Travel Deals from Munich and Stuttgart

August 22, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · Comment 

British Airways is offering some great round trip prices out of Munich and Stuttgart to 23 destinations worldwide. The offer is good through September 2, 2008, and travel needs to take place between September 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. See below for some more information and some sample prices. Seats are limited, so book ASAP to take advantage of the prices. Click here to book through Travelzoo.de.

MÜNCHEN/STUTTGART — 22. August 2008 — Mit 23 weltweiten Top-Destinationen, besten Verfügbarkeiten und hoch attraktiven Inklusivpreisen ab nur 403 € pro Person für Hin- und Rückflug ab München und Stuttgart sorgt British Airways kurz vor dem Wochenende für ein absolutes Flug-Highlight.

Dieses Special ist ab sofort bis spätestens 2. September buchbar. Doch nur wer sich schnell entscheidet, bekommt die besten Verfügbarkeiten auf allen Strecken.

Hier eine Auswahl der insgesamt 23 Ziel-Metropolen:

USA:
* New York … 403 €
* Boston … 414 €
* Miami … 499 €
* Los Angeles/San Francisco … 546 €

Weltweit:
* Delhi … 570 €
* Hong Kong/Schanghai … 604€
* Kapstadt/Johannesburg … 659 €
* Tokio … 679 €
* Rio de Janeiro … 786 €

Für alle Strecken und Ihre Buchung klicken Sie bitte hier: http://de.travelzoo.com/Newsflash.asp?453541

Reisezeitraum: 1. September 2008 bis 31. März 2009

*Änderungen vorbehalten. Angebot gültig je nach Verfügbarkeit. Alle Preise für Hin- & Rückflug pro Person inklusive Steuern & Entgelte.

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Announcing MamasWorldwide.com

August 4, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · 2 Comments 

I was actually not solely busy with Oliver the last few weeks, a lot of my time has been spent installing, designing and in general getting a new blog up and ready to go. Blythe, Maria, Tammy, Lynn and I are all coauthors on our new site, MamasWorldwide.com. The blog will focus on parenting topics and product reviews written by moms around the world. My first post is How does the World View Public Breastfeeding? If you’re interested in those kinds of topics, check it out!

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Dealing with ticks

May 19, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · 3 Comments 

If it’s summer, it’s tick season. I’ve already found three ticks on Charlie this week.

In Germany, when it comes to tick-borne diseases, you mostly need to worry about Frühsommer-Meningoenzephalitis (FSME) known in English as tick-borne meningoencephalitis (for folks who can read German, the Frühsommer-Meningoenzephalitis Wikipedia article is much more informative) and Borreliose (Lyme disease).

There is a vaccination against FSME available in Europe. You should check with your family doctor about whether it is recommended for you. It cannot be taken by pregnant women and some doctors do not recommend it for children under 6, although our pediatrician recommends it for children over 2.

FSME spread in Germany

FSME risk areas in Germany

In the above map, red denotes a risk area, where people are encouraged to get the FSME-Impfung, and yellow, where isolated cases of FSME have been reported to the Robert Koch Institute. Want a closer look or don’t live in Germany? Here is an interactive map of the spread of FSME in Europe. The page is in German, but you can zoom in on your location to see if it’s affected.

How to protect yourself:

  • Avoid high grass and underbrush
  • Wear light-colored clothing, it’s easier to identify a tick if one is on you
  • Limit skin exposure through long sleeves and long pants
  • Wear long pant legs tucked into socks
  • Stay near the center of hiking trails to avoid brushing against low vegetation as much as possible
  • Use tick repellent: Stiftung Warentest recommends Anti Brumm Naturel as satisfactory, followed by Autan Family Care Zeckenschutz and Quartet Anti Zecke Hautspray.
  • Check yourself and your children daily and remove ticks promptly. Ticks should be removed within the first 12 hours. Ticks prefer warm, moist areas, so be sure to carefully check armpits and genital areas along with the head. To remove ticks from humans, Zeckenkarte, or tick cards, are recommended. Don’t try to burn or drown the tick in alcohol or oil while it is attached, this can cause it to regurgitate into the wound, raising the risk of infection.

How to protect your pets:

  • Talk to your veterinarian
  • Check your pet’s coat daily for ticks and remove them promptly. Ticks should be removed within the first 12 hours. To remove ticks from animals, I highly recommend the O’Tom Tick Twister (you can buy the O’Tom Zeckenhaken online at Zooplus.de or at your local pet shop, and here’s a video demonstrating how to remove a tick with it). After you remove the tick, you should make sure it is dead and not just release it back in to the wild. You can burn it, drown it in oil or alcohol, or squish it in a paper towel.
  • Use tick-prevention medication like Exspot or Frontline.

For more info:

Do you have any advice for dealing with ticks?

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Sorting Trash in Germany

March 10, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · 11 Comments 

Germans take recycling very seriously.  I’ve heard of fights erupting among neighbors in apartment houses over improper sorting.  To help you with figuring out what goes where, I’ve compiled this little guide. 

First, there can be up to four containers at your residence or in public places.  There’s the paper and cardboard container, that is denoted by either green or blue, depending on where you live.  Then there is the plastic and compound materials container, denoted by yellow.  There is the brown biological waste container, and the gray household waste container.

In addition to these containers, you will find containers in your neighborhood for glass, shoe, and clothing collection.  At the entrances of home improvement, electronics, and some grocery stores, you will find used battery collection boxes.  You may need to store hazardous materials for some time until your city or town announces that it will be collecting these items.  And finally, there are scheduled pickups for large items, like old sofas and the like.  In large cities, you will generally be notified of the dates for pickups, but in smaller towns you will likely need to call and schedule a pickup yourself (in our town, we get one free pickup a year, more than one and we need to pay for them to come by).

What’s acceptable can vary slightly from place to place.  I looked over the instructions for several cities, and listed items that were accepted by all.  Some cities accept things that other cities don’t though, so to find out for sure what you can and can’t recycle, check the official website of the city or district you live in.

What goes in the Grüne/Blaue Tonne (green or blue can) for paper and cordboard recycling?

  • Paper and cardboard packaging marked with or without a Grüne Punkt (Green Dot), for example, cartons for salt, laundry detergent
  • uncoated frozen food packaging
  • newspapers, magazines, junk-mail
  • notebooks, writing pads, writing paper, envelopes, computer paper
  • packing paper, corrugated cardboard
  • books without covers, catalogs

What does not go in the Grüne/Blaue Tonne (green or blue can) for paper and cardboard recycling?

  • soiled paper 
  • drink cartons, for example, Tetra-Paks
  • pizza boxes with aluminum coating
  • coffee bags (paper bonded with aluminum or plastic
  • wallpaper
  • carbon paper, photo paper
  • used paper towels, Kleenex, or napkins
  • waxed, sandwich or parchment paper
  • any other coated or bonded paper

What goes in the Gelbe Tonne (yellow can) for plastic and compound materials recycling?

  • plastic food containers, like for yogurt or margarine
  • plastic bottles, for example, body wash, shampoo, sunscreen, laundry detergent, juice bottles
  • plastic wrap, plastic bags (like from inside the cereal box, or shopping bags)
  • vacuum-pack bags, for example, coffee bags
  • Styrofoam packaging, also for meats, fruits and vegetables
  • nets that citrus and potatoes come in
  • aluminum foil, lids, trays
  • paper or plastic plates, plastic utensils
  • fast food mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup packets
  • tin drink and food cans
  • aerosol cans (hairspray, deodorant, etc.)
  • tubes for toothpaste, stain remover, tomato paste, etc.
  • plastic bottle screw-tops
  • milk and juice cartons
  • pharmaceutical blister-packs

What doesn’t go in the Gelbe Tonne (yellow can) for plastic and compound materials recycling?

  • vegetable and fruit cartons
  • glass
  • paper and cardboard
  • video and audio cassettes
  • diapers, sanitary napkins, tampons
  • plastic, metal or Styrofoam items that aren’t packaging, like toys, bowls, lids, laundry baskets, window boxes, plant pots, etc.
  • packaging that contained hazardous material, like spray paint cans
  • electronic devices

What goes in the BIO Tonne (brown can) for biological waste?

  • garden clippings, weeds, grass cuttings
  • foliage and plants, including houseplants
  • feathers and hair from pets
  • paper towels
  • fruit and vegetable peels and leftovers, including citrus fruits
  • coffee grounds and filters
  • tea and tea bags
  • egg shells
  • flowers
  • bread and cheese
  • spoiled food
  • nut shells
  • organic pet litter, like hay, straw, wood shavings
  • untreated wood
  • Christmas trees (no tinsel)

What does not go in the BIO Tonne (brown can) for biological waste?

  • ashes
  • mineral-based pet litter
  • meat and sausage leftovers, cooked and prepared food, flour and milk products (in some places, these can go in)
  • treated wood
  • bones
  • Kleenex, sanitary pads, diapers, tampons
  • other treated items, vacuum cleaner bags, street sweepings

What goes in the Altglastonne (old glass containers)?

  • non-returnable glass jars and bottles
  • marmalade, jam, jelly, preserve jars
  • packaging made from glass
  • blue glass (goes in the green glass container)

What does not go in the Altglastonne (old glass containers)?

  • lightbulbs
  • ceramic and porcelain
  • mirror, window and plate glass
  • crystal
  • ceramic stove tops
  • auto windshields
  • fireproof glass

So, are you a recycling practitioner, guru, novice?  Do you have anything to add?

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The Great Vanilla Extract Experiment

February 28, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · 10 Comments 

For six years now, I’ve been bringing a large bottle of vanilla extract home with me from the States every year.  I considered the tiny, overpriced bottles at KaDeWe.  I searched the shops.  I searched online.  I looked at recipes.  To be honest, it doesn’t look that difficult to make your own, so it’s time to step it up a notch.  It’s time to start living what I preach.  It’s time for me to make my own vanilla extract.

Ingredients for vanilla extract

There are a myriad of recipes out there, just google and you’ll find them, but here’s mine. You’ll need 0.5L of alcohol, 4-6 vanilla beans, and a jar with a lid. You don’t need top of the line booze*, anything will do, as long as it’s 40% alcohol (that’s 80 proof). Vodka is nice and neutral, but I’ve seen dark rum in a lot of recipes. Since we don’t quite have a full bottle of vodka, I’m adding a small bottle of dark rum to the mix.

Splitting vanilla beans

I decided that if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna go all the way. So I searched and found an online shop Vanille aus Madagaskar, that sells 9 Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar for €12,90 (plus postage).  (This is quite the savings over the beans sold in the supermarkets - and they look nicer too). I took each bean and split it down the middle, leaving one end intact. Some recipes say to scrape the bean, but I chose not to.

Vanilla extract - Week 0

I dropped the 6 split vanilla beans into the jar, then topped them with the vodka and dark rum. It’s important now to store the container in a dark, cool place. It will take at least 4-6 weeks before you’ll be able to use the extract, and 6 months to full maturity.

* If you plan on keeping the extract around for 10 years or so, you will want to use high quality alcohol - but I’m not making enough to last that long.

Week 1

Vanilla extract - Week 1

After one week of steeping, the extract is already a beautiful dark amber color.  It still smells rather strongly of alcohol, but the vanilla scent is there.  The jar gets shaken, and put back in it’s dark, cool spot.

—-

Want worship-worthier instructions? Check out the Make Vanilla Extract article by Ian on Instructables.

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Where to find a used car in Germany

February 10, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · 11 Comments 

I am in no way an expert on purchasing a car, so all I’m doing is giving you some tips on locating used cars that are for sale. First, if you require an automatic, your pickings will be much slimmer, and with larger cars, generally limited to the luxury models. This was my experience when we were looking for a station wagon. Most Germans drive cars with manual transmissions. It’s that whole Fahrvergnügen thing. I wasn’t able to learn to drive stick, but maybe you can, so try, then try another time just to be sure.

  1. Check your local newspaper’s website. There is generally a section called “Auto” or “Gebrauchtwagen” that is searchable. Here’s Mittelbayrisches Zeitung’s site as an example. Also try the second-hand paper for your area. You’ll find the biggest bargains in these, since most private sellers will only advertise here.
  2. Try one of the major Internet auto search engines: AutoScout24.de (Europe-wide) and Auto.de, Mobile.de, or Pkw.de (Germany-wide). There are a few private individuals selling their cars on these sites, but it’s mostly dealers.
  3. Check car manufacturer websites. They often list the used cars available at their dealerships. You’re looking for “Gebrauchtwagen” or “Gebrauchtwagenbörse.” Here’s Renault’s site as an example. You’ll want to search all the different car makers that are in your area, since these are cars that have been traded in and will be of all different makes, models, and years.
  4. Last, and possibly least, is to make the trek to all the dealerships in your area and check out what they have on their lots. They don’t always list everything on the websites, and sometimes you’ll luck out and find a car that was just brought in. Also, you can tell them your criteria and have them call you if something comes in that fits it. Make sure you check the opening hours of the dealerships. Many close at 6pm on weekdays and are only open in the mornings on Saturdays.

In the end, it’s a very time consuming process. CarMax type used car lots haven’t really caught on here, although I’ve heard rumor that there are a few popping up in the former East and in the very north. So if you live in those areas, you might want to check the Gelbe Seiten(German Yellow Pages) for Gebrauchtwagen in your area.

Anyone else have a tip I’ve missed?


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Do not EVER fly Iberia Airlines

January 17, 2008 · Filed Under Tips for Expats · 27 Comments 

So here it is, the full story with all the gritty details. From cancelled flights to unannounced delays, from death marches through the Madrid airport to sleeping in moldy hotel rooms.

Chapter 1: The cancelled flight

Our tale begins in the fall, shortly after booking four tickets with Iberia Airlines to visit my family in the US this Christmas. Normally when I go home for a visit, I go for 4-6 weeks, since I so rarely get to see my family, but this year we were bringing along Rainer’s nephew, who had school off from December 20 through January 7, so we had to limit our visit to these dates. I wasn’t quite ready to fly alone with a baby yet, I was going to save that for my next trip back. We ended up booking our trip from December 20 to January 5, to maximize the time I would have with my family and that they in turn would have with Oliver. A few weeks after we booked, we received a letter that our return flight had been cancelled and we were rebooked on a flight later in the week. This wouldn’t work because Rainer’s nephew Paul had school. We called and complained, how can they just cancel our flight and move our dates? Apparently, as the agent explained to us, there were more important routes that the planes were needed for, and Iberia would not book us on another airline (we asked), so our only option was to fly back two days earlier than planned. I hadn’t been home in 18 months and instead of 16 days, I was now only going to have 14 days with my family! Was there an apology at least? Nope, only a, “Tough luck. You should have read the microscopic fine print.”

Chapter 2: Customer service? Iberia don’t need no stinkin’ customer service!

We flew out of Frankfurt, through Madrid, to Washington DC. In Madrid, I went up to the Iberia gate agent to ask if there was a way for us to get seats next to each other for the long trans-Atlantic flight, since we were not seated together. He ordered me to, “Sit down and take a rest,” because the gate agent had more important things to do than work, like chat with a Madrid airport security guard (who doesn’t have to do much apparently, there was no addition security and our passports weren’t even checked as we boarded the flight to DC - so even if the rest of my story doesn’t deter you, there is probably a higher risk of being blown up by a terrorist if you fly Iberia). During the flight, the attendants didn’t seem interested in clearing away our dinner trays, I guess if all the passengers are pinned in their seats, it makes a lot less work for the crew!

Chapter 3: The Waiting Game

Our vacation came and went much too quickly. Our flight home to Germany was to depart Dulles Airport at 8:55pm. At 6:00pm, I called Iberia’s 1-800-number from my mom’s restaurant to check whether the flight was on time. I called 5 times and was hung up on 5 times. I went to the computer and checked the Internet. Everything was set, the flight was on time. We made the 20 minute drive to the airport and my brothers dropped us off.

We should have gotten suspicious at the enormous line, or the fact that it wasn’t moving. We didn’t reach the Iberia counter until 9pm, 5 minutes after the scheduled departure of the plane. It was not until we reached the agent that anyone bothered to inform us that Iberia had sent the wrong plane from Madrid and it was not large enough to accommodate the number of people booked to fly that evening. We needed to wait for a larger plane to arrive, our new departure time was 2:30am, arriving in Madrid at 3pm the following day. Why they couldn’t tell everyone waiting in line when we first got there, I don’t know. It would have been nice to have my family there to pick us up and take us home for the wait… but back to the check-in: Three Iberia agents were needed to book our connection at 4pm to Frankfurt. We strongly doubted that it would be possible to make this flight. We asked if there wasn’t a later flight they could book us on, but no, they assured us that this would work - after they spent 30 minutes trying to rebook our seats because they insisted that we had booked e-tickets for Rainer, Paul and I, while booking a paper ticket for Oliver. I stated that I booked all tickets online at the same time, but somewhere this got screwed up and, it seems, the employees were doing this for the first time (this is a recurring thought throughout our entire experience with Iberia).

By the time we were out of the line and able to get to a pay phone (since our German cell phones don’t work in the US), my family was heading to bed and it wasn’t worth it to drive out, bring us home, then drive us back to the airport, so we headed out to the gate for the long wait.

To make the 5.5 hour delay up to us, Iberia issued us $36 in credit ($12 each) for any restaurant in the airport. The thing was, the restaurants and food places had all closed or were in the process of closing. The only place open was a Starbucks, so we bought $36 worth of muffins, cookies and coffee to tide us over.

The boarding time came and went. The flight took off after 3am. The flight attendants didn’t seem to know how to install the bassinet for Oliver, and they never brought us the flight pack with diapers, wipes, a bib, and blanket, or the two jars of baby food that we received for him on the flight to DC two and a half weeks earlier.

Chapter 4: The Madrid Death March

We arrived at 4pm, the same time that our Frankfurt flight was departing. Just outside of the arrival gate was a customer service desk, where we joined the line of all the other passengers who also needed to be rebooked. After about 45 minutes, Rainer made it to the front of the line, where the agent informed him that we needed to change terminals and go the the help desk at the H gates. “Why?” Rainer asked. Apparently this guy wasn’t in the mood to rebook people anymore and decided to just send the rest of us to someone else. He refused to help any more people. Nice.

We had to take the shuttle and walk forever to get to the next customer service desk. Here we were informed by a female Iberia employee that we needed someone in a red coat and she was only issued a green coat. We needed to leave this desk and find another service desk. It only took her directions, a janitor, and three info desks to direct us to the appropriate counter. During this time I had to remove my shoes due to the screaming blisters that had developed on my feet. We arrived at 4pm and had been looking for help since then, what time do you think we were finally helped? 5pm? 6pm? 6:30pm? Nope, we (and many of our fellow passengers who’d made the march with us) finally got to someone willing to help us at 7pm.

Chapter 5: A Birthday to Remember

We wanted to be in Frankfurt that night. It was Paul’s 16th birthday and he was completely miserable. The agent told us to calm down, if we raised our voices at him, he would be forced to yell at us and then there would be hell to pay and we wouldn’t like that at all. He informed us that the last flight to Frankfurt with Iberia was already full and we wouldn’t be able to get to the gate in time even if it wasn’t. So we told him to book us on another airline. He proceeded to list slowly, one-by-one, all the flights that would have gotten us to Frankfurt if the first guy had helped us, but that by now, we had already missed, or wouldn’t be able to catch. Thanks dude, that’s so helpful.

In the end he booked us on a flight the next morning and promised us a 4 star Madrid hotel with dinner and breakfast included. And what was his response to the fact that it was Paul’s 16th birthday? An apology? A weak Happy Birthday? Nope, he just shrugged his shoulders. Did they even get us a taxi to the hotel? Nope, we had to wait 20 minutes outside in the cold with a baby for a dingy hotel shuttle.

Chapter 6: The Final Chapter a.k.a. Let’s just get this sad story over with

Not only did the hotel room smell musty, there was mold growing in the corners, the paint on the bathroom ceiling was peeling off and underneath was a nice layer of rusty orange mold. In the basement restaurant that reeked of chlorine bleach, we were given a choice of two options for our dinner. Paul’s dinner was still slightly frozen, none of the dinners were very appetizing. We went to bed to try to get some rest, until 10pm came along and we found out that our room was directly above a nightclub. When morning came, we had to leave for the airport before breakfast was served, not that we really cared at all at that point.

The final leg of our flight was uneventful, except for one humongous security violation. The reinforced cockpit door stayed open for much of the flight. Ummm, you’d think that with the Madrid bombings and all, Iberia would take security a little more seriously.

At least our bags made it.


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