** German Chat ** Alle sind willkommen. ** Frühling läßt sein blaues Band ...

[MmeLindt]

...
Wieder flattern durch die Lüfte
Süße, wohlbekannte Düfte
Streifen ahnungsvoll das Land
Veilchen träumen schon,
Wollen balde kommen
Horch, von fern ein leiser Harfenton!
Frühling, ja du bist's!
Dich hab ich vernommen!

*

Für Deutsche und nicht-Deutsche, Goethe-fans und Gottschalk-fans, für Herzschmerz, Heimweh und Heimatgefühle.

Alle sind willkommen.

cheapest is dover-calais, but probably worth looking into harwich-hook of holland, or even newcastle-wherever it sails to, more ££ but save miles and miles, lots of hours and stress and sanity, so would probably be worth it. Yes, deff look at newcastle crossing

try directferries.co.uk has sailings from newcastle, hull, harwich as well as more typical channel crossings usually got good offers

Had a look and Harwich seems to be cheapest, probably because it's nearest to Holland. Newcastle would be good for driving but crossing takes AGES!

I'll tell him to look into Harwich-Hook as he wants to stop in Amsterdam and I'd rather he stopped on the way with an empty van than spend a night or two with my stuff in the van parked who knows where!

I agree with Ernest, Admylin. Set a date and book ferry etc so that you have to be done by then.

I don't think that it was the same gang, if it had been they would have broken in throught the same door. Also they used a different method of opening the door.

I am not considering moving at the moment.

The police told us that it is gangs of gypsies who come over from France. We are right next to the French border so are very vulnerable. Also, our house is the last in the village so noone can really see the back of the house.

They are looking for cash and small items like jewellery and watches. They rarely take electronics etc. In fact the first time they walked past my brand new laptop and camera. They got 500eu cash and that was it.

I will be careful to hide valuables and small electrics when we go away again, I am thinking about a housesitter. We might be able to get the lady who housesits for our neighbour, she could look after the dog as well. That would save on dog sitting fees.

Canella
Kur used to be something that lots of Germans took advantage of. If your new friend is going then she has probably had to jump through a lot of hoops to get a Kur approved, they are much stricter these days. I think Mutter-Kind-Kur is quite easy to get though, google Muttergenesungswerk they help with the applications etc I think. My SIL goes regularly, used to be for her neurodemitus, then after she had cancer to recuperate from the chemo.

Arghhh, why have we got so many THINGS? I've got another big bin bag full with old cassettes that I don't listen to and paints and just jumk but I still seem to have loads still sitting.

I've emptied to boxes for h to put his cd-roms in and his thousand cables and adapters. I've also got one of those Ikea blue shopping bags full of jigsaws and games that the neighbour will take (thank goodness she has grandchildren!) and she's taking the 2 booster seats and dd's old bike too - all good quality but I haven't the energy to sell them.

You have my sympathies. Packing and moving is shit. We had packers do the actual packing, but I still spent weeks before hand sorting through stuff etc etc. horrible, but good at the end. I too got rid of so much stuff. (now got baby regretting half of it mind)

I thought we wouldn't have much because we've moved so many times and I always had to sort out before packing all and carrying all myself so I was quite good at being ruthless. This move is extreme because I'm really having to get rid of alot.

It'll be better when I've got my dates for sure.

The new TomTom just came today, so does it just know where you are and give directions from there?

Mme Lindt - sorry to hear about the break in. It´s such a shit thing to happen at any time, but especially after a holiday. The same happened to me when I lived in England and I must admit I always returned with trepidation from future trips.

One funny aspect was that the police thought my spare room had been ransacked. I had to point out that I´d started a clearout before I left and the mess was entirely down to me .

admylin - sound like you´re doing well with the sorting out.
With regards to the sat. nav. we just enter where we´re going and it works out the route.

I´ve been reading that link that Ernest posted- doesn´t sound too good for the UK does it. I found this link on another thread. I´m quite surprised that Germany only finished 17th in the health category, I´d have expected them to be higher.

hi all, hupa it says below that chart that health is assessed in terms of birth weight, infant mortality, immunisation levels - maybe that's where Germany gets low marks?

As well as on whether dc get exercise, eat fruit, brush their teeth. I think on average German dc would do this but I suppose I only know the world I moved in. Can't speak for the whole picture.

I also think it may have something to do with a lot of people no longer having health insurance because they can't afford it (self employed, students, etc and therefore their dc are also not insured).

just wondering : how do people go to the doctor in Germany though if they don't have health insurance, just say they will pay in cash upfront? Has your dh ever had that hupa?

In France I always had to pay the doctor up front and then apply to get the money repayed from my insurance. I can imagine that being difficult for low earners too as you don't always have that much cash available.

In UK the only thing we'll have to pay for is for dentists - hopefully I'll get some sort of insurance sorted out for me just in case. H says I'll still be insured over here on his AOK family insurance. I wonder if he pays more for that and if we told them we were leaving he would be able to save abit? Must check the website.

is that usual in France admylin or was it just your particular situation?

I think the NHS will be fine, especially if you are not in a busy urban centre and you have done the really expensive dental stuff in Germany already, haven't you? Not sure what the set-up is with your dh's insurance but if the dc and you don't live in Gemrany, I don't see why dh should be paying more health insurance than jsut for himself IYSWIM.

Admylin
You are insured through your DH but he does not pay extra.

I'm glad dh's work organised all that insurance stuff, I never had a thing to do with it other than handing in a card to the Ärztehelferin at reception. It is private so the doctors send in bills which you pay and then you have to see about being reimbursed by the insurance. They generally reimburse everything IME but it is a kaffafel the whole business.

Are you sure he doesn't pay extra for a spouse ML because a friend of mine told me her dh had insisted she needed to get a job at least part-time because otherwise they could not pay the insurance for her and the kids and so I had the impression they were not all covered via his normal Krankenkasse

actualy instead of fussing about how long a banana has to be and useless sounding regulations like that, I do wish the EU would find a way to organise healthcare and insurance and schooling, child benefit etc so you can really cross borders and work in a new country within the union without all this mystery and worry

I think you could be right mmelindt, he pays alot becaus eit's a percentage of his bruttoeinkommen isn't it. It would probably stay the same.
In France I had a standard insurance but maybe there are better ones where you don't pay the doctor up front. I also remember the standard insurance only payed so much of the medicine too and for the rest you had to have a 2nd insurance - it meant filling in loads of forms and sticking little stickers from the paharmacy on them to get the full price of the mecicine reimbursed, and going off to post them all too which you only did when you weren't feeling ill so it took a while to get all your money back.

Yes I agree and how come Germany gives so much Kindergeld and in UK I'll be getting alot less? That's about my only complaint about going back so far!

good grief, don't like the sound of the French system!

But how do you know how much to take with you and pay upfront as well? Seems quite odd to me. When I seethe bills we get in, I never understand quite how they get these astronimical sums together. I think it's a huge rip-off but remember a documentary on German tv with all these doctors complaining they could barely make ends meet these days and might as well pack it in.

that way madness lies admylin. Denke nicht an das KG

Hi everybody-hope you are all doing ok- and on your behalf Mme Lindt about the break in. Hope you get it all sorted.

We have been enjoying the lovely weather-it is lovely that every day when I pick DS up from Kindergarten they are playing outside. DS is in a little group of 4 boys who seem to spend all their time playing ice cream shops in the sand pit!

I wasn't going to bother about a birthday party for him as we are going on holiday over our birthday, but I wimped out today when I realised he thought all his friends were coming to legoland too for a party! Have booked the soft play in Bielefeld as the most hassle free option-just in case DH is delayed coming back from Iraq (and roped in my German friend in case of emergencies that my German cannot cope with!) Do you think most (German) parents would stay with their 4/5 year olds or leave them?

Am so impressed with DS's German. He told me a very long story about his friend's dad who has been in a special house called a Krankenhaus because he is so sad and his friend is sad too. I checked with the teacher and yes, friend's dad has bad depression and been there for 8 months. Really awful for the family, but so amazed at 2 4 year old boys having that level of chat and DS understanding. Makes you wonder what else they tell each other!

Evening all.

Mme - Gob smacked! So sorry you had to come home to such a sucky thing as being burgled. Would definitely push for the alarm system if it was me. Can't you get some nice big bolts on the doors too?

Ernest - yes the news has been full of the report on children welfare for the last day or so. Am starting to get a bit worried about "moving back for the DS" now. Oh well, I suppose it was more to do with family for us. Hope it is all sorted out by the time DS is school age.

Admylin - if your DH has public insurance then def does not cost him to have dependent spouse and DCs on there. If it was me, I would keep it for now to make it easier when you "pop" back and, like he says, some things will be covered in blighty. E.g. if (hate to tempt fate) somebody needs an operation you may be able to get it semi-private rather than NHS maybe? Not sure.

they tell each other everything. I wonder those Erzieher can look us mums in the face sometimes!

He's doing great by teh sounds of things. I think from my experience most of the German parents will leave the dc there and pick them up when it is over.

You could ask a couple if they wouldn't mind staying. Sometimes those soft play places get very full and it is difficult to keep an eye on all the dc at once, especially if you have to take one to the loo and 3 go off one way, 2 in another direction etc

Hope your dh gets back in time though safe and sound

Trockodile - wow your DS sounds great! Now I am embarassed that a 4yr old has better German than me (figures).

My news - weather here is fab. Appart from that everything is a bit pants.

Unfortunately, DS is ill - really horrible ear infection. Blew up over weekend and took him to Dr yesterday. Not like DE where I just rang the Kinderaertz and took him. Had to ring at 8am but was 5m late so had missed "all of today's emergency appointments" so went to see the nurse instead?! . At least I only had to wait 5m for the appointment which is a bit different to the usual 1hr in DE.

Unfortunately, she prescribed penicillin and by lunchtime today DS was covered in big red angry rash so back to the Dr today for antibiotics as they now think he is allergic to penicillin .

I have had two nights of him waking every 30/45m and am exhausted. He flat refuses to take anything from a syringe and they will not prescribe supositories (another change from DE) "just use calpol" so I am reduced to hidding everything in a cup of water as he is off food too (well, anything that is not a strawberry anyway).

Still want to repatriate anybody??

Oh, Gabster. How awful. Shame that you have got the culture shock so fast, the health service is the thing that I would miss most about living on the continent. Swiss health service is similar to Germany but we have to pay upfront. Was VERY expensive when I had the m/c and D&C. We get most of it back, I think except 10%.

Do you want me to pop a pack of paracetemol suppositories in the post?