Home Sweet Home

Our days of meeting German realtors are at an end (we hope)! Our patience and perseverance has paid off. We found a house that fulfills all of our requirements, ones that we did not even know we had until we really starting weighing all the elements we felt would impact our lives the most, and make our experience here not just one of survival, but really living.

The home we have found is a house, not an apartment, with a beautiful garden. After 2weeks now in an apartment in town, the freedom for the kids to go out into our own back yard, as opposed to playing in the hallways of an apartment building is so appealing. And Noah has his heart set on an archery set, which is hard to manage in an apartment; the whole bale of hay in the hallway idea was not working for me.

We will be living in the southern section of Bonn called Bad Godesburg, which not quite it’s own town, but not quite a suburb either. It is an old spa resort (think Calistoga, but no longer spa-focused) with great older houses and tree lined streets. We will be within walking distance to shops and the train, and not too far from a bus stop that could take the kids to school if need be. Otherwise we are close enough to their school and Olof’s work to ride bikes; we think it will be about 20 minutes, mostly on bike paths - just like Davis (maybe not in the snow)!

The house, built in the late 1920s, is pretty darn big, so we are hoping to fill it with guests once we are settled. It is three stories, which the kids love, and has an ample dining room, living room, and brand new kitchen (yep, you read that right, the kitchen in this house has just been installed, we saw it with our very own eyes), and 3 bedrooms on the secont and third floors, each. There is of course a basement and a garage, what more could we ask for, except of course a gardener. Oh, yeah, that is included too.

All that is left in this process is signing the papers with the landlord. Everything seems in order so far, but his biggest concern seems to be that we will not stay forever. The Germans do not write leases with a time limit, they would prefer to have their places rented out permanently, saving them oodles of hassle I suppose. The landlord wants to meet with us before everything is official, so we will all be on our best behavior.

Our days now will take on a more touristic bend, with me and the kids wandering aimlessly through Bonn and beyond, with no appointments to make nor strict rules for the kids to adhere to while I am checking out living spaces. We will actually not sign a contract until July 30, when the landlord returns from his vacation (and approves us, keep your fingers crossed). I will sleep a lot better once he does.

If all goes well, we are planning on moving in on August 15, when we hope that our belongings will finally have arrived.