House-Hunters

Our daughter  (A) and family (W and I) have been living in temporary housing provided by W's  work, the Max Planck Institute,  and it ends this month.  Surprisingly, for a university town, housing options seem to be limited.   People, in general, live in their rented apartments for decades.   

Like HGTV House Hunters, our daughter’s family considered  three housing opportunities.  However, unlike an episode of House Hunters, the decision was made before the opening credits finished, preventing the mid-episode discussion over coffee at a cute cafe/beer at the hip pub. Of the three options; one was already rented, one didn’t allow dogs, and so it left them with one choice.  Despite the forced choice, they actually really liked the apartment.   It is near good bus lines, as well as a forest bike/walking path to both work and I's preschool, and in a very pretty area with lots of older apartments (75% of Saarbrucken was in ruins after WWII).     Although the apartment is empty and has been for awhile, for a variety of circumstances, they can't move in for a few weeks (insurance needed, bank account setting up, rental agent vacation, etc).
But they like it, it is big and spacious which is a huge difference from all of their other apartments, especially in Tel Aviv. The apartment comes with walls, and nothing else. No closets, no kitchen sinks, no kitchen counters, no appliances.  Renters need to install their own kitchens. 

Decades later, when you move, you take your kitchen with you because there isn't much of a second hand market.   

you just buy it and pop it in

So we have made the rounds of the German equivalents to Home Depot (Hornbach's), Lowe's (Bauhaus), Walmart (Real) and Kmart (TeDox).  Nothing extremely inspiring with the exception of a  wall of toilet seats,  plus the cheesecake and the best milchcaffee yet at the exceptional Hornbach's cafe and bakery  Ultimately, they probably will just go buy everything at the local Ikea (an actual Ikea) in neighboring Saarlouis. 

































This week’s photo of topless old man looking out window contemplating his life.