the b word
by sick Mama
Berlin, Germany
Now would be an Officially Bad Time to be blogging.
The kids are OK – so it’s not them.
(Well, actually Lboy8 is OK only insofar as he is asleep on the floor even though it’s midday – but at least he is not throwing up this instant as he has been for the past fifteen hours…and will continue later).
I’m OK – so it’s not me.
(Well, I’m OK only insofar as it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, a mother cannot get stay-in-bed-sick, so I am dizzily up looking after children, doing the washing, trying the occasional sip of water and managing not to throw up yet today).
Rob’s OK – so it’s not him.
(Actually, he’s OK only insofar as he was well enough to chase motorhomes around Berlin today due to the fact that he had no option not to. He, too, would rather be in bed).
Dad’s OK – so it’s not him.
(Although he has his own issues going on – you should try to replace a lost cashflow card from the other side of the world with a bank that has no sense of urgency and happily leaves you expensively on hold for five minutes…four days after you initially tried to get in touch with them….and then they can only promise help within five to ten working days anyway. So in reality, maybe Dad has high blood pressure today).
It’s not us.
It’s German BEAURACRACY. Boy, they rival the Ruskies, they do! As a fellow couchsurfer said, “The Germans would make Stalin proud!”
If we had not already bought Motorhome Number One we would have been deeming the process impossible and looking for a quaint little village in Italy to rent a trullo in for the summer. Right now that looks just as attractive as tripping around Europe! And we could even lie in bed and be sick properly 😉
But our research had indicated that it was possible for foreigners to buy German vehicles and register them without trouble (just a lot of paperwork and taxes we were told – having filled out literally thousands of forms for this trip so far, a little paperwork did not scare us off, and nothing could be as expensive as our Russian visas). However, it turns out the paperwork is not the problem. We are not allowed to use a post office box as we had been assured. We can only use a German address. And actually *we* cannot use one – they can only be used by someone who is registered to the address (which we are not and have no hope of becoming). We have people here who are registered – but we are not keen to leave a vehicle we have bought registered in their name and then have to return to wherever they are living in six months when we want to sell up to get their signature. Grrrr. We can get export authorisation. But then what? Where do we export the vehicle to? And what customs or import duty will we have to pay? And how do we know we’ll be able to register there???? Double grrrr. Additionally it would seem we can only get insurance for a month and it’s only valid in Germany. Triple grrrrr.
(Later: Rob comes home with the news that if we get export plates we are never ever allowed to return in it to Germany, not even to pass through to Poland, and certainly not to sell it…..and we can’t export it anyway as we are not residents in another country nearby….well, we *could* export to NZ, but that doesn’t seem an avenue even worth considering, let alone exploring.)
Earlier this morning we were rejoicing that we had missed out on our favourite motorhome on E-bay….someone else was willing to pay nearly 2000 euros more than us. However, they have been unable to complete the transaction so the motorhome has been offered to us at our highest bid price. Do we BUY NOW or not? You’ve got to be kidding. We can’t even sort out one, let alone a second 200km away in a completely different town! We’ve got 24 hours to find a miracle and change our mind.
But in the meantime I have some more washing to do.
T: Mama, ER has wet pants.
M: What? She never wets her pants.
T: They are Mum, they’re wet.
M: ER, do you need the toilet?
ER: No, I went already.
M: In your pants?
ER: No. Um, yeah. Yeah I have wet pants. I need new ones. I need some dry ones.
And now that I’ve jotted down the conversation, she’s removed said pants and needs me to help her extricate a dry pair from the backpack. And wash the wet ones. Sigh.
Add to all that the fact that the internet connection keeps dropping out, the fact that we are aware we are staying not just in someone else’s house, but have kicked them out of their own bed, the fact that the kids are in silly mode after a day of magnificent fun yesterday (read water bombs from the fifth floor to the street below and waking up to a kitchen with a chair and beans and a pot and knives and a gherkin sandwich and limp lettuce and a paintbrush all taped to the wall and ceiling…..), the fact that the motorhome seller is adamant we need to sort things out TODAY and that she keeps giving different information about where to meet (requiring many minutes poring over transport maps and working out up to four connecting trains and busses to get to her destination – only to have the place changed and then need to start the process all over again….), the fact that IF we get the motorhome today, we have nowhere to park it tonight……
The pressure mounts.
And I remember another b word.
Blessing.
Count your blessings.
Give thanks in all circumstances.
Thank you, God, that in a place where some of us are verging on dehydrated, we can drink the tap water.
Thank you, God, that the floors thrown up on were wooden and that there is a washing machine to use too.
Thank you, God, that there are musical instruments and board games and books to keep the children occupied while we fight our way through the web of misinformation.
Thank you, God, that the supermarket opened today and we could buy food.
Thank you, God, for enough floor space for us all to lie down last night.
Maybe it’s not such a bad time to write after all.
Tags: health, learning, postcard: Germany, price, transport
rayres
Wow… what a nightmare. I hope it all gets miraculously sorted, too.
Praying for miracles and wisdom for you all. Hope you are all feeling 100% VERY soon. Love usxxx
golly i can’t even begin to imagine how frustrating & stressful that all must be, so i’ll just wish you all the best sorting it out (and feeling better) quick smart, and quietly wonder if you got a photo of the beans etc taped up?! 😉
good luck!
wonder no longer – we thought about photographing the beans and the chair on the ceiling, but we honestly were feeling SOOOOOOO grotty (try not to exaggerate on the blog but we really were DOWN – no photos is proof!!!!) In fact the only thing that got me up off the floor (literally) on Sunday was hearing Tgirl5 say “Would someone lift me up to this window so I cna see?” – knowing that we were on the fifth floor, the windows were open and she would climb if everyone ignored her, which they did. Grandpa informed us a 20-something alternative chic was leading a couple of our kids across the road with beer bottle held high and her head thrown back in laughter, not watching the traffic. And we didn’t care!
So no, no beans sorry!
Ugh. Sounds terrible. Maybe when you are feeling better you might have a chance to check out the website of my other favorite travelling family (besinds yourselves, of course!) http://www.thelittletravellers.com I mention it because they are in Berlin right now, too!
Many blessings to you all…
Chrislyn
Just a thought. I will talk to my boss, who is German born and see if he has any thoughts on dealing with the B. Hang in there. Watch this space.
Love to all.