Ich bin ein Texaner

Or at least sorting. We actually don't have to pack or unpack, which is lovely, but there's still plenty to do. After many plans, I think we've settled on this. We'll fly over on June 19 with four of the largest suitcases allowed. Most of our stuff will arrive in Germany via steamship in 35-55 days -- but we won't be able to get it at that time, since we were forced by the formidable German bureaucracy to rent a temporary place for six months rather than the 2-3 we were hoping for. For that reason, we're adding an air shipment (size 62 cubic feet, weight not to exceed 500 lb), which we'll get in 1-2 weeks. The cost is considerable, but there are things we'll need that won't fit in suitcases, so there you have it. Now we begin the lists: what goes in the suitcases? What goes in the air shipment? What can we do without for the next six months? So, put yourselves in our places: what would you have to have in your suitcase? What would you put in the

After spending what felt like a very long two weeks finding someone who would be willing to fill out "The Form" (the aforementioned  Wohnungsgeberbestätigung ), we finally got that straightened out yesterday. Yay! Victory! Ish. As I said in my last post, it required us to sign a six-month lease for a furnished apartment. It is large enough for us, it has a washer and a small guest room, but it isn't exactly what I had in mind for anything beyond a couple of months. It also means that our stuff will have to stay in storage for a few months, but c'est la vie (so ist das Leben). Now that I have The Form, we will be allowed to go the  Einwohnermeldeamt (I will never tire of the long German words. You have been warned) and register. Our ever efficient relocation assistant plans to help us get this done the day after we arrive. I'm rather hoping that pictures are not involved as I don't imagine that jet-lagged Robert is something that I want to be represente

T minus 5 weeks. Sounds like a lot and at the same time, you assume that you will be "down to the last details" at this point. Well ... not quite. We have a contract on the house, but it is not sold. We have purged possessions, but not enough of them. We still need to sell cars, find temporary housing, get paperwork done. While not overwhelming by any stretch, there is still stuff hanging over our heads, not as dire as the Sword of Damocles, maybe the  Butter Knife of Balduran . Everyone who has ever sold a house moved apartments can appreciate all the minutia involved. Take that and add in a different language, a 7 hour time difference and no checking account on the other end, and you get a feel for this. I have to rent a temporary apartment in Munich, but I have no idea how I'm going to pay for it before I leave. Not "how am I going to pay for this, I don't have any money" but "how am I going to pay for this as it is highly unlikely they have a branc