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.
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!
❤ 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.
@@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.
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)
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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 🐣"
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!
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 !!
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 👏
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!
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. :-) :-) :-)
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.
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. ❤
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.
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.
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.
@@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 👍
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!
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.
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.
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!
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)
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.
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 :-)
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
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!
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.
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 🤓 )
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. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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 😍👍
@@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.)
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!
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 🥴
When you talked about your electronics - did you think about the different voltage in the german net? Here are 230V... take care, you don't ruin all your machines 🙈
German immigrations can appear intimidating alright, they do the job with German thoroughness ;-) Complete opposite of Ireland, where they have one fleeting look and wave you though. And the cat peeing and pooping the beds story, completely feeds into the slightly chaotic channel title :-) You are so amusing and fun to watch
I think it is great you let your kids do their thing and enjoy the freedom here (though currently the country is a mess with ever changing quarantine rules). The kids will have the time of their life and probably learn German within months. Compared to the US, there is literally nothing to worry about letting your kids unsupervised outside and have fun. No dangerous wildlife and life in such a small Southern Bavarian town is as peaceful as it ever gets.
Those are some of the biggest reasons we moved here. We knew our kids would be much safer (in the US schools even have drills in schools for “active shooters.” Gun violence is out of control over there!).
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That sounds aweful. I think the first 20 or something years of my life as a German, I didn‘t ever think about guns or gun related violance, that was just something you saw on tv. I still have no ever heard a gun being fired in real life and only one time I have seen a policeman draw a gun at a suspect.
Concerning the dangers of wildlife: Yes, we don't have bears, crocodiles or tigers, BUT we do have wild boars (!!!) and they are said to be dangerous (although I've never experienced that) AND we do have some expat-wolves that moved to Germany in recent years! So, better not let your kids wear red caps if they get near a grim(m) forest!
@@thomasbucher5311 Haha! Wild boars can be dangerous (especially mothers with their young), but I've seen wild boars now and then in the woods of Thuringia and they never cared much about me. Just get away quietly and don't stress them out and they will leave you alone.
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)!
Every time i'm watching your Videos, i feel like sitting there with you, it's really nice! You both pronunce the R so charmant :D (From the first Video i watched, i knew the cat was Kevins cat) Good to hear that you feel not too homesick and that the kids seem to like their "new" independence! I hope they like their school(s) and that they fast get friends, as fast as you! And your hair looks so beautiful, in every Video. I'm really jealous for this hair!
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! :)
There is an easier way to get rid of your cartons. Ebay usually has a local section or there are papers where you can have cheap or free advertisements. Just say that you have free boxes that can be taken at your place (Selbstabholung is the term). Iam sure someone could use them.
im from germany greetings. :D our family consists of 3 brothers and a little sister.. my mum always had curly red dyed hair and my dad with his glasses and his shirt always looked like the perfect german engineer.. any more parallels? xD
simple tip, wether it is cooking or figuring out how a machine works, use youtube. Search for the item you have no clue about, and I am sure you can find videos. Even if in some cases you don't get the language, the visual part might help none the less. Keep in mind thousands of people bump into the same problems, so the solution is also filmed a few dozen times. Example, I was doing a hike I think in Italy. By some stupid accident I seemingly sat on some chewing gum. Now how to get that out, if you are hiking ??? RU-vid gave the solution, btw also a great life hack with that many kids. Buy a lemon, cut in half, squeeze the juice of 1 half on the area that has the chewing gum. Leave for a few minutes (not too long, between 2 to 5 minutes), scrub the chewing gum of with an old toothbrush. It gets of very easily without any leftovers. After this just wash the garment, it is clean and looks like it was before.
Yeah that's very smart. We got rid of 95% of our possessions, so it did feel like we were traveling light! We only came with 2 suitcases per person, and 2 boxes each.
