> Introduction

Interview with Jana and Evan Eggers (3)

The apartment we have is great, with a balcony, winter garden (small greenhouse), lots of windows, and one-block access to both the U-Bahn and S-Bahn. But dealing with the building's management agent was an exercise in frustration. She was extremely demanding in terms of wanting us to prove that we had the capability to pay the rent, not very interested in helping us out, and to add insult to injury, in Germany the renter (us!) has to pay this renting agent's commission, not the building owner!

Jana: I don't think that she was that demanding now, but I did at the time. Now, I believe she was just being German... very thorough. It was amusing though when she asked us to have our boss' secretary write her a letter to say that our boss had the authority to sign the lease for Sabre.

Evan: In the end, we had to provide her a letter from our boss saying we were employed, the letter Jana mentions above, a Dun & Bradstreet report on our company to demonstrate that it wasn't a garage operation — you get the idea. Again, I'm sure all of this would have been smoother if we hadn't still been dealing with relocation agent #1.

Tell me about that 16-page apartment lease!

Evan: If you blindly sign a lease in Germany without being able to understand it, assuming that it's "just boilerplate," you're doomed. Ours is eight pages of what we'd consider to be a lease, plus eight pages of very detailed house rules. I'll highlight some of the interesting bits from each part. It's a four-year lease with no way to cancel unless our company moves us ("diplomatic clause") or if we find someone else to rent it.

Jana: Don't forget that we had to ask for the diplomatic clause!

Evan: We must re-paint the whole apartment every couple of years no matter what, and "renovate" whenever we do move out. A certain amount of heat and hot water is included and if you use more than that, you'll be billed (we don't know yet how we stack up after being here for five months). The only payment option is direct debit initiated by the landlord from our German bank account (another good reason to have your bank set up before you arrive).

The house rules say how often you're allowed to have a "party" (once a quarter) and what you must do to notify the neighbors before you do. They specify when you may practice a musical instrument or sing and when you must be very quiet (after 10 pm plus all day Sunday), that you must keep ice and snow off your balcony (but you can't actually shovel it off your balcony). If you're away for more than three days you must leave a key with someone -- again, you get the idea.

Evan: Berlin's a great city; I really like it here. Plenty to do, easy to get around by public transit, lots of dining and shopping options (during those few hours the shops are open), a ton of green space, lakes, hiking and other outdoor activities also easily accessible by public transit. Never having lived in a big city before, I can't directly compare it to the quality of life in a comparable US city, but I feel it must compare favorably. I can say we were pleasantly surprised by how much apartment we got for the money.

Berlin is also a fun place to live while it's undergoing a tremendous amount of change from the reunification of the city. The whole historical center of the city, from where the Wall was and into the Mitte section (which was East Berlin), is a huge construction zone. In addition to showpieces, like the renovated and newly reopened Reichstag, new embassies, skyscrapers, shopping areas, train stations, and apartment buildings are going up. New restaurants open in that section of town every week. It has a very young, vibrant, up-and-coming feel.

You guys seem to be moving around a lot within Germany. How does that compare to the US in convenience, cost, traffic, etc.? Do you drive or go by train, or what most of the time?

Jana: Oh, don't get me started on the traffic! We have never seen anything like it. Boston at rush hour was a cake walk in comparison. As far as I am concerned the Germans have Staus [traffic jams] down to an art... a black art, I would say. I really do not understand why. I think though that in the US perhaps we have more alternative routes. Or maybe we don't close roads for construction as much? Just a few weeks ago we were caught in a Stau heading north from Stuttgart to Ludwigshafen that made us two-and-a-half hours late for a meeting (longer than the entire trip should have taken!), not something you want to happen in Germany. Fortunately we did call ahead (way in advance) and they were very understanding.

Another good story is that the VW folks would look at us like we were martians when we would drive from Berlin to Wolfsburg. Being from the US, this was natural for us. After four trips and two Staus, where our travel time varied from one hour and 45 minutes to three hours and 45 minutes, we decided to take the train. Wow, 55 minutes, no hassles and you can work! That's a deal.

Well, at least if your company is paying for the ticket. I am surprised how expensive Deutsche Bahn [German Rail] is. We bought BahnCards (US$300 for both of us) which cuts the prices in half. Without it, driving and even flying is more economical... if you have a car already, of course. To give you an example, from Berlin to Frankfurt on the [high-speed] ICE train takes six hours and costs (without BahnCard) about DM 225. By plane, it takes a little over an hour and costs DM 250.

In the interest of full disclosure, after about eight trips on the ICE, we have had two delays. And when they delay the ICE trains they are usually L-O-N-G delays. The two times we've been delayed it was over an hour. A real bummer on a 55-minute trip!

Do you do much flying in Europe?

Jana: Flying is really what we do unless we are headed to Wolfsburg. It is about the same as in the US, cost-wise and hassle-wise. Everyone here thinks we are very far away, being "stationed" in Berlin, but it really isn't any different from being on the East Coast in the States, where it is a connection to get most anywhere. We fly to Stockholm, Paris, and Düsseldorf fairly regularly. We fly Deutsche BA to Düsseldorf and find them to be a great regional airline--convenient and friendly service. To Paris, Lufthansa flies the little regional jets which are being added more in the US. They are great planes--smooth rides, comfy and quieter than a prop. (See the GW Travel Page for more info and German airline links.)

Of course we are very price sensitive travelers and when it saves the company money we stay over the weekend in horrible places like London, Paris, Stuttgart, Stockholm, etc. Now, that's a benefit of working with your spouse for sure!

What are some of your favorite places from your travels?

Jana: We have been traveling for business, which is not as glamorous as people think. Many places we have only seen for a few hours (like Stuttgart). BUT I am happy we have seen these places at all. As one of my friends said, "At least the sights out of the taxi window are interesting!" One of our drives through the Netherlands was breathtaking because of the beautiful snow as we drove through the national forests. Also, we've taken one weekend to travel since being here and that was down to Italy. We met some of Evan's cousins in Assisi, which I fell in love with and I do highly recommend a visit there. And my other favorite visit was a weekend in London, as we stayed with friends. That sure took the sting out of a long, crazy business trip that took us from Stuttgart to Ludwigshafen to London to Amsterdam.

Evan: Stuttgart was interesting and beautiful; the whole downtown is a pedestrian-only zone, which I've been told is a feature of many southern German cities. My favorite European place to visit so far has been Assisi; it's spectacular, interesting, the people are friendly, and it's inexpensive.

Any future pleasure trips on the drawing board?

Jana: We have some plans for a trip to a castle in Anholt, Germany, which we are excited about. In July, we will celebrate our second anniversary on a Mediterranean cruise. And, in August, we are going to travel to the Ukraine to visit a friend of my father's, who is in the Peace Corps there. Having this opportunity to do some more exotic traveling is very nice.

Evan: I can't wait for the castle trip, since it's also a golf trip. We like golf and haven't yet looked for courses around Berlin, although we're told it's more expensive and more exclusive than in the US. And I think the cruise will be a great way to celebrate our anniversary and see a bunch of fascinating cities in a low-stress way.

With your busy life, have you had a chance to make any German friends?

Jana: This has been limited, but we have made a few. Work friends are not as common in Germany as in the US from what I gather. We are social with people at work, meaning we talk about things other than work, but it is limited. We have made friends with our neighbors, which we have heard is unusual here. And you just meet people here and there. I would say that we have more acquaintances than friends. As for friends... I think two, who are German.

Evan: Jana has answered your question very literally -- including only native Germans! I'd also include some people who relocated to Germany years ago, but were, originally, transplants from elsewhere (e.g., Austria, Holland), which boosts our number of "German" friends to, oh, at least seven! We're looking for more. So if there's anyone out there who knows a little English and wants to improve, give us a call; we can take turns speaking with each other in bad German and bad English!

With five months behind you, what would you include in an Expat Top 10 of "things to know" or "things to do or not do"?

Jana: Wow, this is a tough one... but this is what Evan and I have come up with:

10. Take time to travel. This helps you understand the culture, as well as giving you a break from some of the normal expat stresses.

9. Don't hang around ONLY with expats of your own nationality. The expat community is a nice and friendly one, but breaking the barriers with people from other cultures is the real way to learn.

8. Recognize the stresses as they occur. It is easy to stay focused and let tension build. Remember that the divorce rate for expats DOUBLES! Ignore this and it can happen to you.

7. Bring things that are familiar to you. We did this with pictures. It is nice to be surrounded by our friends and family each day.

6. Learn the culture. This comes along with 3 and 4, but do give it some focus on its own, especially for the business world. It will reduce the stress, especially that caused by misunderstandings.

5. Research, research, research. The amount of information for expats is overwhelming, but try to identify GOOD resources first, then delve into those. There is A LOT of misleading information to sort through, so having a site like the German Way is very helpful.

4. Get on the Net. This is a great source for research, but once you move it is also like a life line to friends and family in your home country.

3. Learn the language. Being able to communicate alleviates so many barriers. Start as soon as you know about your assignment.

2. Find a great relocation agent. It will save you so much time, hassle, and stress, but only if you have a good one! (If you omit this step, then you need to add a bunch of additional steps for finding a decent place to live, getting your bank set up, registering your car, finding a school for your kids, registering with authorities for residence/work, etc.)

1. Get used to change. You will be amazed at how many things you just expect to be the same and if you don't learn to adjust it can completely ruin this exciting time in your life.

Part One of this Interview

TRAVEL

• Burghotel Anholt

• Deutsche Bahn - This German rail site includes an English-language (international) section and offers online schedules and ticket ordering.

> More Berlin Links from Part One of this interview.

ON THIS SITE

• Dogs in Deutschland - Bringing dogs or other pets to Germany. An Expat Extra with Jana and Evan Eggers.
  
• Expats Page

• Germany's High-speed ICE Trains

• Travel Page - Airline, hotel, and other travel-related links.

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