the bus/tram back home, but they just trust you to have bought the proper tickets here. We have learned after living here that they do random checks every once in a while, but it's still an overall trustful system. Perhaps it's because the German system relies on contributing to the common good that freeloaders & rule-breakers seem to be heavily discouraged/scorned in German culture?

Anyways! This turned out to be so much longer than I thought it'd be! 😂

Hope you've enjoyed my American perspective on German society. Maybe it'll even help some of you newer expats out there. Get ready for an amazing time here in Germany! 🍻

How to Set Up Your New German Apartment: Furniture, Utilities, Internet, etc | Moving to Germany

2018-08-17T14:52:00.005-04:00

Yay! You should now have all of your residence paperwork set up (if you've been following my steps so far: obtaining a residence, registering your address with the city, & setting up your appointment for your residence permit). Your next priority is probably setting up your apartment. Here's some information that will help you organize everything you'll need.

Furniture

I would prioritize furniture first, especially if you're on a tight budget, because IKEA (likely your cheapest option) is usually 2 weeks out for delivery. Maybe if you go to the nicer (far more expensive) furniture stores, they would have faster delivery? We also looked at other companies that can deliver your IKEA purchases, but IKEA's service actually had a shorter wait time which meant we would have a bed sooner. This was important because my ridiculous husband couldn't find an air mattress for the first week so we had been sleeping on the floor (Don't worry, I discovered not long after that Rossman had one all along... Note: don't depend on husbands to find things 😤). We had looked at several other furniture stores in our area & any big brand stores' websites, and I can honestly say IKEA was by far the cheapest. Especially if you'll be needing to install a kitchen.
I've mentioned before that renting apartments usually mean you'll get an empty shell with a toilet and bath. Literally. They won't even come with lightbulbs, let alone light fixtures. You can specifically look for apartments that are furnished with a full kitchen, but they're usually higher in rent or hard to find. In Jena, the difference seemed enough that we'd make up for having to buy a kitchen in 3 months so it wasn't worth it to pay more in rent. If you're worried about the kitchen, here's what we used to build a very basic and cheap one. Hopefully it can help you get a ballpark amount.

Cabinet Shell to hold your sink/stove/oven: KNOXHULT €117
Cheapest stove that had more than one hot spot: LAGAN HGC3K €100
Cheapest oven (I would advise against this oven, it is so weak): LAGAN OV3 €100
I don't remember which sink we purchased but I believe it was around €100
Fridge: LAGAN Kuhl €200
Washing Machine from Saturn.de on sale (8kg Comfee) €270
A couple of shelves from IKEA: depends on how many you want and what kind
Total = around €1000 for a kitchen

As usual with IKEA items, you will need to build and install everything on your own. Thankfully my husband is a bit handy and only needed to buy a €30 Jigsaw and basic tools to build the kitchen, but if that's not something you're up for, you can always hire IKEA (or whatever company you purchase from) to do so. It can be expensive though so keep this price in mind as well. We were very conscious about the price since we're only planning on staying for a few years.

*Bonus - OBI (Germany's Home Depot-same orange and everything lol) now rents power tools at an hourly rate which they didn't before (thanks OBI...) If you don't need anything fancy, IKEA also sells basic power tools at their locations for very cheap.

A kitchen before we installed our washing machine and some wall shelves
Everything from IKEA as listed

Electricity/Water

Now you're probably wondering why we weren't freaking out about our water and electricity first. The system seems to be different here as they don't separate utilities by household. Which means the utilities don't get "cut" when you move out, and electricity/water is already available when you move in. BUT you'll still have to set up a contract with a provider. For us, water was "included" in our rent (up to a certain amount/year). And we had to find an electric company to contract. Your landlord should have a company to recommend or a company they have a partnership with to provide you with a discount.
All you have to do is take your “Anmeldungbescheinigung” (Address Registration Certificate from the Burger Services), bank information (most payments in Germany are set up through automatic withdrawals), and your rental contract which shows your starting electricity meter numbers. The company will also ask how long you want the contract for and the amount per year. You can do month by month, yearly, etc, but it's cheaper to go for longer contracts. We knew we'd be staying for at least 2 years which is what we decided on. As for the amount, they can show you average usage numbers, and it's not a big deal if you go over a little. They will refund you the amount for any unused electricity.
We were told the system is this way due to one company controlling all of the city's electricity. The companies you contract then request usage from this "mega company" and take charge of your meter usage. Strange, but it's also how the internet works here. Which we'll talk about next~

Internet/Cell Service

As I was saying, the system for your household internet is similar to getting electricity. There's a "mega company" which, in this case, is Telekom (aka T-Mobile!). Telekom apparently used to have a monopoly on internet/phone services in Germany so they own all of the wiring/system. Now different companies have to request usage of this system to provide you with their own contract/pricing.
You can choose to sign up with Telekom (fastest set up) or go with other options. Friends have told me that O2 is the cheapest, but customer service is pretty horrible if you ever run into problems. We ended up going with Vodafone because they provide free EU roaming. As avid travelers, we lit up at the offer. I would say pricing is about the same as AT&T back home which is fine, but the slow set up time can really suck. Your cell service is instant, but it'll take around 3 weeks after you sign up with Vodafone for them to gain access to Telekom's internet services and have a service man sent out to your home. They'll try and make up for it by providing you an extra 10GB of data on your cells, but 10GB can go quick if you want to Netflix/Hulu. We just ended up sitting around cafes for the first few weekends...

TV/Radio Tax

Now this one's a funny one. Every household in Germany is required to pay a TV/Radio Tax (Rundfunkbeitrag). This tax funds the production and broadcasting of Germany's public channels. Because nowadays every household is likely to have a tv/radio or internet (which can access these channels), it is required to pay unless you are blind/deaf. It'll run you €17.50/month, and thankfully, it's per household, not person. You should automatically receive this letter after registering your address with the city, but if you don't, you will have to contact the Beitrag office to make sure & pay. If you don't, you'll have to pay everything you missed along with some hefty late fees. If you refuse to pay, they will take legal actions so it's best to just comply.

Garden Plots

This one doesn't really have to do with your apartment, but if you love gardening, Germany is quite the place to be. 'Garden plots' (Schrebergärten) are popular to 'purchase' here if you're interested. You might have already noticed a 'Garden Colony' depending on where you live. They look like fields that are squared off with tiny homes on each square. You can "purchase" a plot from a previous owner, but you wouldn't actually own the land, just everything on the land. This is all determined by a government appraiser down to every little herb (predetermined by goverment standards). Do keep in mind that as much as you can enjoy your own garden, there are many rules to managing your garden plot. It's kind of like having an HOA that tells you what you can/can't grow, what kind of house you can build, and so on. Some garden plots actually have an HOA/Management club.

Hope this has been helpful! If you have any questions, never hesitate to ask~

@to.unknownthings

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities and take this post with a grain of salt.

Transit in Germany - What are German buses and trains like?

2018-05-24T09:25:00.003-04:00

This has been a fairly requested topic: Transit in Germany! Transit here, even in our smaller city, is as great as we were expecting it to be. Buses & trams within the city are usually timely, and the routes are pretty expansive.

Our local bus/tram routes

The buses are actually quite nice, and they make it really convenient to buy tickets. Every bus has a ticket machine where you can buy a ticket that is valid for the next hour. Or you can buy tickets at the machines present at "major" stops. These tickets don't expire so you can buy multiple tickets, but you have to 'validate' them when you board the bus in the 'orange stamp boxes' (usually located near the doors). You stick the ticket in, and it stamps a time/date stamp. If this kind of ticket doesn't have one of these time stamps, the ticket is invalid and you could get fined when 'officials' come around to check tickets.

From our personal experience, they do check for tickets fairly often in our city. You will never be able to tell who the 'officials' are because they don't wear uniforms. They'll be riding the bus like normal passengers, wait for the bus to fill up a bit, and then as the bus is moving, start checking everybody's tickets. Our penalty for not having a valid ticket is €60, but I'm sure that depends on your city. €60 is the price of our monthly bus pass so if you're a forgetful person, I'd say just buy the monthly pass to make things easier.

As for the trains, pricing depends on the distance you're traveling along with how in advance you plan your trips. You can buy tickets online (Deutsche Bahn) in advance or at the stations, and some smaller regional trains also have ticket machines on board. BUT last minute train tickets can be quite expensive so try to plan in advance. There are other cheaper options (such as FlixBus, 'Europe's Megabus'), but the trains are far spacier and faster. Some of the newer trains even have 'family hubs' for group seating (shown below). And if you're traveling with other people, there are also some decent group rates you can find in every city.

Is transit pet friendly in Germany? Yes it is! Dogs are allowed on on both the buses/trams and the trains. You just have to buy tickets for your dogs. They're €1.60 on our city buses and the ticket is valid for 6 hours. As for the trains, it'll depend on the size of your pet and where you're going. I've included the info for pets on the Deutsche Bahn in the photo below.

Is transit handicap friendly in Germany? Yes it is! Every bus/train here seems to have a large area for any possible handicap space needed. They're strict about having certain spots for the handicapped/elderly. If you're sitting in these spots when they're needed, the bus driver WILL tell you to get up so don't be a jerk!

While we're talking about these spaces on transit, because these large areas are present, transit is also very bike and stroller friendly. The regional trains especially seem to be so. Just look for the open space on trains that are marked for bikes/strollers. There are also usually shelves you can put your large luggage on and overhead shelves at your seat that can fit a carry-on size just fine. Very travel friendly!

Hope this has been helpful! If you have any questions, never hesitate to ask~

@to.unknownthings

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your transit authorities and take this post with a grain of salt.

A Day in Weimar, Germany

2018-05-04T12:46:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick blip about our 1 day itinerary in Weimar. I won't go into much details about the historical facts of each place since that's the fun of visiting them, but we can walk through the town together. We left out the Buchenwald Memorial for another day along with some of the gardens since we went in February when everything was still cold & grey 😅 But I'll make sure to blog again on our next trip there so you can plan a second day!

What we saw in a day:

Goethe Schiller Monument (5 min)

Bach Monument (1 min)

Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (1-2 hr)

Schlossmuseum (2 hr)

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (30 min)

Goethe House @ Goethe Nationalmuseum (1-2 hr)

Weimarer Fürstengruft/Russian Orthodox Chapel @ Historic Cemetery (1 hr)

First thing - if you ride the train into town, be aware that the station is about a 15 min walk from the main part of the city (shown below). It's a straight shot so you don't have to worry about getting lost. The walk isn't really scenic, but there were a few cool buildings along the way.

I'd say Saturdays are far busier than Sundays even though most of the tourist spots here are open both days. You just won't find any stores open on Sundays, other than the restaurants/cafes (as is the norm in Germany). So plan accordingly, Instagrammers 😋

You'll know you've hit the main part of town when you see the bank 'Postbank Finanzcenter' on your right. Walk further down and you'll see a cute pink pharmacy!

Now if you turn to the left, you'll see a little brat stand on the road. My husband loves the brats here so you can stop by for a little snack! 🌭

Across from this brat stand, you'll see a smaller road filled with shops like a bakery called 'Back Factory,' a Nordsee, and Subways. Walk past these stores and you'll have arrived at the 'Theaterplatz.' It's this really big plaza that almost looks empty, but here you'll find the Bauhaus Museum on the left and the Goethe-Schiller Monument on the right

The Goethe Schiller Monument should just be a quick stop to look at this famous monument. Goethe and Schiller are probably the two most revered figures in German literature, and you can learn much about Goethe here in Weimar where he spent much of his adult life. Fun fact: Goethe(left) was far shorter than his good friend, Schiller(right), but the monument portrays them at the same height.

I would've loved to visit the Bauhaus Museum, but unfortunately it is closed for renovations and will not open again until next year, 2019.

After the monument, you may notice a gelato/icecream shop, Eiscafe Venezia 🍨 They have some unique flavors named after Goethe/Schiller and we thought it was really good! They have a convenient walk up window where you can just grab some icecream to-go and keep walking~

As you keep walking, you'll see sort of a fork, take a left! (A cool clock sits here at the fork in front of a cafe)

This street is full of shops and cafes that you can just stroll past if you have no interest, but there is a fun shop called "Mineralien und Fossilienhandel Peter Gensel." Here you'll find all kinds of shells, fossils, collectible insects, etc.

Now keep walking the path shown to reach the 'Markt' Center. This is where you would normally find the Christmas Markets set up along with the 'Tourist Info' building! You can buy some tickets here at the Tourist Info, but they do not sell tickets for the Anna Amalia Bibliotek (disregard what their website say - you'll have to buy them directly at the library). You can also find some free city maps here or buy some tour books/souvenirs.

Now we head to the gorgeous Anna Amalia Bibliotek! On your way there, you'll see the very small Bach Monument on the left. I believe this was created to commemorate the years he lived in Weimar

The admission for the library was €8 and came with an audio tour. They let a group in every so often, not sure how often, but they had us wait until the 'next time' posted.

There are some really cool books stored here such as a Luther Bible from the 1500s and some Shakespeares from his personal translator. There was also a section about the fire a decade back and shows some of the damaged works. We thought this library was absolutely gorgeous and totally Instagram worthy! 😜

Next is the Schloss Museum! Funny story behind this museum, I thought it was going to be a museum about the history of castles, but it was simply a museum built in a castle. It's right down the road from the library, you'll see it leaving the library to your right.

We spent quite a while here admiring the variety of rooms in this castle. It was the residence of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach who married Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia. She was an important patron of the arts who dedicated some of the rooms to the writers and musicians of Weimar. Each room was designed really uniquely from the next so it's a lot of fun to walk through this castle. There's even a ballroom if you want to take some fun photos here!

This is when we started getting hungry so we stopped for lunch. Creperie Du Palais is quite good, a little pricey, but they have both savory and sweet crepes. Although, for our sweet crepe, we thought the vanilla ice cream it came with outshined the crepe itself! It's been hard to find good vanilla ice cream here so we really enjoyed it 😂 Restaurant San is also nearby. A decent Korean restaurant which is incredibly hard to find in this area!

Afterwards, we headed to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. It's an interestingly designed church so we wanted to check it out real quick. Not much to it inside, but the main display was quite beautiful.

So at this point, we were surprised at how quickly we had gotten through things. We still had an hour till the general closing time for the attractions here so we decided to stop by the Goethe House/Museum on our way to the cemetery.

You'll realize as you enter the modern museum that it's strangely built attached to Goethe's main home during his stay in Weimar. After you purchase your tickets and pick up your audio tour, you'll be led to a door behind you that leads right outside of his house. We didn't think there was much to the house, but it was cool to see his office/library where he produced his works.

After browsing the house, you can head back towards the museum where you can see an exhibit of his works on the second floor. It's not a large museum, but it was a pretty interesting to see the variety of works he produced. I thought he was just a well known writer, but he was also an artist, botanist, and military figure who dabbled in anatomy, geology, colour theory, and much more.

You'll find Andy Warhol's works featuring Goethe here. Perhaps an ode to Goethe's works on colour theory?

Final stop! We weren't expecting anything special at this cemetery - my husband just thinks really old cemeteries are cool, but turns out there were interesting things to see here. This is where Goethe and Schiller's tombs are located along with this gorgeous Russian Orthodox Chapel where the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia is buried with her husband.

And that ends our day trip in Weimar! We had to head home to take care of our pups, but you could stick around for dinner before heading home. I'm always up for any questions you may have. Please feel free to leave them in the comments~

And don't forget to check out my instagram for regular travel tips 👇

To.UnknownThings

Everything You Need to Know About Moving to Germany: Insurance, Anmeldung, Banks

2018-04-13T07:17:00.008-04:00

Let's review: so far, I've talked about getting to Germany and the first thing you need to do when you arrive (looking for a residence). Well, it gets worse! I only scratched the surface when I talked about apartment hunting to start off simply. But it's so much more complicated than just the circled web of *Apartment VS Bank VS the Bürgerservice*

Welcome to Part 2: the tangled web gets more tangled!

(Hope you enjoyed the Comic Sans 😂)

In Part 1, we talked about the strange circle of obtaining an apartment which is directly linked to obtaining a bank account with a registered address (Anmeldung). Here, we'll talk about a couple of other things you will need for the apartment process, such as the different types of insurance.

1. Insurance

At least two types of insurance will probably be required when obtaining your apartment (depending on the rental agency). We were required to obtain Renter's Insurance (Hausratversicherung) and "Personal Liability Insurance" (Haftpflichtversicherung). You should be familiar with Renter's Insurance as that's also commonly required in the US, but you may be asking, what is "Personal Liability Insurance?"
Personal Liability Insurance will insure you in case of any damage you may cause. For example: if you accidentally damage your neighbor's belonging, the replacement would be covered; if you accidentally cause an accident and hurt somebody, their hospital bill would be covered. Every German seems to have this insurance, and it's very affordable so why not? You can also obtain more insurance such as "Law Protection Insurance" (Rechtsschutzversicherung) which will cover any legal fees in case of court disputes. The Germans seem to love insuring everything possible, down to their windows. You can read all about these crazy insurances in this article I found if you're curious.
Where can you start looking for these insurances? I started shopping for prices on this website. It is in German, but just look on the left for "Hausratversicherung" and "Haftpflichtversicherung" and then use Google Translate for the search fields (Google Chrome will be your best friend in Germany with their built in translation tool). They also seem to show a rating for each company/policy, but I don't know what that's based on.
After I narrowed down a couple of companies that sounded reliable and affordable, I simply sent out emails asking if any of them spoke English and if they could help us obtain these insurances. We went with the first company to respond, Konzept und Marketing Gruppe. Our Representative, Robert Strüber, wasn't too confident with his English so we just communicated via email, but he was to the point and very responsive so we were happy (if you want, this was our contact: R.strueber@versifair.de). It was all around a pretty quick and easy process- we were able to obtain all necessary insurances with him (including insurance for our pets!). You may just want to work on timing because he will be needing an address. We had contacted him when we were still waiting on the rental agency's decision which was totally ok, he just asked that we let him know as soon as we obtained the address so he could file and send the paperwork.

2. Paperwork for your Apartment Application

A couple of other things your rental agency may require during your application process are:
German Work Contract from your employer showing your income
Letter from your previous landlord stating you were a good renter (paid on time, no problems)
Or if you owned, a copy of your deed or other proof

3. Anmeldung

Registering your residence with your city's Bürgerservice (or Bürgeramt) will get you the “Anmeldungbescheinigung” (Registration Certificate). You will be needing this piece of paper for most accounts you will be opening during your stay (bank account, electricity, internet, etc). As mentioned in Part 1, you should make an appointment ahead of time as sometimes the queue is long. I've read some larger cities don't require an appointment, but that was not the case in Jena. Our small town required you to make an appointment as well as keep all of your paperwork within the city (some forums mentioned doing your immigration paperwork in a city nearby for shorter queues - false). I believe you're required to register your address within 14 days of moving into your new residence. Thus, we made our appointment as soon as we started actually looking at apartments as our city's queue was more than a week out, but I wouldn't stress too much about the deadline. They seem to be understanding about going over these limits if it's due to their long appointment queues since it's not your fault.
Also, as mentioned in Part 1, if you're having real difficulties finding a place but you need things to get going for work/the bank, we've been told you can just register your workplace/hotel address and have your employer/hotel write a letter stating that you're staying there. But this should be a last measure because 1) we're not sure if it would make the process more difficult and 2) after you do find a place, you have to make an appointment and re-register everything again. Yes, you will have to re-register if you want your electricity and internet to go to the right address as they will check your "Registration Certificate."
The process was fairly simple, you make an appointment, show up/check in, they'll call you to head towards a numbered booth, you show them your paperwork, they scan/copy everything in, and then provide you with the "Registration Certificate." They should also let you know when you should be expecting your "Tax ID" (Steuer-ID). You will be needing this to start working so make sure to ask about it if they don't mention it first.
We were required to bring:
Passports, Rental Contract, Meldebestatigung (document from your Landlord proving your residence - yes, they will want both), any documents proving your relation to your family (if you have anybody coming with you - such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, etc and their Passports), and of course, a filled out Anmeldung Form. You should be able to find it on your local Bürgeramt's website. I did not want to provide it here in case your city's form looks different.

To Note:

1) They did hassle us a little about our Marriage Certificate being in English. Thankfully, our official was confident in her English along with her supervisor so they decided to ok it. Be aware that this may be a problem, especially for more complex forms such as your child's Birth Certificate. You may want to ask your local Bürgeramt ahead of time if you will be needing translated forms.
2) Our official asked if we had enrolled in Health Insurance yet and asked to look at our Insurance Cards. We knew it was required later on, but we weren't aware that they'd ask for it during our Anmeldung appointment. I'm not sure if they normally require it or they usually just inform you that you will be needing it for your "Permanent Residence Appointment" later on, but I hadn't seen anywhere that we were required to bring it for this appointment. We just happened to have it on us- luckily, my husband's employer had referred us to a health insurance company with a good English program so that was a quick process.
3) The Bürgeramt will be asking about your religious status. If you so choose to identify with certain religions and attend church in Germany, you will have to pay a "Church Tax" (Kirchensteuer). This tax isn't small, it's a percentage of your salary and I believe the percentage depends on your religion. This tax is collected by the Tax Office (then channeled to your faith) which is why they ask you during this appointment.

4. Now you're ready for the Bank and other accounts

Whoohoo!!! As mentioned in Part 1, you will most likely be needing an appointment to open your bank account. Otherwise, it seemed just like opening a bank account in the States except that they require your work contract/proof of income. They will also be requiring your "Registration Certificate" (Anmeldungbescheinigung), your Rental Contract won't suffice. Be aware you will be providing your SSN (if from the US) and filling out forms for tax history/divulging any German accounts to the US.
Extra tip: ask them about activating "PayDirekt" while you're there. If it's not activated and you don't know how to use it, you may have trouble purchasing items online. We didn't even know about this until we tried to purchase a washing machine from Saturn.de.

5. Don't Forget: Permanent Residency

Don't forget you still have to get your "Permanent Resident Card" (Aufenthaltstitel) after you register your address. You will have to make an appointment for this (depending on what city you're in) at your local "Ausländerbehörde." Your travel visa is only valid for 90 days in Germany so you want to time this right and make your appointment ahead of time, but as mentioned earlier, they seem to be understanding about going over these limits if it's due to their long appointment queues. I believe if the next available appointment is past your 90 day mark, they'll have to provide you a visa extension.
This appointment was very similar to the Anmeldung appointment except that they required more documents along with your biometrics. You can find a list of everything you will be required to bring on your local Ausländerbehörde's website along with the form you will need to complete.
You will also be needing "passport photos" which you can easily obtain here with one of those "passport photo kiosks." It basically looks just like one of those fun photo booths, but they're designed to provide specific instructions for passport requirements along with the proper sized photos. We've found them at several local grocery stores so they seem to be easily accessible!
The whole appointment took about 1.5 hours if I remember right. A lot of it was just copying/scanning/signing and then printing out a temporary residence card for us.
We received our 'Permanent Residence' through my husband's "critical skill," being a Chemist. Apparently being a doctorate means neither he nor I were required to know German to obtain residence in Germany, but that's not the norm. I believe you may be required to take "Assimilation and Language" classes and pass certain level tests for them to grant you full permanent residence.
When I asked if I had permission to work as well (as the spouse), she said yes and implied that the spouse was normally allowed to work during the time frame of the primary spouse's work contract. She stated that if I found employment with a longer work contract than my husband's, then we could come in before the expiration of our 'Permanent Residence' status to renew the card for my new work contract dates.

And that should conclude any paperwork for your stay here in Germany! Unless you have special circumstances, you don't file your taxes here so that about sums it up. Hope this has been helpful! Please feel free to ask me any questions anytime. If there's ever anything you would like me to add or write about, I always welcome comments~

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your local offices and banks and take this post with a grain of salt.

Everything Americans Should Enjoy Before Moving to Germany - cause you won't find it here!

2018-02-27T14:39:00.009-05:00

Hope everybody enjoyed my post on what they may want to bring to Germany! But I know you can't bring all of America over so here's me writing about everything you should enjoy while you can. I never knew I would miss such simple things so much 😭

Steak/Beef

Hands down, the #1 thing I miss. I'm no high class lady. I used to drive right over to a Kroger to buy myself a big cheap steak about once a week to treat myself, but say bye to that my fellow steak lovers! Steak is ridiculously expensive here, even just buying it from the grocery store (beef in general seems to be pricey). I used to be able to get a decent sized steak for around $10 back home, but here, you'll find one small steak in a fancy, vaccuum-sealed packaging for around 25€. That's right, 25€ for a small grocery store steak. It doesn't even tasted good! You might as well eat at your local steakhouse because it's not much more...
Thinking that's not too bad, I can still enjoy a nice burger? Nope. For some reason, the ground beef here tastes different! And burgers at the our local restaurants are thin, expensive, and don't taste the same. Even McDonalds doesn't taste the same. I thought I was crazy until I saw other Americans agreed with me. But there is a silver lining: if you prefer Burger King over McDonalds anyways, Burger King does taste the same here! It's just expensive...

Free water "with no gas"

If you're like my friend who thinks water is the worst thing to drink in the world, this won't be a problem for you 😂 But I get dehydrated easily so water is my best friend. I think I drink at least two cups of water during any meal. So imagine having free water taken away from you! Now I'm left with expensive mineral water in tiny bottles when I eat out. The worst is when I forget to clarify "no gas" and they give me carbonated water! Germans love their soda water. You can technically just bring a water bottle everywhere you go, but apparently, it can be seen as impolite so you'll want to leave it in your bag when you sit and drink from it discreetly.

Free refills

Do you like to guzzle soda freely without a thought during your meals?

Too bad, say bye to free refills! Soda is not only expensive, you only get one serving for that price! Sometimes they even come in the tiniest bottles so you feel even more ripped off.

Ice in your drinks

At least you won't have a lot of ice taking up space in your one tiny glass of soda? Your drinks will come cold and refrigerated, but never with ice. So if you're craving an ice cold drink during a hot summer, you'll have to get it at home. You might get lucky at some bars that may have ice, but remember to ask for it.

Free public toilets

This one hasn't been that big of a deal for me, but my husband has the smallest bladder in the world! Free restrooms are not a concept anywhere in Germany. Gas stations will charge you to use their restroom even if you purchase anything, any train stations, and much of the malls will as well. Even the restrooms at a public park will charge you. Thankfully, most restaurants will let you use their restroom for free if you're dining in so that's been enough for me.

Air conditioning

Coming from Hotlanta, I don't think we'll sweat about this one (haha...). I grew up with 100°F summers with 100% humidity (yes, it was hell), and I hear the hottest Germany ever gets is 80°F. With some personal fans, it shouldn't be too bad, but if you're from a colder area, there is no A/C here so good luck. I've been told the malls should have A/C, but it's nothing like in the US. Apparently, it will be some weak, sub-par attempt at keeping the mall from being a sauna.

Smoke free air

I never thought I'd say this, but smokers in the US are generally more polite than the smokers in Europe. Of course there are exceptions to these generalizations, but for the most part, smokers in the US would go around corners to smoke and try to stay out of the way. Here? It's free reign as long as you're outside! Smokers seem to be everywhere, and they smoke as they're walking (who cares if somebody's walking behind you!), in cafe/restaurant patios, at the Christmas Markets (even if there are children around!). I miss being able to walk right down the street without a cloud of cigarette smoke. And this is coming from me, who was in the service industry for 6 years and constantly surrounded by smokers!

Ethnic Food

As somebody who loves to eat and comes from a culturally diverse Atlanta, I miss good ethnic food. The Mexican food here is horrible, the good Asian food is hard to find and expensive, and Indian food is okay but very expensive. Somebody save me from the bland food here!!! Especially as a Korean, I need bold flavors and spices!

Coffee

I'm not a frequent coffee drinker, but even I recognize how bad the coffee is here. It all tastes burnt but watery at the same time. It's funny because you see all of the nice espresso machines at every restaurant, but somehow they all produce this horrible mud water. It must be the beans that they use here? What is the point of having these fancy machines if you're just going to use the cheapest beans you can find?

Cheddar Cheese

Don't worry, for the most part, you should be able to find good cheese everywhere of every kind (even if they're called something different in German). But Cheddar cheese isn't common and very expensive here. The only cheddar I've been able to find is Kerrygold Cheddar and it's double/triple the price of any other cheese we buy here 😓

Grocery baggers

I don't mind bagging my own groceries, I even prefer to sometimes because baggers in the US abuse plastic bags as if they need to. But grocery checkout is a sport here. People will frown at you if you don't quickly and efficiently place everything onto the belt and then pack in into your own bags at the speed the lady is scanning all of the items. And you better have your payment ready because the checkout ladies will demand it as soon as they're done scanning everything regardless of whether you're busy packing everything or not.
If you don't finish packing everything by the time you finish paying? Prepare to have the person behind you breathe on your neck as all of their items get scanned and mixed into your items! They will not wait for your slow American efficiency 😂 Makes you miss the good ol' days of leisurely shopping!

Over the counter medicine

Gone are the days where you can simply stroll over to the grocery store for some cold medicine or advil/ibuprofen. Now you have to share with your local pharmacist everything you're feeling and then turn down a bunch of herbal/homeopathic suggestions only to receive a smaller version of what you'd find in the US that's also weaker in dosage and double the price... Also, there's no sudafed here 😭 Seems to be more common to just go to the doctor here since health insurance covers everything, including most of your prescription meds.

Uber

Unfortunately, Uber has not been able to enter Germany! I miss the days of a cheap, quick ride. Don't get me wrong. Public transit is fantastic here! I rarely need a taxi, but I have had to use one a few times and the prices really make you miss Uber, especially when you're out late drinking and the buses have stopped running.

Large Washing Machines/Dryers

Not that big of a deal, but large washing machines are expensive, and you might not have room in your place for a dryer too (or the proper set up). Most people line dry their clothes here. Which has been fine, but I miss just being able to pile up your laundry into a giant load. Now, I have to do laundry frequently with small loads as my washing machine is small and I don't have enough space to dry so many clothes at one time. Things like this make you realize how many silly things you take for granted!

Automatic Cars

We didn't realize that cars here were manuals by default. I talk about whether you should bring your car in this post. But if not, know that the standard for cars here is manual. So if you don't know how to drive stick, you can run into difficulties with renting cars and possibly with getting your German Driver's License.

Microwave Popcorn

This one's just a funny one for my popcorn loving husband. He had a hard time finding the microwave popcorn. Only one of the grocery stores in our city had them. Ultimately, I ended up buying him a popcorn machine to appease him 😂 The regular popcorn kernels are super cheap and much easier to find.

***This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please take this post with a grain of salt.

Sleeping in Germany: Do German couples use separate beds and blankets?

2018-02-13T10:44:00.003-05:00

If you've been following me, you'll remember my rant about how expensive bedding is in Germany in my last post. I also speculated about why it was so pricey -

" Why is bedding so expensive? One of the main reasons is definitely because we have a 'king' bed (they go by sizes here, we went with the biggest size at IKEA 180x200cm). If you don't need a large bed, I'm sure you'd have more options & cheaper prices!

Also, in some parts of Germany, couples like to have their own duvets and sometimes even beds! We've definitely met some people who say that's not common anymore, but we've also come across hotels, AirBnBs, and people here with separate comforters (the photo shows what I mean). So maybe the demand for larger blankets isn't there?..... "

This was a funny discovery for us. In the US, my husband and I slept on a 'Full' sized bed and always thought it was too small with our two dogs. So when we moved to Germany, we took full advantage of needing a new bed and bought the biggest size available at IKEA! Only to struggle finding affordable bedding. IKEA's cheapest 'King' sized duvet was €80! That didn't even include a cover - it was just the stuffing. We thought it was simply overpriced so I found a TK Maxx (Germany's TJ Maxx) thinking they'd have duvets like they do in the US, but they only had a few jersey fitted sheets that were too small for our bed. So then I went looking on Amazon.de and the cheapest they had was €55! And any cotton sheets are pricey! (Read about that in my previous post) All of the furniture stores we went to didn't have sizes that big either.

Confused, I started asking around. Seems like large sizes aren't in demand here because it isn't unusual for couples to have their own duvets. One of my husband's coworkers said that his parents have always had separate blankets and that some of his neighbors even put smaller beds together so they each have a mattress. Curious, I looked online to see if this was common and looks like it is! This Bielefeld blogger mentions it along with a couple of other blogs I've seen that also state it's popular in Austria and Switzerland. And if you look through TripAdvisor, you'll find plenty of reviewers talking about the separate duvet/bed system at all of the hotels! But some have also said in some areas, this isn't that common anymore and more outdated.

Funny thing is, everybody seems to love it! No more fighting over the sheets! If you like soft mattresses while your partner prefers it firm, they even have bed frames specially meant to put two mattresses in (refer to above photos)! You'll even find products to prevent the bed gap (below). Sounds like the good life to me. Thankfully, my husband and I both prefer firm beds. We decided to buy a 'king sized' flat sheet (which aren't common here) in the end to keep the dog hairs away and layered with some smaller blankets German style to keep us warm! With the larger bed now, my husband seems to 'alligator' less, leaving my blankets intact even with our shared sheet 😂

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities and take this post with a grain of salt.
**This was not an ad; I was not compensated in any way for writing about any of these products/brands in this post.

Everything You Should Bring When Moving to Germany - The things you'd never think of!

2018-01-31T07:03:00.011-05:00

My husband and I moved to Germany with just our suitcases and 2 pups! Crazy right? Actually, my husband wanted me to move across the pond with only two suitcases, and I had to tell him he was insane! Thankfully, he ended up giving me more space, but we were just too tight on cash to ship everything else over. I cried a little watching 60% of my belongings given away, but my husband figured it'd be more economical to re-buy everything once he started his new position.

Three months later, we are still trying to get settled in! Moving to Germany sounds super glamorous and adventurous, but it's been a difficult transition because we weren't compensated relocation costs. So it has been a huge upfront cost that takes time to catch up on.
Anyways, not everything has been easy to repurchase or find so I thought I could help anybody else planning to move over with their packing decisions. This is not an ad; I was not compensated in any way for writing about any of these products/brands in this post.

*Bonus Tip: We wish we had known a bit more about Amazon.com in Germany
Make sure to read about my post on Amazon.de here before purchasing anything. You want to make sure you're not making mistakes like bringing Amazon.com gift cards over.

Tyenol/Advil/Ibuprofen/OTC Meds

This is a funny one. You can't get your regular over the counter medicines here at the grocery store like you do back home. You have to go to the 'Apotheke' and then describe to the pharmacist about your condition in detail only to have them try to give you an herbal/homeopathic product instead of the aspirin or cold medicine that you want. We were told to just keep turning these down till they give you what you want (unless you love homeopathic products - then Germany is great for you).

The counters are filled only with the homeopathic products in these Apothekes and are always recommended before any medicine. Apparently, pharmacists are reluctant to give you these OTC medicines because they view self-medicating a means of avoiding a doctor’s consultation. Aspirin/Ibuprofen/Etc are also much weaker in dosage while much pricier.

   Which leads me to say, read all labels carefully! Make sure to always read the 'Active Drugs' label to make sure you're getting the right product because names aren't the same here. Something called one name in the US might be something completely different here in Germany. And good luck trying to get your family/friends to ship some OTC medicines over. I've been told that Customs will not pass it through.
   OTC medicines can vary in price from Apotheke to Apotheke, but prescription drugs are highly regulated and required to be the same price at every pharmacy in Germany (thought that was cool!). I guess it doesn't really matter because your insurance should cover these prescription drugs so you only have to pay a small deductible.
   And in case you get confused, 'Apothekes' and 'Drogeries' are different. Apothekes are pharmacies and Drogeries are more like convenience stores (Walgreens/CVS without the pharmacy). So Google Maps search carefully 😉

American Keyboards

I'm not sure what you'll be bringing or what your technology preferences are, but if you're picky about your keyboards/will be needing one, bring one to Germany! German keyboards are different and the only English keyboards you'll find are from the UK which are still different from the US keyboards (different symbols). Here's the difference between the UK (top) and US (bottom).

German 101 books

I know, this one sounds silly. Cherry, why wouldn't you buy these books before leaving for Germany? We were short on space/weight as it was so I didn't even think about it! It was hectic enough as it was just trying to get rid of all of our stuff and figure out packing. Don't worry, they have learning German books here. They just don't have a million options like you probably would in the US so you can't find anything specifically geared for English speakers. Also, don't believe people when they say you don't need to learn German. That may be the case for vacationers, but living here is another story, especially if you'll be in East Germany.

Comforter/Duvets

This is one we didn't expect! Comforters/Duvets (search for duvets online, they're not called comforters here) are expensive here if you're going to have a king sized bed. In Atlanta, I could find a nice king sized, 100% cotton, fluffy comforter set for about $40-50 at TJ Maxx. But the cheapest polyester king sized duvet/bettdecke you can find on Amazon.de (with reviews) alone is €55 and does NOT come with a cover. You normally wouldn't need one in the US, but duvets are just plain white here and large washing machines aren't common so you probably want a cover you can wash more often. If I want a 100% cotton duvet cover, it rings me another €30. And if you'd prefer buying your duvet in person, good luck finding king sizes in stores! The only ones we've been able to find have been at IKEA. €80 for their cheapest duvet and their covers ring you up at least another €20. They do have a cotton duvet though! For only €170!😂

The cost of our bedding situation:
€25 400 Threadcount 100% Cotton Fitted Sheet - Amazon Basics
€26 400 Threadcount 100% Cotton Flat Sheet - Amazon Basics
€55 Light Polyester Duvet - Amazon Basics
€37 100% Cotton Duvet Cover + 2 Pillowcases
€143 Total!

I could get all of this for the same/better quality for half of that in the US. If you don't care about quality and are ok with cheap jersey polyester, you can find bargain prices, but they are geared towards students and don't come in king sizes.

Why is bedding so expensive? One of the main reasons is definitely because we have a "king" bed (we went with the biggest size at IKEA 180x200cm). So if you don't need a large bed, I'm sure you'd have more options & cheaper prices! But also, in many parts of Germany, couples like to have their own duvets and sometimes even beds! We've met some people who say that's not as common anymore, but all of our hotels and AirBnBs had separate comforters/beds (as shown in the photo above). So maybe the demand for larger blankets isn't there?

Dog beds

This is solely from what I've seen on Amazon.de. I have not had the chance to look at the local pet store here. If you will be bringing over your pups, large dog beds seem to be quite expensive here. And carpet is not common in Germany, so your pup will be wanting a bed! If you only have a small dog, you don't need to worry.

Universal converters

Outlet converters are a bit more expensive here than you can find in the US. I would bring plenty since you'll have your laptops/cellphones/whatever other electronics you choose to bring. It'll also be good if you plan on traveling, to have universal converters.

Winter coats

If you want a quality long winter coat to keep you warm, good luck finding one for under €300! Especially if you get cold easily and want a long one. It doesn't get crazy cold during the winter here, but it does get pretty windy/rainy and if you're not bringing a car, you'll be walking a lot. In the US, I feel like there are plenty of huge clearance sales at bargain/outlet stores where you can find really nice quality winter coats for at most $200. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I hear Germans view a nice winter coat as an investment to use for several years so they don't mind investing a large sum on one, but it's too much for somebody on a budget like me. I wish I had bought one before coming over.

Brown Sugar

There is no brown sugar in regular grocery stores here. Don't know if they exist at all in Germany! So if you're a baker and some of your favorite recipes call for brown sugar, bring some over. The closest thing to brown sugar you'll find here is 'Sugar in the Raw.' (update - have found some on Amazon for a hefty price)

Salad Dressing

No more beloved Ranch Dressing for you! I was never a fan of ranch dressing, but my husband's definitely crying on the inside about this one. French dressing here is not the same, and I have yet to see any Italian or Caesar dressing. Most of it's just 'Yoghurt Dressing' or 'Yoghurt with Dill' or some Vinaigrettes.

Cosmetics

This one should be a bit obvious, but for my fellow product whores out there, if you're picky, bring your stuff over. There is no Sephora or ULTA here (update - Sephora now exists here in Germany). A lot of American products are also double the cost. I am struggling to find the right stuff here with my lack of German; takes me 5 min just to decipher one ingredients list. I would bring plenty of stuff over and do some research on German products ahead of time so you know what you want to try when you arrive.

Cars

The big question expats ask. Should I bring my car over? I guess ultimately it ends up being about which city you'll be moving to and how much you'll be traveling/like outdoor activities. Most blogs I've read have said not to because insurance and gas are both very expensive here (and your car may need to be modified to fit EU standards). Public transportation is so convenient you probably won't need it. Which is all true, and depending on where you live, there may also be parking fees to add on, but if you plan on traveling often and don't know how to drive a stick, renting a car can be quite expensive. We looked at all of the rental agencies, and the cheapest automatic car we can find is about €90/day because you also have to get insurance. That's €270/weekend just for the car/insurance! Even if you know how to drive stick, it only drops that price down to about €75-80/day.
So I'd say it completely depends on your lifestyle. If you're a big traveler/travel blogger/photographer, and you'll be traveling majority of your time here, you'll want a car (doesn't mean you have to bring yours over, you can always buy one here, you'll just need to learn manual as that's the norm). If you're a big outdoor/camping nut, you'll need a car to get to a lot of the best spots in Germany. If you don't plan on traveling often or venturing outside of cities, then you really won't be needing a car here. So make sure to do your research to see if it's worth it. Compare how much you plan on traveling and where/how far, car shipping/modification costs vs buying a car here, gas costs/if there are parking fees for your residence (our neighborhood doesn't), and how much your insurance would be.

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities and take this post with a grain of salt.
**This was not an ad; I was not compensated in any way for writing about any of these products/brands in this post.

Everything You Need to Know About Shopping on Amazon.de Germany - Don't bring gift cards over! | Moving to Germany

2018-01-26T18:04:00.005-05:00

Here are some tips on using Amazon in Germany! This is not an ad, I'm actually not happy with the recent news of how Amazon workers are being treated and have no affiliation with them, but I also know how much of a life saver Amazon can be overseas.

Amazon.de is technically different from Amazon.com. So if you get any moving away/congratulations gift cards for Amazon.com, you cannot use them with Amazon.de.

Which means, your prime membership also isn't valid for Amazon.de. You'll have to cancel your Amazon.com Prime Membership and sign up for a new one on Amazon.de. Which isn't a big issue if you time the yearly membership right, but this can be a bit confusing at first because your login is valid for both sites but your .com Prime Membership doesn't work for Amazon.de so you have to make a new account if you want Prime.

Also, they do Prime Membership here by the month.

Amazon.de does have a language function on the top right of the page so you can use the site easily even if you don't speak German. It'll translate your English searches into German for you too!

You CAN use your US credit cards on Amazon.de so if you have some credit cards that don't charge international fees, you're in luck. Initially, we thought we could only use a German bank account because other German sites wouldn't let me order without a German billing address for the card. But that isn't the case with Amazon, you can use your US credit cards.

Which leads me to say, a lot of items on Amazon.de seem to be credit card only? There have been quite the number of items that we can't purchase with our German bank account. And considering credit cards are rare here and expensive (usually come with yearly fees?), your US credit cards may come in handy.
(Update - we may have had issues with our bank account because our 'PayDirekt' wasn't activated. We have had no issue purchasing items on Amazon.de with our bank account since we activated it)

It doesn't seem like Amazon.de has as good of deals as their US counterpart does. I've found our local Kaufland (kind of like a German Walmart but smaller?) has comparable prices if not often, cheaper products. So check your local store prices because Amazon.de isn't always cheaper here. It is still very helpful for finding plenty of things we wouldn't see at the local stores though!

Which leads me to say, if you can't find something locally nor on Amazon, don't be afraid to look on other sites. Online shopping is convenient here as shipping is usually around 5 Euros for any European site. My husband's coworkers even purchase their craft beers online. They recommended we look online for GF beers as my husband has Celiac's.

Everything You Need to Know About Moving to Germany: Apartment Hunting & Opening a Bank Account

2018-01-21T17:41:00.004-05:00

So you want to move to Germany, but it's too short notice to get the EU Blue Card? (read about that here) What do you do? You have to go through the entangled mess of moving to Germany! Don't worry. You do NOT need the EU Blue Card to move to Germany. It just makes things a lot quicker/easier down the road.

Germany is open to visit for up to 90 days so if you already have a job lined up, you should be able to settle down within that time. If you don't have a job offer yet, I strongly suggest looking for one before moving over as the process is hard enough as it is with a job.

So why do I say it's such a mess to move here? Because everything you need to get settled in is all linked together in a never-ending circle.

To get a bank account, you need a residence registered with the 'City Hall'

To register your new residence with the 'City Hall', you need an apartment (& to make an appointment which can be several weeks out).
To rent an apartment, you need a bank account (Germany doesn't take checks. Almost everything is set up as an auto-payment from your bank account)

So how did we make this work?

First things first, make the appointments you need to!

1. Stop by the bank you prefer and make an appointment to open an account. There are several large banks here. We chose the Deutsche Bank because A.Volksbank was incredibly rude to us on two separate occasions and B.Deutsche Bank was supposed to be quite accommodating for English speakers/popular choice for foreign students. These just happened to be the first two banks we saw. There are plenty of other options such as Sparkasse, which we have heard good things about. We just happened to see Deutsche Bank first and didn't really have much preference as we only needed a simple checkings account.

Depending on the time of the year, appointments can be several weeks out. We happened to move to a college town during a busy time so our bank appointment was 2.5 weeks out. It may also have been because we needed an English speaker. If the wait is shorter, just go ahead and make an appointment further out to leave you ample time to find an apartment as a registered address is required for all accounts. 2.5 weeks was just enough time for us to look for an apartment and register with the city. Which leads to...

2. Make an appointment with your city's Bürgerservice to register your address with the city. You will need a registered address to open up any kind of account (bank, phone/internet, electricity, etc) in the future. Once again, these appointments can be 1-2 weeks out. If the wait is shorter, just go ahead and make an appointment further out to leave you ample time to find an apartment. Registering your address is necessary because when you open up any services here, they require a form showing that your address is registered with the city (which you get during your appointment).

Now as you wait for these appointments to come up, let's find an apartment!

I want to first specify that we moved to a small town called Jena so there wasn't as much help online for renting apartments to expats as you may find in the big cities like Berlin. Just 'Ebay'. Yup, that's right, I said Ebay. Apparently Ebay has a far better reputation here in Germany and many people use it to find apartments to rent! If you are moving to Berlin, this blog has a great post on finding an apartment there. Anyways, we didn't see many options lined up before coming to Germany so we decided to stay in an AirBnB while apartment hunting. Thus, we didn't have much time, and it was expensive to keep staying in an AirBnB/hotel so we felt finding an apartment was the first priority! We'd figure out later how to pay.

Expat groups suggested that the fastest way to find an apartment is to find a real estate agent (some charge a fee, avoid this; as of 2015, the owner of the flat has to pay any agency fees when renting out a flat, not the other way around), and all of the listings on Ebay pointed to agents anyways so we figured that was true. We found out after going to a couple of real estate agents in town that we were looking in the wrong place. One agent was finally kind enough to tell us that we should be looking for specific rental agents (instead of going to agents that handle purchasing homes). He let us know that most of them were over the phone and only one had a physical location in town. Since we didn't speak German and couldn't get through the phone prompts, we chose to go to the one physical rental agent, Jena Wohnen!

Thankfully they were very accommodating. Their English wasn't perfect, but it was enough to find us an apartment. We simply let them know what we were looking for, our budget, and that we had dogs. From that, they let us know we only have a few options, but they had somewhere in mind if we wanted to look. She said she was free the next day so we went to look at it first thing the next morning. Apparently, they only show you one apartment at a time. If you don't like the first one, then they'll look for another one instead of having a list of places for you to look at. Which makes me want to think they try to find you your best option the first time? Thankfully, we really liked the first apartment she showed us and snapped it up!

The first one she showed us was a 57 sq meter apartment with 2 bedrooms (you have to specify bedrooms, Germans count the living room as one so technically we have a 3 room + KB - kitchen/bath). It was surprisingly roomy, more than enough for a couple with two dogs. We had heard of some horror stories of apartments not coming with toilets/furnished bathrooms, but that is rare nowadays, ours came with a full bathroom. FYI bathtubs seem to be the norm over showers though...

But, it is definitely true that apartments do NOT come with equipped kitchens (I'll write about that later). You can find some newer, more modern apartments that now come with appliances (they're called something specific so you'll have to request), but obviously, your rent would be higher. The one we viewed (without an equipped kitchen) was only 500 Euros/mo including all utilities except electricity. Oh, it also came with a storage cellar (which seems to be a norm). It was 5min from the bus/8min from the train, the bus ride into the city center was only 15min, and the nearest grocery store was a 10min walk. That is about as good as you can get when you move from Atlanta! Rent in Atlanta can double that, won't include utilities, and we were a commuter state with horrible, horrible traffic. So, I liked it right away! (attached photos at the end of the post) My husband wanted to think about it for a night which was fine because our agent let us know we had till the end of the week to decide and what we'd need with the application (work contract, a recommendation letter from your previous landlord, pay history, and some insurance which I'll about write about later).

My husband ended up agreeing that this was cheaper than we expected and the location was great so we decided to act quick and let her know the next day that we were interested. This is where things get interesting. She was happy that we liked the apartment and asked us if we brought all of the paperwork needed and a completed application. She just checked to make sure they were the right things and gave it back to us without even taking copies! Then she let us know what she'd decide on by the end of the week when the other 2 interested parties turn in their paperwork. We were very confused at this point. We asked her what that meant. She said that their process allows up to 3 interested parties to turn in applications for an apartment and then from there she decides who gets it. A little appalled, we asked her what factors played a part in her decision. She said it depended on our pay/reliability/work and who she felt necessary to have the apartment. She then let us know she would email us on a certain date with her decision.

If you're an American, you can see why this would leave us confused. It was such a different system. This kind of system would get you sued in the US for discrimination. We weren't mad, just extremely taken aback. My husband scratched his head and asked me if we were supposed to bribe our agent!!! I had a good laugh and let him know I hadn't seen anything of that sort online so probably not? We then figured it was fair game to email our agent with a sad story about how we really needed this apartment and without it, my husband couldn't start work without a registered address (which was true). We're not sure if the email affected the agent in anyway, but she decided to give us the apartment! You have no idea, we were pretty nervous because our AirBnB booking was just ending.

We met up with her at the apartment to grab the keys where we thought we'd be signing the contract. She let us know there was no leasing period, it was month to month and to just give them a notice. She went over the apartment to make sure everything was working, how to read all of our meters, who to contact for what issues, how to throw things away, etc. Then she had us sign a form stating that she went over all of this and what numbers all of the meters started at. She was about to leave when we asked her, what about the down payment? We don't have a bank account yet, is that a problem? Don't we need to sign the contract? Then she casually told us, we could take care of all of that later. To stop by the office whenever we had time in the next couple of days. We were once again, taken aback! We couldn't believe she'd leave us the keys and let us move in before she got any payment information or a signed contract. We don't know if this is the German way or just the small town way! We had never felt more trusted before!

So we started to move in and thankfully, our appointment for registering our address and bank account fell only a couple of days later and we were able to sign the contract and provide them with our bank information by the end of the week. If your rental agency is not as relaxed as ours was and your timing doesn't work out, my husband's boss had told him to register his workplace address with the city and from there open the bank account to acquire the apartment. Then you can change your address with the city later on. This option honestly doesn't seem foolproof so try and get your agency to be understanding about your expat situation.

It was overall a pretty weird experience! But we're glad everything worked out. We did end up finding out later that having connections with the agencies gets you all of the best apartments/deals so we probably didn't get the best deal for the area, but I'd like to believe we didn't have many options due to the dogs anyways and it's still a great deal compared Atlanta!

Here are some snaps my husband had taken before we moved in! They don't bother painting the walls nicely because I think Germans usually use wallpaper (or at least that's what our agent suggested). They just simply rip off the previous tenant's wallpaper off for you so you can apply a new one. Also, if you're OCD, prepare for these old German buildings to be your worst nightmares because nothing is level here. That includes BOTH the walls and floor. Our AirBnB was the same. I am learning to cope with it!!! 😂 You'll have to wedge stuff underneath your furniture and deal with the fact that your bookshelves aren't perfectly flush against your walls.

>>>PART TWO>>>: The tangled web gets more tangled - Insurance, Anmeldung, Banks

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your rental agency and banks and take this post with a grain of salt.

Everything you need to know about moving your dogs to Germany - PART 3 How checking in and the dog's flight went

2018-01-17T15:18:00.003-05:00

After reading Part 1 and Part 2, you should be completely prepared now for your pups' arrival in Germany. But, you may still have nerves about how it's actually going to go at the airport. So, I thought you'd like to know how our experience went, what we did to prepare, and how our dogs fared.

Before the airport

Timing your dog's food and water right

Our flight was in the evening so we fed the dogs early in the morning and gave them plenty of water until it was time to leave for the airport. We made sure to take them out right before we left.

Deciding whether you have room for the assembled crates or not

Our rental wasn't large enough to fit all of our suitcases along with two assembled dog crates so we just decided to leave them unassembled/stacked and to assemble them once we got to the airport. Remember to factor this into how you'll be getting to the airport and leave time!

Letting your dogs potty adequately at the airport

We fed them far before they'd be on the flight, let them potty twice before we left for the airport, and then let them potty again right before we checked in for our flight.

At the airport

Assembling the dogs crates

Assembling our 'Sky Kennels' didn't take long, it was quite easy to simply align the top and bottom pieces together and screw the metal bolts/nuts together. Bring a wrench to make sure everything is tight! Wouldn't want your pups getting loose for any reason during this process. I would say about 15 minutes to assemble each crate with two people is plenty. *Oh also, if your pup gets cold easily, buy them a little sweater to wear. I hear it can get cold in the cargo. Both of our pups like the cold so we let them be.

Checking in

After you have your dogs in the crates, walk over to the check-in counter for your airline and check-in as usual. They'll do all of the usual first (like checking in luggage and such) before getting to the dogs. *Not dog related but... - We flew with Lufthansa who surprisingly, weighed our carry-on luggage. My husband has flown overseas plenty of times before, and he said he had never had his carry-on weighed before. So watch out!

Overviewing the paperwork

Now they'll ask for the paperwork. The airline didn't take too long to look over it. They simply called over their supervisor who made sure that we had all of the forms and that it matched the APHIS Form 7001.

Paying for the dogs

After checking you and the luggage in and looking over your paperwork, they'll ask you to go down to the end of the counter where they'll make sure that your kennels meet IATA requirements. They'll put a bunch of stickers on the kennel like a flight tag and some arrows/live animal stickers. Once they clear that your dogs are ready for the flight, they'll ask you to pay for the dogs. I think they mentioned normally, we would pay after TSA approved us, but that TSA may take a while to arrive and it looked like we would be fine.

Your airline should post the prices of your dog's flight (by size) online so you should already be aware of how much it will cost, but we were surprised that Lufthansa charged us $400 for our Husky and $300 for our Bluetick. Our Bluetick was too big for the small size ($200) and too small for the medium ($400) which may be why they charged us an intermedian price (or it may have been that TSA kept us waiting so long they felt bad?). We're not sure, but you can always ask nicely about a possible discount if your dog seems to fit between sizes. ***Key word: nicely. I worked in customer service for years. Reps are much more likely to help you if you're nice. They're not required to offer you a discount like they did with us.

Waiting for TSA

Now this is what may take awhile. This should all depend on when your flight is/the airport. We had to wait for a little longer than 30 minutes for the TSA to arrive. As you can imagine, this made us a little bit nervous with a flight to catch, but Lufthansa was very politely apologetic about the situation and assured us that the flight would be held for us if TSA were to take longer. Thankfully, they didn't. Once TSA arrived, they checked that the crate met IATA regulations again and that all openings were secure. They also had to pat down the puppies (are they checking for drugs?) and check that there was nothing in the crate other than absorbent paper. They then asked us if they would be needing food. We said no as the flight isn't very long (8 hours), and it was direct so there would be no worries of something going wrong. They advised us to leave the hanging water bowl (came with the kennel) latched onto the inside of the door just in case there was a delay, and somebody needed to provide them with water. Then, they ziptied the kennel door to the plastic for extra security and were carried off on a large trolley.

Arriving in Germany

YOU MADE IT TO GERMANY! Worried about the pups? Run to pick up your luggage! You will find your puppies where you pick up 'Oversized Luggage' (usually off to the side from where you normally pick up the rest of your luggage). Our puppies seemed surprisingly relaxed, and they had not pottied in their crates!

Got all of your luggage? Now you can just follow the signs to Customs/Border Control. It was my first time in the EU and outside of the US since very little so it was really cool to see the Customs here. Got to see some APC (Automated Passport Control) kiosks! As Non-EU Passport holders, we went to the right through a normal line to talk to the Customs officer.

The APC kiosks for EU Passport Holders!

He asked us the usual questions like why we were here and how long we'd be staying, etc, but not one question about the dogs. It being my first experience, I expected going through Customs to be much more of an ordeal, but it was just a couple of questions, showing him a form or two, and then being cleared to enter. Nothing about the dogs! Puzzled when he said we were clear, my husband and I asked him if we needed to do anything additional for the dogs. He mumbled something about maybe later on, just that he doesn't handle that. So we assumed there was somewhere we'd have to stop by later to 'check in' the dogs.

We kept walking and it just spit us out into the pickup/dropoff lobbies. Nobody stopped us for the dogs nor were there signs anywhere on what to do for the dogs. We didn't see anybody around that we could ask either. As you can imagine, we were quite confused! My husband found a little kiosk window that said Customs so he went to ask about the dogs there, and she said no, they were just the parcel at the airport. So after looking around and seeing nothing, we decided that we could probably just go!

First thing we did was let the pups out for some water and then took them outside for a walk. I found an area that was quiet with a small patch of grass/gravel, and they were able to potty. Then we were waiting around for our rental car when somebody who appeared to be security stopped to ask us if we needed water for our dogs. We said we had already given them some, but he seemed to be fond of dogs so he struck up a conversation. We finally happened to just ask, "Are we supposed to stop by anywhere for the dogs? Customs didn't check their paperwork when we entered." He then asked us if we came from the US, we said yes, and he said that was why they didn't check the dogs. He asked if we had our paperwork checked before coming to Germany, and let us know that's all they do for dogs coming from the US. If we had been from some other country known for their issues with vaccinations, their vetting probably would have been much more thorough.

Relieved that there was nothing more to do at the airport, we finally started our journey into Germany! Overall, it was nowhere near as complicated as we thought the airport process would be. Now, you're not completely finished with the pups. You'll have to register them with the city once you find a residence, but that's for a later post! Subscribe so you don't miss this information!

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Airline, TSA, IATA. I wish this blog was big enough to have a post sponsored by Lufthansa, but it is not. They just happened to be the best economically at the time ;)

Everything you need to know about moving your dogs to Germany - PART 2 Preparing for the Flight

2018-01-14T17:02:00.004-05:00

I hope 'Moving your dogs to Germany - Part 1' was useful! Part 2 will review everything you need to take care of, flight related, for your dogs. You'll probably be planning your flights before you have to do the paperwork in Part 1, but when we moved, we expected the flight costs, not the vet costs. So I wrote about the vet requirements first in hopes to prepare you to save up some extra money (set us back more than $500 just to get all of the paperwork handled - read Part 1 if you haven't already).

Booking a flight for your dogs

When you first start searching for a flight, you can do so the way you usually do (hopefully you know to search in incognito mode). We personally chose to book a direct flight because we had heard too many horror stories about connecting flights with lost dogs and also because some of the cheaper flights were connecting in countries with quarantine laws. Thus, the direct flight seemed both easier & safer.

TIP: it was cheaper for us to book a roundtrip flight vs a one way flight so look at the prices for both. Doesn't make sense right? But we had confirmed with our airline that there wasn't an issue with us booking the roundtrip and not taking the flight back.

When you find the flight you would like to purchase, you should call that airline before booking. Let them know that you are looking to book for (flight #) and checking to see if there is room for (# of) dog(s), with kennel (sizes). If they say yes, great! They'll probably then ask you if you've already booked the flight. You'll say no and then let them know you'll call back after booking the flights online (you should do this right after the call as there is very limited space for dogs on flights). Oh, and don't book the flight on the phone, it's pricier.

Once you book the flight online, call the airline back and let them know you want to reserve spaces for (# of) dog(s), with kennel (sizes) for (reservation/flight #). They'll confirm that they have reserved spaces for your dogs for your flight reservation. You won't pay for your dogs yet. You'll pay for them when you get to the airport and check in. Once they inspect you have all of the proper paperwork and kennels, then can you pay for them at the counter (more about the airport process in Part 3-Our personal experience getting the dogs on/off the flight and through customs).

Buying the proper kennels/crate for the flight

Next step is finding the proper kennel/crate for your dog(s). You should check your airline's website and IATA (International Air Transport Association) regulations for what type of kennels you can have. There are a couple of important things such as requiring a kennel with ventilation on at least 3 sides, etc so even if you currently have a kennel, it may not meet current IATA regulations. We had to buy new kennels as that was the case with us. You can easily find one on Amazon, which we did (we bought the 'Sky Kennel'). The price will depend on what size you need, and you may need to buy separate metal bolts/nuts as that kennel came with plastic ones (IATA regulation), but that's a minor problem. Otherwise, our kennel came with absorbent paper, hanging water/food bowl, and some labels so check for those when shopping. *Oh also, if your pup gets cold easily, buy them a little sweater to wear. I hear it can get cold in the cargo. Both of our pups like the cold so we let them be.

Read Part 3 for airport preparing and how our actual experience went with our flight/customs

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Airline, TSA, IATA.

Everything you need to know about moving your dogs to Germany - PART 1 The Paperwork

2018-01-12T16:50:00.005-05:00

Meet our adorkable pups! One of the many reasons Germany looked so appealing among my husband's offers was because Germany has no quarantine laws for dogs entering the country. If you're not sure what that means, some countries require your dogs be placed in quarantine for a certain amount of time to make sure everything checks out (they can't go home with you right off the plane). For example, even with all of the right paperwork, Iceland will quarantine your dog for 4 weeks. But if you want to move to Germany, you don't have to worry about quarantine and the whole process should be pretty easy (for those coming from the US). Just make sure you have all of your paperwork in order.

Before we even get to the paperwork, GERMANY DOES NOT ALLOW CERTAIN DOG BREEDS SUCH AS PITBULLS. Please make sure you look into what breeds are not allowed before reading further. You can find the most accurate and up-to-date information with your German Embassy/Consulate.

Part 1: Paperwork to make sure your dogs enter Germany safely (from the US)!

Check out Part 2 for flight details and proper travel carriages

Please read the correlations carefully and plan with your vet ahead of time!

1A. Ask your vet if they do 'International Dog Health Certificates (APHIS Form 7001)'. They will need to be USDA accredited to do so. If they don't, you will have to find another vet. And depending on your vet, it could cost an arm so be prepared (we paid $200 per dog). Admittedly we had an upscale vet not because we could afford to, but because the humane society had our dog's heartworm treated at this vet when we chose to adopt her. It seemed better to stay with that vet since they had full knowledge of her heartworm treatment, but hopefully, your vet will have better rates. The $400 for our two dogs PLUS the rabies vaccines, new microchip, and two different appointment rates had us breaking our backs (more about that below)! FYI - you will only need one form for multiple dogs, but our vet still charged per dog.

KEY POINT for this health certificate: it is required that this Health Certificate be completed LESS than 10 days before entering Germany. Which leads to...

1B. Germany requires your dogs have up-to-date rabies vaccines, and they do NOT accept 3 year rabies vaccines (which our dogs had). So we had to get newer rabies vaccines for them BUT Germany requires that your dogs get the rabies vaccines AT LEAST 21 days BEFORE you enter Germany (apparently dogs can react to the vaccine within 21 days so you can catch problems within that amount of time).

You can see why the two different requirements in A & B are important. Once you make sure your vet can do the Health Certificate, you then have to make two appointments with them.
FIRST - MORE than 21 days before departure for their rabies vaccine.
SECOND - LESS than 10 days before departure for the Health Certificate.

1C. Also, Germany requires an international micro-chip for your dog so while you're at your vet, check and make sure you have the right kind of chip. This chip number is required for the Health Certificate.

***We were strictly advised to double check our vet's completed Health Certificates before going to the USDA! Double check the work! All dates must be filled out in the format, DD MM YYYY (in the US, we flip the day and month), microchip numbers must match the paperwork, and your pet's age must match what's on their vaccination records, etc.

2. Call your state's USDA APHIS Veterinary Services Endorsement Office ahead of time to set an appointment (we called 2 weeks before the preferred date). You will need an appointment with the USDA APHIS to notarize the Health Certificate that's completed on your second vet visit so make sure to set it after the second vet visit. There is only one USDA APHIS Office per state so make sure you're headed to the right office. It is NOT any USDA office, it must be the APHIS Veterinary Services Endorsement Office (I almost made that mistake). This rang us up $38 (they do not accept cash; only some accept checks).
You can also mail the certificate to the office, but with less than 10 days till you leave, do you really want to leave the fate of your furbabies in the hands of a postal delivery service? And don't get me started about how the USDA doesn't accept cash or checks so you'd have to time a call with them for your payment after they receive your forms. And if you don't include an expedited return envelope, they'll use regular ol' USPS. So hopefully the nearest office isn't too far for you (ours was about two hours away from us, could've been worse).
The whole process once you get to the office, at your appointment time, should only be about 30 minutes. They'll need to check your Health Certificate along with all of the forms validating the information, such as your vaccination records and microchip paperwork. I brought any and all records I had on the dogs just in case they needed anything I missed.

After all of this, your dog is paperwork ready for Germany! Also, make sure you're flight ready by reading Part 2

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Consulates, USDA APHIS, and your Vets.

Want to move to Germany? What you need to get ASAP - the Blue Card

2018-01-12T05:49:00.003-05:00

Hey guys. So I wanted to make my first post about the FIRST thing you should consider when you decide you want to move to Germany. How are you going to make money there? Depending on what you will be doing and how much time you have, you may be eligible for the EU Blue Card.

The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for non-EU/EEA nationals (meaning you won't have to deal with all of the intertwined craziness later on; trust me, it sucks.) The EU Blue Card was designed to make Europe a more attractive destination for professionals outside the EU. All EU member states, except the UK, Denmark and Ireland, participate in the EU Blue Card.

Now I think most large companies should be able to help you with your relocation and should know about the Blue Card, but things worked a bit differently for my husband at his first post-doctorate position at the lab here. I don't know if they weren't helpful or if he just didn't ask for help, but he didn't find out about the EU Blue Card until too late.

So this is for the people who don't have somebody in Germany to help them relocate from the US!
***If you're not from the US, please look into your country's reciprocity laws with Germany! Your job hunting process could be different depending on what country you're from. For ex: I am a South Korean citizen so my work permit process is different from my husband who's a US citizen.***

1. You will be needing about a year in advance (We were told 6 months to a year, but you know how bureaucracy can be. Plan ahead!)

2. You will be needing a job contract if you already found a job. Easy to get, just ask your company/lab to write you one (If you are about to graduate like my husband was, hopefully you found a post-doc position ahead of time and your defense date is more concrete so that your new lab can write you a job contract with a start date.) If you're self employed/an entrepreneur, I believe you can still apply as long as you meet some qualifications about the demand in the EU and your previous experience.

3. If/once you have these, ask your nearest German Consulate about the application process and what you will be needing (such as your passport).

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Consulates.