Everyday Life

We are starting to become accustomed to the everyday life here in Leipzig. One big adjustment has been carrying cash with us everywhere we go. We have yet to find a place that will accept a Visa debit/credit card. For example, we were in IKEA on Friday, which is a really cool place, and we went to check out. Well, we noticed that the self-checkout lanes were empty so we just trotted up to one. After ringing up our items, Amy went to pay with her Visa card, thinking that at a big place like IKEA they would accept it. Well, we were wrong, and turns out the self checkouts only take German bank cards and no other form of payment. A little embarrassed, we made our way to another checkout and managed to dig out just enough cash to pay for our purchase. So, if you are planning a trip to Germany, don´t plan on using your credit card to make purchases. Luckily, we will be setting up a German bank account on Tuesday.

Also, grocery stores are a bit different. The cashiers sit in chairs while ringing your groceries, and there is no one to bag your groceries. You also have to bring your own bags with you to the store. However, this was something we tried to do even when we were in the States--much more eco-friendly.

We will probably be grocery shopping every day or every other day. We do not have a freezer, so we will have to shop for our frozen foods that day. Also, since we do not have a car to load up all of our groceries, we can only buy what we can carry. Thankfully, the grocery store is only a couple of blocks from our apartment.

Along with no freezer, we also have no dryer. Dryers use up a great deal of electricity, and from what we have heard, would be a high cost to use. We have a rather large drying rack which during the summer we will keep on our balcony to dry our clothes.

If you have any comments or questions, be sure to post them!
We are anxious for visitors...

Until next time,
Craig and Amy