My husband and I moved to Germany with just our suitcases and 2 pups! Crazy right? Actually, my husband wanted me to move across the pond with only two suitcases, and I had to tell him he was insane! Thankfully, he ended up giving me 1 more suitcase, but we were just too tight on cash to ship everything else over. I cried a little watching 60% of my belongings given away/donated, but my husband figured it'd be more economical to slowly re-buy everything once he started his new position.
Three months later, we are still trying to get settled in! Moving to Germany sounds super glamorous and adventurous, but it's been a difficult transition because we weren't compensated relocation costs. So this has been a huge upfront cost that takes time to catch up on.
Anyways, not everything has been easy to repurchase or find so I thought I could help anybody else planning to move over with their packing decisions. This is not an ad; I was not compensated in any way for writing about any of these products/brands in this post.

*Bonus Tip: We wish we had known a bit more about Amazon.com in Germany
Make sure to read about my post on Amazon.de here before purchasing anything. You want to make sure you're not making mistakes like bringing Amazon.com gift cards over.

Comforter/Duvets

This is one we didn't expect! Comforters/Duvets (search for duvets online, they're not called comforters here) are expensive here if you're going to have a king sized bed. In Atlanta, I could find a nice king sized, 100% cotton, fluffy comforter set for about $40-50 at TJ Maxx. But the cheapest polyester king sized duvet/bettdecke you can find on Amazon.de (with reviews) is already more at €55 and does NOT come with a cover. You normally wouldn't need one in the US, but duvets are just plain white here and large washing machines aren't common so you probably want a cover you can wash more often. If I want a 100% cotton duvet cover, it rings me another €30. And if you'd prefer buying your duvet in person, good luck finding king sizes in stores! The only ones we've been able to find have been at IKEA. €80 for their cheapest duvet and their covers ring you up at least another €20. They do have a cotton duvet though! For only €170!😂
So this was the cost of our bedding situation (we buy all white as we have dogs and need something we can bleach)
€25 400 Threadcount 100% Cotton Fitted Sheet - Amazon Basics
€26 400 Threadcount 100% Cotton Flat Sheet - Amazon Basics
€55 Light Polyester Duvet - Amazon Basics
€37 100% Cotton Duvet Cover + 2 Pillowcases
€143 Total! I could get all of this for the same/better quality for half of that in the US. If you don't care about quality and are ok with cheap jersey polyester, you can find bargain prices, but they are geared towards students and don't come in king sizes.
Why is bedding so expensive? One of the main reasons is definitely because we have a "king" bed (we went with the biggest size at IKEA 180x200cm). So if you don't need a large bed, I'm sure you'd have more options & cheaper prices! But also, in many parts of Germany, couples like to have their own duvets and sometimes even beds! We've met some people who say that's not as common anymore, but all of our hotels and AirBnBs had separate comforters/beds (as shown in the photo above). So maybe the demand for larger blankets isn't there?

American Keyboards

I'm not sure what you'll be bringing or what your technology preferences are, but if you're picky about your keyboards/will be needing one, bring one to Germany! German keyboards are different and the only English keyboards you'll find are from the UK which are still different from the US keyboards (different symbols). Here's the difference between the UK (top) and US (bottom).

Dog beds

This is solely from what I've seen on Amazon.de. I have not had the chance to look at the local pet store here. If you will be bringing over your pups, large dog beds seem to be quite expensive here. And carpet is not common in Germany, so your pup will be wanting a bed! If you only have a small dog, you don't need to worry.

Universal converters

Outlet converters are a bit more expensive here than you can find in the US. I would bring plenty since you'll have your laptops/cellphones/whatever other electronics you choose to bring. It'll also be good if you plan on traveling, to have universal converters.

German 101 books

I know, this one sounds silly. Cherry, why wouldn't you buy these books before leaving for Germany? We were short on space/weight as it was so I didn't even think about it! It was hectic enough as it was just trying to get rid of all of our stuff and figure out packing. Don't worry, they have learning German books here. They just don't have a million options like you probably would in the US so you can't find anything specifically geared for English speakers. Also, don't believe people when they say you don't need to learn German. That may be the case for vacationers, but living here is another story, especially if you'll be in East Germany.

Winter coats

If you want a quality long winter coat to keep you warm, good luck finding one for under €300! Especially if you get cold easily and want a long one. It doesn't get too cold during the winter here, but it does get pretty windy/rainy and if you're not bringing a car, you'll be walking a lot. In the US, I feel like there are plenty of huge clearance sales at bargain/outlet stores where you can find really nice quality winter coats for at most $200. Doesn't seem to be the case here. I hear Germans view a nice winter coat as an investment to use for several years so they don't mind investing a large sum on one, but it's too much for somebody on a budget like me. I wish I had bought one before coming over. But if you don't care about the length, TKMaxx does have good deals on ski jackets which are sure to keep you warm! You may just have to fight people over one, because TKMaxxs seem to be always crowded here.

Tyenol/Advil/Ibuprofen/OTC Meds

This is a funny one. You can't get your regular over the counter medicines here at the grocery store like you do back home. You have to go to the 'Apotheke' and then describe to the pharmacist about your condition in detail only to have them try to give you an herbal/homeopathic product instead of the aspirin or cold medicine that you want. We were told to just keep turning these down till they give you what you want. Unless you love homeopathic products, then Germany is great for you. They're available on the counters in these Apothekes and are always recommended before any medicine.
Apparently, pharmacists are reluctant to give you these OTC medicines because they view self-medicating a means of avoiding a doctor’s consultation. Aspirin/Ibuprofen/Etc are also much weaker in dosage while way pricier. Which leads me to say, read all labels carefully! Make sure to always read the 'Active Drugs' label to make sure you're getting the right product because names aren't the same here. Something called one name in the US might be something completely different here in Germany. And good luck trying to get your family/friends to ship some OTC medicines over. I've been told that Customs will not pass it through.
OTC medicines can vary in price from Apotheke to Apotheke, but prescription drugs are highly regulated and required to be the same price at every pharmacy in Germany (thought that was cool!). I guess it doesn't really matter because your insurance should cover these prescription drugs so you only have to pay a small deductible.
And in case you get confused, 'Apothekes' and 'Drogeries' are different. Apothekes are pharmacies and Drogeries are more like convenience stores (Walgreens/CVS without the pharmacy). So Google Maps search carefully 😉

Brown Sugar

There is no brown sugar in regular grocery stores here. Don't know if they exist at all in Germany! So if you're a baker and some of your favorite recipes call for brown sugar, bring some over. The closest thing to brown sugar you'll find here is 'Sugar in the Raw.' (update - have found some on Amazon for a hefty price)

Salad Dressing

 No more beloved Ranch Dressing for you! I was never a fan of ranch dressing, but my husband's definitely crying on the inside about this one. French dressing here is not the same, and I have yet to see any Italian or Caesar dressing. Most of it's just 'Yoghurt Dressing' or 'Yoghurt with Dill' or some Vinaigrettes.

Cosmetics

This one should be a bit obvious, but for my fellow product whores out there, if you're picky, bring your stuff over. There is no Sephora or ULTA here (update - Sephora now exists here in Germany). A lot of American products are also double the cost. I am struggling to find the right stuff here with my lack of German; takes me 5 min just to decipher one ingredients list. I would bring plenty of stuff over and do some research on German products ahead of time so you know what you want to try when you arrive.

Cars

The big question expats ask. Should I bring my car over? I guess ultimately it ends up being about which city you'll be moving to and how much you'll be traveling/like outdoor activities. Most blogs I've read have said not to because insurance and gas are both very expensive here (and your car may need to be modified to fit EU standards). Public transportation is so convenient you probably won't need it. Which is all true, and depending on where you live, there may also be parking fees to add on, but if you plan on traveling often and don't know how to drive a stick, renting a car can be quite expensive. We looked at all of the rental agencies, and the cheapest automatic car we can find is about €90/day because you also have to get insurance. That's €270/weekend just for the car/insurance! Even if you know how to drive stick, it only drops that price down to about €75-80/day.
So I'd say it completely depends on your lifestyle. If you're a big traveler/travel blogger/photographer, and you'll be traveling majority of your time here, you'll want a car (doesn't mean you have to bring yours over, you can always buy one here, you'll just need to learn manual as that's the norm). If you're a big outdoor/camping nut, you'll need a car to get to a lot of the best spots in Germany. If you don't plan on traveling often or venturing outside of cities, then you really won't be needing a car here. So make sure to do your research to see if it's worth it. Compare how much you plan on traveling and where/how far, car shipping/modification costs vs buying a car here, gas costs/if there are parking fees for your residence (our neighborhood doesn't), and how much your insurance would be.



*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities and take this post with a grain of salt.
**This was not an ad; I was not compensated in any way for writing about any of these products/brands in this post.

Here are some tips on using Amazon in Germany! (because we all know how attached to Amazon Prime I was in the US 😂) This is not an ad, I'm actually not happy with the recent news of how Amazon workers are being treated and would prefer not to promote them, but I also know how much of a life saver Amazon can be.

Amazon.de is technically different from Amazon.com. So if you get any moving away/congratulations gift cards for Amazon.com, you cannot use them with Amazon.de. 

Which means, your prime membership also isn't valid for Amazon.de. You'll have to cancel your Amazon.com Prime Membership and sign up for a new one on Amazon.de. Which isn't a big issue if you time the yearly membership right, but this can be a bit confusing because your login is valid for both sites but your Amazon.com Prime Membership doesn't work for Amazon.de so you have to make a new account if you want Prime. Also, they do Prime Membership here by the month which is interesting.

Amazon.de does have a language function on the top right of the page so you can use the site easily even if you don't speak German. It'll translate your English searches into German for you too!

You CAN use your US credit cards on Amazon.de so if you have some credit cards that don't charge international fees, you're in luck. Initially, we thought we could only use a German bank account because other German sites wouldn't let me order without a German billing address for the card. But that isn't the case with Amazon, you can use your US credit cards.

Which leads me to say, a lot of items on Amazon.de seem to be credit card only? There have been quite the number of items that we can't purchase with our German bank account. And considering credit cards are rare here and expensive (usually come with yearly fees?), your US credit cards may come in handy.
(Update - we may have had issues with our bank account because our 'PayDirekt' wasn't activated. We have had no issue purchasing items on Amazon.de with our bank account since we activated it)

It doesn't seem Amazon.de has as good of deals as it did in the US. I've found our local Kaufland (kind of like a German Walmart but smaller?) has comparable prices if not often, cheaper products. So check your local store prices because Amazon.de isn't always cheaper here. It is still very helpful for finding plenty of things we wouldn't see at the local stores though!

Which leads me to say, if you can't find something locally nor on Amazon, don't be afraid to look on other sites. Online shopping seems to be popular here as shipping is usually only 5 Euros or free if you buy a certain amount. For example, my husband's coworkers purchase their craft beers online. They recommended we look online for GF beers as my husband has Celiac's.

After reading Part 1 and Part 2, you should be completely prepared now for your pups' arrival in Germany. But, you may still have nerves about how it's actually going to go at the airport. So, I thought you'd like to know how our experience went, what we did to prepare, and how our dogs fared.

Before the airport

Timing your dog's food and water right
Our flight was in the evening so we fed the dogs early in the morning and gave them plenty of water until it was time to leave for the airport. We made sure to take them out right before we left.
Deciding whether you have room for the assembled crates or not
Our rental wasn't large enough to fit all of our suitcases along with two assembled dog crates so we just decided to leave them unassembled/stacked and to assemble them once we got to the airport. Remember to factor this into how you'll be getting to the airport and leave time!
Letting your dogs potty adequately at the airport
We fed them far before they'd be on the flight, let them potty twice before we left for the airport, and then let them potty again right before we checked in for our flight.

At the airport

Assembling the dogs crates
Assembling our 'Sky Kennels' didn't take long, it was quite easy to simply align the top and bottom pieces together and screw the metal bolts/nuts together. Bring a wrench to make sure everything is tight! Wouldn't want your pups getting loose for any reason during this process. I would say about 15 minutes to assemble each crate with two people is plenty. *Oh also, if your pup gets cold easily, buy them a little sweater to wear. I hear it can get cold in the cargo. Both of our pups like the cold so we let them be.
Checking in
After you have your dogs in the crates, walk over to the check-in counter for your airline and check-in as usual. They'll do all of the usual first (like checking in luggage and such) before getting to the dogs. *Not dog related but... - We flew with Lufthansa who surprisingly, weighed our carry-on luggage. My husband has flown overseas plenty of times before, and he said he had never had his carry-on weighed before. So watch out!
Overviewing the paperwork
Now they'll ask for the paperwork. The airline didn't take too long to look over it. They simply called over their supervisor who made sure that we had all of the forms and that it matched the APHIS Form 7001.
Paying for the dogs
After checking you/luggage in and looking over your paperwork, they'll ask you to go down to the end of the counter where they'll make sure that your kennels meet IATA requirements. They'll put a bunch of stickers on the kennel like a flight tag and some arrows/live animal stickers. Once they clear that your dogs are ready for the flight, they'll ask you to pay for the dogs. I think they mentioned normally, we would pay after TSA approved us, but that they may take a while and it looked like we would be fine.
Your airline should post the prices of your dog's flight (by size) online so you should already be aware of how much it will cost, but we were surprised that Lufthansa charged us $400 for our Husky and $300 for our Bluetick. Our Bluetick was too big for the small size ($200) and too small for the medium ($400) which may be why they charged us an intermedian price (or it may have been that TSA kept us waiting so long they felt bad?). We're not sure, but you can always ask nicely about a possible discount if your dog seems to fit between sizes. ***Key word: nicely. I worked in customer service for years. Reps are much more likely to help you if you're nice. They're not required to offer you a discount like they did with us.
Waiting for TSA
Now this is what may take awhile. This should all depend on when your flight is/the airport. We had to wait for a little longer than 30 minutes for the TSA to arrive. As you can imagine, this made us a little bit nervous with a flight to catch, but Lufthansa was very politely apologetic about the situation and assured us that the flight would be held for us if TSA were to take longer. Thankfully, they didn't. Once TSA arrived, they checked that the crate met IATA regulations again and that all openings were secure. They also had to pat down the puppies (are they checking for drugs?) and check that there was nothing in the crate other than absorbent paper. They then asked us if they would be needing food. We said no as the flight isn't very long (8 hours), and it was direct so there would be no worries of something going wrong. They advised us to leave the hanging water bowl (came with the kennel) latched onto the inside of the door just in case there was a delay, and somebody needed to provide them with water. Then, they ziptied the kennel door to the plastic for extra security and were carried off on a large trolley.

Arriving in Germany

YOU MADE IT TO GERMANY! Worried about the pups? Run to pick up your luggage! You will find your puppies where you pick up 'Oversized Luggage' (usually off to the side where you normally pick up the rest of your luggage). Our puppies seemed surprisingly relaxed, and they had not pottied in their crates! Who wants to lie for hours in pee/poo? Even dogs don't like that.

Got all of your luggage? Now you can just follow the signs to Customs/Border Control. It was my first time in the EU and outside of the US since very little so it was really cool to see the Customs here (not sure if it's different at the other airports, we flew into Frankfurt). Got to see some APC (Automated Passport Control) kiosks! If you're new to this like I was, you could go to the left if you're an EU Passport owner and use the kiosks to scan yourself through for a quicker process. As Non-EU Passport holders, we went to the right through a normal line to talk to the Customs officer.

The APC kiosks for EU Passport Holders!

He asked us the usual questions like why we were here and how long we'd be staying, etc, but not one question about the dogs. It being my first experience, I expected going through Customs to be much more of an ordeal, but it was just a couple of questions, showing him a form or two, and then being cleared to enter. Nothing about the dogs! Puzzled when he said we were clear, my husband and I asked him if we needed to do anything additional for the dogs. He mumbled something about maybe later on, just that he doesn't handle that. So we assumed there was somewhere we'd have to stop by later to 'check in' the dogs. We kept walking and it just spit us out into the pickup/dropoff lobbies. Nobody stopped us for the dogs nor were there signs anywhere on what to do for the dogs. We didn't see anybody around that we could ask either. As you can imagine, we were quite confused!
My husband found a little kiosk window that said Customs so he went to ask about the dogs there, and she said no, they were just the parcel at the airport. So after looking around and seeing nothing, we decided that we could probably just go!
First thing we did was let the pups out for some water and then took them outside for a walk. I found an area that was quiet with a small patch of grass/gravel, and they were able to potty. Then we were waiting around for our rental car when somebody who appeared to be security stopped to ask us if we needed water for our dogs. We said we had already given them some, but he seemed to be fond of dogs so he struck up a conversation. We finally happened to just ask, "Are we supposed to stop by anywhere for the dogs? Customs didn't check their paperwork when we entered." He then asked us if we came from the US, we said yes, and he said that was why they didn't check the dogs. He asked if we had our paperwork checked before coming to Germany, and let us know that's all they do for dogs coming from the US. If we had been from some other country known for their issues with vaccinations, their vetting probably would have been much more thorough.

Relieved that there was nothing more to do at the airport, we finally started our journey into Germany! Overall, it was nowhere near as complicated as we thought the airport process would be.

Now, you're not completely finished with the pups. You'll have to register them with the city once you find a residence, but that's for a later post! Subscribe so you don't miss this information!



*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Airline, TSA, IATA. I wish this blog was big enough to have a post sponsored by Lufthansa, but it is not. They just happened to be the best economically at the time ;)

I hope 'Moving your dogs to Germany - Part 1' was useful! Part 2 will review everything you need to take care, flight related, for your dogs. You'll probably be planning your flights before you have to do the paperwork in Part 1, but when we moved, we expected the flight costs, not the vet costs. So I wrote it first, hopefully preparing you to save up some extra money (set us back more than $500 just to get all of the paperwork handled - read Part 1 if you haven't already).

Booking a flight for your dogs

When you first start searching for a flight, you can do so the way you usually do - using whichever website for the cheapest deal (hopefully you know to search in incognito mode). We personally chose to book a direct flight because we had heard too many horror stories about connecting flights going wrong for dogs and also because some of the cheaper flights were connecting in countries with quarantine laws. Thus, the direct flight seemed both easier & safer. TIP: it was cheaper for us to book a roundtrip flight vs a one way flight so look at the prices for both. Doesn't make sense right? But we had confirmed with our airline that there wasn't an issue with us booking the roundtrip and not taking the flight back. ***Be careful though, we've read elsewhere that some airlines will hassle you about this so you may want to confirm with the airline when you call in the next step. We were also told it can be worse to cancel the flight back rather than just not show, but this is unconfirmed for different airlines.

When you find the flight you would like to purchase, you should call that airline before booking. Let them know that you are looking to book for (flight #) and checking to see if there is room for (# of) dog(s), with kennel (sizes). If they say yes, great! They'll probably then ask you if you've already booked the flight. You'll say no and then let them know you'll call back after booking the flights online (you should do this right after the call as there is very limited space for dogs on flights). Oh, and don't book the flight on the phone, it's pricier.

Once you book the flight online, call the airline back and let them know you want to reserve spaces for (# of) dog(s), with kennel (sizes) for (reservation/flight #). They'll confirm that they have reserved spaces for your dogs for your flight reservation. You won't pay for your dogs yet. You'll pay for them when you get to the airport and check in. Once they inspect you have all of the proper paperwork and kennels, then can you pay for them at the counter (more about the airport process in Part 3-Our personal experience getting the dogs on/off the flight and through customs).

Buying the proper kennels/crate for the flight

Next step is finding the proper kennel/crate for your dog(s). You should check your airline's website and IATA (International Air Transport Association) regulations for what type of kennels you can have. There are a couple of important things such as requiring a kennel with ventilation on at least 3 sides, etc so even if you currently have a kennel, it may not meet current IATA regulations. We had to buy new kennels as that was the case with us. You can easily find one on Amazon, which we did (we bought the 'Sky Kennel'). The price will depend on what size you need, and you may need to buy separate metal bolts/nuts as that kennel came with plastic ones (IATA regulation), but that's a minor problem. Otherwise, our kennel came with absorbent paper, hanging water/food bowl, and some labels so check for those when shopping. *Oh also, if your pup gets cold easily, buy them a little sweater to wear. I hear it can get cold in the cargo. Both of our pups like the cold so we let them be.

Read Part 3 for airport preparing and how our actual experience went with our flight/customs

*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Airline, TSA, IATA.

Paperwork to make sure your dogs enter Germany safely
(from the US)!

Hey guys. So I wanted to make my first post about the FIRST thing you should consider when you decide you want to move to Germany. How are you going to make money there? Depending on what you will be doing and how much time you have, you may be eligible for the EU Blue Card.

The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for non-EU/EEA nationals (meaning you won't have to deal with all of the intertwined craziness later on; trust me, it sucks.) The EU Blue Card was designed to make Europe a more attractive destination for professionals outside the EU. All EU member states, except the UK, Denmark and Ireland, participate in the EU Blue Card.

Now I think most large companies should be able to help you with your relocation and should know about the Blue Card, but things worked a bit differently for my husband at his first post-doctorate position at the lab here. I don't know if they weren't helpful or if he just didn't ask for help (men....), but he didn't find out about the EU Blue Card until too late.

So this is for the people who don't have somebody in Germany to help them relocate from the US!
***If you're not from the US, please look into your country's reciprocity laws with Germany! Your job hunting process could be different depending on what country you're from. For ex: I am a South Korean citizen so my work permit process is different from my husband who's a US citizen.***

1. You will be needing about a year in advance (We were told 6 months to a year, but you know how bureaucracy can be. Plan ahead!)

2. You will be needing a job contract if you already found a job. Easy to get, just ask your company/lab to write you one (If you are about to graduate like my husband was, hopefully you found a post-doc position ahead of time and your defense date is more concrete so that your new lab can write you a job contract with a start date.) If you're self employed/an entrepreneur, I believe you can still apply as long as you meet some qualifications about the demand in the EU and your previous experience.

3. If/once you have these, ask your nearest German Consulate about the application process and what you will be needing (such as your passport).


*This is simply what I learned from my personal experiences/research. Please always make sure to consult with the proper authorities such as your Consulates.