Just had a look at cnn and it appears that most of the airspace in Europe has either already opened up, or will be opening at some point today, which is great news for everyone on the planet.  Also, we just got an email that Husbands work visa has been processed, approved and is valid until the year 2013 which is when it can be renewed… sooooo fresh.

So here we are, eight days away from what could turn out to be will turn out to be the most amazing adventure of our lives. I am lucky. We are lucky and it finally feels like all of the hard work we’ve put into this ordeal is paying off: Chase has given us permission to relocate the Volvo overseas, we miraculously were able to locate an international insurance policy to cover the car, the work visa is approved, the turtles have a new home, the flight is booked, the china is all packed, the furniture is sold, the volcano is cooperating, oh, and we even have the address to our temporary housing. It is all coming together. At fucking last.

The plan, the plan:

Our movers are coming to pack our stuff, and put it on the truck, next Monday. On the 28th we have to drive our car to the port and kiss it goodbye for at least 45 days while it travels by boat, on a crate, along with our household goods to Bremerhaven. Once it gets there it will be sent directly to our door, wherever/whatever that is.

As far as Daisy is concerned. She has had all of her shots, including rabies which needed to be done at least three months before travel. She’s also had an ISO chip put in place which is the only type of chip that works in Europe. Her final visit to the vet is tomorrow in order to complete the “Veterinärbescheinigung“, which is basically a health clearance that has to be filled out by a state recognized vet, taken to a local USDA office for review, and then notarized within 14 days of travel. Thankfully she weighs less than 8kg and can be a carry on, for an additional $200.00, of course. . Once we arrive in Germany, we have to take her to a vet, with all of the customs paperwork so that she can be issued a “pet passport” which is valid throughout the EU. This will allow her to go country-hopping with us without any hassle.

Anyway, all three of us are scheduled to arrive in Munich, via Lufthansa’s non-stop red-eye, on Saturday the 30th of April at around 5pm.  Once we arrive we will be taxied off to our temporary corporate housing in downtown Munich which his company is providing for until we are able to find an apartment of our own through a local relocation service. His company is also providing us with a translator for a day or so to take us around and get us set up with cell phones, bank accounts, health insurance, liability for the car and any other necessity that we may need without knowing German. I am really nervous about being without a phone but our temp place has innernets which will have to do until we sort that all out.

Our stuff is scheduled to arrive late May/early June, which is fine because we won’t have our own apartment until then anyway. The biggest hassle will be, once again, the fucking car. Once it arrives they will ship it with our stuff to our apartment. However, the darn thing has to be modified, meaning it will need to have additional fog lights put on and some bulbs switched out in order for us to register it and this comes at a cost of around 2,000 euros at the dealership…(even though our car is practically brand new, European, and requires very little modification. BLAH). Once we get it modified, we have to register it and then get our German drivers licenses, which will run us another 2000 euros EACH, in order for us to be able to insure our car with a German insurance provider, saving us probably 800 euros a year. From what I have read, getting a German DL is hard to do. Because we are from California, and California has no license agreement with Germany, we are required to go to driving school and also to have weekly driving lessons, both of which cost a shit load. After we complete all of that we have to take the test, which apparently 50% of people fail (they don’t fuck around) and, of course, the test is not free. Fortunately, our US DL’s are good for about a year and I am thinking that since we drive on the same side of the road here, as they do there, it wont be as difficult for someone, say, coming from England or someone who has never driven before.

It’s a very expensive nightmare but after adding it all up it is still cheaper to go this route than to buy the same exact car in Germany (mostly because his company is paying for all of our shipping expenses). It’s just a lot of work and I am more than happy to offer any advice to anyone in the same situation. I have learned a LOT about this process. So just ask.

Once we get settled, and in addition to perfecting the art of peeling a sausages for breakfast,  we plan on enrolling in a Volkshochschulen, which is the equivalent to community college in Germany, or a language school,  to study German. I have no idea what to expect and I am worried that people will only want to speak English to us if they can which doesn’t help when you are trying to learn…  and, I am sure that I will have sausage skin and sour kraut tossed at me from all directions when I attempt to order a beer, in German, with a valley-girl accent.  Like, guten tag!? Like, Danke! (gag me with a Wurst?)

Anykrautcock, I am so excited, this is going to be fresh as hell. WOOP!

I’ll be keepin’ ya posted.

xo

C.

Scenes from our very last Celias Happy Hour:

yes, it’s grammatically incorrect…but aren’t we all?