Namu

I think that cities like Berlin are more accepting of Judaism and Homosexuality. The former Eastern Germany less though.    In Berlin there is at least some kind of Jewish infrastructure such as kosher shops and restaurants. But being Jewish in Germany is far from being normal. I guess if you hide your Jewishness it will be ok. And that's a sad thing to say 

Ok, this might very well not be right. But if I read the paragraph correctly the contract doesn't matter. The landlord is just to notify and that's it. It's a right that family law gives to you and the landlord has no say. I think what you are referring to is trying to terminate the contract based on contract law. And then it is true that the wording of the contract is very important. But not with 1568 a BGB.   As I mentioned this is better to be discussed with someone who knows this stuff. Preferably a family lawyer. He or she should know right away. Because that should be a situation in which many couples find themselves in.

  We seriously need a change in the way we act and think. But knowing Germany this might take a long time...was told about an article in the NZZ where Switzerland expressed it's surprise about the lack of German preparedness. Apparently in Switzerland bridges in small valleys are required to be some kind of a drawbridge. If the water level rises they pull up the bridges. In that way debris can float freely and doesn't get stuck and acts like a dam. Debris suddenly becoming unstuck is how flood waves are caused.

If you are already divorced I think the landlord has to release you and hubby should be able to stay in the apartment 1568 a BGB. However, to be really sure about this best ask a lawyer or Mietverein. I really recommend to get professional advice because if you make a mistake here this will bring you trouble.

There are different kinds of floods. With some pumps help but not with the floodings like the one in Ahrweiler. 

Who knows which region is safe nowadays. Neuss is located at the river Rhein. The Rhein causes some flooding. So maybe not a good idea to move right next to it. But usually the floods are much more predictable because the authorities observe the river closely and usually flooding takes a few hours to rise to high levels. So usually you know what is coming and you can leave the area safely with your belongings. Nothing compared to the recent floods. They happened along small rivers. The floods come very, very quickly and basically without warnings.     I don’t know Neuss but heard good things. Just visit and see for yourselves.   NRW is densely populated. Much more so than BW. It is doesn’t have that many mountains. A lot of the cities were destroyed during WWII. If you like beauty this can prove to be more difficult to find around the Pott. If you like industrial charm you will find a lot of that there. But then there are very nice areas and people are much more approachable than in BW. I think about 30% of inhabitants in NRW are either foreign born or have a non-German parent.

An important point you make Katheliz. 

Krumlov is very nice to visit. It's also a world heritage site.

@dstanners   I hear you. It's hard to see the pain in the people affected. The destruction is very difficult to comprehend. But still despite all this helping is the right thing to do. It takes a lot of courage to open up yourself to the suffering, confusion and fear. I know many that simply look away. I am sure you will all together rebuild Bad Münstereifel to an even better place. It's such a beautiful area where you are.   @BethAnnBitt I can't even imagine the destruction in New Orleans. I am glad your dad was ok. It is very tough to have to wait and see who survives!!

I am sad because the house in Bad Neuenahr where I have my Pendlerwohnung was flooded. I am sad because of the destruction that hit the area  I am sad because of my colleagues who lost their homes, and the many other homeless people in the area. I am sad because my favourite restaurant was flooded. After Corona now this. I am sad because my favourite clothing shop in Ahrweiler is gone. I am sad because people are in the supermarket and count their pennies to buy Käsebrötchen. They lost everything. I am sad because these people break out in tears when you buy them food. I am sad because of the 95 year old who was safe and on dry land but was still clutching the lamppost. Iam sorry for the old man who lost his house and couldn't save is wife, the water tearing her from his hand. I am sad because of the dead two year old who was found in a tree after the water retreated. I am sad for the guy who watch the water flood his parents house and drown his mother. I am sad for the son of a friend whose 20 year old girlfriend died. I am sad for the doctor who fled with his wife and two children onto the roof of their house. The water kept rising until they had to leave. Each parent swam with one child to the nearest trees. They held on for hours until she could not hold on any longer and drowned together with her daughter holding her tight in her arms.   I am very angry that people now travel to the area in their clean clothes to take pictures and laugh at the women cleaning up their streets calling them Trümmerfrauen. Fuck you assholes!!!

Sorry for your loss Alex. I will play the song in his honor 

This is a very difficult topic. I have a friend who is married to an Albanian (who became a German citizen) who tried to get his old mother into Germany. He eventually got her a visa for the Netherlands. She moved there and joined extended family. So she wasn't alone. And, sadly, she died there. My Albania- German friend later told me that not being able to get his mother into Germany was the only thing he regretted about his life in Germany.   Do talk to your parents. What do they want? Are they happy in India? Do they have friends there? Do you really want them to move to a country where they have no friends, don't speak the language, don't know the culture just to move them again in a few years to a country which they don't know and they don't speak the language. This is a very difficult situation ☹️ 

Maybe contact the Gemeinde or Kreis where the house is located at. Temporary housing is urgently needed! Help is very much appreciated and needed 

Bauamt seems to attrack people with a Blockwart mentality. When I worked for the city in Berlin I was told that they use satellites to zoom into people's backyard in order to check for illegally build structures. Very off-putting.

One of my many landlords didn't return the Kaution. A letter from my lawyer solved that quickly. So either Mieterverein or Rechtsschutzversicherung is good to have. Otherwise I had no bad landlord in Germany.   But I had a shit British landlord in New Zealand trying to rip off new immigrants. He didn't return our Kaution. And living in Auckland we had paid a very high Kaution. In New Zealand all Kaution have to be deposited at a neutral adminstration ( maybe a good idea for Germany too!?)  He didn't do that. He didn't go down the official road. We concluded that he very likely didn't pay taxes on his rental income. In an email we pointed out that we will contact that neutral administration to start a formal process to get the Kaution back. Boy was he angry and we quickly got our Kaution back.