Child car seats and strollers / pushchairs

We'd procrastinated on buying a stroller/car seat for our soon-to-be newborn because we thought my husband would be able to bring one back on his next trip to the U.S. -- well, not going to happen. So we're now hoping to find something on e-bay or at a floh markt, and I'm a bit confused by the terminology.

what I want is something like what we had in the U.S. with my now-4 year old -- a carrier-type car seat with a base for the car, and a lightweight frame to attach it to to serve as a stoller. I don't seem to be able to find this. There are strollers that are labelled as "kombi" but I'm not really sure what they are. And we don't need the standard German EUR 500 indestructible all-terrain stroller, as we'll be leaving the country before winter comes again!

Can anyone sort this out for me?

Maxi Cosi infant car seat seems to be compatible with many strollers here, but unfortunately I don't have stroller brands for you to check. You might inquire at Reinartz Babyland or Schlicting -- if only to get information before buying elsewhere. (Reinartz has an enormous selection.) I know just what you mean about popping the carrier in and out of the stroller / car; however, most of the infants here seem to be in bassinet-type strollers (I've heard it's better for the infant's back, and certainly offers better wind/cold protection, but you can't beat the convenience of the carrier!) Anyway, we caved and are going bassinet-style for our soon-to-arrive #2.

Go to Toys R Us in EuroIndustriepark. They have a nice selection of both and maybe even kombis and you can see what the ratings for safety are on them.

"Kombi" generally means you can switch from a baby-carriage to a stroller -- e.g., you buy a carrying cot/bassinette type thing (can be hard or soft -- Tragetasche in German) that lets a newborn lie flat, then later you have a stroller-style seat (also still fully reclining).
I think what you want is sometimes called a "travel system" here -- see this one from BabyWalz (looks pretty flimsy if you ask me -- I think there are sturdier, but also fairly expensive, versions of this type of thing).

I disagree with Eurovol on the selection at Toys 'R Us -- they do have quite a few things, but don't carry some of the big-name German brands. If you do go there, you can also head over to Pickauf, also in the Euro Industrie Park, to see a few other brands. Best baby store I have visited is actually Babywelt in Augsburg--huge stroller selection there.

One more comment--usually the rear-facing infant car seats here do not have a base -- you can buy one with an Isofix base but it will cost you a LOT more.

Babywelt in Augsburg and Babybutt in Buttenwiesen are the best stores, but they are far away.

Try Hertie by the Hbf, pretty good range and reasonable prices.