Tag Archives: German appliances

Small colorful houses linked by a complex network of tangled wires.
German lifestyle, Hessen

Like a good neighbor… 🙄 😁

Cool AI depiction of neighborhood relations…

Neighbor relations can be a tricky thing. Bill and I have had our share of moves, and we’ve encountered plenty of people who became our neighbors. We have lived in our current neighborhood since late 2018, and to date, Breckenheim is the neighborhood where we’ve lived the longest as a married couple.

I’ve really liked living here. I often think about how, back in 2018, I was nervous about the prospect of moving. I didn’t like our previous house much, although I did like where it was situated. Our former landlady and I didn’t get along at all, and I hated dealing with her. She could be very toxic. And yet, in spite of that, I was hesitant to move. I worried that the next place would be as bad, or perhaps even worse.

Well, as it turns out, we have enjoyed life in Wiesbaden. Our landlord is our next door neighbor. Although the idea of living next to the landlord initially had made me nervous, I really didn’t need to be concerned. He’s great. He does what needs to be done and we don’t bother each other. He doesn’t freak out over things like dog hair in the doorway, and when something needs to be fixed, he takes care of it promptly, and without negativity.

Yesterday, he came over to tell Bill that he’d ordered us a new refrigerator. It will likely get to us next week, although he and his wife won’t be home. But the landlord has a “guy” who takes care of such things, so the guy will call Bill and arrange a time to change out the fridge. That will mean it will be done before Bill and I go to Switzerland on the 19th.

The landlord even asked us if we minded if the refrigerator was different. Of course not! We just want one that works! He said that only three companies make refrigerators that will fit in the “cabinet” in our kitchen, but he’d bought the best one.

I suspect the kitchen set up in this house is pretty old, and is from an era when it was stylish to hide the fridge with “cabinet” facades. I’d actually love it if the landlord got rid of the cabinet and got us a bigger fridge, but then we’d have less storage space. We do need the storage space, because German houses don’t have closets. Instead, they typically use Schranks (portable cabinet/wardrobe).

Anyway… hopefully next week, we’ll have our new fridge, and that will mean we won’t have to go to the basement to get our cold stuff. That will be a good thing.

Now… on to the next neighbor story…

Back in January, our little cul-de-sac was abnormally packed with cars. People were visiting their loved ones for the holiday season, which made the street especially and uncharacteristically crowded.

One night, Bill was coming home from work, and our neighbor, who works at a car dealership, had parked one of his employer’s cars in an unusual spot, and that made it difficult to squeeze past and reach our house.

Bill was trying to get to our driveway, and as he passed the neighbor’s house, he accidentally traded paint with the neighbor’s employer’s car. Because he’s a very honest guy, Bill immediately told our neighbor what had happened. Our neighbor, who is a really nice guy from Italy, had answered the door in his bathrobe, and was pretty understanding. Bill told him to let him know what the damage was, and he’d pay for it.

Months passed with no word. Then I went to the mailbox yesterday, and found a handwritten note in German, along with an estimate for the damages done to the car. The note was cheerful and apologetic, explaining that the estimate had been sitting in a desk drawer since January.

The damages came to about 1900 euros after tax. Because we’re Americans on SOFA status, we can use a VAT form to get the taxes removed. Bill said he’ll call our neighbor today and come to an arrangement.

Yeah, it is an expensive bill, and it took a really long time to get it. And it could be argued that the car got scratched, in part, because it was blocking ingress to our driveway. But then, we shouldn’t be surprised it took so long to settle this. It took the local hospital a full year to send us a bill for my 2024 colonoscopy. 🤷‍♀️

Bill will probably just pay the bill in full… because he can, and because he’s honest. And we want to show people over here that while our country is a bit messed up right now, not all Americans are assholes. Next time the neighbor parks in an unusual spot that makes parking difficult, Bill will just knock on his door and get him to move.

In spite of all of this inconvenient stuff that has happened, this neighborhood is probably the one where I’ve felt the most like I was part of a community. I also can’t ignore the fact that living here was a good financial decision. There was a time when a bill like the one we got yesterday would have sent us into heart palpitations. But at least for now, it’s not a big deal. We really have been blessed.

Edited to add: Our neighbor talked to Bill and said he gets a 35% employee discount that perhaps could be applied to the total… If that is possible, it would be out of sight, dude. 🥰

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German lifestyle, Health, Hessen

Sickness from Spain, and a sudden death in our kitchen…

Featured photo is a screenshot of the ad for the fridge I bought in September 2014, when we first moved back to Germany. At the time, we didn’t have much money, but we needed a fridge of our own, because our house only had a really shitty dorm sized fridge in it. Now that we live in Wiesbaden, that fridge is coming in handy, as the one that came with the kitchen has finally died on us… Meanwhile, Bill and I are both sick.

Bill got back from Spain a week ago. He brought with him a vile respiratory virus, which he has now shared with me. I’m assuming we have the same sickness, anyway, because I haven’t been around anyone else who would have been able to pass it to me.

I have noticed that Bill and I have different symptoms. His are more like a sinus infection. Mine is just annoying crud in my lungs that makes me cough and gives me a sore throat and scratchy voice. He probably picked up the virus on the plane, although he might have gotten it at the conference, which had about 300 people from different countries in attendance.

This is one of the drawbacks of Bill’s job. He travels a lot, and he goes to different countries, where he mingles with all sorts of people. Then, he brings home viruses to me, and I get sick, even though I rarely interact with people in person anymore. It’s a real drag, because I always seem to get these things on weekends and holidays.

I remember when Bill worked in Stuttgart, he often went to African countries. More than once, he brought back really nasty sicknesses that he passed on to me. This virus that I have now doesn’t seem quite as gross as some of the African ones I’ve experienced, but it’s never fun to be sick… especially in the summer!

Last night, I felt so icky that we decided to skip the wine stand. I do enjoy going to the wine stands, but I don’t want to spread this yucky illness to my neighbors– especially the elderly ones who tend to go to the wine stands.

Also, we’re not all that popular, so I didn’t want to feel physically bad, while ignoring the side eyes from the folks who are tired of Americans in Germany. 😏 I’m being slightly facetious, of course. Most people in this neighborhood are nice, and we’ve been here long enough that they know we aren’t troublemakers. But I can tell that some would like it if we left. As it is, we will also miss the next wine stand, because it’s happening while we will be traveling.

Luckily, our landlord is not among those who hope to see us go. In fact, he’s really been great.

Here is a case in point. Last night, we had a mishap with the landlord’s refrigerator. After dinner, I went to put the butter back in the fridge, and the light went out. A few seconds later, I realized that the damn thing had just died. I told Bill he needed to go tell the landlord, because we definitely need a working refrigerator!

Bill was reluctant to bother the landlord, since it was a Friday night. I insisted that he should let him know, because the sooner he knows, the sooner the problem can be fixed.

So Bill went over to tell the landlord. He spoke in broken German, and apologized profusely that he was bothering him on a Friday night. The landlord and his wife (who actually owns the house, because it was built by her brother), were very kind, understanding, and welcoming. In fact, the wife, who speaks less English than her husband does, even figured out the problem first. She said, “Der Kuhlschrank ist kaput!” (or maybe she said it was “tot”).

The fridge in our current home is definitely much nicer than the dorm style fridge our former landlady had in her house. However, the fridge in this house was old when we moved here in late November 2018. It’s also installed in a cabinet, which means that it’s not as easy to replace as a freestanding fridge is.

Anyway, the landlord said he would come over today and measure the space for a new fridge. He’s been really great about replacing appliances when they break. A couple of years ago, he got us a new dishwasher and a new garage door opener. He also put in a new shower head for us, which was really a nice upgrade.

Bill moved all of our refrigerated stuff to the fridge we own. He said the ice cream had already gone soft, so I guess the death wasn’t as sudden as it had initially seemed.

It’s actually kind of a blessing that all of this is happening this weekend. Next weekend, we have to go see the eye doctor at Ramstein, so I can update my prescriptions for glasses and contacts. I definitely don’t want to be sick for that.

The weekend after that is my birthday, and we are going to Bern, Switzerland for two nights to celebrate. Then we will move onward to Küsnacht, so Bill can attend courses during the summer session at the Jung Institute.

Also, the landlord said that he and his wife have been in Munich, not for a vacation, but because she’s having hip replacement surgery. In a couple of weeks, they will be going back to Munich for a month. So… it’s fortuitous that the fridge gave up the ghost now, so it can be replaced before they go away.

Meanwhile, I am so glad I bought that spare refrigerator back in September 2014… the one the ex landlady accused us of stealing. We bought it because the existing dorm sized fridge, which she later claimed we had “dumped” on her, wasn’t going to serve our needs adequately. Fortunately, I had a photo that I took on the day we moved in, which proved it was there when we took possession of her house. I now wish I’d bought a bigger fridge. I hesitate to replace the one I bought now, because who knows how much longer we’re going to be living here…

Sigh… one of the many challenges of contracting life in Europe, especially during the Trump era. Hopefully, I’ll feel better today, and the whole weekend won’t be ruined. I actually do feel better than I did when I woke up this morning. We’ll see if it lasts.

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housekeeping tips, Military, rants

Repost: Launderette etiquette… dryer hogs!

I wrote this piece for my original OH blog on August 9, 2014. That means this post is exactly NINE years old! I’m leaving it “as/is”, so whatever’s in it was accurate as of 2014. I’m really glad I don’t have this problem anymore. Fair warning… there is minor profanity in this post. It was written when I still lived in Stuttgart.

One thing I have noticed that hasn’t changed in the years since we last lived as Americans in Stuttgart is that when it comes to laundry, people can be incredibly inconsiderate.  When we first moved here in 2007, doing laundry was an unpleasant weekly ritual.  In those days, Panzer didn’t have the huge hotel that it now has; they were building it as we were leaving in 2009.  Now that Panzer has a hotel and it has its own laundry room, the launderette doesn’t get quite as busy as it did pre 2010 or so.  But last time we were here, it was not uncommon for people to do tons of laundry during peak times, hogging washers and especially dryers, and holding up everyone else.

This morning, Bill and I took a trip to Panzer Kaserne to get our laundry done.  We had two small plastic bags full of laundry that needed doing.  I dreaded going to the launderette, because I spent way too much time there during our first tour.  The laundry room on Panzer has about 12 washing machines and, generally speaking, it’s no problem to get one or two of them without any waiting.  But there are only eight dryers and one or two of them are always broken.  That was true in 2007 and it’s still true today (there were two down this morning).  So that means there are only six dryers that can be used.

You get someone who needs to do a shitload of laundry– people who are stuck in local hotels or people who have a bunch of kids and need to knock out that little chore… and even people who have a place to live, but just want to avail themselves of a larger washer/dryer.  German machines are smaller and take longer to get through a cycle than American machines do.  All of these folks come to the launderette on a Saturday morning, the one day that most everyone has off from work.  They do a mass load of laundry, then proceed to use more than one dryer to dry their clothes, blankets, and whatever else they have.

This morning, I witnessed a man load up four dryers.  That’s four out of the six dryers that were operating.  I couldn’t believe my eyes or that man’s nerve.  I honestly couldn’t believe he thought that was okay.  Obviously, he’d never had to wait for a lone dryer to free up, right?

Granted, when the dryer hog loaded the dryers, I was still waiting for my washer to finish the last of its cycle.  But there were at least two people ahead of me who also needed a dryer.  One was a guy who ended up just leaving, seemingly in disgust.  The other was a nice couple here in Stuttgart on vacation.  As we were waiting for Mr. Inconsiderate to get a clue, another lady came in to do her wash, as did one who obviously just needed to use a dryer and left when she saw there was a line.  And then two or three other folks arrived and the launderette was soon very busy.

I admit, I got rather bitchy and more than a little passive aggressive, loudly commenting that I only needed one dryer to get my stuff dry.  The dryer hog, to his credit, did eventually get a clue and start freeing up machines for other folks who were waiting.  I did hear him say, though, as he was unloading and folding his laundry one machine at a time, “I know folks are waiting, but I’ve only got two hands!”

Dude… take your shit out of the machines and fold your clothes after they’re out so other people can get started!  Are you really that situationally unaware and/or rude?!  Jeez! 

The dryer hog did appear to have a number of friends, which makes me think he must otherwise be a nice person.  And I’m sure he thought he could get away with hogging the dryers on a Saturday morning.  I would say that if you’re at the launderette in the wee hours of the morning and you need four dryers, knock yourself out.  But on a Saturday after 9:00am, you need to be more considerate of other people who are also trying to get that one little pesky chore done.  We all want clean underwear, and I’m willing to fight for the right to stain and stench free drawers!

It’s bad enough when people leave their clothes in a machine forever… don’t even get me started on the ones who do that with washing machines when there aren’t other others available for use.  But hogging a bunch of dryers just because you think no one else needs them is just a shitty thing to do.  If there are other people doing laundry, they are very likely going to need access to a dryer, unless they are fortunate enough to have access to a clothesline.  It takes longer to dry clothes than it does to wash them.  So when you hog four machines out of six, you really are screwing over your fellow Americans at the Panzer Launderette!

Bill was walking the dogs while I was waiting for a dryer and then my clothes to get done.  We weren’t held up too much and, unlike the cute couple I chatted with while we were waiting, I wasn’t wasting precious vacation time.  With any luck, we will get to move into a one room apartment for the next few weeks while we look for a more permanent place to live, and then this issue will be a non-issue for me once again. 

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housekeeping tips

All new adventures in German laundry… and last night’s festivities!

The last fifteen hours or so have been rather eventful. First off, last night the two day Breckenheimer Dorfplatzfest began. Ordinarily, last night would have just been a regular wine stand night, but the local culture club held its annual festival. So basically, it was like a supersized wine stand with beer, food, and live music. They had brats and burgers, along with fries (pommes) and wild potatoes with tzatziki.

Our neighbor and multi-talented veterinarian, Dr. Konrad Blendinger, was there with his pop ensemble, providing entertainment as friends and neighbors gathered in the village “square”. Dr. Blendinger plays guitar and even wrote a song about Breckenheim, which he sang last night. When he’s not playing music, Dr. Blendinger is well-known for his prowess in breeding dogs. Like, he’s world renowned for it– and people come from all over for his services. I even caught him admiring Noyzi when we brought him to a wine stand. Noyzi will never be a father, though. 😉

Bill and I had a pretty good time, although we were joined by an older German couple who didn’t speak English. There were also a few women there, one of whom was one we met on prior occasions. She asked us where Noyzi was. We left him at home, because we figured it would be too loud and busy for him. She nodded her approval.

We impressed them with our ability to enjoy wine, then they brought over some guy who spoke Russian. I spoke Armenian to him… 😉 I did so to be funny, not because the Russian and Armenian languages have anything in common. Of course, I didn’t expect him to speak Armenian, and I’m actually glad he didn’t, because I have forgotten a lot of it myself. I guess I just get tired of people assuming all Americans are monolingual. The guy got up and walked away. 😀 Oh well.

I also had occasion to use the new toilet that was installed last year. The fest was canceled last year because it was being built. As you can see from the photos, it’s pretty snazzy. This time, no one walked in on me, either. They put up directions in German and English!

I got some photos and videos of the festivities.

Potatoes with tzatziki. We should have eaten more than this.
Not so busy yet.
Our vet and singer-songwriter, extraordinaire.
Very helpful!
Look at that! There’s even a toilet brush!

We had a good time, but unfortunately, I overdid the wine quite a bit. This morning, I look like I got in a fight. Oh well…

As if having a hangover wasn’t bad enough, Bill greeted me with the news that there’s an issue with our washer. I bought the washer brand new from Amazon.de nine years ago next month. For the past couple of years, it’s been in decline. There’s a problem with the door sensor, so that it doesn’t close properly unless you bang the shit out of it. This morning, Bill tried to do a very light load and the cycle quit at about five minutes.

I drained the machine, which made a big mess… then I determined it was time to buy a new washer and dryer. Our dryer is functioning, but it has an annoying squeak that I can hear all the way upstairs, and it’s just a very no frills Turkish model that is too small and isn’t that great.

I spent the last hour or so agonizing over which brand to buy. The washer we have now is an LG, and it’s not bad… and I know how to use it, for the most part. But I wanted to get one as soon as possible, so I ended up buying a Siemens washer and dryer. I figure if they turn out to be smart devices (and I think they are), I’ll only have to download one app. Plus, I could get them delivered on the same day. Hopefully, they’ll work out fine. I paid a little extra for the delivery guys to hook everything up and take away the old appliances.

These new machines are quite a bit more expensive than the old ones were– naturally. I think I paid just over $1600 (about 700 euros each, before VAT and delivery) for the pair, whereas I see I paid about 600 euros for my old dryer (no longer available) and 370 euros for the old washer (which I now see is also no longer available and gets poor reviews– it probably didn’t when I bought it). But I think they’ll be easier to use, and they’ll hold more. I got the 9 kilogram size, instead of the 7, which is what I’ve been using. I would have liked to have gone for the biggest one they offered, but doing that would have significantly reduced my choices. Also, we have to make sure we can get the appliances through the doors and down into the basement.

I mainly decided to buy the models I did because they got mostly good reviews, weren’t super expensive, and could be delivered as soon as Tuesday. I do a lot of laundry, so this is a good thing. The bigger size should make it easier to do laundry, too. I think I got a condenser dryer, which will be a new thing for me. I tried to find one that vents, because that’s what I’m used to, but they didn’t seem to have them available. So, now I get to learn how to use a condenser dryer.

I’m already feeling a lot better than I was earlier. I took some Advil and ate breakfast, which helped a lot. The Dorfplatzfest starts up again at 2:00 PM, but I’m not sure if we’ll go today. Bill is talking about brewing some beer… and I sure don’t want to start tomorrow like I’ve started today.

In other news, we have some pretty wild flowers in our backyard… They came from the bee bombs I planted a few months ago.

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housekeeping tips

Even more adventures in German laundry…

This morning, I went down to the basement to start a load of laundry.  Unfortunately, I was still half asleep when I set the machine.  I ended up using the “bettdecken” setting instead of “pflegeleicht”, which is what I usually use for washing clothes.  No matter, though…  both cycles take a long time, so it probably doesn’t really make any difference.  But then I got to thinking.  Americans who live in Germany and have to use German washing machines may not always know what settings are best.

The first time we lived here, we borrowed a German washing machine from the US government.  We never had any problems with it, though I have read on Facebook that some folks haven’t been so lucky with their borrowed machines.  The nice thing about the German machine we used first time we were here is that it had a timer on it.  You could see how long the cycle was.  Given that some cycles can take a couple of hours, that was a very useful feature.

This time, Bill and I had to buy our own machine.  I picked one off Amazon.de.  It’s a pretty good machine, except when I find it full of grey water (though I think that’s a plumbing issue rather than a machine issue).  Unfortunately, when I bought the machine, I didn’t get one with a timer.  It took a few cycles before I learned which cycle was what.

My trusty washing machine.

Most of the time, I use the “pflegeleicht” setting.  Plegeleicht means “easy care”.  I haven’t actually timed the cycle, but I’d say it runs for about 90 minutes or so.  When I wash my sheets, I use “bettdecken”.  Bettdecken is for bed clothes and duvet covers.  I don’t know how it differs from plegeleicht.  I just use it because I’m supposed to for bedding.  It also runs for about 90 minutes or so.

There’s also the Baum-wolle Eco setting.  That one is kind of the default if you push the play button before making an alternate choice.  Baum-wolle is for cottons.  It’s a very long cycle– like over two hours.  I never use it unless I have nothing else to do all day.

There’s a Wolle setting for wool, which I never use because I rarely wear wool.  And there’s also a Koch-Buntwasche setting, which I think is another all purpose setting.  I never use it because it’s too long.

My machine has a “baby care” setting, which I find funny because it’s in English.  Not having any babies, I’ve never felt the need to try that setting.

Sometimes I use the “Kurz-30” setting, like if I’m washing bathroom rugs, tablecloths, or napkins.  It’s supposed to be a short cycle.  I’m not sure if the 30 stands for minutes or not.  I can’t be bothered to time the cycle.  Maybe I should in the interest of science.

There’s also a silk/delicate setting (feinwasche), which I never use because I don’t wear silk or delicate items anymore.  My clothes are strictly no frills Eddie Bauer and LL Bean jobs that can take a lot of punishment.

My machine goes up to 1400 RPMs, but I never use any settings that go that high because I see no need to.  The ones that go up to 800 RPMs are plenty powerful enough for me.  I never notice my clothes being any less clean with lower RPMs.  (My German friend Susanne says the higher RPMs are actually for getting the clothes more dry.  I suppose that may be one way to save money on drying.)  My machine also goes up to 80 degrees Celsius (176 degrees Fahrenheit).  I usually use the settings that go to 40 degrees Celsius.  The water gets heated in the machine instead of in the house.

One thing we had to get used to is leaving the door to the machine ajar.  If you don’t, the machine will stink of stagnant water.  It will also get moldy.  I imagine I will soon need to run a cycle with vinegar in it to help descale the hard water deposits that can form after awhile.  I have also had to learn how to drain the machine and clean out the filter, which I never had to do with my trusty Roper top loader back home.  And God forbid you use American soap in the machine.  I’ve done it a few times with no serious problems, but a lot of American detergents are too sudsy and can clog up the machine if you use them too often.  Supposedly, you can use the new fangled American detergents for high efficiency machines.  I haven’t tried that yet because I kind of like the way German detergents smell.

I do think my German washing machine does a pretty good job cleaning my clothes.  Unfortunately, it only holds 7 kilos at a time, so I have to do smaller loads.  We had an American dryer last time we lived here because American dryers run on 220 voltage and can handle more clothes.  This time, we bought a Turkish dryer that vents outside.  It does alright and didn’t cost much, though it’s not the most energy efficient machine out there.

Our Turkish dryer.

Maybe as the weather improves, we will embrace using a clothesline or a “spider”.  The people who lived here before us sold us theirs.  It can be an effective way to save money and helps clothes smell “April fresh”, too…  Well, perhaps as long as the field adjacent to our yard hasn’t been freshly fertilized.  I think they spread some manure in the field yesterday because the air had the pungent aroma of shit.

I think doing laundry in Germany can be a daunting experience for some American folks.  Some never get the hang of it.  The clothes washer is not a problem for me; I’m having more problems figuring out the dishwasher.

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