The trick to surviving summers in Germany without ACs is to let in all the cool air during the night/early morning, and then close the windows and all the roller blinds once it gets hot outside (usually around 9-10am).
The problem are actually just the night in which it does not cool down below 20 degree Celsius over some days because then it does not really cool down. And last year e.g. was not really a problem - the summer before had some weeks that were difficult to handle. But - living in a mountain town - it should be a lot easier there. And I think you even will get to used to the temperatures a lot more like this if you do not have an AC - like you did this month with the colder temperatures. We had a swimming pool in our garden when I was a kid like you have one. I remember that we mainly spent the hottest days in summer near the pool.
Right! No worries, it won't get as hot as in Georgia. And even if it does, it's easier when you live in a house than when you are in an apartment in the city. First, cities heat up much more than small towns, and then you can open every door and window during the night. Or you could even sleep in the garden, if it is too hot inside.
Agree, we have very few so called "tropical nights" (25 °C night temperature). Otherwise close the lids and windows during the day and leave the windows open in the night.
In summer you need to "lüften" early in the morning, close the shutters for the whole day, stay at "Baggersee" during the day, and return to a chill room after "grillen"
Great, thank you. We have been airing out our house everyday as I learned about that before we came. So we will continue in the summer also. But thanks for the German words, didn’t know those already!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That method is normally enough supported by lots of water, lemonade and gelato! But if it gets really hot (because your apartment or House get lots of sun) you may need to buy a mobile airconditioner for the hottest days above 40 Celsius or 104 Farenheit to cool down the bedrooms.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Usually it is getting not so hot over long time period. Houses are insulated and made of stone which leads to cooler rooms for longer time in summer.
@@arnomrnym6329 well not really look at the immigrants from syria, afghanistan,iran ,iraq and all the other countries , they're bringing aunts and uncles ..germany is a magnet for all people ,due to the social services they provide free of charge 😂
My wife is a Bayerin but I’m from the US. I remember, when we rented our first little apartment, having the conversation with my wife about whether we wanted to buy the little kitchen in it or go find our own. When she first asked me I didn’t even understand the question. We viewed the apartment when it was still occupied, and then on the day we moved in I genuinely thought we had been robbed since there were bare electrical wires coming out of the ceiling all over the place where light fixtures used to be. They didn’t even leave a socket or bulb… Honey, we‘ve been grinched!
lol As a german, I'd like to have a kitchen in a new apartment, if I'd be broke or to busy to get one by my own. In any other case I'd prefer to bye and customise my kitchen. It's a very often used and very personal room. I want to get it my style. :-) Similar for the lighting - bulbs are usal while moving in and out, but fixtures: bring your personal favorites! :-)
We have big freezers in Germany too. They are just not the Standard in pre installed kitchens and little apartments. Some people have bigger freezers in the basement.
I'm not German, I'm French but almost noone owns a dryer here. For me, it's because it takes up too much space, super not eco friendly and I LOVE the smell of freshly air dryed clothes. + It makes clothes last a lot longer!
My wife and I always needed a dryer. We have visited Germany on many occasions and find all the things we have in states we could not find there. As far as carpeting goes the radiant heat in floors would not be effective with carpeting. I could live in Germany in spite of some short comings.
I'm absolutely with you on that one! Also - that bottle of the brand "Ballantines" (I think it was) is Blend Scotch Whisky, so really not something truly high quality when it comes to Scotch Whiskys. Blend Whiskys might be quite allright to be used for mixing drinks that require Whisky in it. For drinking it straight you better go for Single Malt Whiskys! Highly recommended!
Carpet was in fashion in the 70s and 80s. It is very rare today. I remember visiting a school friend and seeing her dogs scratching their butts on the carpet.😅😂 No more carpet for me!
I do have a dryer. But i use it only for towels because they are so much softer than letting them air dry. And i use the dryer also for bed sheets. Greetings from🇨🇭 and welcome to Europe
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife You are "allowed" to have a dryer, especially as a bigger family. >40% of German households have one. You still can air-dry whenever you like and the weather allows :)
I'm from Germany and do the same. Sheets and towels go into the dryer and all the rest gets air dried outside, because it works just fine and does not need any extra energy ;)
Since car washing at home is banned in most parts of Germany, these self-service stations are suitable for people who like to do the car washing themselves. The water used does not get into the groundwater or simply seep into the ground, but is collected, filtered and often reconditioned.This one was me. ... Car washing laws in Germany are quite strict to prevent soap and oil getting into the waste water system, apparently, so don't just set up at a car wash at your house!!
Washing your car in a public parking space/street is most likely banned anywhere in Germany, which most Germans would have to do. But it should be legal on your own/rented property. At least it´s legal in my home town.
@@MoDKoP it only is, if you have a parking space that has a drain into the proper waste water system, the same that the shower and toilet water goes into. If you don‘t have a drain like that, even the water you use on your own property will end up contaminating the ground water or the normal gutter systems. Which is why it‘s not allowed even on your own property. Car washes are specially equipped to deal with this problem ...
As for number 10, we have "Regentonnen" here in Germany, they collect the rain and you water your plants with it and occasionally put some fresh rain water in a little bowl for the birds in the summer. And another tip for the garden, if you grow strawberries, then get some "Pferdeäpfel" as "Dünger"/dung. We have lots of horse owners on the country side that will give it out for free
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife we had to have a well done and a pump,installed because you shouldn't use tap 🚰 water for watering the garden and if you do want an outside tap as we do have but don't use it gets counted as Abwasser and not regular Leitungswasser although it is the same(at least that's what my parents always told me)
You guys seem to be very open to adapting and adjusting to your new environment. Very impressed by that as well as your willlingness to learn the language. I think you will have a great time in Europe because of this.
In Germany, a wardrobe is standard in the bedroom and also in the children's room. Your refrigerator is too small, there are large combinations, there is a refrigerator above and a freezer below. Drying laundry in the dryer uses too much energy, it is more environmentally friendly to air dry laundry. There are rotary clothes dryers for the garden, they can hold a lot of laundry. You will notice some strange differences. But welcome and settle in well 🤞
@@tinytinky9975 vielleicht altersabhängig. Die meisten Erwachsenen die ich kenne haben im Keller noch einen zusätzlichen Kühl- und/oder Gefrierschrank. Gerade Familien mit Kindern kämen ja nie im Leben mit so einem kleinen TK Fach aus. Junge single Studenten/Azubis brauchen das natürlich eher weniger.
You seem to be the sort of people who are genuinely interested in trying out a foreign lifestyle. Very un-American. So charming. 🤩 You are going to make a lot of friends that way. 👍
We had carpets when I grew up but my dad threw it out at some point. It's rather unhygienic especially when you have cats. We had it replaced with cork flooring which is still warm and comfortable to walk on but much easier to keep clean.
The key to living in Germany without AC is leaving every door/window open over night to get the cool nigjt air into the house. Usually for houses that works fine because you can get a proper air flow going when opening a window on two different sides of a room/house (flats are a different story, they can get unbearably warm). Aside from that, at home we were never allowed to open any windows during the day in summer to keep the cold air in and usually have the 'rolladen' (blinds) down when the sun directly hits any windows
Yes, exactly. But I also want to mention, that this "strategy" to deal with a hot summer goes pretty well with people spending most of the day outside during summer. So you open your windows during the night / early morning, close them and your blinds for the day and stay most of the time outside, enjoying the summer. Then you return inside for the final hours of the day and finish it with going to sleep. And repeat. This is a bit more of a challenge with your kids, but kids usually love staying outside in the summer even more than adults. Lots of cooking can also kind of ruin your room temperature, so make sure to either eat more uncooked food or plan it out more strategically. Cooking outside and BBQs might also be an option for your as an home owner. If you're really suffering or we might end up with another record breaking hot summer, you might want to buy a few fans to help out too. But buy those fans as early as possible, they might end up beeing sold out when facing a hot summer.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Also, be aware that the hottest time of the day is the late afternoon. And the coolest time is three o'clock in the morning. You also should avoid using your oven at all cost (since it heats up the kitchen).Oh, and while it is true that you shouldn't "let the heat in", don't overdo it, having a little bit of air circulating is preferable over keeping the windows closed at all cost. The most important tip is really to keep the blinds down and if you don't have any, use alternative means to keep the sun out. (Also remember that German houses are built to retain heat...they also retain the cool, but once they have heated up it is a bitch to get the heat out).
@@guidoscholz7111 ...in summer the sunrise is around 4 o'clock, hence I said three o'clock. But yeah, I could have been more precise and say "before sunrise".
I think you've figured out already the two most important reasons for not having a dryer - first, environmental issues (the power consumption of a dryer is enormous!) and secondly, the longevity of clothes. Another reason might be space. As you've maybe already noticed, European houses and apartments often are smaller than American ones. You usually don't have the space for two large machines. Some people use a washer-dryer-combination to bypass this problem. But most of us just don't think about it because they are not used to it. Plus, I love the smell and feel of clothes that have been drying outside in the sun and I actually like hanging and taking down the laundry. I noticed that you only use a foldout drying rack. Something that would make your life much easier is a rotary clothesline (German: Wäschespinne). Do you have one or could you install one in your garden? I can put around four or five loads of laundry on mine and especially large pieces are much easier to hang.
Oh thanks for sharing the German word - Wäschespinne. I've seen those in our neighbor's yards around here and they look much more efficient! Thank you!
all that is correct! 👍 plus driers were using asbestos inside, I don't know the new models, but they use to have asbestos... and I used (when I had one) to destroy many clothes containing wool🙄
we have a dryer but only use it in the winter because energy is not very cheap and why should we use a dryer if its faster and cheaper to just hang your clothes in the outside
Great video :-) I had to laugh about the absence of a garbage dispenser, because my former boy-friend always was angry about it being forbidden in Germany and yes, the main reason is that it is not allowed to put garbage into the water, because that's rat-feeding. And additionally, it is considered as dangerous because a child could stick a hand in and hurt itself.
We do have dryers but only use them for small clothes and underwear. So mostly for white clothes as underwear tends to be white. Shower-towels are also put in the dryer. The small hand towels we don't. It is used more often during the winter. We just air dry most of our stuff, except for the whites.
Nonsense. Put them in the freezer, so you won’t cry while cutting. This prevents the itching oil to spray in the air and your eyes. They shall be storde at 4 grade Celsius. This temperature I have only in my fridge.
@@berndschaffmann8522 Nonsense. Its even bad to put them into it. " Das Problem mit dem Kühlschrank: Die feuchte Kälte wandelt die Stärke der Zwiebel in Zucker um - das Gleiche passiert übrigens mit Kartoffeln. Zudem verlieren sie an Geschmack"
@@berndschaffmann8522 Der Nachtgieger is right. Onions (and Potatoes) have no business to be in the fridge. Ideally you store them at a dark place. (The exception are naturally spring onions, they belong into the fridge).
@@berndschaffmann8522 cooling onions before cooking is not a bad idea, actually, but for storage, it's not ideal. If you have a cellar, that's ideal, but if not, a dark and cool room does the trick, too. Same for potatoes. We don't have to store as much and as long as we did in the old days. My parents still had a few big bags of potatoes in the cellar in the day, I just buy 2-5 kg every few weeks, or so.
Welcome to Germany!! My spouse and I moved here with our cat in the summer of 2018 from Vancouver Canada. Watching your videos brought back so many memories of those first few days and months. Knowing how much we struggled, can't imagine how much tougher it must have been with 4 kids as well. Hope you all are settling in well and wish you lots of future adventures travelling Europe. I saw a lot of people already given tips on vehicles, but I do want to share this. We ended up using this service called Instamotion based here in Munich. They deal in used vehicles, especially test cars etc. Reason why I suggest them is because they deal with all the paperwork/registration/insurance/delivery stuff and you know a new vehicle in Germany needs about 6 months lead time, they build them on demand. Instamotion basically dropped off a car with plates to your house. If you are not fully confident in German and with Covid restrictions, this may be worth checking out. Thanks for sharing your experiences and helping us reminance on some fond memories.
Actually that freezer you have is truly a bit small. Especially for a family. That's unusual in Germany too. The dryer: definitely the environment, same with AC. People sometimes even look down at you for using these 😅 we are very environment friendly here. Carpet is not fashionable in Germany, it is considered old school. In most of europe actually. We mostly use wooden floor with accent rugs. To the kitchen: most of the time you are allowed to get rid of the kitchen and put in a new one. Sometimes you have to store the build-in kitchen somewhere, sometimes you don't. The garbage disposer is actually forbidden in many regions in Germany because the garbage gets in the water system wich is not good for, you guessed it- the environment 😅
I know a couple of people with big chest freezers here in Germany so you definitely can buy them but they just don't come with a house or apartment usually. Most people I know either have a house or they put the freezer in the basement.
Servus und Frohe Ostern. Hi and Happy easter from someone who came to Germany over 30 years ago intending to stay for two weeks but decided to stay. Not only did I get a T-shirt, I recently took german nationality. I live and work in Bavaria in the Allgäu region in a rural town that lies beneath the "Wächter des Allgäus", The Protector of the Allgäu, Mount Grünten. To be honest not having a car doesn`t bother me at all. I use the local buses and trains (they are regular and quite cheap to use) to get around and having a bike has become a must-have. I don`t live in an old house, rather in a modern appartment. I have had six appartments over the past three decades and not having to use somebody else`s carpet is a plus for me. Typical not to find light fixtures when you move into a new place. Being careful about using water is something that has become more and more important to me over the years. Same goes for using electricity. I am enjoying the videos you upload. Very interesting. Take care. God bless. It isn`t meant in any way to be a criticism but it would be interesting to know your views on what you now have in Germany that you didn`t have in the USA. How about universal health coverage, unemployment and sickness benefits, a minimum wage etc ? Just interested.
Servus to you as well! And Gruß Gott! ;) So awesome how you can for two weeks and had to stay. Sometimes you just know you belong somewhere. We feel that way about Europe! Love how you don't have a car either and how it doesn't bother you. I'm not itching for one really badly like I thought I'd be. Though everyone in our town definitely has a car here. Yeah so we had great healthcare in the USA so the healthcare here seems just as good, but not much different than what we had. And we don't know much about minimum wage here yet. But the sickness benefits and vacation benefits are definitely awesome!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife the difference: in America my approximation is 30 millions are without healthcare. And the medicine is criminal expensive for instance for diabetes, which is why a lot of people travel to Canada to buy . In Germany everyone must have and has Health care.
@@berndschaffmann8522 You may want to check that one out: www.tagesschau.de/inland/krankenversicherung-statistik-101.html#:~:text=Im%20vergangenen%20Jahr%20hatten%20143.000,den%20neuen%20L%C3%A4ndern%2026.000%20Betroffene. Not everyone has health insurance in Germany. One reason is people who can't any longer afford private insurance and the insurance carriers like AOK, BEK and so on don't have to take them if they don't want. It is not mandatory to have health insurance even though everyone thinks it is and therefore everyone is insured somehow somewhere.
@@CologneCarter since when I really do not know, but private insurance companies offer / have to offer an insurance which is quite like the public health insurance. I made this process for a friend of mine. He pays 300 euro monthly and is therefore treated like he is not privately insured. I think that was installed for the reason you mentioned, unaffordability in higher ages because of shrinking income. Best greetings
But if your area is cold in the winter they might freeze up and burst with ice being considerably bigger than water if they cannot be emptied during wintertime.
Greetings from New York. This is such a great topic. You guys are absolutely wonderful I enjoyed this video so much. Wishing you the best of luck in Germany. And thank you so much for sharing this very interesting information. Stay safe in Germany. See you soon
I forgot one, whiskey of decent quality does not belong in the freezer. The aromas of any spirit loses the colder the liquid gets. And if you care for whiskey get rid of any kind whiskey tumblers, look out for nosing glasses.
Like the most people here wrote I also have a dryer but only use it for towels, underwear, socks and bed sheets. The rest I hang on drying racks on the balcony or in the bathroom.
If you have the space, get a „Wäschespinne“ for the Garden. It has so much more space than a normal drying rack. It also drys faster and can stay outside all summer long. I love mine, it was a gamechanger. We do own a dryer but I only use it for towels and socks/underwear and sometimes for bed sheets if they need washing on a rainy day.
i think most germans with a house have a dryer. At least here around in the west. But we only use ours during the winter. Or when its rainy. When the weather gets better we also hang the clothes out. Its also to save energy. At least we do it to save some energy.
Regarding the carpets, we also don't have these fixed on the floor in my family's home, but when I was a kid my parents put carpets in our kid's bedrooms and it's also quite common to have smaller ones for example in front of the couch or in front of your bed. So you still have that comfortable feeling wherever you might want to sit on the floor (especially for the kids to play) or walk barefoot, but it makes cleaning a lot easier and you can just replace the carpets if they get too dirty after some time :D.
In germany most of the houses have outdoor faucets or separate water pumps which you connect your water hoses. Ask your landlord, I'm pretty sure, there are some to water the garden
German here ! My mom has a dryer, my aunt has a dryer, my boyfriends mom has a dryer and we have a combination between dryer and washingmashine. But we only dry stuff like underwear, socks and towles the rest will air dry.
WE DO HAVE A DRYER 😅. But mostly we only use them in winter. In summertime we hang our clothes outside to save power and money. In summer when it’s hot, we leave the window shutter closed...at least on the sunny side, so it won’t get hot inside. Also German houses have thicker walls to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter. Open your windows at night in summer NOT during the day. I hope this will help you 😊
Well, I have kids, pets and everybody is into sports. Without a dryer I would go crazy. We bought a modern, kind of ecofriendly one, it is called Wärmepumpentrockner. And as for water around the garden. Usually there is an extra outlet, or even if you have to fix up new one, please try to find out if you can register it as a separate "Gartenanschluss". Herr is a link with descriptions. www.freistaat.bayern/dokumente/leistung/745980078429 E.g. at my home Gartenwasser is online 1/3 of the costs of indoor water
You won't need them...beside climate change it is not getting this hot here. The walls are very massive what keeps the house cooler. Open Windows at night and Jeep them closed on hot days is enough to keep the house cool...
Hi to my favorite American family! I’m from Austria and we have dryers since 1966. Back then it was a very luxurious thing to have and even as a kid back then I never understood why nearly no-one else would take advantage of soft and fluffy laundry without using fabric softener. And the situation is much the same now. Most of my friends don’t own a dryer.
Water tap outside: Our house does have one, but many other have it in the basement near to a window: If outside you have to empty the tube in autumn, if you don't and the water freezes in the tube, it will burst. We also have dryer, but we do not use it for normal clothes, only if something is urgent to dry and we use it for towels and bed linen as this will feel softer. But we have a four long lines to dry in the basement, which might take up to three days in winter and in summer we use "Wäschespinne" in the garden to dry the clothes in one afternoon if the weather is dry and a bit windy. Surviving without air conditioning: Close the windows when it is getting warmer outside than inside and close the window blinds if possible to keep the heat outside. Open the windows in the evening if it is cooler outside than inside or once you go to sleep. Have thin cotton summer blankets to sleep under. Take a cold shower in the afternoon to cool down. And we have a carpet in each of our sleeping rooms, but not in the living room (wooden floor) or kitchen and bath room(tiles), these with floor heating. A lot depends on the wishes of the people who build the house - so floor heating e.g. is not the norm. Car: If you want to have Volkswagen quality but pay less: consider Skoda - maybe the Kodiaq with the (rare on used cars) 7 Seats equipment is something for you.
So many great suggestions in this comment, thanks Markus! We will look into the Skoda. We really like the VW Sharan - we think it will be big enough for all of us.
The Seat Alhambra is the same as the VW Sharan. Seat and Skoda were both bought by VW and their cars and vans are essentially the same as their VW counterparts, just with a different brand label. But, you likely won’t find the exact model of the Skoda or Seat directly on the lot (I believe that most new German cars are made to order). We had friends who bought an Alhambra and waited many months for delivery, and the scheduled delivery date was pushed back more than once, much to their annoyance.
@@enerpro2955 Well, it still has to be produced. On a mobile phone for example only 10% of the CO2 is cause by loading the batteries for a lifetime of a smartphone. 90% is production and transport. Even I'm sure it is much better for dryers as heating needs a lot of energy, but still it's better for the environment if you don't have one. But it's much better to use solar power, so you are both right.
Even here in America, most of the places I've lived haven't had garbage disposals. I think one or two of the places we lived may have had one, but I got so used to not having one that I never touched them.
I have to agree with your husband here, buy a dryer! My mom had always had a dryer which she uses for towels, winter coats, dish cloths and some underwear. The rest gets hung up on a line because it just is easier on the material of the clothes which keeps them nice for longer, hence it is more economical because you use less energy and don't buy new clothes that often. But having hard towels from drying them in the air in my student dorm (which does not have a tumble dryer) makes me appreciate the tumble dryer at my parents house way more than it used to, also I cannot imagine the amount of space it will take up to dry towels and stuff of a family of six.
We have a dryer but never used it. The basement is warm enough to dry our laundry especially on winter due to the heater pipeline. On summertime we used to hang the laundry at the attic or outside. Thank goodness we saved energy consumption and oh our dryer we got it as Geschenk 🤩😀
I have a dryer but rarely use it. It needs a lot of expensive energy but the main point is if you have clothes just out of cotton they tend to shrink more an worse they deform.
To be honest, I come from a middle class family (maybe even lower middle - we always lived in modest apartments) and my mom always had a dryer - I didn't know it's such a big deal not to have one here (judging by comments from other Germans). Having said that, I personally don't have one and I don't intend to, either. As a single person it's definitely a luxury item. You shouldn't feel bad if you want to get one though, I cannot even imagine the laundry you must be going through as a family of 6.
In the most house there is water outside because you have too water your garden, you have to ask you house owner because sometimes it is hidden or sometimes you have a pump.
In my area it is also common to have big tanks outside that collect the rain from your roof. I would say it is unusual to use your tap water for outside gardening, since it is expensive. Using tapwater for gardening was even prohibited over long periods in the last years, as the fresh water supply almost went dry.
@@peterfischer7084 Ours does not completely get the clothing dry, it’s extremely damp when it’s finished. It’s new and in perfect working condition. This was a common complaint apparently for these dryers, but we were hoping we would have a different experience. We did not.
@@AtoZenLife I had a Bauknecht which worked fine. However, when it broke a specialised technician was needed for repair who had to drive from 150 km away. That was a very expensive repair.
A washer dryer combi also takes ages for just one load (if it’s codensation). I looked into these a few years ago and I think, one washing and drying cycle was about 6 hours! I live in a small flat/studio, the constant noise would have been awful.
When I was a child in the 80s in Germany, every house and apartment had carpets. At least in my memory. I guess they have fallen out of fashion, maybe thanks to the availability of cheap laminate flooring.
that any hygiene. If you move into an apartment with a carpet... just imagine all the kinds of fluids they could have spilled there without cleaning them up for weeks.
We do have a dryer that I primarily use for towels and underwear. Also I use it more in winter than in summer. When it’s hot outside, I like to hang up the laundry in the garden :)
My family used to have a fan for every room. But we only use them when totally necessary. Usually we just keep the blinds down in the bedroom and let in fresh air in the morning and evening.
I love your new video and I can't wait to see what you now have in Germany you didn't have in the US. For most of the laundry I use my dryer but I also let things like shirt dresses or woolen sweaters dry on a rack. We do not have fans. On a hot summer day we would air the house in the early morning and then close the windows and shutters during the day. Brick built houses stay pretty cool that way. My childhood home had carpets in the bedrooms and tiles downstairs but modern homes tend to have hardwood floors (tiles and wood) throughout the house, which are easier to keep clean and more sustainable. Aside from that, we do have a floor heating system that works best with hardwood floors. I personally prefer to move into an absolutely empty house and furnish it to my taste, especially the kitchen, wardrobes, closets, light fixtures etc. We'd rather move our own kitchen than use someone else's appliances. That's the way we are. ☺
We have a washer/dryer combination but the dryer takes way too long to dry. The laundry smells way better when dryed outside. On a hot summerday we let the cool air inside in the morning and shut the Windows and blinds all day to block the sun out so it stays cool.
Ceiling fans was one of the first things we bought after moving here, they are a lifesaver, and typically is enough to keep the summer heat to a bearable level. then we have individual floor fans in the bedrooms
Closets: as most houses in Germany are quite a lot smaller than in the USA, just by floor area, the same goes for the number of vertical walls. If you build a fixed closet into one wall, you define the area as locked for all future inhabitants, because the recessed area behind the closet doors is difficult to use otherwise. That often triggers a cascade of different furniture positions, such as where beds can go (reasonably), bedside tables, chairs, desks, etc. As such, a room becomes a bit more limited in the numbers of positions furniture can be placed in it. But then again, many house in Germany are quite a lot older than many houses in the US. So future generations often want to shift and shuffle their furniture around quite a bit. Thus a wardrobe that can be moved from one to another position offers more flexibility than a built in closet. Wow, that cardboard 'storage' is insane. I get why you can't put it out on the sidewalk. THAT is definitely worthy of a call to the recycling center, if they send a special truck just to your house to collect that amount. Dryer: Sarah, in this case, listen to Kevin. If you do have the room to place a dryer, and you aren't smarting too much for money, go buy a dryer. For a family of six a dryer isn't so much a luxury, but a necessity. The amount of laundry you have to hang up to dry must be ginormous, especially with three boys (four, if you count Kevin :D) that are now out and about exploring the Bavarian country side. I can guarantee that your boys will find every stream, rivulet, and gullet to soil and wet their pants once they notice that being outside isn't a punishment but fun. Trust me, if I had the room to place a tumble dryer, I'd get one so quickly your head would be spinning faster than the tumble dryer. Freezers: many people do have freezer fridges, but not so much the chest freezers. IIRC chest freezers are incredibly inefficient freezers, due to their huge size, and consume quite a lot of energy. If people have a basement (like my parents or my two siblings), they often place a large upright freezer into the basement. So again, if you are used to having one, and you have the room, go ahead, get one. The convenience of going to your own 'long-term storage area' (ie freezer) for fairly fresh (as in frozen directly after harvesting) produce is worth its weight in gold. Again, give me the room, I'd get one as soon as possible. I'd probably go with freezer first, dryer second, if space and/or money is limited. AC vs fans: yepp, definitely fans is the way to go in German summers. Ceiling fans: often the ceilings in older houses are fairly low, so ceiling fans could be considered a health risk. Carpet: I have carpets in my house. But yes, older houses often don't have carpets. Garbage disposal: umm, that is a really good thing to mention. Because garbage disposals are the number one rat attractors for housing. The stuff that gets cut up and flushed down in garbage disposals makes it really easy for rat populations to flourish in sewage tunnels. I am not certain if garbage disposals are even allowed in Germany, but if they are, I'd assume that they'd have to be incredibly regulated. Because having a fairly open chute into spinning blades able to chop up virtually any food item chucked into it would also have no problem chewing through finger bones. That is something where the German 'Regulationswahn' / 'regulation insanity' would probably first make you study for a few years before you were allowed to have it installed, much less use one. :D Light fixtures: yepp, these are so individual that most Germans take their most dear light fixtures with them when they move. It is also assumed that most families want light fixtures to their taste, so most landlords just leave you with the bare bulby, or in many cases, even only the cables. Water spiggots outside: wow, you really gotta ask your landlord/-lady if they are hidden behind a small door or something. As it can get quite cold some people are afraid that the pipes may freeze if they aren't somewhat protected and hide them. Because I have literally never seen a house without a water spiggot or two outside somewhere. Heck, even huge appartment blocks often have a water spiggot somewhere in the 'Innenhof' / the inner court yard. So that your house shouldn't have one strikes me as somewhat odd. BTW: I am a single malt aficionado, so don't worry about the Ballantines. Hope it doesn't freeze. Having an exploded bottle in the freezer is no fun. Trust me, I have had that experience. Hehe, the fortune cookie. The American addition to Chinese restaurants that has made the jump across the big pond. Because Chinese restaurants more than a hundred years ago didn't have fortune cookies yet. And now this is such a thing that even traditional Chinese like that little sweet treat after a meal.
I loved this comment! You share so many good things here, thank you so much for taking the time. So good to know about garbage disposals and hysterical to think that if they were allowed in Germany one might have to get training and a certificate to have one! LOLOLOLOL I think the German and French way of taking your light fixtures with you makes so much sense as decorating tastes vary wildly between families.
Garbage disposal's aren't really allowed in Germany, exactly because of the rat issue and because it makes cleaning the water for future consumption more difficult.Also, you might clogg your sink with the stuff you throw in. Hence German sinks usually have this sieve to make sure that "bigger" things are caught in time.
Chest freezers are more efficient. If you compare a chest to a stand up freezer, they probably use 100-150 kwh less energy per year when both are the same size. The problem is with clutter. Most people freeze much more stuff than they actually need.
@@swanpride I have seen that some counties/ Gemeinden in Germany do allow them. But it seems to be very different from Gemeinde to Gemeinde. You'd have to talk to the appropriate Beamte in your Rathaus if it is possible. The dominant thread seems to be that they aren't allowed.
First of all, i love seeing the intro, especially with the kids enjoying nature (and they seem extremly well behaved). I also love that the list is about things you had in America and not what you miss, especially with the car when it is only temporarily that you don't have it. I used to have carpet when i lived at my parents, in my first appartment, in my WG room and my student residence but now i don't have one but I miss it, especially when it is cold. When i see someone using a garden hose it is most of the time either attached below the kitchen sink or the water tap. I guess living in Georgia without an AC would have been a living hell, i guess that might be one of the reasons the devil went down to Georgia. Oh, about the light fixtures, a lot of people use floor lamps to compensate the lack of light provided by the lamps/lights on the ceiling.
Yes, but this house has wall sconce wiring with just wires hanging out or a base socket attached because the previous owners took most of them with them. In the US this would never happen other than maybe a particular chandelier over a dining table. If you sell a house in the US you would disclose if you want to take some particular light fixtures and some cost would be negotiated.
yay! Im glad I discovered your channel. cute family! Ive been here in Germany for quite a while now and I still miss having an AC in summer time, but lüften is the key. :)
Hello again. Having lived in numerous countries as well, I know how you may feel with a number of things. I am german and also live in Bavaria. Here are some views on your topics, which of course are somewhat personal. 1. Closet: Ankleidezimmer: this is probably a matter of having enough space as our houses or flats are commonly smaller than in the US. 2. Car/van: going on foot or by bicycle has become very popular and wherever public transportation is suitable, people have the tendency these days to quit owning cars. Obviously, this is easier in town than in the countryside. A van would suit you well with four children, also giving you the possibility to visit the surroundings easier. 3. Dryer: these are commonly used, but again, some housings do not have enough room. Your life will surely be easier, if you purchase one for yourselves. Go for at least 5 KG content of a german brand. 4. Freezer: here, many people have an ecological issue as they consume a lot of power and need space, too. My experience is, that everyone's freezer, whatever its size, they are all filled to the top (10 loaves of bread, hey?) and the contends ever so often need sorting out with some waste. Where there is room, the side-by-side combinations are appreciated, too. Alternatively, freezers are put in the cellar. 5. Air condition: indeed, only very few private homes do have any proper systems as you have in the US. Well, our climate is by far not as hot and certainly, the warm period is much shorter. This may become different with climate change, some people buy stand alone cooling machines and fans are also popular. Good organisation helps by opening windows in the morning, cooling the house and then closing the shutters or blinds, if any. (You could save so much power in the US if only the cooling would be reduced by a couple of degrees centigrade).6. Carpets: it has become very popular having real wooden floors. If not laquered, they are comfortable to your feet and easily cleaned. We do have carpet in some parts of the living room for wormth and sound reduction. You will also find stone tiles in bathrooms and entrances for the same reason, keeping clean. 7. Sink grinder: I am not sure, if there are any legal constraints, but they are just not on offer, which I find is a shame. You will have made your own experience dealing with waste in Germany, separating all sort of things and maybe a grinder would reduce the possiblity to collecd biodegradable stuff? 7. Light fixtures: here you can make all sort of experiences: mostly we have a central light on ceilings, not always in the right spot and in addition have standing lights wherever needed. This is a flexible solution, however if the cables are coming our of a wall where you want them, it is nice to have lights on the wall. 9. Kitchen: oh, that is a topic which is discussed on many occasions when you are moving homes. In general, when renting a home, there is no kitchen included and when it is, then I have experienced, that new tenants either did not like it or had their own coming along. Either way, it is a nuisance and an expensive one, too. 10. Water tap outside the house: I trust someone just forgot about it, there is no reason for not having any fixtures for watering plants or cleaning your car ( the latter is not appreciated doing everywhere). Have a good time. Are you beginning to learn the german language? Once you get going on this, you will enjoy your stay even more. Take care.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Lots and lots of IKEA! We have an interesting solution in the entryway for our coats and shoes, and one in the kitchen that is new- I’m going to be sharing both of these in videos soon! 👏
Freezers are also quite common. I live in a family of four, and we always freeze leftovers and during autumn when all of the vegetables get picked, we also put them in fitting tupperware and freeze them. I also make my own fruit popsicles so I need quite a bit of space for those. Those are the best. Many people make their own jam/marmalade in Germany (more in the rural parts), so if you want to do that, try to keep the glasses of jam and other glasses of that kind with their caps to reuse them. Sometimes we use them year after year.
I found your channel through Kirsten the other day and very much enjoying your videos!!! My husband is German, so it's interesting to me the things you have found different about Germans was exactly what l also found different😳🙂 I have happily subscribed!! Greetings from Southern Ontario Canada 😊🍁
2nd! (Always wanted to comment that nonsens. Sorry for that.) Dryer: I don't have one - just because it is not necessary. Why pay expensive electrical energy for something the sun does for free? Freezer: No need for a huge one… the next market ist just around the corner. So the only things in it are self-made meals (it's hard to make just ONE portion of, say, roast beef. Or sauce bolognese. I make these in larger quantities and freeze them in portions. Makes life much easier in a single household.)
You can get by without AC by good insulation of the house. Keep the rooms dark open all the windows for 20 min. in the morning and close everything before it gets warm, dont leave the doors open, that way the house inside has its own "Mikroklima" and it stays like 5-10° C coler than outside. I know it sounds inconvenient but it is only for 2-3 weeks in the summer that temperatures get too hot. Also having a dryer with 4 kids is considered necessary even in germany! I hope you all feel welcome here and have a good start :)
We don't have a tab outside for the hose but we have one in the garage, which is close to the yard, so that can be used for a sprinkler, and then we also have a cistern underground in the yard, collects rain water through rain gutters along the roof. This is connected to an electrical water-work system where you can connect a hose or garden shower, or even use it to flush the toilets :)
Besides what others have already mentioned to 'survive' hot summer days without AC is to adjust your daily routine to the climate, as people in the south do: Get up really early in the morning to get your work done, have a siesta from noon to afternoon, restart your day after that, have your social life in the evening, enjoy the heat and the cooling in the late evening with something cool to drink, rather than to complain about the weather.
yep. and try to keep the sunlight and the hot air out of the house during the day and when it gets cooler in the evening, open the windows and let the cooler air blow through the rooms.
As far as I know, one reason for why garbage disposals are not allowed, is: Over the last several years or decades, people really made an effort to save water. Therefore there now is almost too little water going through the pipes to carry along the waste that is already in there, like toilet paper and stuff. If people now would start to put loads of garbage into the sewer system, it would turn into a sluggish mess and the amount of waste water could not manage to push it all towards the water recycling center. In that sluggish mess bacteria and funghi and stuff like that could breed and grow to large quantities and could pollute the ground water or contaminate the water going from the recycling center back to the houses.
I've just come back here to watch the rest of your video. I love how you are open to new experiences and differences ! As some might have written before me not many Germans use AC because it uses up very much power and because in most areas it doesn't get that hor during the summer. In long hot periods we DO sweat a lot during the nights and the only thing that helps is opening your windows early in the morning and at night before you go to bed ( never turn on the light then because of the bugs !) and keep everything closed - windows and shutters / curtains during the day. I own a portable fan for extremely hot nights. You see many things come down to energy costs, that's why we don't use overly big freezers, too. Outdoor spigots : It's strange that you have none since whenever you have a garden there will be one somewhere outside on a wall, but maybe your house is that old. ( My little house was built in 1901 and I had to have a spigot added when I bought it 6 years ago.) I do hope you will adjust to all the changes soon and encounter your surroundings . I'll be looking forward to hear what experiences your kids are making at school ! Happy Easter !
Until seeing the comments here on our video, I never knew that energy costs were a big reason Germans don’t have air conditioning, chest freezers and dryers. That makes so much sense! These comments have been so helpful.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife yes, prices have gone up tremendously during the last few years. And especially people who are against atomic energy like me try to use energy as reasonably as possible.
Air conditioning: yes, we have fans - mostly those on a foot. But most of the times we open our windows at night and close them early on. Then we shade the windows. Et voila - it is bearable. Carpets - we HAVE carpets - but carpets have follen out of fashion. People like the easier to clean hard wood - plus a rug. Garbage disposals are indeed not legal here. Light fixtures - are personal - you have ones to suit your style - same with kitchens. Of course we have water spigots outside. But maybe it gets very cold where you live so people avoid them. Because if you have outside water spigots, you have to drain them in winter, to avoid the pipe breaking.
My boyfriend and I, we do have a dryer, because we lived in a very, very small flat where we just didn't have enough space to put a drying rack. So we had to buy a dryer. Now I love to use it, although we moved to a bigger flat. I think, it's not a good thing, because of the energy it wastes, but it is fast and efficient, which I like.
We have a dryer but we just use it for towels and bed stuff because it is oldering the cloths faster. The second reason is the energy saving. Also in a small rental flat there is often not enough space for a dryer.
Hi from Saarland! I'm an expat from New York and have lived in Germany since '96. Love this list!! About water spickets...odd that you don't have any. That said.... Check the laws in your area. In Saarland you are not allowed to wash your car at home, among other reasons because of the soap that would seep into the ground and because of water use. You must go to a car wash. So it might not be legal to just turn on the sprinkler for the kids. Traditionally people unhook the water pipe from the washing machine during the rinse cycle and use the rinse water to water their gardens. And what's wrong with drinking whiskey? ;)
ugh carpet is so nasty... i finally got around to tearing out the carpet while remodeling my house and just doing that made the house smell so much better.. i couldn't believe it
as for the spigots outside - some have them some don't but usually, they are somewhere semi inside as the outside ones tend to bust when it is freezing and you forget to empty them, so look inside the garage or outside cupboards or sheds.
We have a dryer, but we normally only use it for our 60 and 90's laundry (underwear, socks, kitchen towels etc.) because we hate hanging the little things up. Shirts and pants usually get hung for drying.
Water spigots outside are a thing in Germany, most houses have them, however I'm from a different region so maybe it's different where you live? (Often they freeze in the winter so maybe that's why, but in the summer they're very useful). My grandparents actually had a huge chest freezer here in Germany, so I'm sure you can get one if you want to get one again :)
I don’t know any house ( with garden) that do not have a water spigot or its own water supply ( such as a pump to access the ground water). However, one thing for watering plants and garden is certainly a rain barrel, that collects the water from the roof surface. Some of them even come with a spigot as well.
The best place to get stuff like this is are DYI store ( hardware stores) called Baumarkt. This are some common chains in Germany where you can do Research online : Bauhaus, Obi, Hornbach, toom, Globus Baumarkt,... BTW, the German word you are looking for is „Regentonne“
I think we have no garbage disposal, because it accelerates the spread of rats in sewers. In addition, our sewer pipes are narrower, so that it could then lead to blockages.
I only came across your channel yesterday. Welcome to Germany. I saw that “Lüften” has already an closing the shutters on the sunny side been recommended. Overnight “Durchzug” works most efficient. According to the official statistic more than 40% of the German households own a dryer so this is personal preference rather than culture. Food waste disposal is just great we are using one since more than 7 years here in Germany without any problems.
Dryer and AC: For Germans those feel like a waste of energy. In our family we do have a dryer, but we only use it for towels and underwear. AC is mostly unnecessary, because most houses are built with stone which is a better insulator than wood. If it's sunny & hot you close the blinds and you simply leave the windows open during the night.
My 2 cents on your questions: Tumble dryer - get yourself one. Most german families with more than one child have a dryer, it's more than OK with 4 kids, especially when the pollen season starts and you can't hang things outside without getting them covered in pollen. Get a dedicated dryer with heat pump technology (search for Wärmepumpentrockner), do not get a combined washer/dryer (doesn't save time, packed internals, not as sturdy and economic as dedicated machines). AC - the area besides the alps where you live cools down pretty fast when the night comes, even during hot summer days. You won't miss an AC there and even a fan might not be necessary. Light fixtures: I hope you isolated and covered those open cables coming out of the wall, so that your kids can't touch them accidentally. Let Kevin do a search for "Wago 221" on Amazon, it doesn't get easier to attach lamps (no wire nuts like in the US). Water spigots - did you buy the house or is it rented? If rented, ask your landlord about them, i'm pretty sure there must be at least one, but they might be hidden or grown over by a bush. For hoses and watering solutions, do a search for "Gardena", it's the ubiquitous system in Germany. Feel free to ask if you've any further questions.
A dryer is mostly not common in Germany due to the higher costs of electricity, I think. In the warmer time of the year most People use outdoors to dry the laundry. Back before the good smelling soaps came up, the people used 'Kernseife' (Curd soap - I hope ist's the right translation?) and used the fresh air outside to freshen the laundry and the wind made it more soft when it flapped together while drying. So many People lerned to put the wet laundry outside from their parents or grandparents. Some People living in rental appartments don't have the space for a dryer. Sometimes even the washing-machine has to be in the kitchen, because there isn't any room else for it.
@@chrstiania Right, but if you're older and living on the third floor, you'll be happy if you hadn't to go down to the basement with laundry and after washing up again with wet, more heavy, laundry, because there isn't enough room for a dryer.
@@winterschmied4583 well, I'm not old and really happy about the fact that my washing machine fits in the kitchen. I'm just incredibly lazy. But as far as I know, if the washing mashines are in the basement people usually hang their clothes to dry there aswell
@@chrstiania Sorry, it was not my intention to offend anyone. When I, as a physiotherapist, make house calls, it tends to be older people that I go to.
Great Video Blog! I am a fellow American (+ wife and two kids 9 years old) living in southern Germany about 30 mins from Ulm! I can relate to a lot of what you said :)
I have a dryer. Use it once a week for my towels. The clothes, I hang them indoors on a door rack. In summer when it's hot, I open all the windows (known as "querlüften") in the morning and late in the evening. You have blinds which you can roll down to keep the house cool during daytime. Did you check the walls outside, the cellar, the guesthouse for outside water supply? There must be one somewhere around the house because you have a pool.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Kevin will find one somewhere around or in the house. There has to be one. And yes, soft towels are the best. You can buy drying racks for the doors too. They are comfortable for air drying jeans for example. Happy Easter to you all.
Pro Tipp: Hang the (T-)Shirts on a hanger to dry. No ironing. Fast drying, zero effort.
The trick to surviving summers in Germany without ACs is to let in all the cool air during the night/early morning, and then close the windows and all the roller blinds once it gets hot outside (usually around 9-10am).
Okay good to know, thank you!
and you won't have that problem in a mountain house anyway, it's way cooler during the nights compared to the city centers and they still manage
The problem are actually just the night in which it does not cool down below 20 degree Celsius over some days because then it does not really cool down. And last year e.g. was not really a problem - the summer before had some weeks that were difficult to handle. But - living in a mountain town - it should be a lot easier there. And I think you even will get to used to the temperatures a lot more like this if you do not have an AC - like you did this month with the colder temperatures.
We had a swimming pool in our garden when I was a kid like you have one. I remember that we mainly spent the hottest days in summer near the pool.
Right! No worries, it won't get as hot as in Georgia. And even if it does, it's easier when you live in a house than when you are in an apartment in the city. First, cities heat up much more than small towns, and then you can open every door and window during the night. Or you could even sleep in the garden, if it is too hot inside.
Agree, we have very few so called "tropical nights" (25 °C night temperature). Otherwise close the lids and windows during the day and leave the windows open in the night.
In summer you need to "lüften" early in the morning, close the shutters for the whole day, stay at "Baggersee" during the day, and return to a chill room after "grillen"
Ich schreib doch noch irgendwann das Buch Luften for Dummies - Airconditioning the German Way. ;-)
Great, thank you. We have been airing out our house everyday as I learned about that before we came. So we will continue in the summer also. But thanks for the German words, didn’t know those already!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That method is normally enough supported by lots of water, lemonade and gelato! But if it gets really hot (because your apartment or House get lots of sun) you may need to buy a mobile airconditioner for the hottest days above 40 Celsius or 104 Farenheit to cool down the bedrooms.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Usually it is getting not so hot over long time period. Houses are insulated and made of stone which leads to cooler rooms for longer time in summer.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I bought a mobile airco unit because it is getting hotter and hotter in summer.
I have so much respect for moving across the ocean with a such a big family. That is a big task.
Thanks! It really was a huge task.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Really huge task with four kids and a cat. 👍🏾
@@arnomrnym6329 well not really look at the immigrants from syria, afghanistan,iran ,iraq and all the other countries , they're bringing aunts and uncles ..germany is a magnet for all people ,due to the social services they provide free of charge 😂
My wife is a Bayerin but I’m from the US. I remember, when we rented our first little apartment, having the conversation with my wife about whether we wanted to buy the little kitchen in it or go find our own. When she first asked me I didn’t even understand the question. We viewed the apartment when it was still occupied, and then on the day we moved in I genuinely thought we had been robbed since there were bare electrical wires coming out of the ceiling all over the place where light fixtures used to be. They didn’t even leave a socket or bulb… Honey, we‘ve been grinched!
lol
As a german, I'd like to have a kitchen in a new apartment, if I'd be broke or to busy to get one by my own. In any other case I'd prefer to bye and customise my kitchen. It's a very often used and very personal room. I want to get it my style. :-)
Similar for the lighting - bulbs are usal while moving in and out, but fixtures: bring your personal favorites! :-)
We have big freezers in Germany too. They are just not the Standard in pre installed kitchens and little apartments. Some people have bigger freezers in the basement.
I'm not German, I'm French but almost noone owns a dryer here. For me, it's because it takes up too much space, super not eco friendly and I LOVE the smell of freshly air dryed clothes. + It makes clothes last a lot longer!
Same mindset here in Germany.
and I have to sort out the pieces that can take more heat than the others - that sucks!
Also a tumbledryer is just another apliance that can break. Especially nowadays were everything is designed to break after the warranty runs out.
Love it! I just love the different mindset here in Europe on the environment.
@@hape3862 Most parts of France have probably more often good drying weather though.
I don't have a dryer because I simply don't need it. When I grew up, my parents didn't have one and later I never saw a reason to buy one myself.
My wife and I always needed a dryer. We have visited Germany on many occasions and find all the things we have in states we could not find there. As far as carpeting goes the radiant heat in floors would not be effective with carpeting. I could live in Germany in spite of some short comings.
As a German Scotsman, who puts whisky in the freezer? That's blasphemy!
As a german German that loves scotch I wholeheartedly agree.
LOL
I'm absolutely with you on that one! Also - that bottle of the brand "Ballantines" (I think it was) is Blend Scotch Whisky, so really not something truly high quality when it comes to Scotch Whiskys. Blend Whiskys might be quite allright to be used for mixing drinks that require Whisky in it. For drinking it straight you better go for Single Malt Whiskys! Highly recommended!
@@dorisschneider-coutandin9965 Ballentines will always be the Whisky I drank the night my dad died. Like it even less since
Carpet was in fashion in the 70s and 80s. It is very rare today. I remember visiting a school friend and seeing her dogs scratching their butts on the carpet.😅😂 No more carpet for me!
@My Merry Messy Life
Many people are also allergic to dust mites and therefore have wooden floors. Some just add rugs.
That is SO SO gross! LOLOL
Carpet is not rare my dear. A lot of people still prefer it including me. Only an idiot would have a pet in a carpeted house.
I do have a dryer. But i use it only for towels because they are so much softer than letting them air dry. And i use the dryer also for bed sheets. Greetings from🇨🇭 and welcome to Europe
Okay great! Switzerland! Such a gorgeous country.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife You are "allowed" to have a dryer, especially as a bigger family. >40% of German households have one. You still can air-dry whenever you like and the weather allows :)
I'm from Germany and do the same. Sheets and towels go into the dryer and all the rest gets air dried outside, because it works just fine and does not need any extra energy ;)
@@sarahr.7859 Towels need a lot of energy to dry. Nothing wrong with a Germanically scratchy air dried towel.
same for me in Luxemburg, i have a dryer only for towels and bed sheets . Greetings from Luxemburg 🇱🇺 and enjoy Germany
Since car washing at home is banned in most parts of Germany, these self-service stations are suitable for people who like to do the car washing themselves. The water used does not get into the groundwater or simply seep into the ground, but is collected, filtered and often reconditioned.This one was me. ... Car washing laws in Germany are quite strict to prevent soap and oil getting into the waste water system, apparently, so don't just set up at a car wash at your house!!
Washing your car in a public parking space/street is most likely banned anywhere in Germany, which most Germans would have to do. But it should be legal on your own/rented property. At least it´s legal in my home town.
@@MoDKoP it only is, if you have a parking space that has a drain into the proper waste water system, the same that the shower and toilet water goes into. If you don‘t have a drain like that, even the water you use on your own property will end up contaminating the ground water or the normal gutter systems. Which is why it‘s not allowed even on your own property. Car washes are specially equipped to deal with this problem ...
As for number 10, we have "Regentonnen" here in Germany, they collect the rain and you water your plants with it and occasionally put some fresh rain water in a little bowl for the birds in the summer. And another tip for the garden, if you grow strawberries, then get some "Pferdeäpfel" as "Dünger"/dung. We have lots of horse owners on the country side that will give it out for free
We love this! That's next on our list to buy and start learning about Thank you.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife we had to have a well done and a pump,installed because you shouldn't use tap 🚰 water for watering the garden and if you do want an outside tap as we do have but don't use it gets counted as Abwasser and not regular Leitungswasser although it is the same(at least that's what my parents always told me)
I'm German and we do use our Regetonne for watering our plants but all houses I have ever seen have a thing to attach a hose 🤔
You guys seem to be very open to adapting and adjusting to your new environment. Very impressed by that as well as your willlingness to learn the language. I think you will have a great time in Europe because of this.
In Germany, a wardrobe is standard in the bedroom and also in the children's room. Your refrigerator is too small, there are large combinations, there is a refrigerator above and a freezer below. Drying laundry in the dryer uses too much energy, it is more environmentally friendly to air dry laundry. There are rotary clothes dryers for the garden, they can hold a lot of laundry. You will notice some strange differences. But welcome and settle in well 🤞
Becomes too full of pollen! And lawn mower exhaust from the neighbors. Get a dryer!
They could always just buy a small freezer for more frozen food space. Not expensive and very low energy use.
@Eff dees Echt? Kenn ich keinen....
@@tinytinky9975 vielleicht altersabhängig. Die meisten Erwachsenen die ich kenne haben im Keller noch einen zusätzlichen Kühl- und/oder Gefrierschrank. Gerade Familien mit Kindern kämen ja nie im Leben mit so einem kleinen TK Fach aus. Junge single Studenten/Azubis brauchen das natürlich eher weniger.
You seem to be the sort of people who are genuinely interested in trying out a foreign lifestyle. Very un-American. So charming. 🤩 You are going to make a lot of friends that way. 👍
Yes that is totally us!
We had carpets when I grew up but my dad threw it out at some point. It's rather unhygienic especially when you have cats. We had it replaced with cork flooring which is still warm and comfortable to walk on but much easier to keep clean.
The key to living in Germany without AC is leaving every door/window open over night to get the cool nigjt air into the house. Usually for houses that works fine because you can get a proper air flow going when opening a window on two different sides of a room/house (flats are a different story, they can get unbearably warm). Aside from that, at home we were never allowed to open any windows during the day in summer to keep the cold air in and usually have the 'rolladen' (blinds) down when the sun directly hits any windows
Okay gotcha, that sounds like a good plan.
Yes, exactly. But I also want to mention, that this "strategy" to deal with a hot summer goes pretty well with people spending most of the day outside during summer. So you open your windows during the night / early morning, close them and your blinds for the day and stay most of the time outside, enjoying the summer. Then you return inside for the final hours of the day and finish it with going to sleep. And repeat.
This is a bit more of a challenge with your kids, but kids usually love staying outside in the summer even more than adults. Lots of cooking can also kind of ruin your room temperature, so make sure to either eat more uncooked food or plan it out more strategically. Cooking outside and BBQs might also be an option for your as an home owner. If you're really suffering or we might end up with another record breaking hot summer, you might want to buy a few fans to help out too. But buy those fans as early as possible, they might end up beeing sold out when facing a hot summer.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Also, be aware that the hottest time of the day is the late afternoon. And the coolest time is three o'clock in the morning. You also should avoid using your oven at all cost (since it heats up the kitchen).Oh, and while it is true that you shouldn't "let the heat in", don't overdo it, having a little bit of air circulating is preferable over keeping the windows closed at all cost. The most important tip is really to keep the blinds down and if you don't have any, use alternative means to keep the sun out. (Also remember that German houses are built to retain heat...they also retain the cool, but once they have heated up it is a bitch to get the heat out).
@@swanpride Here in Europe the coolest temperatures outside are in the morning just before sunrise, and no, the sun does not rise at three o'clock.
@@guidoscholz7111 ...in summer the sunrise is around 4 o'clock, hence I said three o'clock. But yeah, I could have been more precise and say "before sunrise".
I think you've figured out already the two most important reasons for not having a dryer - first, environmental issues (the power consumption of a dryer is enormous!) and secondly, the longevity of clothes. Another reason might be space. As you've maybe already noticed, European houses and apartments often are smaller than American ones. You usually don't have the space for two large machines. Some people use a washer-dryer-combination to bypass this problem. But most of us just don't think about it because they are not used to it. Plus, I love the smell and feel of clothes that have been drying outside in the sun and I actually like hanging and taking down the laundry. I noticed that you only use a foldout drying rack. Something that would make your life much easier is a rotary clothesline (German: Wäschespinne). Do you have one or could you install one in your garden? I can put around four or five loads of laundry on mine and especially large pieces are much easier to hang.
Oh thanks for sharing the German word - Wäschespinne. I've seen those in our neighbor's yards around here and they look much more efficient! Thank you!
all that is correct! 👍 plus driers were using asbestos inside, I don't know the new models, but they use to have asbestos... and I used (when I had one) to destroy many clothes containing wool🙄
@@pizdara Asbestos is forbidden nowerdays and generally I'd say they have become much more energy efficient.
With the eco-unfriendliness and the high energy use comes the high energy price in Germany. We try to save on electricity, it's expensive.
we have a dryer but only use it in the winter because energy is not very cheap and why should we use a dryer if its faster and cheaper to just hang your clothes in the outside
Great video :-)
I had to laugh about the absence of a garbage dispenser, because my former boy-friend always was angry about it being forbidden in Germany and yes, the main reason is that it is not allowed to put garbage into the water, because that's rat-feeding. And additionally, it is considered as dangerous because a child could stick a hand in and hurt itself.
We do have dryers but only use them for small clothes and underwear. So mostly for white clothes as underwear tends to be white. Shower-towels are also put in the dryer. The small hand towels we don't. It is used more often during the winter. We just air dry most of our stuff, except for the whites.
Okay that makes sense!
Don't put the onions in your freezer you can leave them outside for months :)
Nonsense. Put them in the freezer, so you won’t cry while cutting. This prevents the itching oil to spray in the air and your eyes.
They shall be storde at 4 grade Celsius. This temperature I have only in my fridge.
@@berndschaffmann8522 Nonsense. Its even bad to put them into it. " Das Problem mit dem Kühlschrank: Die feuchte Kälte wandelt die Stärke der Zwiebel in Zucker um - das Gleiche passiert übrigens mit Kartoffeln. Zudem verlieren sie an Geschmack"
@@berndschaffmann8522 Der Nachtgieger is right. Onions (and Potatoes) have no business to be in the fridge. Ideally you store them at a dark place. (The exception are naturally spring onions, they belong into the fridge).
@@nfp911 und swanpride
greetings from mister google, who isn’t always right. This are humans behind writing.
@@berndschaffmann8522 cooling onions before cooking is not a bad idea, actually, but for storage, it's not ideal. If you have a cellar, that's ideal, but if not, a dark and cool room does the trick, too. Same for potatoes. We don't have to store as much and as long as we did in the old days. My parents still had a few big bags of potatoes in the cellar in the day, I just buy 2-5 kg every few weeks, or so.
A good alternative to carpet is cork.. The floors feel warm to the feet while the cleaning is like the hard floors
Welcome to Germany!! My spouse and I moved here with our cat in the summer of 2018 from Vancouver Canada. Watching your videos brought back so many memories of those first few days and months. Knowing how much we struggled, can't imagine how much tougher it must have been with 4 kids as well. Hope you all are settling in well and wish you lots of future adventures travelling Europe.
I saw a lot of people already given tips on vehicles, but I do want to share this. We ended up using this service called Instamotion based here in Munich. They deal in used vehicles, especially test cars etc. Reason why I suggest them is because they deal with all the paperwork/registration/insurance/delivery stuff and you know a new vehicle in Germany needs about 6 months lead time, they build them on demand. Instamotion basically dropped off a car with plates to your house. If you are not fully confident in German and with Covid restrictions, this may be worth checking out.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and helping us reminance on some fond memories.
Actually that freezer you have is truly a bit small. Especially for a family. That's unusual in Germany too. The dryer: definitely the environment, same with AC. People sometimes even look down at you for using these 😅 we are very environment friendly here.
Carpet is not fashionable in Germany, it is considered old school. In most of europe actually. We mostly use wooden floor with accent rugs.
To the kitchen: most of the time you are allowed to get rid of the kitchen and put in a new one. Sometimes you have to store the build-in kitchen somewhere, sometimes you don't.
The garbage disposer is actually forbidden in many regions in Germany because the garbage gets in the water system wich is not good for, you guessed it- the environment 😅
I know a couple of people with big chest freezers here in Germany so you definitely can buy them but they just don't come with a house or apartment usually. Most people I know either have a house or they put the freezer in the basement.
Servus und Frohe Ostern. Hi and Happy easter from someone who came to Germany over 30 years ago intending to stay for two weeks but decided to stay. Not only did I get a T-shirt, I recently took german nationality. I live and work in Bavaria in the Allgäu region in a rural town that lies beneath the "Wächter des Allgäus", The Protector of the Allgäu, Mount Grünten.
To be honest not having a car doesn`t bother me at all. I use the local buses and trains (they are regular and quite cheap to use) to get around and having a bike has become a must-have. I don`t live in an old house, rather in a modern appartment. I have had six appartments over the past three decades and not having to use somebody else`s carpet is a plus for me. Typical not to find light fixtures when you move into a new place. Being careful about using water is something that has become more and more important to me over the years. Same goes for using electricity.
I am enjoying the videos you upload. Very interesting. Take care. God bless.
It isn`t meant in any way to be a criticism but it would be interesting to know your views on what you now have in Germany that you didn`t have in the USA. How about universal health coverage, unemployment and sickness benefits, a minimum wage etc ? Just interested.
Servus to you as well! And Gruß Gott! ;) So awesome how you can for two weeks and had to stay. Sometimes you just know you belong somewhere. We feel that way about Europe! Love how you don't have a car either and how it doesn't bother you. I'm not itching for one really badly like I thought I'd be. Though everyone in our town definitely has a car here. Yeah so we had great healthcare in the USA so the healthcare here seems just as good, but not much different than what we had. And we don't know much about minimum wage here yet. But the sickness benefits and vacation benefits are definitely awesome!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife the difference: in America my approximation is 30 millions are without healthcare. And the medicine is criminal expensive for instance for diabetes, which is why a lot of people travel to Canada to buy . In Germany everyone must have and has Health care.
@@berndschaffmann8522 You may want to check that one out: www.tagesschau.de/inland/krankenversicherung-statistik-101.html#:~:text=Im%20vergangenen%20Jahr%20hatten%20143.000,den%20neuen%20L%C3%A4ndern%2026.000%20Betroffene.
Not everyone has health insurance in Germany. One reason is people who can't any longer afford private insurance and the insurance carriers like AOK, BEK and so on don't have to take them if they don't want. It is not mandatory to have health insurance even though everyone thinks it is and therefore everyone is insured somehow somewhere.
@@CologneCarter since when I really do not know, but private insurance companies offer / have to offer an insurance which is quite like the public health insurance. I made this process for a friend of mine. He pays 300 euro monthly and is therefore treated like he is not privately insured. I think that was installed for the reason you mentioned, unaffordability in higher ages because of shrinking income. Best greetings
The water spigot for the garden should be mounted somewhere on the outer wall of the house.
But if your area is cold in the winter they might freeze up and burst with ice being considerably bigger than water if they cannot be emptied during wintertime.
Maybe also check the garage or the shed/ area for gardening tools for the spigot. In older houses they are often indoors close to the door.
Greetings from New York. This is such a great topic. You guys are absolutely wonderful I enjoyed this video so much. Wishing you the best of luck in Germany. And thank you so much for sharing this very interesting information. Stay safe in Germany. See you soon
I forgot one, whiskey of decent quality does not belong in the freezer. The aromas of any spirit loses the colder the liquid gets. And if you care for whiskey get rid of any kind whiskey tumblers, look out for nosing glasses.
It´s just Ballantines ;)
Ihr seid sehr sympathisch
Dry your bedlinen outside - they will smell heavenly!
Like the most people here wrote I also have a dryer but only use it for towels, underwear, socks and bed sheets. The rest I hang on drying racks on the balcony or in the bathroom.
If you have the space, get a „Wäschespinne“ for the Garden. It has so much more space than a normal drying rack. It also drys faster and can stay outside all summer long. I love mine, it was a gamechanger. We do own a dryer but I only use it for towels and socks/underwear and sometimes for bed sheets if they need washing on a rainy day.
Okay other people have commented the same thing - definitely gonna get one of those soon! It'll probably show up in a future CZcams video!
We have a dryer but don't use it often,
1. For the climate
2. Clothes wear faster out
3. If we hang things we don't have to iron everything
i think most germans with a house have a dryer. At least here around in the west. But we only use ours during the winter. Or when its rainy. When the weather gets better we also hang the clothes out. Its also to save energy. At least we do it to save some energy.
Regarding the carpets, we also don't have these fixed on the floor in my family's home, but when I was a kid my parents put carpets in our kid's bedrooms and it's also quite common to have smaller ones for example in front of the couch or in front of your bed. So you still have that comfortable feeling wherever you might want to sit on the floor (especially for the kids to play) or walk barefoot, but it makes cleaning a lot easier and you can just replace the carpets if they get too dirty after some time :D.
In germany most of the houses have outdoor faucets or separate water pumps which you connect your water hoses. Ask your landlord, I'm pretty sure, there are some to water the garden
Happy Easter to you guys from Oakland CA. Enjoying your journey. My wife is from Berlin so we spend a fair amount of time there and about. Enjoy!
Oh that's great! Thank you!
German here ! My mom has a dryer, my aunt has a dryer, my boyfriends mom has a dryer and we have a combination between dryer and washingmashine. But we only dry stuff like underwear, socks and towles the rest will air dry.
WE DO HAVE A DRYER 😅. But mostly we only use them in winter. In summertime we hang our clothes outside to save power and money.
In summer when it’s hot, we leave the window shutter closed...at least on the sunny side, so it won’t get hot inside. Also German houses have thicker walls to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.
Open your windows at night in summer NOT during the day.
I hope this will help you 😊
We had carpets in many homes up to the 80ies and then they went out of fashion. Most people nowadays have ceramic tiles or wood parket floors...
We don’t have dryers Because it’s make your clothes smaller cause of the high heat comes from it.
Outside spigots are a thing, but they should have a shutoff valve inside and a spigot inside to drain the pipe before winter.
I'm German, I have a dryer, and I couldn't live without one haha. I guess it's different from household to household.
Well, I have kids, pets and everybody is into sports. Without a dryer I would go crazy. We bought a modern, kind of ecofriendly one, it is called Wärmepumpentrockner. And as for water around the garden. Usually there is an extra outlet, or even if you have to fix up new one, please try to find out if you can register it as a separate "Gartenanschluss". Herr is a link with descriptions. www.freistaat.bayern/dokumente/leistung/745980078429
E.g. at my home Gartenwasser is online 1/3 of the costs of indoor water
While ceiling fans (“Deckenventilatoren”) are rarely seen in German homes, they’re available in German DIY stores such as Bauhaus.
Good to know!
I bought mine at Amazon and love it.Its energy sufficient using about 30 cent in 8 hours.
You won't need them...beside climate change it is not getting this hot here. The walls are very massive what keeps the house cooler. Open Windows at night and Jeep them closed on hot days is enough to keep the house cool...
Hi to my favorite American family! I’m from Austria and we have dryers since 1966. Back then it was a very luxurious thing to have and even as a kid back then I never understood why nearly no-one else would take advantage of soft and fluffy laundry without using fabric softener. And the situation is much the same now. Most of my friends don’t own a dryer.
Water tap outside: Our house does have one, but many other have it in the basement near to a window: If outside you have to empty the tube in autumn, if you don't and the water freezes in the tube, it will burst.
We also have dryer, but we do not use it for normal clothes, only if something is urgent to dry and we use it for towels and bed linen as this will feel softer. But we have a four long lines to dry in the basement, which might take up to three days in winter and in summer we use "Wäschespinne" in the garden to dry the clothes in one afternoon if the weather is dry and a bit windy.
Surviving without air conditioning: Close the windows when it is getting warmer outside than inside and close the window blinds if possible to keep the heat outside. Open the windows in the evening if it is cooler outside than inside or once you go to sleep. Have thin cotton summer blankets to sleep under. Take a cold shower in the afternoon to cool down.
And we have a carpet in each of our sleeping rooms, but not in the living room (wooden floor) or kitchen and bath room(tiles), these with floor heating. A lot depends on the wishes of the people who build the house - so floor heating e.g. is not the norm.
Car: If you want to have Volkswagen quality but pay less: consider Skoda - maybe the Kodiaq with the (rare on used cars) 7 Seats equipment is something for you.
So many great suggestions in this comment, thanks Markus! We will look into the Skoda. We really like the VW Sharan - we think it will be big enough for all of us.
The Seat Alhambra is the same as the VW Sharan. Seat and Skoda were both bought by VW and their cars and vans are essentially the same as their VW counterparts, just with a different brand label. But, you likely won’t find the exact model of the Skoda or Seat directly on the lot (I believe that most new German cars are made to order). We had friends who bought an Alhambra and waited many months for delivery, and the scheduled delivery date was pushed back more than once, much to their annoyance.
Even more, Seat Alhambra and VW Sharan are both produced on the same line in Portugal.
AC and dryer are so bad for the inviroment.
Not if it's solar powered
@@enerpro2955 Well, it still has to be produced. On a mobile phone for example only 10% of the CO2 is cause by loading the batteries for a lifetime of a smartphone. 90% is production and transport. Even I'm sure it is much better for dryers as heating needs a lot of energy, but still it's better for the environment if you don't have one. But it's much better to use solar power, so you are both right.
Even here in America, most of the places I've lived haven't had garbage disposals. I think one or two of the places we lived may have had one, but I got so used to not having one that I never touched them.
I have to agree with your husband here, buy a dryer! My mom had always had a dryer which she uses for towels, winter coats, dish cloths and some underwear. The rest gets hung up on a line because it just is easier on the material of the clothes which keeps them nice for longer, hence it is more economical because you use less energy and don't buy new clothes that often. But having hard towels from drying them in the air in my student dorm (which does not have a tumble dryer) makes me appreciate the tumble dryer at my parents house way more than it used to, also I cannot imagine the amount of space it will take up to dry towels and stuff of a family of six.
We have a dryer but never used it. The basement is warm enough to dry our laundry especially on winter due to the heater pipeline. On summertime we used to hang the laundry at the attic or outside. Thank goodness we saved energy consumption and oh our dryer we got it as Geschenk 🤩😀
I have a dryer but rarely use it. It needs a lot of expensive energy but the main point is if you have clothes just out of cotton they tend to shrink more an worse they deform.
To be honest, I come from a middle class family (maybe even lower middle - we always lived in modest apartments) and my mom always had a dryer - I didn't know it's such a big deal not to have one here (judging by comments from other Germans). Having said that, I personally don't have one and I don't intend to, either. As a single person it's definitely a luxury item. You shouldn't feel bad if you want to get one though, I cannot even imagine the laundry you must be going through as a family of 6.
I love your videos. Since I have kids, I do have a dryer and a lot of people with kids have one. I cant image to do all the laundry without it.
In the most house there is water outside because you have too water your garden, you have to ask you house owner because sometimes it is hidden or sometimes you have a pump.
In my area it is also common to have big tanks outside that collect the rain from your roof.
I would say it is unusual to use your tap water for outside gardening, since it is expensive.
Using tapwater for gardening was even prohibited over long periods in the last years, as the fresh water supply almost went dry.
Don’t buy a combination washer dryer, we have one and it’s total crap! I wish we just would’ve gotten a regular washer. ✨🌸✨
Oh good to know. Good thing we didn't buy one!
They do work. But repairs are very expensive.
@@peterfischer7084 Ours does not completely get the clothing dry, it’s extremely damp when it’s finished. It’s new and in perfect working condition. This was a common complaint apparently for these dryers, but we were hoping we would have a different experience. We did not.
@@AtoZenLife I had a Bauknecht which worked fine. However, when it broke a specialised technician was needed for repair who had to drive from 150 km away. That was a very expensive repair.
A washer dryer combi also takes ages for just one load (if it’s codensation). I looked into these a few years ago and I think, one washing and drying cycle was about 6 hours! I live in a small flat/studio, the constant noise would have been awful.
When I was a child in the 80s in Germany, every house and apartment had carpets. At least in my memory. I guess they have fallen out of fashion, maybe thanks to the availability of cheap laminate flooring.
that any hygiene. If you move into an apartment with a carpet... just imagine all the kinds of fluids they could have spilled there without cleaning them up for weeks.
@@evamg21 Yeah, fixed carptes are disgusting.
We do have a dryer that I primarily use for towels and underwear. Also I use it more in winter than in summer. When it’s hot outside, I like to hang up the laundry in the garden :)
There is nothing better than the aroma of clothes that are dried outside!
My family used to have a fan for every room. But we only use them when totally necessary. Usually we just keep the blinds down in the bedroom and let in fresh air in the morning and evening.
I love your new video and I can't wait to see what you now have in Germany you didn't have in the US.
For most of the laundry I use my dryer but I also let things like shirt dresses or woolen sweaters dry on a rack.
We do not have fans. On a hot summer day we would air the house in the early morning and then close the windows and shutters during the day. Brick built houses stay pretty cool that way.
My childhood home had carpets in the bedrooms and tiles downstairs but modern homes tend to have hardwood floors (tiles and wood) throughout the house, which are easier to keep clean and more sustainable. Aside from that, we do have a floor heating system that works best with hardwood floors.
I personally prefer to move into an absolutely empty house and furnish it to my taste, especially the kitchen, wardrobes, closets, light fixtures etc. We'd rather move our own kitchen than use someone else's appliances. That's the way we are. ☺
Thanks, Andrea! Yes that video will come next week! Ah okay, good to know that some do have carpets. I didn't think hardly any did.
Garbage disposal = feeding rats (and ninja turtles) in the severage.
We have a washer/dryer combination but the dryer takes way too long to dry. The laundry smells way better when dryed outside. On a hot summerday we let the cool air inside in the morning and shut the Windows and blinds all day to block the sun out so it stays cool.
Ceiling fans was one of the first things we bought after moving here, they are a lifesaver, and typically is enough to keep the summer heat to a bearable level. then we have individual floor fans in the bedrooms
Closets: as most houses in Germany are quite a lot smaller than in the USA, just by floor area, the same goes for the number of vertical walls. If you build a fixed closet into one wall, you define the area as locked for all future inhabitants, because the recessed area behind the closet doors is difficult to use otherwise.
That often triggers a cascade of different furniture positions, such as where beds can go (reasonably), bedside tables, chairs, desks, etc. As such, a room becomes a bit more limited in the numbers of positions furniture can be placed in it.
But then again, many house in Germany are quite a lot older than many houses in the US. So future generations often want to shift and shuffle their furniture around quite a bit.
Thus a wardrobe that can be moved from one to another position offers more flexibility than a built in closet.
Wow, that cardboard 'storage' is insane. I get why you can't put it out on the sidewalk. THAT is definitely worthy of a call to the recycling center, if they send a special truck just to your house to collect that amount.
Dryer: Sarah, in this case, listen to Kevin. If you do have the room to place a dryer, and you aren't smarting too much for money, go buy a dryer. For a family of six a dryer isn't so much a luxury, but a necessity. The amount of laundry you have to hang up to dry must be ginormous, especially with three boys (four, if you count Kevin :D) that are now out and about exploring the Bavarian country side. I can guarantee that your boys will find every stream, rivulet, and gullet to soil and wet their pants once they notice that being outside isn't a punishment but fun.
Trust me, if I had the room to place a tumble dryer, I'd get one so quickly your head would be spinning faster than the tumble dryer.
Freezers: many people do have freezer fridges, but not so much the chest freezers. IIRC chest freezers are incredibly inefficient freezers, due to their huge size, and consume quite a lot of energy.
If people have a basement (like my parents or my two siblings), they often place a large upright freezer into the basement. So again, if you are used to having one, and you have the room, go ahead, get one. The convenience of going to your own 'long-term storage area' (ie freezer) for fairly fresh (as in frozen directly after harvesting) produce is worth its weight in gold. Again, give me the room, I'd get one as soon as possible.
I'd probably go with freezer first, dryer second, if space and/or money is limited.
AC vs fans: yepp, definitely fans is the way to go in German summers. Ceiling fans: often the ceilings in older houses are fairly low, so ceiling fans could be considered a health risk.
Carpet: I have carpets in my house. But yes, older houses often don't have carpets.
Garbage disposal: umm, that is a really good thing to mention. Because garbage disposals are the number one rat attractors for housing. The stuff that gets cut up and flushed down in garbage disposals makes it really easy for rat populations to flourish in sewage tunnels. I am not certain if garbage disposals are even allowed in Germany, but if they are, I'd assume that they'd have to be incredibly regulated. Because having a fairly open chute into spinning blades able to chop up virtually any food item chucked into it would also have no problem chewing through finger bones. That is something where the German 'Regulationswahn' / 'regulation insanity' would probably first make you study for a few years before you were allowed to have it installed, much less use one. :D
Light fixtures: yepp, these are so individual that most Germans take their most dear light fixtures with them when they move. It is also assumed that most families want light fixtures to their taste, so most landlords just leave you with the bare bulby, or in many cases, even only the cables.
Water spiggots outside: wow, you really gotta ask your landlord/-lady if they are hidden behind a small door or something. As it can get quite cold some people are afraid that the pipes may freeze if they aren't somewhat protected and hide them. Because I have literally never seen a house without a water spiggot or two outside somewhere. Heck, even huge appartment blocks often have a water spiggot somewhere in the 'Innenhof' / the inner court yard. So that your house shouldn't have one strikes me as somewhat odd.
BTW: I am a single malt aficionado, so don't worry about the Ballantines. Hope it doesn't freeze. Having an exploded bottle in the freezer is no fun. Trust me, I have had that experience.
Hehe, the fortune cookie. The American addition to Chinese restaurants that has made the jump across the big pond. Because Chinese restaurants more than a hundred years ago didn't have fortune cookies yet. And now this is such a thing that even traditional Chinese like that little sweet treat after a meal.
I loved this comment! You share so many good things here, thank you so much for taking the time. So good to know about garbage disposals and hysterical to think that if they were allowed in Germany one might have to get training and a certificate to have one! LOLOLOLOL I think the German and French way of taking your light fixtures with you makes so much sense as decorating tastes vary wildly between families.
Many house in Germany are older than the US :p
Garbage disposal's aren't really allowed in Germany, exactly because of the rat issue and because it makes cleaning the water for future consumption more difficult.Also, you might clogg your sink with the stuff you throw in. Hence German sinks usually have this sieve to make sure that "bigger" things are caught in time.
Chest freezers are more efficient. If you compare a chest to a stand up freezer, they probably use 100-150 kwh less energy per year when both are the same size. The problem is with clutter. Most people freeze much more stuff than they actually need.
@@swanpride I have seen that some counties/ Gemeinden in Germany do allow them. But it seems to be very different from Gemeinde to Gemeinde. You'd have to talk to the appropriate Beamte in your Rathaus if it is possible. The dominant thread seems to be that they aren't allowed.
First of all, i love seeing the intro, especially with the kids enjoying nature (and they seem extremly well behaved). I also love that the list is about things you had in America and not what you miss, especially with the car when it is only temporarily that you don't have it. I used to have carpet when i lived at my parents, in my first appartment, in my WG room and my student residence but now i don't have one but I miss it, especially when it is cold. When i see someone using a garden hose it is most of the time either attached below the kitchen sink or the water tap. I guess living in Georgia without an AC would have been a living hell, i guess that might be one of the reasons the devil went down to Georgia. Oh, about the light fixtures, a lot of people use floor lamps to compensate the lack of light provided by the lamps/lights on the ceiling.
Yes, but this house has wall sconce wiring with just wires hanging out or a base socket attached because the previous owners took most of them with them. In the US this would never happen other than maybe a particular chandelier over a dining table. If you sell a house in the US you would disclose if you want to take some particular light fixtures and some cost would be negotiated.
yay! Im glad I discovered your channel. cute family! Ive been here in Germany for quite a while now and I still miss having an AC in summer time, but lüften is the key. :)
Window screens! But then you have the cool windows that tilt in or swing open which is great!
Hello again. Having lived in numerous countries as well, I know how you may feel with a number of things. I am german and also live in Bavaria. Here are some views on your topics, which of course are somewhat personal. 1. Closet: Ankleidezimmer: this is probably a matter of having enough space as our houses or flats are commonly smaller than in the US. 2. Car/van: going on foot or by bicycle has become very popular and wherever public transportation is suitable, people have the tendency these days to quit owning cars. Obviously, this is easier in town than in the countryside. A van would suit you well with four children, also giving you the possibility to visit the surroundings easier. 3. Dryer: these are commonly used, but again, some housings do not have enough room. Your life will surely be easier, if you purchase one for yourselves. Go for at least 5 KG content of a german brand. 4. Freezer: here, many people have an ecological issue as they consume a lot of power and need space, too. My experience is, that everyone's freezer, whatever its size, they are all filled to the top (10 loaves of bread, hey?) and the contends ever so often need sorting out with some waste. Where there is room, the side-by-side combinations are appreciated, too. Alternatively, freezers are put in the cellar. 5. Air condition: indeed, only very few private homes do have any proper systems as you have in the US. Well, our climate is by far not as hot and certainly, the warm period is much shorter. This may become different with climate change, some people buy stand alone cooling machines and fans are also popular. Good organisation helps by opening windows in the morning, cooling the house and then closing the shutters or blinds, if any. (You could save so much power in the US if only the cooling would be reduced by a couple of degrees centigrade).6. Carpets: it has become very popular having real wooden floors. If not laquered, they are comfortable to your feet and easily cleaned. We do have carpet in some parts of the living room for wormth and sound reduction. You will also find stone tiles in bathrooms and entrances for the same reason, keeping clean. 7. Sink grinder: I am not sure, if there are any legal constraints, but they are just not on offer, which I find is a shame. You will have made your own experience dealing with waste in Germany, separating all sort of things and maybe a grinder would reduce the possiblity to collecd biodegradable stuff? 7. Light fixtures: here you can make all sort of experiences: mostly we have a central light on ceilings, not always in the right spot and in addition have standing lights wherever needed. This is a flexible solution, however if the cables are coming our of a wall where you want them, it is nice to have lights on the wall. 9. Kitchen: oh, that is a topic which is discussed on many occasions when you are moving homes. In general, when renting a home, there is no kitchen included and when it is, then I have experienced, that new tenants either did not like it or had their own coming along. Either way, it is a nuisance and an expensive one, too. 10. Water tap outside the house: I trust someone just forgot about it, there is no reason for not having any fixtures for watering plants or cleaning your car ( the latter is not appreciated doing everywhere).
Have a good time. Are you beginning to learn the german language? Once you get going on this, you will enjoy your stay even more. Take care.
The no closet thing has required some creative problem-solving in our home, which is 100 years old in the city. 😂
Ooo what have been some of your creative solutions? We got lots of dressers and wardrobes.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Lots and lots of IKEA! We have an interesting solution in the entryway for our coats and shoes, and one in the kitchen that is new- I’m going to be sharing both of these in videos soon! 👏
Freezers are also quite common. I live in a family of four, and we always freeze leftovers and during autumn when all of the vegetables get picked, we also put them in fitting tupperware and freeze them.
I also make my own fruit popsicles so I need quite a bit of space for those. Those are the best.
Many people make their own jam/marmalade in Germany (more in the rural parts), so if you want to do that, try to keep the glasses of jam and other glasses of that kind with their caps to reuse them. Sometimes we use them year after year.
I found your channel through Kirsten the other day and very much enjoying your videos!!!
My husband is German, so it's interesting to me the things you have found different about Germans was exactly what l also found different😳🙂
I have happily subscribed!!
Greetings from Southern Ontario Canada 😊🍁
2nd! (Always wanted to comment that nonsens. Sorry for that.)
Dryer: I don't have one - just because it is not necessary. Why pay expensive electrical energy for something the sun does for free?
Freezer: No need for a huge one… the next market ist just around the corner. So the only things in it are self-made meals (it's hard to make just ONE portion of, say, roast beef. Or sauce bolognese. I make these in larger quantities and freeze them in portions. Makes life much easier in a single household.)
Haha, but weren't you first?!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Das ist ja der Spaß dabei/That's the fun of it :)
That is such a great house! Congratulations.
Thank you!
You can get by without AC by good insulation of the house. Keep the rooms dark open all the windows for 20 min. in the morning and close everything before it gets warm, dont leave the doors open, that way the house inside has its own "Mikroklima" and it stays like 5-10° C coler than outside. I know it sounds inconvenient but it is only for 2-3 weeks in the summer that temperatures get too hot. Also having a dryer with 4 kids is considered necessary even in germany! I hope you all feel welcome here and have a good start :)
Okay good to know it’s only really hot for 2-3 weeks in the summer. That was our experience when we lived in Metz, France also.
We don't have a tab outside for the hose but we have one in the garage, which is close to the yard, so that can be used for a sprinkler, and then we also have a cistern underground in the yard, collects rain water through rain gutters along the roof. This is connected to an electrical water-work system where you can connect a hose or garden shower, or even use it to flush the toilets :)
Besides what others have already mentioned to 'survive' hot summer days without AC is to adjust your daily routine to the climate, as people in the south do: Get up really early in the morning to get your work done, have a siesta from noon to afternoon, restart your day after that, have your social life in the evening, enjoy the heat and the cooling in the late evening with something cool to drink, rather than to complain about the weather.
yep. and try to keep the sunlight and the hot air out of the house during the day and when it gets cooler in the evening, open the windows and let the cooler air blow through the rooms.
Water spigots outside = pipes are likely to freeze and burst during winter.
Well we close them up, empty the pipes, we even have to take of part of the outside faucet by mid of October
As far as I know, one reason for why garbage disposals are not allowed, is:
Over the last several years or decades, people really made an effort to save water. Therefore there now is almost too little water going through the pipes to carry along the waste that is already in there, like toilet paper and stuff. If people now would start to put loads of garbage into the sewer system, it would turn into a sluggish mess and the amount of waste water could not manage to push it all towards the water recycling center. In that sluggish mess bacteria and funghi and stuff like that could breed and grow to large quantities and could pollute the ground water or contaminate the water going from the recycling center back to the houses.
Keep searching for water spigots, they are quite common in gardens. My father has at least 6 of them in his garden.
I've just come back here to watch the rest of your video. I love how you are open to new experiences and differences ! As some might have written before me not many Germans use AC because it uses up very much power and because in most areas it doesn't get that hor during the summer. In long hot periods we DO sweat a lot during the nights and the only thing that helps is opening your windows early in the morning and at night before you go to bed ( never turn on the light then because of the bugs !) and keep everything closed - windows and shutters / curtains during the day. I own a portable fan for extremely hot nights.
You see many things come down to energy costs, that's why we don't use overly big freezers, too.
Outdoor spigots : It's strange that you have none since whenever you have a garden there will be one somewhere outside on a wall, but maybe your house is that old. ( My little house was built in 1901 and I had to have a spigot added when I bought it 6 years ago.)
I do hope you will adjust to all the changes soon and encounter your surroundings .
I'll be looking forward to hear what experiences your kids are making at school ! Happy Easter !
Until seeing the comments here on our video, I never knew that energy costs were a big reason Germans don’t have air conditioning, chest freezers and dryers. That makes so much sense! These comments have been so helpful.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife yes, prices have gone up tremendously during the last few years. And especially people who are against atomic energy like me try to use energy as reasonably as possible.
Air conditioning: yes, we have fans - mostly those on a foot. But most of the times we open our windows at night and close them early on. Then we shade the windows. Et voila - it is bearable.
Carpets - we HAVE carpets - but carpets have follen out of fashion. People like the easier to clean hard wood - plus a rug.
Garbage disposals are indeed not legal here.
Light fixtures - are personal - you have ones to suit your style - same with kitchens.
Of course we have water spigots outside. But maybe it gets very cold where you live so people avoid them. Because if you have outside water spigots, you have to drain them in winter, to avoid the pipe breaking.
My boyfriend and I, we do have a dryer, because we lived in a very, very small flat where we just didn't have enough space to put a drying rack. So we had to buy a dryer. Now I love to use it, although we moved to a bigger flat. I think, it's not a good thing, because of the energy it wastes, but it is fast and efficient, which I like.
We have a dryer but we just use it for towels and bed stuff because it is oldering the cloths faster. The second reason is the energy saving. Also in a small rental flat there is often not enough space for a dryer.
Hi from Saarland! I'm an expat from New York and have lived in Germany since '96.
Love this list!!
About water spickets...odd that you don't have any. That said....
Check the laws in your area. In Saarland you are not allowed to wash your car at home, among other reasons because of the soap that would seep into the ground and because of water use. You must go to a car wash. So it might not be legal to just turn on the sprinkler for the kids. Traditionally people unhook the water pipe from the washing machine during the rinse cycle and use the rinse water to water their gardens.
And what's wrong with drinking whiskey? ;)
Dryers:
1. It does damage your clothes
2. They use a LOT of electricity.
You can get ceiling fans with a integrated lamp for your bedrooms at every good hardware store like OBI, Baumarkt, Hornbach or toom.
ugh carpet is so nasty... i finally got around to tearing out the carpet while remodeling my house and just doing that made the house smell so much better.. i couldn't believe it
Yeah I totally agree! It’s so gross.
You actually buy carpets, dryers and ceiling fans by yourself here! ;-)
as for the spigots outside - some have them some don't but usually, they are somewhere semi inside as the outside ones tend to bust when it is freezing and you forget to empty them, so look inside the garage or outside cupboards or sheds.
We have a dryer, but we normally only use it for our 60 and 90's laundry (underwear, socks, kitchen towels etc.) because we hate hanging the little things up. Shirts and pants usually get hung for drying.
Water spigots outside are a thing in Germany, most houses have them, however I'm from a different region so maybe it's different where you live? (Often they freeze in the winter so maybe that's why, but in the summer they're very useful).
My grandparents actually had a huge chest freezer here in Germany, so I'm sure you can get one if you want to get one again :)
Yes totally agree and chest freezers are totally normal in Germany since most people only have a (small) fridge
I don’t know any house ( with garden) that do not have a water spigot or its own water supply ( such as a pump to access the ground water). However, one thing for watering plants and garden is certainly a rain barrel, that collects the water from the roof surface. Some of them even come with a spigot as well.
@@ninan9650 right, we used to have a barrel for rain water when I was younger.
@@ninan9650 Ooo now that's something we'd love to have - a rain barrel!
The best place to get stuff like this is are DYI store ( hardware stores) called Baumarkt. This are some common chains in Germany where you can do Research online : Bauhaus, Obi, Hornbach, toom, Globus Baumarkt,... BTW, the German word you are looking for is „Regentonne“
I think we have no garbage disposal, because it accelerates the spread of rats in sewers. In addition, our sewer pipes are narrower, so that it could then lead to blockages.
For the dryer: It's a question of space in a normal appartment, too.
I only came across your channel yesterday. Welcome to Germany. I saw that “Lüften” has already an closing the shutters on the sunny side been recommended. Overnight “Durchzug” works most efficient.
According to the official statistic more than 40% of the German households own a dryer so this is personal preference rather than culture.
Food waste disposal is just great we are using one since more than 7 years here in Germany without any problems.
Dryer and AC: For Germans those feel like a waste of energy. In our family we do have a dryer, but we only use it for towels and underwear. AC is mostly unnecessary, because most houses are built with stone which is a better insulator than wood. If it's sunny & hot you close the blinds and you simply leave the windows open during the night.
My 2 cents on your questions:
Tumble dryer - get yourself one. Most german families with more than one child have a dryer, it's more than OK with 4 kids, especially when the pollen season starts and you can't hang things outside without getting them covered in pollen. Get a dedicated dryer with heat pump technology (search for Wärmepumpentrockner), do not get a combined washer/dryer (doesn't save time, packed internals, not as sturdy and economic as dedicated machines).
AC - the area besides the alps where you live cools down pretty fast when the night comes, even during hot summer days. You won't miss an AC there and even a fan might not be necessary.
Light fixtures: I hope you isolated and covered those open cables coming out of the wall, so that your kids can't touch them accidentally. Let Kevin do a search for "Wago 221" on Amazon, it doesn't get easier to attach lamps (no wire nuts like in the US).
Water spigots - did you buy the house or is it rented? If rented, ask your landlord about them, i'm pretty sure there must be at least one, but they might be hidden or grown over by a bush. For hoses and watering solutions, do a search for "Gardena", it's the ubiquitous system in Germany.
Feel free to ask if you've any further questions.
A dryer is mostly not common in Germany due to the higher costs of electricity, I think.
In the warmer time of the year most People use outdoors to dry the laundry. Back before the good smelling soaps came up, the people used 'Kernseife' (Curd soap - I hope ist's the right translation?) and used the fresh air outside to freshen the laundry and the wind made it more soft when it flapped together while drying. So many People lerned to put the wet laundry outside from their parents or grandparents.
Some People living in rental appartments don't have the space for a dryer. Sometimes even the washing-machine has to be in the kitchen, because there isn't any room else for it.
Or even in the basement.
@@chrstiania Right, but if you're older and living on the third floor, you'll be happy if you hadn't to go down to the basement with laundry and after washing up again with wet, more heavy, laundry, because there isn't enough room for a dryer.
@@winterschmied4583 well, I'm not old and really happy about the fact that my washing machine fits in the kitchen. I'm just incredibly lazy. But as far as I know, if the washing mashines are in the basement people usually hang their clothes to dry there aswell
@@chrstiania Sorry, it was not my intention to offend anyone.
When I, as a physiotherapist, make house calls, it tends to be older people that I go to.
@@winterschmied4583 you didn't offend me. I just wanted to point out that young people are happy about it aswell
Great Video Blog! I am a fellow American (+ wife and two kids 9 years old) living in southern Germany about 30 mins from Ulm! I can relate to a lot of what you said :)
I have a dryer. Use it once a week for my towels. The clothes, I hang them indoors on a door rack.
In summer when it's hot, I open all the windows (known as "querlüften") in the morning and late in the evening. You have blinds which you can roll down to keep the house cool during daytime.
Did you check the walls outside, the cellar, the guesthouse for outside water supply? There must be one somewhere around the house because you have a pool.
Yeah I'm pretty sure Kevin checked everywhere. We will look again! I'd like to have the dryer for towels, makes them softer.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Kevin will find one somewhere around or in the house. There has to be one. And yes, soft towels are the best. You can buy drying racks for the doors too. They are comfortable for air drying jeans for example. Happy Easter to you all.
carpets are so 80ies :)