Pros & Cons of Living in Germany: Part Ein

Welcome to the first installment of my Pros & Cons of living in Germany! Many of you have asked what life is really like here in the Land of Lederhosen, so here's a little breakdown of some of Germany's great things and not-so-great things from my perspective as an American expat. Enjoy!

PRO: Travel 

Being right smack dab in the middle of Europe provides us with the opportunity to travel almost anywhere in Europe in the blink of an eye. For example, from our host city we can travel to: 

Paris in 4 hrs by high speed train// practically anywhere in Belgium in 3-4 hours by car// Amsterdam by car in 4 hours// Austrian Alps in 5 hours by car// Prague in 4 hours by car// Lucern, Switzerland in 4 hours by car// Northern Italy (Milan) in 6 hours by car// Poland in 6 hours by car// Venice in 8.5 hours by car// Tuscany 1.5 hours by plane// London in 1.5 hours by plane// Barcelona in 1.5 hours by plane// Dubrovnik,Croatia in 2 hours by plane//Ireland in 2 hours by plane// Stockholm in 2 hours by plane// Greek Isle in 4 hours by plane

Not to mention the hundreds of cities in Germany there are to visit in just 1 to 2 hour car rides.

 Living in Germany is a travelers dream!

CON: Almost everything closes at 7pm. 

Most grocery stores, drug stores, and shopping malls are all closing up shop by 7pm (8pm at the VERY latest). The smaller the town, the earlier the closing times. And if it's Sunday, you might as well just stay inside your house. NOTHING is open. Restaurants are the only exception to this rule. I get why they do it...more time to focus on family, enjoying life, yadda yadda...but I always inevitably run out of something or need to go to the store when it's closed. Always. This is when my little expat heart starts longing for Target and, dare I say it, Walmart. You don't know how much you miss even awful places like Walmart until they're not around anymore. In all fairness, though, Germany does have large stores like Walmart (my favorite is Globus), but they aren't open 24 hours.

PRO: Wine & beer often cost less than water.

  

I honestly don't know how everyone in Germany isn't perpetually dehydrated. I almost never order just water. If I can get a glass of wine for €3 and a glass of water costs the same amount, you can almost always guarantee I'm going to order the wine. You'd be crazy not to. Which brings me to my next CON...

CON: You have to pay for water...and to pee it out later. 

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Tap water is a big no-no. Germans equate tap water to bath or "plumbing" water. You clean with it or poop in it. So, don't ask for it unless you want to get strange looks. You'll always have to pay for your water and 99% of the time it will come in a fancy glass bottle with its own etched drinking glass. But make sure you specify what kind of water you want...because there are about 4 different kinds of water options. Wasser mit gas (water with carbonation or "bubbles"), Still wasser (still water, no bubbles), Mineralwasser (still water with minerals added...tastes weird to me every time), and Medium Mineralwasser (mineral water with a light amount of carbonation). Consider my mind blown. Another mind blowing quirk of Germany? Having to pay to pee. If you're out in public enjoying a day of sight-seeing or park playing and you've "gotta go," better find yourself 50 euro cent or you'll be going "wee wee wee" all the way home. It's one of the quickest lessons you'll learn after moving abroad. The reason for the fee to pee? Most German bathrooms are pristine. Many of them often having self-cleaning toilet seats! And if the self-cleaning toilet isn't around, a bathroom attendant is. They clean every toilet after each patron. So, it makes a bit of sense to pay a little bit for a super clean bathroom. Germany isn't the only country that makes you pay to pee in public. Practically every country in Europe does the same. Now, if you are buying a coffee or having a drink or meal in a restaurant, you can use their bathroom facilities free of charge. But if you're driving along the Autobahn and you find yourself needing a bathroom break at a rest stop, get ready to ante up some dough. 

PRO: Festivals 

Germans love any excuse to throw a party. Wine harvesting season started...wine festivals galore! Anniversary of a castle being refurbished...bretzels & spundakäse for everyone! Re-naming of a street...break out the oompa band and beer steins! Seriously, there's a festival for everything under the sun here. Heck, Oktoberfest is one giant celebration of beer started all because of a wedding in Bavaria way back in 1810. You don't see us complaining! Because of the German inclination to party and enjoy every aspect of living, we always have something to do. With a short walk downtown, we're in the heart of every festival Wiesbaden throws. And for that, I love Germany.

CON: No closets 

{Super old photos...but as you can see, open shelving in bathroom, ugly wardrobe, JUST my summer dresses and short sleeved shirts in that wardrobe, and all the hangers we had to get rid of upon moving into our closet-less flat}


Before moving to Germany, I was aware that closest were rarity in Europe. If you found a house that had them, take it...otherwise you'd be fighting your way through IKEA with the rest of Germany to get dozens of wardrobes to hide away all your clothes. Thankfully, or not so thankfully (I still can't decide), the military allowed us to borrow 3 wardrobes for the duration of our time here. Only problem is...they're hideous and smell like boot camp. No matter how many lavender sachets I put in them or how often I Febreze my wardrobe, it smells like old wood and sneakers. Not to mention they're enormous (but only hold a fraction of the clothes I own...I know, that's my own fault) and they don't match any of our furniture. Big eye sores, for sure. As for storage in the bathroom, we've got nothing but open glass shelves. So, everyone who comes over for a visit and has to tinkle, they get a nice viewing of all my hair care products, make-up, and tampons. Nothing left to the imagination there! Thank you, Germany.

PRO: The wine  

I know I've mentioned this about a million and a half times, but the wine in Germany is some of the best in the world. Living in the heart of Rhine wine country has proved to be very rewarding for this little wine lovers heart. Riesling is Germany's specialty and it's done in more varieties than I ever knew existed. White, red, dry, semi-dry, sweet, fruity, sweet as syrup Eis wine...you name it, they've got it. After sampling almost every kind of wine Germany has to offer, everything I taste in Italy just doesn't satisfy me. I know, GASP! I should be stoned! Honestly, Italian wine is fantastic...if you like red wine. Too bad white wine is where my heart belongs. To each, her own. Needless to say, wine is definitely high on the list of things I'll miss about Germany when we move next summer. I'm already having withdrawals.

CON: Parking lots & tiny parking spots

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You basically need a smart car to live here. Those things can park anywhere. Parking lots are few and far between throughout Germany. Places that will usually have parking lots are detached grocery stores or big tourist attractions, but those are still often small and offer teeny weenie parkings spots. The rest of the time you'll find street parking (I've gotten REALLY GOOD at parallel parking) or parking decks (also with teeny weenie parking spots) that you'll have to pay for. Nothing in Europe is free, as it seems. If you find yourself moving abroad and you want to bring your Ford F-150, think again. You won't be fitting in most parking decks or in basically any parking spot in Germany. Trucks don't exist here. If they do, it's usually an American driving it. *Hand smacks forehead* D and I sold my beautiful Nissan Murano before moving here and bought a small Ford Focus soon after we arrived. Best decision we ever made!

PRO: Christmas
 Germany does Christmas like no other. It's really hard to miss Christmas at home in the states when Germany does Christmas so beautifully. There are hundreds of Christmas Markets that start popping up all of Germany the second the first chill of December starts to roll around. Each market is uniquely themed, but they all have treats like Glühwein, twinkling lights, & holiday handicrafts in common. Christmas in Germany is such a magical time of year!

CON: Lack of Air Conditioning

Air conditioned homes are a rare thing around Europe. Granted, Germany rarely ever has temperatures above 80 degrees, but on that off occasion that it does, we all but suffocate in our flat. Germans basically melt out in the streets...and so do the candles in my living room. I never thought living without A/C would make me as uncomfortable as it does when August rolls around. Restaurants are hot. Shopping malls are hot. Sitting on a train cramped together with dozens of Germans is practically unbearable. Multiple oscillating fans placed strategically all over the house is a MUST. And sometimes the only relief from the heat is a short sit in my air conditioned car. True story.

That's all for now! Be on the look out for more pros & cons next week!