So despite from being from the nother part of Germany (Hamburg) i just want to say "Welcome to Germany". I have never seen a family where the children looked that close to what a drawing/graphic would look like if you did a mashup of the parents. I am now intrigued watching the other videos.
❤ Willkommen ❤ I hope you learn to love this country, like I did. My parents moved here from Portland, Oregon 1974, I was 15 and mad! Today I am very thankful to be here, Germany is my home.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife We were also 4 kids, my sister 17, 2 brothers 7 & 18 months. I had to leave my dog behind, it was hard, and heartbreaking. After having my own children (3), I am more than happy to be here.
Can't believe that cat! I felt so sorry for you! She really showed you who's the boss. 🥴 We have a saying in German, don't know if it exists in English... It translates like this: Dogs have masters and cats have servants. 😼👑 It really is their attitude 😂
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Dog: They feed me, they pet me, they take care of me... they must be gods! Cat: They feed me, they pet me, they take care of me... I must be a god!
@@maxmustermann611 Nein "made" macht an der Stelle leider in Punkto Grammatik wenig Sinn. Ein Engländer würde verstehen was du damit ausdrücken willst, aber es wäre sehr sehr unbeholfenes Englisch.
Hey there. I moved here from Toronto in 2011 and am living in my husband’s hometown of Augsburg in Bavaria. If you ever want to get in touch with fellow North Americans, give me a shout. I have family in North Carolina and Canada and can totally relate to your love of Germany. I feel like I’ve been in a 9 year holiday. The shine never wears off. Enjoy!
A tip: in Germany retailers have to take back the transport cardboard boxes their goods come in. So if IKEA is close to where you live, you can take it back there and they have huge containers outside. Some towns and villages also have containers, though they are smaller and you could probably fill at least one with the boxes you have. Another option and I suggest doing that: call the company responsible for your waste disposal and ask if they can come and pick up the empty boxes. With the amount you have I am sure they would do that.
Okay thank you! I was thinking we might be able to call them to come pick it up. We can do that - we have enough cardboard to fill a whole room! It’s insane!
You might want to check on the official "Bürger Service" Website (of the city or region) under the section "Sperrmüll". It varies from city to city, but where I live, we can make an appointment there with the local recycling centre, so they come and pick up the cardboard. Just make clear, the reason for all that trash is, that you just moved there and they probably won't charge you anything for that. (Fingers crossed)
Your kids will love their new freedom in Germany. During school holidays we were only home for the meals and to sleep other than that we were out in the forest, biking, visiting friends and playing.
Adult cats can actually hold it for 12 hours, they don't go to the toilet as often as we do even an under 10 pound cat. My two biggest boys weight more than that so good to know that they would need to ride with the luggage which I will never do to these poor cats ever. Glad you didn't leave your cat behind because I've heard this story of a pet being left behind very often and it's always heartbreaking.
A good tip I got when I was relocating was to put all clothes I did not need within the first 2 weeks in suitcases and put them in a big box to be shipped with DHL (German Company, so it was easy to get decent customer service in Germany) to arrive at my new place 3 days after my arrival. Less extra bags to check, I did not have to haul 100lbs of stuff through the airport and it was delivered to my door. Bonus: it turned out to be cheaper than checking all the additional bags.
Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland. A warm welcome to Germany. I came to Germany with just a rucksack full of clothes and am still here thirty years later !!! I too live in southern Bavaria and am looking forward to checking out your reports on how you settle into your new home.
This journey is completely crazy. Especially the airport story and the Ikea story, buut I'm totally glad you made it and I feel hard love for your postman.
This is THE BEST video I have ever watched! I loved every minute!!! More, more please! After the last very good one, I thought you may not post the Continuation!
Oh thank you so much! We will definitely keep posting about our lives here in Germany. A new video will be posted this Sunday, about our first month here!
Maybe you could tip the post man some time. It is not usual, but since they have a much heavier workload in covid times, he would definitly be glad about it. I usually tip mine arround x-mas, where the workload is similar high.
Hey there, I know this Video is one of the older ones from your start here in germany, but I found you over the Cultureshock German Kindergarten Video 1 & 2 and start to watch the older Videos and I just want to say, it´s been amazing to watch how you all do this, seeing the difference, realizing, how someone other see that, what for us germans is totally normal and you´re all so so so so so symphatic! Best wishes for you all and a late welcome to germany!
Your Cat pi story is realy fun. You know cats can sense if you like them or not. She probably showed you the respcect you showed her. I have 2 cats and i know that smell.
Hello guys and welcome to Germany. We can imagine what you went trough during your yourney to Germany. We made similiar experiences from 1996 to 1998 when we moved to Michigan. We sold our house and settled for 2 1/2 years in a suburb of Detroit together with two kids ( 2 girls 5 and 10 years old ) and a German shepherd dog which was at that time 11 years old. We wish you a good time in Germany and stay healthy. Well done.
Whow. I love this video! So much insights... Watching it after I found your chanel some month ago. If you ever have to assemble furniture again, get a small "Akkuschrauber" like "Ixo". It makes assemling much more easier and is one of my favorite tools.
I love how even though the move sounded so hard and rough on you guys, you guys are able to smile and laugh about it now... We have that move ahead of us, not so many kids but an extra cat :p thanks for sharing your experience!
Oh man, I'm so envious, I can't even get back from the UK to visit my family (I'm from just around the corner where you are) as it's classed as non-essential. Iam am very impressed in how well you managed to get a family of 6 move continents during a pandemic without loss of life, limbs or sanity, that's a feat. Feel for you feeling a bit overwhelmed and tearful, totally understandable.
Susanne Breul 0 seconds ago Gosh, I hear you Sarah about security in the US. For 4+ years I traveled to the US twice a year for a training retreat. The facilitator had the group cheer for their hours of travel to attend and then she had those from abroad stand up for extra applause, saying:“They went through customs!“ You made it ä! Awesome 👏
I feel ya! I’m in the “selling all of my belongings” phase and about to start shipping things over to Vienna. It is so overwhelming but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel keeps me going! Thanks for sharing your journey. Your tips are helpful!
Oh I few for you! That phase was the hardest phase for us. Where are you currently living? Vienna is a beautiful, classy city! How wonderful you get to live there!
you are so very cute and so very brave to do it to Germany, I am so much impressed of your fam, no one really can express how stressy it is to give up your cormfort zone, anyway eith kids......... just be welcomed in Germany 😍👍
You are such a wonderful, vivacious couple. So full of energy. I can’t imagine the effort of raising four children and a cat. Two children, a cat and a large house and garden exhausted me. NZ sounds very like Germany in a lot of ways. When I was young we all had outside clothes lines. No central heating. It has changed a lot. Back then husbands went to work and then got waited on. As a couple you are adorable. ❤
The whole cat thing is--you could definitely do a video--not much on moving with cats. I would never even think about cat litter being different. It's so hard for cats to adjust to new litter--or new environemnt. Moved from Chicago to Albuquerque with a 16 lb Maine Coon cat. I think the rules on animal weight must have been different because he was in the cabin. We had a 10 hour layover because of weather or something. But at least I was moving within the US. Btw, I had a stress reaction moving here. Even the plants are diffferent, the air smell different, etc. But I do love New Mexico! I'm glad you have settled down (and your cat!!!), it sounds wonderful.
A very warm welcome to you. Still very impressive how you've been doing. I hope the grieving will be over soon and that there will be many wonderful experiences and great times to come. Looking forward to your next videos. Herzlich willkommen!
I really enjoyed this! We moved to Europe years ago, and are currently planning a move to New Zealand. I really don't miss TSA, so sorry that happened to you all. Have a great life in Germany! Love from The Netherlands!
Hi! We left San Francisco for Croatia for several years, then to The Hague for several years. Now we're planning on going back to Croatia whilst we wait for New Zealand to open up (although I am waiting for Croatia to start accepting visa applications again). Your channel is just so fun! Thank you!
You guy‘s/gal‘s are really entertaining! I enjoy switch in to your blog! Though not knowing the planned time of your stay I wish you the best luck and health and you may never regret moving here! You are a win for Bavaria and hearing you even got a postman speaking german (wow), you might have chosen a real cute Bavarian village to live in! So keep on posting and have an oncoming "Frohe Ostern 🐣"
Ich werde langsam süchtig nach Euren Videos. Es ist so als würde man Harry und Sally ansehen. Eure Geschichten sind so lustig. Unglaublich! Das mit der Katze ist irre. :-) :-) :-)
If your washer has a computer screen, you can pick the language. ;) Memories for a lifetime! At least you can laugh after the fact. When you said you were sweating it reminded me of the many times I flew alone, back and forth to Germany with my two littles alone. One adult, 2 kids in two years one that can’t yet walk, 2 suitcases, three carry-ones, two full-sized car seats and a stroller, changing planes. I did that twice a year every year until my youngest was in school. I was sooo done when at my destination. But you guys have THE BEST attitudes in every aspect of life!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife ok that's really cool! Btw if you get tired of Ikea (since everything is closed) i personally like westwing a lot too. Also since you talked about Bretzel and sausages, maybe a tasting german dishes video would be fun too. Haha sorry for all my recommendations 🤷😂 really like the positive vibe in your videos 👍
In most german communities you can order a pick up for bulky wastes two or three times a year for free. Check out the homepage of your community, very often you can order that online. Many communities also send out a calender for when what waste is being picked up through the year, especially good to know in weeks with holidays because then pickups are not on schedule, and bulky waste pick up cards so you can order them. But you might have missed that for this year, but maybe you could ask for something like that at your local community.
Great video, I enjoyed every moment of it ! Really great to watch your experiences when coming to Germany, especially down here in Munich where I live. Looking forward to all your future videos ! Please keep on vlogging, and do keep the fire burning !!
Good things will happen to good people... Everything worked out for you. Have a great time in Germany! Just found your channel and am curios to see what else then playgrounds you learned to love by now.
a few years ago my cat gave birth on my hubbys lap/belly ... he woke up with the cat and 2 kittens on his lap, everything soaking wet and a bit bloody. he stayed calm and moved the cat into a box. in the box she gave birth to another 2 kittens.. i mean, we knew she was pregnant and we set up a box for her beforehand... but.... things never go as planned :-)
Hi from Australia 🇦🇺🦘great to here your story! I’m Traveling to Germany in 2 weeks so your experience is interesting. Not sure l have to quarantine as OZ has no COVID.
Glückwunsche für Eüch und Eure Kinder für Euer Zuhause in der schönsten Gegend Deutschlands und Bayerns. Ein Kinderparadies! Und die Katze wird auch noch die bayerischen Mäuse aufregend finden, - Schöne Grüße, Heinz
Amazing! We have 8 kids and one of my sons raises all kinds of peacocks, swans, beautiful pheasants and rare breeds of ducks. Can you imagine flying with all of that?! 😂🤣 Kudo's to you guys!
I liked the cat content! I've never thought about these things, so good to know just in case! (Although our cat wouldn't be such a good traveller ... when we go to the vet, he meows miserably all the way, which is only 5 mins, and it's almost unbearable ... imagine that on a nine-hour-flight ...)
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Oh, poor kitty! (And poor you!) Does it actually have a name? You only refer to it as "the cat". (Maybe from that alone I should have guessed that it's not your favourite animal, haha)
I’ve just found your videos and have really been enjoying them. So glad that you could make this move even during the pandemic. It seems surprising that you could leave home and travel on public transport to get your test in order to be released from quarantine. What if it had been positive? I think someone should have come to your house to do the tests, otherwise there’s no point asking you to quarantine really.
Oh I know! It was funny to us to leave our house to get tested - we could’ve picked up the virus on the way back home. But oh well, at least it was negative!
When I had my washing machine in storage I also forgot that there are three not two big screws to secure it. So I know exactly how your hopping washing machine probably looked like. 😂
🤣🤣🤣 it’s funny now to talk about it but at the time I was SO upset because I had all of that nasty laundry to wash that the cat had peed and pooed on!!
When I moved with my children, I also didn't know about the transport security of the washing machine. 🤣🤣 I connected it with water and energie, and was wondering, why the machine was hopping through the basement. 🤣🤣 A call with my brother brought clearness to me. I never will forget the picture of my sister in law, sitting together with me on the machine, hopping with us through the basement. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That small indoor fireplace is not designed for trash disposal and generally burning anything but wood there on a large scale is illegal from what I can tell (that's also the case in some other countries, so that's not some German thing). Plain cardboard is relatively harmless, but you are not really supposed to burn coated or printed paper because of toxic materials. American chimney makers recommend against that too. It can under certain circumstances be allowed to burn some things in fixed outdoor fireplaces. Rules about that vary from place to place. But even then you have to be careful about generating smoke and sparks. If the fire isn't hot enough when burning paper large pieces of ash can fly out of the chimney and be spread over a larger area when it's windy. So proper disposal is usually the best. It's not true that literally "everything" is closed on Sundays. Cafes and restaurants are usually open. Although it's called a "rest day" people go out and do stuff under normal circumstances. Even now many restaurants do takeout to make at least some money. Cultural things like tourist attractions, museums or even cinemas are (or were) also open Sundays. There was also a court case a few years ago that ruled that bakeries with an attached cafe can sell things over the counter all day long and not just in the morning.
The cat was just as stressed by the flight and the new environment, so it gave way to its displeasure. This is quite normal when a cat comes to a new environment. And you don't burn cardboard boxes in the fireplace, you take them to the recycling center!
In Germany it’s common curtesy to give a Christmas gift like chocolate or something for the postman that brings you letters. Maybe you should give your DHL guy one too with all the work he did xD
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife how nice of the kids too! It’s quite sad that some people seem to do this less and less. When it was so hot in June we went out to offer the post woman that drives our street by bike new water as her bottle looked very empty. She threw in a thank you note the next day and brought back the bottle we gave her for Pfand I assume which I though was a little sad as that seems so unnecessary. Who cares about Pfand money when she carries the burden of bringing the post to us by bike in that heat! :)
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife more like an envelope with a bit of cash, then you can put the chocolate bar on top to make it look nice. Kinda like teacher's gifts in US. On the other hand, the teachers in Germany are not expecting anything, if you really want to, a few cookies in elementary school might be fine, nothing beyond that. And while we are on that topic, the garbage truck people usually go around once a year sometime around Xmas too, they ask for donations. This is quite normal in DE. It pretty much is anybody that comes to your house throughout the year. For most people that is exactly mail and trash collection, but if you have somebody else, then I would include them too.
9:08 given the information that your flight to Munich was from Washington (Dulles), and seeing that the seats were blue as opposed to gray and lacked the Lufthansa logo, I can easily conclude that you guys flew United. (I use Lufthansa whenever I visit Germany or fly to India via Europe.)
Such a funny video. I like your positive spirit. Looking forward all your next topics. --- Oh my good, with all this luggage through the security. My blood pressure would rise enormous. --- For your cardboard, ask the company who pick up your Altpapier-Tonne, maybe you can put more stuff in boxes next to your pin. Or you ask a neighbour to borrow a car. I think your Wertstoffhof has really good open-times, but avoid the Saturday. --- A bar of chocolate for the postman is fine. If it is always the same postman, I would give a tip with some Milka-Hearts (there are one, with a "Danke" written on it) or something like that :-) --- Just a thought, if there is more furniture to build, it would help to use a good cordless tiny screwdriver with imbuss. My husband built a complete big Ikea-kitchen with our Bosch professional. --- For your driver lisence, you can take the theory test in english. I think there is an app for all the possible questions. ---I know your area quiet good, if you have any questions, feel free to ask :) I will be very happy to help!
So you made it! Welcome to Germany! And since you have studied the washing machine manual you will probably be aware that the machine needs to be packed tightly with laundry - no shirts swimming loosely around - which will be no problem for you (in a Bosch between 7 to 10 kilograms); they are eco-designed to low water usage, yet the laundry comes out perfectly clean. ( well, sorry I sound like some eco 🤓 )
If a cat does not use the litterbox she is stressed. Mine did that too when I moved but they got used to the new surroundings quite fast. Welcome to Germany, looks like you moved in my area if you really drove to the South from Munich. If you need some help, just drop me a line and I'll try to help you.
I'm loving all your, very detailed, videos, as this is the same path we're going towards (including having a child the same age as your oldest). If possible, could I please get the realtor company your family used? I tried finding it in your previous videos and didn't see it listed anywhere. They seemed to have found your perfect home- it's actually in the area that we wanted to look at :D. Thanks so much!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife thank you SO much for the reply! I'm going to pin it! My husband and I truly enjoy your videos (he's also an engineer, so I feel like we have a TON in common)!
Technically you should be able to put the ikea packagings in the wheely bins of the house :) I think it's either green or blue, depending on your council ....maybe you could get rid of some of that stuff gradually and that way the office clears out. It's good to hear you're settling in :)
Hello an welcome to Germany :-) You make really lovely videos. About the cardboard/paperwaste: First: don't burn them, this may even be illegal depending on local regulations. Second: You can put them on the Street next to the blue bin (shoud be the "paper" bin) when that one is due for collection, this schoud be no problem. Just make sure there not blown away in case of wind. The Company (or your District) is actually making a profit collecting paper and cardboard and recycling it so they are normally happy taking all you've got. (Small disclaimer: i'm not from bavaria, so this might differ, but I wouldn't think so)
Yes! But we have SO much cardboard that it fills an entire room! Haha, so it’s too much to put in our recycling bin. Also, the paper recycling only comes once a month 😫.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife oh no! Maybe you can ask a neighbour to borrow their car to go to the Werstoffhof? Or you wait this new lockdown out and the kids turn it into a project? Definitely not ideal 🥴
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After all this, welcome to Germany.
Please stay here with us forever. 🤩
Think about a little gift for the postman for Christmas ;-)
Moving with 4 kids and a cat, Respekt! And welcome to Germany.
Yeah it was hard! But worth it.
Don't mention the CAT!
Dude ...do not mention the cat. we all got that part fast :)
Interestingly enough, one of my Goethe Institut insructors said that in Germany, cats are more popular than dogs as pets.
I love hearing about the cat too! :D can't imagine going on a plane with my cats
🐱🐱🐱
So despite from being from the nother part of Germany (Hamburg) i just want to say "Welcome to Germany". I have never seen a family where the children looked that close to what a drawing/graphic would look like if you did a mashup of the parents. I am now intrigued watching the other videos.
Willkommen in Deutschland 🇩🇪 ich wünsche euch alles liebe und gute ❤️🍀🍀
Vielen dank!!
❤ Willkommen ❤
I hope you learn to love this country, like I did.
My parents moved here from Portland, Oregon 1974, I was 15 and mad!
Today I am very thankful to be here, Germany is my home.
Hahaha, 15 and mad! We can understand that with our 11 year old. I'm so happy Germany is your home now!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife
We were also 4 kids, my sister 17, 2 brothers 7 & 18 months.
I had to leave my dog behind, it was hard, and heartbreaking.
After having my own children (3), I am more than happy to be here.
Can't believe that cat! I felt so sorry for you!
She really showed you who's the boss. 🥴
We have a saying in German, don't know if it exists in English... It translates like this: Dogs have masters and cats have servants. 😼👑 It really is their attitude 😂
That’s a great saying! So true - cats rule.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife
Dog: They feed me, they pet me, they take care of me... they must be gods!
Cat: They feed me, they pet me, they take care of me... I must be a god!
It's a common joke in the US also.
"Wir sind neu hier." was totally correct. xD You have mad language skills already!
Yayayaya!! Danke shön!
@@maxmustermann611 Nein, ich glaube sie kennen nicht genug englische Jugendsprache und Euphemismen. xD "Mad" ist hier collequial für "awesome".
@@maxmustermann611 Nein "made" macht an der Stelle leider in Punkto Grammatik wenig Sinn. Ein Engländer würde verstehen was du damit ausdrücken willst, aber es wäre sehr sehr unbeholfenes Englisch.
Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland. All the best from northern Germany
auch aus Ostdeutschland alles Gute !
Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland!
Ich freue mich schon auf weitere Videos von euch und wünsche euch endlos viele schöne Erlebnisse.
Vielen dank Thommy!
Hey there. I moved here from Toronto in 2011 and am living in my husband’s hometown of Augsburg in Bavaria. If you ever want to get in touch with fellow North Americans, give me a shout. I have family in North Carolina and Canada and can totally relate to your love of Germany. I feel like I’ve been in a 9 year holiday. The shine never wears off. Enjoy!
A tip: in Germany retailers have to take back the transport cardboard boxes their goods come in. So if IKEA is close to where you live, you can take it back there and they have huge containers outside. Some towns and villages also have containers, though they are smaller and you could probably fill at least one with the boxes you have. Another option and I suggest doing that: call the company responsible for your waste disposal and ask if they can come and pick up the empty boxes. With the amount you have I am sure they would do that.
Okay thank you! I was thinking we might be able to call them to come pick it up. We can do that - we have enough cardboard to fill a whole room! It’s insane!
You might want to check on the official "Bürger Service" Website (of the city or region) under the section "Sperrmüll". It varies from city to city, but where I live, we can make an appointment there with the local recycling centre, so they come and pick up the cardboard. Just make clear, the reason for all that trash is, that you just moved there and they probably won't charge you anything for that. (Fingers crossed)
I would love to read an Expat Cat in Germany's blog
Me too!
I told Kevin you said this and he is laughing! 🤣
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Cat: "Meow, purrr, puurrrr, meow - scratch, hiss", fluffs tails, buggers off.
But you guys do realize that an IKEA "Dad of the Year" medal would come with a manual and have to be put together by the dad of the year ^^
Welcome to Germany!!! I’m a year in and have fallen in love with the country. Enjoy it😉
Your kids will love their new freedom in Germany. During school holidays we were only home for the meals and to sleep other than that we were out in the forest, biking, visiting friends and playing.
Oh that’s so fun! Sounds exactly like what we’d love to be doing.
Adult cats can actually hold it for 12 hours, they don't go to the toilet as often as we do even an under 10 pound cat.
My two biggest boys weight more than that so good to know that they would need to ride with the luggage which I will never do to these poor cats ever. Glad you didn't leave your cat behind because I've heard this story of a pet being left behind very often and it's always heartbreaking.
A good tip I got when I was relocating was to put all clothes I did not need within the first 2 weeks in suitcases and put them in a big box to be shipped with DHL (German Company, so it was easy to get decent customer service in Germany) to arrive at my new place 3 days after my arrival. Less extra bags to check, I did not have to haul 100lbs of stuff through the airport and it was delivered to my door. Bonus: it turned out to be cheaper than checking all the additional bags.
Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland.
A warm welcome to Germany.
I came to Germany with just a rucksack full of clothes and am still here thirty years later !!! I too live in southern Bavaria and am looking forward to checking out your reports on how you settle into your new home.
Welcome to Germany! Love to watch your videos.
Welcome to germany. Hope, you will enjoy your time here! ✌️🇩🇪
Danke, Marco!
This journey is completely crazy. Especially the airport story and the Ikea story, buut I'm totally glad you made it and I feel hard love for your postman.
This is THE BEST video I have ever watched! I loved every minute!!! More, more please! After the last very good one, I thought you may not post the Continuation!
Oh thank you so much! We will definitely keep posting about our lives here in Germany. A new video will be posted this Sunday, about our first month here!
Maybe you could tip the post man some time. It is not usual, but since they have a much heavier workload in covid times, he would definitly be glad about it. I usually tip mine arround x-mas, where the workload is similar high.
Hey there, I know this Video is one of the older ones from your start here in germany, but I found you over the Cultureshock German Kindergarten Video 1 & 2 and start to watch the older Videos and I just want to say, it´s been amazing to watch how you all do this, seeing the difference, realizing, how someone other see that, what for us germans is totally normal and you´re all so so so so so symphatic! Best wishes for you all and a late welcome to germany!
Thank you so much for your kind comments and for watching! Yeah moving to another country has been the hardest thing we’ve ever done.
you are so much welcome from my side........... keep on going ❤👍
Thank you Kevin for all the cat details. I really appreciate them. The portable kitty litter in a family bathroom is brilliant. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Herzlich willkommen in Deutschland🙂
Ihr werdet eine schöne Zeit hier haben.
Vielen dank!
Your Cat pi story is realy fun. You know cats can sense if you like them or not. She probably showed you the respcect you showed her. I have 2 cats and i know that smell.
Yes omg so much THIS on the bags! We moved with 8 checked suitcases and just 2 carry-ons and I remember how crazy and $$$ it was. 🥲
Yeah moving is just expensive in general. So glad we sold and gave away most of our things before we moved.
Hello guys and welcome to Germany. We can imagine what you went trough during your yourney to Germany. We made similiar experiences from 1996 to 1998 when we moved to Michigan. We sold our house and settled for 2 1/2 years in a suburb of Detroit together with two kids ( 2 girls 5 and 10 years old ) and a German shepherd dog which was at that time 11 years old. We wish you a good time in Germany and stay healthy. Well done.
Whow. I love this video! So much insights... Watching it after I found your chanel some month ago.
If you ever have to assemble furniture again, get a small "Akkuschrauber" like "Ixo". It makes assemling much more easier and is one of my favorite tools.
What a beautiful house you have.
Very welcome at home!
The kids are so adorable ❤🥰
I love how even though the move sounded so hard and rough on you guys, you guys are able to smile and laugh about it now... We have that move ahead of us, not so many kids but an extra cat :p thanks for sharing your experience!
Wishing you all the best!
Wishing you all the best!
WELCOME TO GERMANY!!! ALL THE BEST FROM BREMEN, NORTHERN GERMANY ❣
I would love to hear more about the cat moving process.
Well I am just starting to go through your videos. Willkommen to Bavaria! Will follow your life in Germany.
Vielen dank!
You guys are so nice 🙈I found your UA-cam channel today and I try to watch every single video on your channel cause they are so interestingl❤️
Thanks so much, Hanni! We appreciate your support!
See to it that the washing machine is not underloaded and that it stands evenly. That helps keeping the unwanted vibrations down.
Oh man, I'm so envious, I can't even get back from the UK to visit my family (I'm from just around the corner where you are) as it's classed as non-essential. Iam am very impressed in how well you managed to get a family of 6 move continents during a pandemic without loss of life, limbs or sanity, that's a feat. Feel for you feeling a bit overwhelmed and tearful, totally understandable.
Susanne Breul
0 seconds ago
Gosh, I hear you Sarah about security in the US. For 4+ years I traveled to the US twice a year for a training retreat. The facilitator had the group cheer for their hours of travel to attend and then she had those from abroad stand up for extra applause, saying:“They went through customs!“
You made it ä! Awesome 👏
🤣🤣 oh man! How crazy.
I feel ya! I’m in the “selling all of my belongings” phase and about to start shipping things over to Vienna. It is so overwhelming but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel keeps me going! Thanks for sharing your journey. Your tips are helpful!
Oh I few for you! That phase was the hardest phase for us. Where are you currently living? Vienna is a beautiful, classy city! How wonderful you get to live there!
you are so very cute and so very brave to do it to Germany, I am so much impressed of your fam, no one really can express how stressy it is to give up your cormfort zone, anyway eith kids......... just be welcomed in Germany 😍👍
That’s so kind, thank you!!
Sehr sympathische Familie!
You are such a wonderful, vivacious couple. So full of energy. I can’t imagine the effort of raising four children and a cat. Two children, a cat and a large house and garden exhausted me. NZ sounds very like Germany in a lot of ways. When I was young we all had outside clothes lines. No central heating. It has changed a lot. Back then husbands went to work and then got waited on. As a couple you are adorable. ❤
The whole cat thing is--you could definitely do a video--not much on moving with cats. I would never even think about cat litter being different. It's so hard for cats to adjust to new litter--or new environemnt. Moved from Chicago to Albuquerque with a 16 lb Maine Coon cat. I think the rules on animal weight must have been different because he was in the cabin. We had a 10 hour layover because of weather or something. But at least I was moving within the US. Btw, I had a stress reaction moving here. Even the plants are diffferent, the air smell different, etc. But I do love New Mexico! I'm glad you have settled down (and your cat!!!), it sounds wonderful.
A very warm welcome to you. Still very impressive how you've been doing. I hope the grieving will be over soon and that there will be many wonderful experiences and great times to come. Looking forward to your next videos. Herzlich willkommen!
Thanks so much! Yeah I’m grieving a lot less and doing a lot better now. Just needed time.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife This is normal - we have a word for that ... Heimweh ... (Aching for home - English homesickness)
After that much planning I hope it'll all work out well. Hopefully you get to experience Germany without lockdown any time soon.
Gosh, me, too! Europe feels so strange with all of the restaurants closed.
I really enjoyed this! We moved to Europe years ago, and are currently planning a move to New Zealand. I really don't miss TSA, so sorry that happened to you all. Have a great life in Germany! Love from The Netherlands!
Nice! Where did you move from? I’ve heard great things about the Netherlands. And also New Zealand!
Hi! We left San Francisco for Croatia for several years, then to The Hague for several years. Now we're planning on going back to Croatia whilst we wait for New Zealand to open up (although I am waiting for Croatia to start accepting visa applications again). Your channel is just so fun! Thank you!
@@Maiden_Warrior_Crone wow you’ve traveled and lived all over! How cool!
You guy‘s/gal‘s are really entertaining! I enjoy switch in to your blog!
Though not knowing the planned time of your stay I wish you the best luck and health and you may never regret moving here!
You are a win for Bavaria and hearing you even got a postman speaking german (wow), you might have chosen a real cute Bavarian village to live in!
So keep on posting and have an oncoming "Frohe Ostern 🐣"
Ich werde langsam süchtig nach Euren Videos. Es ist so als würde man Harry und Sally ansehen. Eure Geschichten sind so lustig. Unglaublich! Das mit der Katze ist irre. :-) :-) :-)
I Hope you and your famìly have a nice Time.
Thank you very much!
If your washer has a computer screen, you can pick the language. ;)
Memories for a lifetime! At least you can laugh after the fact. When you said you were sweating it reminded me of the many times I flew alone, back and forth to Germany with my two littles alone. One adult, 2 kids in two years one that can’t yet walk, 2 suitcases, three carry-ones, two full-sized car seats and a stroller, changing planes. I did that twice a year every year until my youngest was in school. I was sooo done when at my destination.
But you guys have THE BEST attitudes in every aspect of life!
Oh wow!! You are a super mama! That’s so tough!
You did so well, taking all the difficulties as adventure for your goal.
Thank you! ❤️
Please burn only wooden pieces in the oven. For the "Emmisionen".
The papered boxes and other papers you can bring to special containers.
Can you make a video of your new house next? Would love that. And maybe one where you explore the area?
Yessss! I definitely want to do a house tour. But I wanted to make it a little nicer first. We are waiting for some more furniture to arrive.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife ok that's really cool! Btw if you get tired of Ikea (since everything is closed) i personally like westwing a lot too.
Also since you talked about Bretzel and sausages, maybe a tasting german dishes video would be fun too. Haha sorry for all my recommendations 🤷😂 really like the positive vibe in your videos 👍
@@d.7416 Yes! Tasting German foods would make for a great video! I would like to do that soon. Thanks for your suggestions.
In most german communities you can order a pick up for bulky wastes two or three times a year for free. Check out the homepage of your community, very often you can order that online.
Many communities also send out a calender for when what waste is being picked up through the year, especially good to know in weeks with holidays because then pickups are not on schedule, and bulky waste pick up cards so you can order them. But you might have missed that for this year, but maybe you could ask for something like that at your local community.
Oh so good to know! Thank you!
It might help if you look for "Sperrmüll", thats the correct german phrase for bulky waste.
@@soraite9775 okay we will do that! Thank you!
Sorry, but Bavaria don t have this opportunity.
@@silviaw.3379 Maybe not all counties (Landkreise) but ours does.
Great video, I enjoyed every moment of it ! Really great to watch your experiences when coming to Germany, especially down here in Munich where I live. Looking forward to all your future videos ! Please keep on vlogging, and do keep the fire burning !!
I love it, finally, some American vloggers that live nearly next door to me. The village where you arrive by train is my hometown.
Oh cool!! It’s so beautiful down here!
Correction, I'm actually live in the same village.
Good things will happen to good people...
Everything worked out for you. Have a great time in Germany!
Just found your channel and am curios to see what else then playgrounds you learned to love by now.
Very entertaining video. Thanks for sharing your story.
Thank you!
oh my ... what stress for that cat ... new environment, new language, new culture ... damn ...
New language? 😂 You bet, the other cats in the neighbourhood speak only German, I heard one of them is a nazi cat. Cat fuhrer 😂
Poor Sara 🤣🤣🤣 I feel for you 🤣🤣🤣😘
a few years ago my cat gave birth on my hubbys lap/belly ... he woke up with the cat and 2 kittens on his lap, everything soaking wet and a bit bloody. he stayed calm and moved the cat into a box. in the box she gave birth to another 2 kittens.. i mean, we knew she was pregnant and we set up a box for her beforehand... but.... things never go as planned :-)
Hi from Australia 🇦🇺🦘great to here your story! I’m Traveling to Germany in 2 weeks so your experience is interesting. Not sure l have to quarantine as OZ has no COVID.
Glückwunsche für Eüch und Eure Kinder für Euer Zuhause in der schönsten Gegend Deutschlands und Bayerns. Ein Kinderparadies! Und die Katze wird auch noch die bayerischen Mäuse aufregend finden, - Schöne Grüße, Heinz
Herzlich willkommen!!! Mir gefallen die Videos sehr gut 😊 Ich hoffe, ihr habt euch nach fast einem Jahr gut eingelebt :)
Watching this video in the US I got ads for Aldi and a moving and storage company. Also: great stories. I did watch at 1.5!
Amazing! We have 8 kids and one of my sons raises all kinds of peacocks, swans, beautiful pheasants and rare breeds of ducks.
Can you imagine flying with all of that?! 😂🤣
Kudo's to you guys!
dont forget to tipp your Postman or have some gift for him. In the small villages, you wanna have a good realtion to the Postguy :)
Welcome to Germany. Good luck to you. Have a good time here in my homeland.
Vielen dank!
I liked the cat content! I've never thought about these things, so good to know just in case!
(Although our cat wouldn't be such a good traveller ... when we go to the vet, he meows miserably all the way, which is only 5 mins, and it's almost unbearable ... imagine that on a nine-hour-flight ...)
Yeah our cat did meow during a lot of the flight!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Oh, poor kitty! (And poor you!)
Does it actually have a name? You only refer to it as "the cat". (Maybe from that alone I should have guessed that it's not your favourite animal, haha)
I’ve just found your videos and have really been enjoying them. So glad that you could make this move even during the pandemic. It seems surprising that you could leave home and travel on public transport to get your test in order to be released from quarantine. What if it had been positive? I think someone should have come to your house to do the tests, otherwise there’s no point asking you to quarantine really.
Oh I know! It was funny to us to leave our house to get tested - we could’ve picked up the virus on the way back home. But oh well, at least it was negative!
So nice hearing US Americans not praising the TSA BS. So much fun
Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland!! :) If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to get in touch :) I will be very happy to help!
Vielen dank! Appreciate the offer of help, how kind. 🙏🏻
When I had my washing machine in storage I also forgot that there are three not two big screws to secure it. So I know exactly how your hopping washing machine probably looked like. 😂
🤣🤣🤣 it’s funny now to talk about it but at the time I was SO upset because I had all of that nasty laundry to wash that the cat had peed and pooed on!!
When I moved with my children, I also didn't know about the transport security of the washing machine. 🤣🤣 I connected it with water and energie, and was wondering, why the machine was hopping through the basement. 🤣🤣 A call with my brother brought clearness to me. I never will forget the picture of my sister in law, sitting together with me on the machine, hopping with us through the basement. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Welcome to Germany from a long time expat
That small indoor fireplace is not designed for trash disposal and generally burning anything but wood there on a large scale is illegal from what I can tell (that's also the case in some other countries, so that's not some German thing). Plain cardboard is relatively harmless, but you are not really supposed to burn coated or printed paper because of toxic materials. American chimney makers recommend against that too.
It can under certain circumstances be allowed to burn some things in fixed outdoor fireplaces. Rules about that vary from place to place. But even then you have to be careful about generating smoke and sparks. If the fire isn't hot enough when burning paper large pieces of ash can fly out of the chimney and be spread over a larger area when it's windy. So proper disposal is usually the best.
It's not true that literally "everything" is closed on Sundays. Cafes and restaurants are usually open. Although it's called a "rest day" people go out and do stuff under normal circumstances. Even now many restaurants do takeout to make at least some money. Cultural things like tourist attractions, museums or even cinemas are (or were) also open Sundays.
There was also a court case a few years ago that ruled that bakeries with an attached cafe can sell things over the counter all day long and not just in the morning.
The cat was just as stressed by the flight and the new environment, so it gave way to its displeasure. This is quite normal when a cat comes to a new environment.
And you don't burn cardboard boxes in the fireplace, you take them to the recycling center!
In Germany it’s common curtesy to give a Christmas gift like chocolate or something for the postman that brings you letters. Maybe you should give your DHL guy one too with all the work he did xD
Yes! What a great custom. We have given our’s some nice chocolates twice and our kids have colored some art for him. 😍
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife how nice of the kids too! It’s quite sad that some people seem to do this less and less. When it was so hot in June we went out to offer the post woman that drives our street by bike new water as her bottle looked very empty. She threw in a thank you note the next day and brought back the bottle we gave her for Pfand I assume which I though was a little sad as that seems so unnecessary. Who cares about Pfand money when she carries the burden of bringing the post to us by bike in that heat! :)
About 'Kids have more freedom in Germany' : I recommend Sara Zaske's book 'Achtung baby' which deals with that topic. You can find her here on UA-cam.
Oh cool! Thanks for the recommendation!
Its normal to give the postman a little tip here if they carry heavy boxes or during christmas time, just an idea :)
Okay good to know! We have him a bar of chocolate. Is that good?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife more like an envelope with a bit of cash, then you can put the chocolate bar on top to make it look nice. Kinda like teacher's gifts in US. On the other hand, the teachers in Germany are not expecting anything, if you really want to, a few cookies in elementary school might be fine, nothing beyond that.
And while we are on that topic, the garbage truck people usually go around once a year sometime around Xmas too, they ask for donations. This is quite normal in DE.
It pretty much is anybody that comes to your house throughout the year. For most people that is exactly mail and trash collection, but if you have somebody else, then I would include them too.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife sure :)
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife a bar of chocolate is fine
@@cailwi9 okay thanks so much for this info. Very helpful! So how much cash is considered appropriate?
Welcome to Germany!
keep the cat content coming! Half of my reasons for being on the internet are cats hahaha
Welcome in Germany, hope your Guys will have less more Stress here. Enjoy exploring Germany 🇩🇪😊
Vielen dank!
Uh, ich liebe es, Ikea-Möbel aufzubauen. Hätte gern geholfen. 😉
Es ist schön zu sehen, dass ihr gut angekommen seid.
Jealous! Would love to move my family to Germany - especially Munich!
9:08 given the information that your flight to Munich was from Washington (Dulles), and seeing that the seats were blue as opposed to gray and lacked the Lufthansa logo, I can easily conclude that you guys flew United.
(I use Lufthansa whenever I visit Germany or fly to India via Europe.)
Yeah I think it was Delta. We like Lufthansa, too!
Such a funny video. I like your positive spirit. Looking forward all your next topics. --- Oh my good, with all this luggage through the security. My blood pressure would rise enormous. --- For your cardboard, ask the company who pick up your Altpapier-Tonne, maybe you can put more stuff in boxes next to your pin. Or you ask a neighbour to borrow a car. I think your Wertstoffhof has really good open-times, but avoid the Saturday. --- A bar of chocolate for the postman is fine. If it is always the same postman, I would give a tip with some Milka-Hearts (there are one, with a "Danke" written on it) or something like that :-) --- Just a thought, if there is more furniture to build, it would help to use a good cordless tiny screwdriver with imbuss. My husband built a complete big Ikea-kitchen with our Bosch professional. --- For your driver lisence, you can take the theory test in english. I think there is an app for all the possible questions. ---I know your area quiet good, if you have any questions, feel free to ask :) I will be very happy to help!
Oh thank you! You gave so many helpful tips. We appreciate them!
A very warm welcome to germany!
So you made it! Welcome to Germany! And since you have studied the washing machine manual you will probably be aware that the machine needs to be packed tightly with laundry - no shirts swimming loosely around - which will be no problem for you (in a Bosch between 7 to 10 kilograms); they are eco-designed to low water usage, yet the laundry comes out perfectly clean. ( well, sorry I sound like some eco 🤓 )
If a cat does not use the litterbox she is stressed. Mine did that too when I moved but they got used to the new surroundings quite fast. Welcome to Germany, looks like you moved in my area if you really drove to the South from Munich. If you need some help, just drop me a line and I'll try to help you.
welcome to germany
I'm loving all your, very detailed, videos, as this is the same path we're going towards (including having a child the same age as your oldest). If possible, could I please get the realtor company your family used? I tried finding it in your previous videos and didn't see it listed anywhere. They seemed to have found your perfect home- it's actually in the area that we wanted to look at :D. Thanks so much!
Sure! We used ImmoScout24, and there are others that are great also but I can’t remember them at the moment.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife thank you SO much for the reply! I'm going to pin it! My husband and I truly enjoy your videos (he's also an engineer, so I feel like we have a TON in common)!
What a pleasure to hear about your experiences so far. Wishing you all the best!
Hey Jennifer!! 💖💖
Technically you should be able to put the ikea packagings in the wheely bins of the house :) I think it's either green or blue, depending on your council ....maybe you could get rid of some of that stuff gradually and that way the office clears out.
It's good to hear you're settling in :)
Hello an welcome to Germany :-) You make really lovely videos.
About the cardboard/paperwaste: First: don't burn them, this may even be illegal depending on local regulations. Second: You can put them on the Street next to the blue bin (shoud be the "paper" bin) when that one is due for collection, this schoud be no problem. Just make sure there not blown away in case of wind.
The Company (or your District) is actually making a profit collecting paper and cardboard and recycling it so they are normally happy taking all you've got. (Small disclaimer: i'm not from bavaria, so this might differ, but I wouldn't think so)
Yes! But we have SO much cardboard that it fills an entire room! Haha, so it’s too much to put in our recycling bin. Also, the paper recycling only comes once a month 😫.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife oh no! Maybe you can ask a neighbour to borrow their car to go to the Werstoffhof? Or you wait this new lockdown out and the kids turn it into a project? Definitely not ideal 🥴
@@nasob6997 yes Kevin will hopefully go buy us a car this weekend...
you are really taff, like u very much, you are my most important channel 👍👍👍