Residency Part 2 -- What? Me Worry? June 13, 2001
As previously mentioned, we'd rented an apartment, just before the beginning of a 2-week Bavarian holiday period. Our Croatia-bound rental agent had assured us the apartment was ours, but couldn't write-up the rental agreement. Her husband would handle it when they got back. Since the apartment wasn't available for 2 weeks, we headed off to see some of Germany -- a leisurely, touristy drive to Berlin and back.
Ten days later we returned to the rental office in Grünwald. The agent wasn't there, but her husband seemed confused. After a short phone conversation with his wife, he indicated that things were not yet settled. They would need to talk to the apartment owner. I explained we were planning to move in in 4 days, and were even hoping to get in earlier, if the present tenant had vacated. He wouldn't say much, wouldn't commit to anything, and suggested we call back the next day.
OK. We found a hotel, and the next afternoon we called. Here's the story: they hadn't yet been able to contact the owner of the apartment, who apparently was still on vacation. Moreover, it seems there was a misunderstanding -- the apartment was not available on June 15, as we'd thought. Instead, it was likely to be available on July 15. Whoops!
What to do now? Another month of eating out 3 times a day and I'd weigh 200 pounds! Somewhat in shock and feeling miserable, we had to return to Apartment Search mode. Perhaps we'd even have to choose another city to search, now that we appreciated how tight the rental market was around Munich.
We bought the local newspapers; there were no ads on Mondays!? The excellent guidebook, Lonely Planet, Munich, suggested a rental service, Mr. Lodge, and we accessed their web site. They seemed to have a few possibilities that looked good on paper (or rather on screen.) One was even in Grünwald, though the owner was looking for a 6-24 month tenant. After registering on-line, Mr. Lodge e-mailed us some details, including addresses and owner's names for 4 places. But there were no phone numbers. Several phone calls later, we left it that Mr. Lodge would (somehow) arrange times for meetings with three owners. We told them we were available ASAP, that evening, anytime the next day, whenever. We were ready. But they didn't call back that evening.
In the meantime, I tried looking up the owner of the Grünwald listing, Herr "Reinhold", in the phone book. No listing. As we were staying at a hotel in Grünwald, and it was a balmy evening, we walked over to see the rental from the outside. It was a cute little house on a quiet residential street. The name on the gate was Weinhold; not Reinhold. As I rang the door bell, Dick immediately disappeared out of sight. No pushy American, he. Unfortunately, there was no answer.
After dinner, I checked the phone book for Weinhold. Sure enough there was a phone number. And yes, we could come see the house that night. Ten minutes later we'd met the charming owners and their 2 daughters, who live next door to the rental. They're fluent in English (lived in New York City for 6 years and spend part of each summer in Colorado) and just happen to be members of the golf club we were planning to join. Small world. They happily agreed to rent the place to us, even with our short-term needs.
Talk about
good fortune! Six hours after discovering that our apartment wasn't to be,
we'd found another great place to live -- in scenic Grünwald
no less! It's a bright, 5 room, 1.5 bath, 2-story house with a
flower garden and patio out back. We're the first people to rent this
recently remodeled house, and everything is new and spiffy --new sheets, new
glasses, new towels, etc. The place seemed to be made for us, and the best part:
it was vacant. We could, and DID, move in the next day!
Now that the emotional roller coaster ride is over, we can start to relax and enjoy spending a long summer in Germany. "Happy, happy, happy, all the time, time, time."