Finally, home sweet home

Houses here usually come with nothing when you rent or buy. That saying "what did you bring? the kitchen sink?" is true to Germany. Houses come with rooms and a bathroom fitted. Nothing else. No lights, no kitchen cupboards, sinks, taps etc, no curtain racks, even no in built cupboards. After a long hunt after two months here, we found a lovely place in the old town (Altstadt) of Heidelberg. 2 months is actually a short period of time here to find somewhere to rent and that came with a hefty commission to the real estate agent (they call it provision) which wasn't so pleasant.

We were also lucky enough to find a place with a kitchen, but as you can see below - no lights. Thankfully my man has a drill, a table to stand on and some idea of how to install light fixtures!

We had to buy most things new to fit out the place which comes with the pros of having new stuff to get comfy in but the con of ikea assembly. Bought new knifes, and I trialled the effectiveness of them on my finger - whilst trying to cut bread as hard as a brick (damit Germany, get some self raising flour or something!), I found out its easier to slice clear through your finger & nail than the actual bread.

Everyone has been asking for pictures of the new place - so below is what it looks like in its current state. Hopefully next update will have a slightly more liveable slant on it (couch comes in 2 weeks, chairs for tables 3 weeks and we'll stop sleeping on a mattress on the floor this weekend when the bed frame shows up).

The living room

The Kitchen

The hallway