Santitas

  I grew up in the northeast of the US, so I’ve got a bit of an idea of just how cold/snowy things can get. Still wasn’t complaining about my heating seats at 6 am on the way to work in December/January 😁😉

Haha, we actually didn’t look for cars with heated seats, but this one happened to come with it, and I'm not complaining!  I think cruise control is one of those things that once you’ve had it, it’s hard to go back.

I believe you are legally entitled to an Arbeitsbescheinigung which states how long you worked there and what your duties were. Your former employer would know this. 

I would also recommend heated seats and a heated steering wheel. Made a huge difference on those winter mornings!  The only thing missing on our car that I would’ve liked is cruise control for those longer drives.  The other thing great about the Hyundai i10 is the space. Both my husband and I are tall and wanted to be able to seat four adults comfortably (for visiting family and whatnot), and it’s great for that. 

We bought a Hyundai i10 last September and have been very happy with it. It was a little more than you want to pay, but the car is from 2016 and had only 9,000 km on it. We got it for just under 10,000€. You could probably find an older model at a lower price. 

Perhaps now it’s just at a point where they should go to the emergency room? The only time I’ve had an ear infection was after having moved to Germany as an adult. I was at work and went straight to the ER afterwards, and they gave me antibiotics right away and it cleared up. I don’t think I had what your daughter has, and I don’t think it was nearly as serious, but they didn’t turn me away at the ER either. So maybe that’s an option?

Apparently it’s some loophole in the law. Because as long as I didn’t go home to learn to drive and get a license while living in Germany, it’s actually legal, according to the lady I dealt with. The people at the Bürgeramt said I couldn’t do it, but then called some other office and they said it was okay.    $100 is still a lot cheaper than getting a license from scratch in Germany 

I gave them my CA license for the MA license, but I still had my NY license which was the first state to issue my license. Apparently CA didn’t ask for the NY license in exchange for the CA one, which is why I still had it (i.e.-the NY license)

 

That’s how I got my German license. I exchanged my CA license for a MA license while there on vacation. Came back to Germany and showed them both licenses, proving that I could drive BEFORE I moved to Germany. Paid 30€ and that was it. 

Will definitely check it out! Thanks! Does he suffer from severe allergies? My allergies start in March and end in September. This year they started in February, and I had to take a week off from work because it was so bad. That’s what made my friend recommend the spray; her allergies are just as severe and started to affect her life

Not really sure. When I asked, the Arzthelferin couldn’t give me a clear answer. My friend in the States said her insurance would cover it only if the doctor said that absolutely nothing else had worked. Perhaps it’s the same here

Just wanted to share what’s been working for me during this allergy season. A friend from the States recommended the nasal spray Dymista, and I resisted getting it because I hate using nasal sprays, but then the Birke started, and my doctor said it was too late to start the Hyposensibilisierung, so I decided to give it a try. TK won’t cover it unless it’s prescribed by a specialist, so I had to take the risk and pay the 37€. On a side note, this medicine costs $200 without insurance in the US. Highway robbery!   Anyway, long story short, it has worked wonders!!!! I haven’t taken a pill in about three days and I feel great. Still have to use my asthma pump, but everything else stopped itching and running.  If you’re really suffering and nothing seems to be working, this might be worth giving a try!

I have to be honest and say that as a cyclist, I felt exactly the way the OP did, but now after driving to work every day for the last six months, I’ve noticed that the cyclists in Berlin take ridiculous risks and to top it off, they’ve got a kid on the bike WITH NO HELMET. That just boggles my mind. I want to get a dash cam to document that craziness I’ve been seeing just in the last six months. Many of the near accidents that I’ve witnessed have been caused by other cyclists. 

Hmm, interesting. I had no problems with IKEA or Höffner, so perhaps it really is linked to how long you’ve been here in Germany.