Our Expat Adventure: A first look inside our second German home!

Initially, when Matt told me we had to move to another home, while living here in Germany, for the lack of better words- I freaked out. I tried my best to remain open-minded and “up for anything” BUT I felt like we were FINALLY settled into our house, our town, Elle’s school, local activities, etc. and I DID NOT want to go through this all over again- especially considering we were living in a foreign country. But due to Germany’s Housing Law, ANYTIME the owner of a home desires for the home to be used for family purposes a lease can be terminated without fault and the renter (in this case John Deere) is expected to find a new home. The owner contacted our relocation agent mid-January (when we were still experiencing jet lag) and told him that she had a son returning to Germany and that he would need to live in the home. But, with the help of John Deere in finding us a new home, moving our belongings, getting utilities transferred, forwarding mail, & a hundred other little things the move has been a blessing in disguise. It is AMAZING how much this new home has lifted my overall feelings re: this “European Adventure.” Some of the key things that I absolutely LOVE about this home are:

*SAFETY. Our old home was located on the “Hauptrasse”(main street) and thus, it was very busy and loud ALL the time. It did not matter if it was 9AM, 6PM or 2AM—it was loud. It was loud from traffic and loud from people walking home from the restaurants and bars. When Matt was gone, I could never tell where the voices were located (within our gate or on the sidewalk) and sometimes, the motion sensors would go off and then I was convinced someone was trying to break in. I know that some of this resembles paranoia:), but considering I could never understand anything the people were saying I always felt uneasy. NOW, when the windows are open I either hear birds or our lovely neighbors talking amongst themselves. I still cannot understand what our neighbors are saying, but we have met almost all of them and they appear to be caring and friendly individuals.

*NEIGHBORS. We did have very nice neighbors to the back of our old home, but other than Walter and Ina I did not know any of them. Already, most of our neighbors have introduced themselves to us and most of them speak “a little” English. And by “a little” I mean I can communicate with them as I do Britta- and this is perfect! The house to the south of us is lovely family and I know that if I had an emergency while Matt was traveling, I could go over to their home and ask for assistance. For a mother living in a foreign country, with two small children and not speaking the country’s language, this is very comforting.

* NATURAL LIGHT. Our new home has a lot of natural light. Thus, I am going to give growing plants another try:).

* GARTEN. In German standards, we have a HUGE garten (a.k.a. backyard). We bought a little playhouse and the girls play in the backyard daily! This weekend, we hope to plant some flowers. The backyard is very private and quiet- and even has some shade from trees. We love it!

So, these are just a few key reasons… but again, the main thing is that we are in a very quiet and friendly neighborhood and that is worth so much! Enjoy the pictures:)!!

Plenty of room to plant a lot of beautiful flowers!

Once again, the "safe" open staircase found in almost every German home (going up all three floors)... first thing Matt did was get all of the safety gates in place.