For those who don't know, the American company I worked for was acquired by a German company in 2015. I was fortunate to be deeply involved in the integration of the 2 companies, and was offered the chance to come to Germany to lead Purchasing and Supply Chain for a division of the company that is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Alexis has been extremely supportive of the opportunity and a great partner on this adventure for our family. And so here we are.
Just for some fun, wanted to share what I would call "the good with the bad". There are a lot of great things about living in Germany, but there's also some things that...well, take some "adjustment", if you will. As we settle in, we haven't gotten to take advantage of the many positives this experience will bring us yet, so sometimes we need to remember that...and planning our upcoming ski vacation helps as a reminder.
What are some things we have had to adjust to?
- The pace of life. The pace of life here is different than in the US. For example, almost no stores are open on Sunday. Very few stores are open past 6pm during the week. Many businesses close down in the afternoon for a couple of hours. Our landlord tells us laundry is not allowed to be done on Sunday (uh...ok). People get 30 days of vacation per year...and usually use it all. There seem to be public holidays nearly every other week. In general, it feels more "family oriented" which, while it takes some adjusting to, is nice for us...but requires some more planning that we're used to.
- Customer service. There's not much of a "service oriented" culture - where in the US, in general, there is a focus on customer satisfaction, in Germany it seems sometimes like you should feel lucky to be helped. Things like Wifi took 2 weeks to get set up. I was actually missing the service of COMCAST! Not being a native speaker, it gets more difficult. But, as soon as you understand this, at least you don't take offense once you realize that's just how it is.
- Recycling. While I have always been more of a recycler than Alexis, even for me this is really crazy. Alexis will go into detail soon. But suffice it to say - we need to limit our landfill garbage to about 1/2 a normal US trashcan....every 2 weeks. So that's 1/4 of a normal US trashcan per week. Everything else gets recycled. Let me rephrase that...SORTED then recycled.
- The language barrier. This one is obvious of course. We're fortunate that many Germans can speak English, but really only those that use it in their day-to-day life are decent English speakers. The transition would be even more difficult on us if we spoke a different language than English. It isn't as difficult for me because in my office, everyone speaks English on the job. But for Alexis and the kids, it's much more difficult. Going shopping, getting help, dealing with our landlord, etc., is very challenging sometimes. We're working on it - fortunately my company supports us with individual language learning lessons. And Allie and Michael are really amazing that they've had the courage to attend a German public school, and they are picking up the language too. They will be speaking fluently by the end of the school year, I'm pretty sure.
- Everything has its process. Not to paint with too broad a brush, but I think it's generally acknowledged that Germans like order and structure. This is obvious in the day to day life, but when you are the one who doesn't know the process, it can be confusing. E.g., for school supplies the list was long and extensive, and we needed a person to take us through the store to make sure we got everything exactly right! The order and process keeps you on your toes so you can avoid the glares of those in the know 😉. In particular, I prefer to avoid stopping my car in the wrong spot to avoid being chewed out by old ladies!
- The house heating systems. There's no "forced air" heat in Germany, and the homes are built well (too well if you ask me) and sealed well. We live in a brand new home, and because the humidity is not regulated, the house has to be aired out daily. All windows are opened for 5 minutes, even in the dead of winter, to "exchange the air" or else mold grows. When they told me this originally, I dismissed it but then the mold started to grow!
I'm sure there's more things that I haven't thought about, but I don't want to give you the impression all is difficult or terrible. There's also a lot of positives we have experienced and look forward to experiencing. For example:
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| The view from our flat. |
- Our surroundings. Alexis has shared some pictures already, and here's one of Michael on his first day of school. Wasserburg is on a lake (about 1/2 the size of Lake St. Clair), across from which are the Austrian and Swiss Alps. We're in the middle of farming areas, many of which are vineyards and apple orchards. It's truly stunning.
- The roads. While Michigan is probably the worst state in the union for roads, the roads here are perfect. I don't think I've seen a pothole since we moved here. Part of this is that I just don't think Germans would stand for poor roads, but also, if you're driving down the autobahn at 220 kph, you can't really hit some nasty roads and live to tell about it.
- New friends. While of course we miss everyone in the US dearly, it's been nice to meet some great people here already. Alexis knows that my favorite is my German neighbor from Berlin, who grew up on American football. We watch the Lions on Sunday night, as he has the NFL gamepass subscription. He's now a Lions fan...I already apologized in advance to him for that.
- The life experience for our kids. While it's not an easy transition for them, this experience is truly amazing for the kids, especially Allie and Michael. I am always telling them how lucky they are and how I am jealous they get to do this at their age. In 3 years time, they will be fluent, near-native speakers in a second language and will have seen and experienced things that they never would have had the chance to. I'm really proud of them and how they've handled the transition. Those first few days and weeks of school must have been very daunting (and many things still are) and their attitude has been tremendous. They must get this from their mom.
- The Weihnachtsmarkt. There are Christmas
Markets everywhere this time of year, and they're alot of fun. The added benefit is the Gluehwein, which is a hot wine with spices. Remember that "process and order" thing I mentioned earlier? Well, that goes out the window if you're waiting in line for Gluehwein at a busy Christmas Market. I shouldn't even say waiting in line - it's basically mob rule, folks. And when it comes to religion - in general, while I'd say that Germany is more secular than the US, there isn't a separation of church and state. Our kids started the school year in the church pictured above, with prayers (in the public school), and finished before the Christmas Break the same way. They are taught religion in school, and can choose between Catholic, Protestant, and Ethics (for those who do not want either).
Alexis and her mom and
some Gluehwein - The places we will go. As I mentioned earlier, we haven't yet been able to take advantage of our location. We've spent a lot of time settling in and just getting our s$&^ together 😀. But we've planned our first vacation, an Austrian ski vacation in late February. And that process thing I mentioned came in handy for the ski equipment - there is an annual bazaar in a town near us where in 1 day, people sell their kids equipment from the prior year and upgrade to the next size. We were able to outfit the whole family at a pretty low cost. In addition, we are a short drive to Switzerland, not far from Italy, and generally within a 8 hour drive of all sorts of different opportunities. We'll certainly be sharing those as we come along.
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| Michael on his first day of school. In the background is the peninsula on the lake and the Catholic Church, St. Georg. |
That's all for now. Frohe Wiehnachten dir und deiner Familie! (Merry Christmas to you and your family!)
-Chris
