Comments | americansabroad: Germany-moving tips

imaginer8614 in americansabroad

Germany-moving tips

Mar 28, 2013 10:55

I will be moving to Germany on September 1st and will be spending a year there as an exchange student at the PH Karlsruhe. Since I cannot fly directly into Karlsruhe (I will be taking a plane to Frankfurt then a train to Karlsruhe) I wanted to keep the amount of stuff actually with me to a bare minimum. Certain things I must take with, for example ( Read more... )

germany moving packing

Comments 7

hmaners March 28 2013, 15:19:41 UTC

electronics in europe are more expensive, however unless you plan on lugging over heavy transformers - dont bother bringing anything big. for small appliances, you can buy small plug in transformers ( ... )

samtaro82 March 28 2013, 16:15:01 UTC

It's been my experience that German customs officials have gotten VERY picky about packages from the US lately (I'm also assuming that's where you're coming from). Even if you're just shipping a box of your old clothes, there is a good chance it will get stuck at customs, and you'll have to pay a fee to pick it up in addition to the enormous amount you spent to ship it. Honestly, I've found it's cheaper and safer to pay the extra $70 or $80 to the airline to take an extra suitcase; some airlines give you a discount if you tell them in advance that you'll have excess baggage. As for transporting it on the trains, well...it won't be fun, but you wouldn't be the first person I've seen with a stack of suitcases on the train. But at least that way, you can be sure that all your possessions will be with you when you get to Karlsruhe. You might also want to see if there's some sort of car service that could take you from Frankfurt to Karlsruhe - it would probably be expensive, but it might be worth it ( ... )

samtaro82 March 28 2013, 16:16:26 UTC

Oh, and cold medicine. Definitely bring that with you, because you WILL get sick while you're here, and German pharmacies pretty much only offer homeopathic remedies for colds. ;)

hmaners March 28 2013, 17:51:15 UTC

totally agree! we also pay for extra allowance on airlines, forgot about that tip! and cold medicine haha! i brought back the biggest bottle of Nyquil I could fit in my bag!!

I dont like Ikea sheets so maybe thats what I meant. I just cant find affordable bedding here like I had in the states.

samtaro82 March 28 2013, 17:55:20 UTC

No, I'm with you there - I have fitted sheets from Ikea, but the selection there wasn't anywhere near as broad as it would have been in the US! One kind of fabric, three different sizes, maybe two or three colors...not quite Bed, Bath & Beyond. ;) But it works, I guess.

xkookykrysx March 29 2013, 04:03:12 UTC

You might not need as much as you think. I lived in Switzerland (German-speaking section) for 18 months with my husband and infant son. We brought baby stuff, clothes (but not very many summer clothes like we wear here in Texas), some books, dvds, and our laptop. At first we wished we had brought this or that item, but as time wore on, we realized we didn't really need most things. I ended up wishing I had my Kitchenaid mixer, but since electronics are so expensive in Europe, and we weren't going to be there that long, we didn't buy one.

Be sure to bring some comfort items from home like pictures or even holiday decorations.

My husband's company paid to ship a crate there and back, so I can't give you much advice in that arena.

Good luck, and enjoy the experience!

P.S. I found that most homeopathic remedies worked quite well, and even brought some back with me.

imaginer8614 March 30 2013, 13:10:11 UTC

Yeah, I don't plan on bringing that much stuff, it's just that I'm coming from New York, USA and I don't have a ride to the airport so I must take everything with me that I want onto a metro north train (upstate NY to NYC) then make multiple subway transfers to get to JFK and then make a plane transfer in Warsaw, Poland. I'll be doing this all on my own (I have a few friends helping me in the NYC but other than that no one) to a place I have never been to etc. I am going as an exchange student through my college in NYC, so things like kitchen appliances, furniture aren't an issue, it's more of just wanting to keep the amount of stuff with me to a minimum. I will also be carrying my bassoon (this is non-negotiable) and it is way heavy (I am searching for a lighter case). Currently I live in NYC and have like basically nothing since I don't even have an apartment just a room. Like literally, I only have a week's worth of clothes because I can't fit more into my room at the Y.