House Hunters International: Foltice Edition Part 3 - We've Got Keys!

By far our biggest challenge since moving to Germany has been finding a new apartment in Münster.  Our work visas and health insurance forms seem like a walk in the park compared to our search for an apartment.  Fortunately, our fears of being homeless in a foreign country on June 1^st were eliminated when we signed the final paperwork and picked up the keys from our landlord on Friday.   Passing this hurdle leaves us with one less challenge, but it also creates a new batch of challenges.  Here’s what we face in the next 4-6 weeks as we transition to a new apartment in Münster. 

The Good News

We are living on the Main Street in a small section of Münster called Hiltrup.  It’s about 7-8 km from the University.  It’s very centrally located with restaurants and shopping literally downstairs.  We live above a grocery store and a bank (incidentally, the same bank we have accounts with).

Even better is the commute to work.   I can walk for 3-4 minutes to the train station in Hiltrup, where I am a 4-minute train ride to the main Münster train station.  There are 2-3 trains per hour heading each way, starting at 5am and running to 1am.  All and all, the time saved in commute will give me an extra 10 hours per week. 

The not-so good news

We need to buy and install a kitchen.  We have 4 weeks to figure this out and I am sure we will need all 4 of them.  I am certain there will be more blog posts on this, as we are only at the beginning of this ordeal. 

We also need to install lights in every room.  Yes, American readers, you not only have to bring your own kitchen, but you have to bring and install your own lights throughout the entire house.  We even looked at a place that didn’t come with a toilet seat or showerhead.

We also need to set up our Phone and Internet.  This shouldn’t be a big deal, but we were told that this could take 3-4 weeks to install.   Yes, economists still say Germany is a developed, non-third world country, even though you can get Internet in Somalia in 2-3 business days.   I can manage to live without lights and toilet seats, but I must have Internet.  

Getting a parking permit to legally park our moving van/truck on the main street during moving day and setting up our hot water could prove to be a challenge as well. 

We are so thankful to have found this apartment and can't wait to get settled in our new place.  We will keep you posted as the adventure continues.   

Holding up the keys to our new apartment!  Getting those keys was the number 1 priority of the day.  The number 2 priority was getting a döner at the nearest Döner-Kebab place 2 blocks up the street.  We are already loving this location.

Here is our new kitchen.  Yeah, we have some work to do.  

A cool Tapas y Vino restaurant and grocery store right downstairs.  

It was a long day!  Both boys were tuckered out on the bus ride home.

We'll post some more interior photos after we get moved in and settled.