Ok, so here is the latest in the "moving our crap" saga. Actually, it isn't nearly as dramatic nor as exciting as a saga - it's more of a, hmmm..., an anecdote, I guess. By the way, I am developing a fascination with the whole shipping business. It all sounds so romantic, even the job titles: custom house broker, consolidator, freight forwarder (ok, maybe not that one so much). They draw up bills of lading and put your belongings in liftvans. And before that they hopefully palletize and lash your goods. There are weekly sailings and it is all managed by the Federal Maritime Commission. Seriously, the lingo is great. This leads me circuitously to the point - I am nearly settled on a company that I (possibly naively) trust with our crap.
There are basically two (three if you count UPS) ways to move a substantial quantity of stuff across the ocean. You can either go with a traditional shipping company such as Mayflower, United, or (literally) hundreds of other similar movers. The quotes from the legitimate companies have ranged anywhere from $2200 up to about $5000 for 1200 lbs. In general, this has been a port-to-door arrangement where we drop off said stuff in either Chicago or an east coast port city and they do their level-best to get it to our apartment in Hamburg in the neighborhood of 2 months. If we live on a funky street or up more than two flights of stairs, the rate increases.
Option 2: Using a primarily commercial shipping company, I can sort of piece-meal the whole thing together. This means I have to contract with a local company to put our stuff into a big wooden crate (liftvan) and secure it (lash it). The local movers take the stuff to a Chicago warehouse where a freight forwarder draws up the export paperwork, takes the stuff to the dock, and puts it on a big-ass boat in one of those sea-land containers where it waits until it is time for the boat to set sail (about once every 10 days). Before it arrives in Hamburg, we have to arrange for a custom house broker who, for a fee, navigates the import process and clears our goods through customs. Then, we arrange for a local mover to bring our stuff from the warehouse by the port to our apartment. Again, stairs and cobble-stones cost extra. This is all for about $1400-1600.
I am leaning toward the a la carte choice for a couple of reasons. First, they seem a lot less shady. I don't know if because we are small peanuts to them, or what. But they just haven't been as full of promises and bravado as the people who primarily move household goods. Also, the weight isn't such an issue. They ship by the cubic meter (which is a crapload of space) and we get up to a ton (ha! a ton of crap) for the same price. There are two prospects on the horizon going this route: Ted L. Rausch and MHX. If I chicken out or if things just get entirely too complicated, I have what appears to be a reliable back-up on the household mover side.
Oh, one other funny thing. We have a huge collection of these really sturdy Gateway boxes from our last move. I figure they came across the ocean once with computers in them, they'll probably do the job one more time. Anyway, I can't wait to see the customs folks in Germany when they see a crate with 30 Gateway boxes that has paperwork claiming no commercial value. Think we'll get searched?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Encouraging Germans and what about Molly
Fortunately for me, I personally know a few upbeat Germans who know something about Hamburg. I also know some royal pessimists who also claim to know something about Hamburg, but I largely ignore them. Anyway, the German optimists continue to tell me that Hamburg is the shiznit - great public transportation, fairly inexpensive for a city, lots of fun stuff to do and, for a German city, a decent selection of meat free eating establishments.
It also appears that Germans just love their dogs. So much, in fact, that you can take your dog on the train, in many cafes and in just about any other kind of non-food related retail establishment that you can think of. Molly is going to love that; Stella will be terrified. I've been trying to walk Stella by the elementary school near our house to get her used to crowds of people, albeit small ones in this case. She hates it. The kids mostly leave her alone, but once in a while one of the little duffers wants to pet Stella, who does her best to bond at the atomic level with the back of my legs.
We have also moved the dog crates into the living room so Stella can get used to being in a confined space. We are starting slowly - we put her bed in the crate. So, unless she wants to lay on the hardwood floor, Stella has to go in the crate. This is working really well except that Molly (of course) has a penchant for Stella's digs, which is larger than her own. The problem is that Stella doesn't really fit in Molly's crate, so I am constantly evicting my geriatric and slightly dazed Basset hound so Stella can lay down. At this stage, the crates don't have doors. In a couple of weeks, we are going to try putting on the doors and driving Stella around town in the crate. We'll see. The last time I penned her up in this fashion, she resorted to self-mutilation which included huge quantities of saliva and tufts of fur all over her doggy jail. One step at a time.
The people whom David will be working for have undertaken the task of finding us an apartment (wonderful them). We have received information on a couple of "flats," one of which is great except it has tan carpeting. I am a little hesitant to take on that responsibility, especially with one aging, lazy dog and one anxious, semi-stubborn dog. I'll have to price replacement carpeting in Germany. The admin assistant who is looking for us has also placed an ad in the paper, so we'll see if we can find something with wood or tile. I feel a little sorry for the poor woman who is trying to accommodate our housing needs - reasonably priced, close to the train or bus, in a walking neighborhood, allows dogs, is furnished with appliances and has wood floors. My impression (based on her comments) is that this type of place is a hot commodity (duh) and we better just take the best thing we find.
I'll know more on this housing business Wednesday. I've got my fingers crossed. Still no decision on who will move our stuff. I've really go to get with the program on that one. Ok, back to dissertating - ugh.
It also appears that Germans just love their dogs. So much, in fact, that you can take your dog on the train, in many cafes and in just about any other kind of non-food related retail establishment that you can think of. Molly is going to love that; Stella will be terrified. I've been trying to walk Stella by the elementary school near our house to get her used to crowds of people, albeit small ones in this case. She hates it. The kids mostly leave her alone, but once in a while one of the little duffers wants to pet Stella, who does her best to bond at the atomic level with the back of my legs.
We have also moved the dog crates into the living room so Stella can get used to being in a confined space. We are starting slowly - we put her bed in the crate. So, unless she wants to lay on the hardwood floor, Stella has to go in the crate. This is working really well except that Molly (of course) has a penchant for Stella's digs, which is larger than her own. The problem is that Stella doesn't really fit in Molly's crate, so I am constantly evicting my geriatric and slightly dazed Basset hound so Stella can lay down. At this stage, the crates don't have doors. In a couple of weeks, we are going to try putting on the doors and driving Stella around town in the crate. We'll see. The last time I penned her up in this fashion, she resorted to self-mutilation which included huge quantities of saliva and tufts of fur all over her doggy jail. One step at a time.
The people whom David will be working for have undertaken the task of finding us an apartment (wonderful them). We have received information on a couple of "flats," one of which is great except it has tan carpeting. I am a little hesitant to take on that responsibility, especially with one aging, lazy dog and one anxious, semi-stubborn dog. I'll have to price replacement carpeting in Germany. The admin assistant who is looking for us has also placed an ad in the paper, so we'll see if we can find something with wood or tile. I feel a little sorry for the poor woman who is trying to accommodate our housing needs - reasonably priced, close to the train or bus, in a walking neighborhood, allows dogs, is furnished with appliances and has wood floors. My impression (based on her comments) is that this type of place is a hot commodity (duh) and we better just take the best thing we find.
I'll know more on this housing business Wednesday. I've got my fingers crossed. Still no decision on who will move our stuff. I've really go to get with the program on that one. Ok, back to dissertating - ugh.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Iraq War Memorial
It is my plan to keep this blog apolitical; however, as we approach the 4-year anniversary of this misbegotten war, I wanted to share this with friends and family.
It is a youtube video of accounts from friends and family members of those who died in Iraq. It was created to pay tribute to those who have died.
http://iraqmemorial.org/index.php
Take a few moments and let these people share with you someone who mattered to them.
Monday is the 4th anniversary. If you can, attend a vigil, write your congressman or do something to recognize this awful day in some way that matters.
It is a youtube video of accounts from friends and family members of those who died in Iraq. It was created to pay tribute to those who have died.
http://iraqmemorial.org/index.php
Take a few moments and let these people share with you someone who mattered to them.
Monday is the 4th anniversary. If you can, attend a vigil, write your congressman or do something to recognize this awful day in some way that matters.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Credit card search
The problem du jour is the search for a German credit card. In the U.S. it is just so simple. Try Googling "credit card" or "Visa" or "Mastercard" - your options are nearly limitless. You can have a credit card with low interest or lots of rewards. There are credit cards for students and people with bad credit. I tried looking up credit cards for expats, credit cards in Germany (I only got results in German) and I even called Citi Bank. They recommended that I call Diner's Club. Diner's Club? WTF? Who uses Diner's Club? Whatever.
I am on this hunt for a German (or any country that uses the euro) credit card because American credit cards charge a nominal fee when you use your credit card in a country whose currency is different than your own. It is a sort of exchange fee. I think it is in the neighborhood of 3%, which is not much. But, over time this adds up and I can think of other things I would like to do with that 3% of whatever I spend - like buy pastries and beer. I've heard the pastries and beer in Germany are excellent. Not necessarily together, mind you. But on their own, excellent.
I also called ING Direct. They have a subsidiary for expats in Belgium, which, by the way is not in the Netherlands as the customer service representative insisted. As you may have guessed, I got not so much help from ING Direct. The representative was also pretty sure that the U.K. was on the euro. They aren't. The U.K. still uses the British pound sterling as they have for hundreds of years. And ING wants me to trust them for my investments? Sheesh.
So, I am almost back to square one. I do have an email address for Diner's Club. I'm not sure if I'll use it, though. Maybe if I am exceptionally desperate. Maybe I'll just wait until I get there and then figure it out with the help of Germans.
I am on this hunt for a German (or any country that uses the euro) credit card because American credit cards charge a nominal fee when you use your credit card in a country whose currency is different than your own. It is a sort of exchange fee. I think it is in the neighborhood of 3%, which is not much. But, over time this adds up and I can think of other things I would like to do with that 3% of whatever I spend - like buy pastries and beer. I've heard the pastries and beer in Germany are excellent. Not necessarily together, mind you. But on their own, excellent.
I also called ING Direct. They have a subsidiary for expats in Belgium, which, by the way is not in the Netherlands as the customer service representative insisted. As you may have guessed, I got not so much help from ING Direct. The representative was also pretty sure that the U.K. was on the euro. They aren't. The U.K. still uses the British pound sterling as they have for hundreds of years. And ING wants me to trust them for my investments? Sheesh.
So, I am almost back to square one. I do have an email address for Diner's Club. I'm not sure if I'll use it, though. Maybe if I am exceptionally desperate. Maybe I'll just wait until I get there and then figure it out with the help of Germans.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Moving, scams and what junk to take, part 2
I am currently still on the hunt for a reliable company to move our what-have-you. As this process moves along I find that we are inclined to take less and less crap and, at this rate, by the time June rolls around, we may be down to a small backpack with our laptop and a change of underwear. Realistically, though, this leaves me in a quandary about stuff at large. I mean, here are the three options for our stuff: 1) move it to Germany 2) store it 3) throw it out/give it away.
This leads me to another unknown in the proverbial life equation: how long might we be in Germany? Of course, several variables are at work regarding the answer to this question such as: will I get a job?
Yes: we stay longer.
No: we stay not so long.
If I get a job, do we both like our jobs?
Yes: we stay longer.
No: we stay not so long.
You get the picture. And the relevance to what stuff we take and what stuff we store or give away is this. If we need it, we should take it. If we don't need it, we should get rid of it. I mean, why leave stuff in an attic indefinitely? Particularly since we are forecasting a smooth future without said stuff. Right? But what if we are back in the U.S. in a year? If I use the "if it doesn't go to Germany, it goes in the garbage" rule, this means we would have to buy all new small appliances, lamps, pretty much anything that plugs into a wall and all new furniture (since none of it is going to Germany.
Also, there is a whole heap of sentimental clutter that I just can't bear to part with. For example, all of the really gaudy afghans my grandmother lovingly knitted for me, a bunch of antique stuff we bought and acquired in Japan and my sewing machine (which, while I don't use it a whole lot, I swear one day I will). I also have a road bike that David is still chafing about and I just refuse to get rid of it: it's 20+ years old and it looks brand new, it's Japanese and just very cool, but I don't need two bikes in Germany. Even though the Germans are simply mad for bicycling.
Part of me wants to heave everything in an actual and symbolic cleansing ritual, just simplify my life. The other part of me wants to stash it all in the attic in question and pretend that I have actually purged. I think I could actually toss it all except for that big plate from Japan and the antique dresser and the dining room table and...
This leads me to another unknown in the proverbial life equation: how long might we be in Germany? Of course, several variables are at work regarding the answer to this question such as: will I get a job?
Yes: we stay longer.
No: we stay not so long.
If I get a job, do we both like our jobs?
Yes: we stay longer.
No: we stay not so long.
You get the picture. And the relevance to what stuff we take and what stuff we store or give away is this. If we need it, we should take it. If we don't need it, we should get rid of it. I mean, why leave stuff in an attic indefinitely? Particularly since we are forecasting a smooth future without said stuff. Right? But what if we are back in the U.S. in a year? If I use the "if it doesn't go to Germany, it goes in the garbage" rule, this means we would have to buy all new small appliances, lamps, pretty much anything that plugs into a wall and all new furniture (since none of it is going to Germany.
Also, there is a whole heap of sentimental clutter that I just can't bear to part with. For example, all of the really gaudy afghans my grandmother lovingly knitted for me, a bunch of antique stuff we bought and acquired in Japan and my sewing machine (which, while I don't use it a whole lot, I swear one day I will). I also have a road bike that David is still chafing about and I just refuse to get rid of it: it's 20+ years old and it looks brand new, it's Japanese and just very cool, but I don't need two bikes in Germany. Even though the Germans are simply mad for bicycling.
Part of me wants to heave everything in an actual and symbolic cleansing ritual, just simplify my life. The other part of me wants to stash it all in the attic in question and pretend that I have actually purged. I think I could actually toss it all except for that big plate from Japan and the antique dresser and the dining room table and...
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