German Housing

Since we moved to Europe in the fall, many people are asking me to post photos of our home.  Here are some photos and commentary about the differences between American and German homes. We are renting a duplex/townhome in a small village.

We live in the right side of the home.  Our landlord is Russian and his son, daughter-in law and grandchildren live in the left side.  They have a garage and we have a carport.  The homes are very close to the street.  The style is typical for our area -- stucco exterior with tile roof and no front yard. On Saturday mornings, the Germans sweep their sidewalks and along the curb of the street.

This view is down the hill toward the rest of our village.  There are many gardens in any available open space.  In the warm months, most homes have lovely window boxes.  There are several farms in the village with horses, goats, and sheep.  Some people have chickens and roosters too. There is what I think was an old flour mill that is abandoned. On the far hills are windmills.  There are wind farms throughout the area that generate electricity. We can walk easily to three other villages.  There is a commuter train stop about ten minutes from the house.  The nearest larger village has several bakeries and restaurants.

Here's our kitchen.  Cabinet and counter space are limited.  The ovens will hold a small cookie sheet.  Through the doorway is a small room where we have a second refrigerator with freezer, a microwave (220V) and shelving (our pantry). In the main kitchen, we have a transformer on top of the cabinet and wiring running down to a multiplug so we can use our 110V kitchen appliances (mixer, crock pot, etc.)

The German fridge (below) has no freezer.  The cabinet above and below store food and pots and pans.  The sink is small and not deep.  They don't do grinders/garbage disposals here. 

The baths are a little different too.  The toilet tank is inside the wall.  There are two buttons to select from to flush -- a small button for less water and a larger button for more (as needed!).  There are no cabinets or countertops for storage, just a ledge.  We bought a bath cabinet collection on sale at Ikea to provide storage space in the upstairs full bath. Three of us share the full bath; it can get sporting in the morning, but it works.

This is the upstairs shower and bidet.  There is a second full bath in the basement with a tub but we haven't used it yet -- it's too much of a trek from bedroom to that bathroom.  There is no ventilation in the bathroom aside from opening the window, so I put out damp rid to help ensure we don't have mildew issues.

Some details from the shower.  The shower pan is plastic and has this interesting design.  The shower door has dolphins.  I don't see how they go, but it's a rental!!!

This is the laundry room in the basement - a lovely pink/purple hue. The washer is an American-style washer, and the dryer is European style.  It basically dehumidifies the clothes. There is a tank in the dryer where the water collects, and then we empty it into the utility sink. It takes a good two hours to dry a load of clothes, and the tank has to be emptied at least once during the drying cycle. Many older European homes were not outfitted for dryers that vented to the outside, and these dehumidifying dryers work wherever there is power.  Many people hang their clothes out to dry.  We set up shelving and a workbench in the remainder of this room.

Back on the main floor, this is the view from the living space into the dining area.  The kitchen is a totally separate room with no space for a table.  To the left is a wood burning fireplace. Note the floors throughout the house are tile, except for the bedrooms which are laminate.  They are hard on the feet, so we enjoy our area rugs. The exterior walls are concrete and difficult to hang pictures, so I tacked a tapestry over the dining table.

View of the cozy living space and fireplace. The oversized mouse hole under the fireplace is designed for wood storage; however our cat enjoys hiding there. Our US lamps work fine with plug adaptors and 220V light bulbs.  Hubby used the move as an excuse to buy a new dual voltage tv.  We have a Sky box and get satellite television from Britain.

A door off the dining area opens to the balcony.  Balconies are very popular here.  The cat enjoys it too.  The previous tenants left the window boxes and I replanted them with heather that has thus far withstood the winter cold. Our home backs up to a farm field used to grow hay.  Off to the right of the balcony is a detention pond.  The yard below is fenced with a patio below the balcony. There is a sidewalk leading to a storage area under the carport.  We keep the lawnmower and yard tools there.

This is looking to my neighbor (landlord's kids) balcony.  They don't have a balcony railing!  They do have kids but they never go out there.  The white in the neighbors lawn is left over snow. (I took these photos during our January thaw.) The mound of dirt beyond is the backyard of another home under construction.  Homes are built one at a time here and slowly - taking a good six months or longer.

Back in our house.  These stairs are typical of the newer German homes.  I have seen some that did not have a railing (scary if you have small children).  Thankfully our largest beds are queen sized.  The movers had to really wedge the box springs to get them up these stairs. A king size mattress would not have fit!

The cabinet past the stairs is a shrunck.  We have one for each of us in our bedrooms, and this one which we use as our coat closet.  German homes do not have any closets; you use furniture to create storage. Our foyer bench also has storage.

Because the home has very hard surfaces and the stairwell is open from the basement to upstairs, noise carries throughout the house. Area rugs help a bit.

This is the smallest of the three bedrooms.  Many homes have rooms similar to this with the roofline forming the ceiling and a window that tilts in providing light.  You can lie in bed and watch the stars at night.  The bedrooms have laminate floors and radiator heating.

The bathroom has a similar window.  They do not install mechanical ventilation fans in the bathrooms here, so the only way to eliminate moisture is by opening the window.  They recommend people air out their homes pretty much daily to reduce moisture levels and prevent mold problems since the homes are fairly tightly built and there is no ventilation via bath fans or the heating systems.

The windows open sideways and have deep window sills great for storing items or growing house plants.  They also tilt in so you can leave them cracked on a rainy day or open just a bit for ventilation at night. Finally (below right), most German homes have rolladens.  These are metal coverings that roll up and down over the exterior of the windows and doors.  They provide security and also protect from drafts on windy days.  On very cold days, we leave our rolladens closed in rooms we aren't using as added insulation.  People tell me that in the summer, once the sun comes up, they'll close their windows and rolladens and this helps keep the homes cooler as most homes do not have air conditioning.

This is our master bedroom.  Again, there is no closet, so we backed the two shrunks to the angled wall and created additional storage space behind the shrunks.  The room is amply sized but an awkward shape.  This room is also heated by radiator. There is no master bathroom.  There is just the single bath with one sink, toilet, and shower on this floor, shared by all of us. There is no linen closet either.  We keep spare towels in our bedroom.

Our pseudo walk-in closet.

Most German homes do have ample attic space.  The main beam is about 7 feet high, and we have natural light too, which is great.  A metal fold down ladder opens to the upstairs hallway.

The hot water heater and heating system are located in the attic. The radiators in the bedrooms are served by this system. The remainder of the house has under floor heating.  There is no fan or furnace that circulates air.  This is good for keeping the dust down if you have allergies, but the home has very definite warm and cold spots.

This is the light bulb in the attic -- for my home inspector friends' amusement.  I really don't know if they have building codes or code enforcement officials who look at housing construction here.  It seems structurally the homes are built solidly, but we have had several electrical, plumbing, and heating issues.

This is the unprotected plug for the hot water circulation pump.  The pump was sounding like a diesel truck engine, and our brave (or stupid) Russian landlord unplugged it once he figured out it was the noise maker.  We don't have instant hot water any more but it also doesn't sound like we're sleeping at a truck stop!!

I should note that US authorities inspect housing that is rented by Americans, but I don't know the extent of those inspections.  I think if a home was inspected once and cleared, it is then ok in perpetuity.  I did ascertain the whereabouts of the gas and water shutoff valves with our real estate agent to minimize any potential disasters.  Also, the homes have smoke detectors but no carbon monoxide detectors, although most do have gas service.

This is the large downstairs space - L-shaped similar to the living/dining room above it.  The sliding doors are the only access to the backyard.  The left hand door tilts in, similar to the windows. We use this room as a fitness space for aerobics and martial arts and our son uses it as his film room.  The door has rolladens and the room can be blacked out and lighting adjusted as necessary for filming.

The other half of the "rec room" with our son's green screen set up (for all our film friends). The cat likes to sit on the green screen on the floor in the sunshine.  One of these days we'll film her and do something fun with it.

This is the window that should have been a door from the carport into the kitchen pantry area. Recycling is mandatory here, so we positioned the requisite containers outside the window.  We open the window and put our stuff out.  When we get groceries, if I have help, I pass them in through the window.

The cans are blue for paper, brown for biodegradable and black for "restmulle" which is the non-recyclables.  We also have yellow bags (gelbesacs) in the house for plastics, foil, and cans.  Glass items have to be taken to a recycle drop location about a ten minute walk from the house.  Sorting takes a bit to get used to but isn't hard. The hard part is keeping track of the pickup schedule.  Paper goes out once a month but restmulle and plastic go out every other week, and they pick up around 6 am, so you have to have your stuff out or wait for a couple more weeks or a month for the next pickup

.I hope you have enjoyed your tour!!