living in Germany

We have now lived in Germany for three and a half years.  I have to admit that is longer than I thought we would live here, and longer than I have lived in any one place since I was seventeen.  I realized that I have posted a lot on my blog about our travels, but not a lot about how my day to day life has changed since moving overseas.  So, I thought that with the new year I would make a few posts about these changes.

A major change for us is transportation.  We don't have a car.  We had plans of buying a car when we moved here, but after choosing an apartment in the city we found that we don't really need one here.  I have a pass that covers the subway, buses and trams in the center of town and Simon has a bike.  Simon rides his bike all year long, even in the snow.  It takes him less time to get to work with his bike than with public transportation.  I love my pass.  I didn't have one for a the first year, but it has really given me freedom and I have been able to take the kids all over the city.  I can tell you all about which train or bus to take, but I couldn't tell you directions by street to save my life.  

Some of the good things of using public transportation are: 

Exercise.  It takes me about fifteen minutes to get to the subway station.  I can walk over an hour (pushing 70lbs) in a regular day without even thinking about it.  It has really helped me stay healthy and fit.  

I don't have to drive in the city or in snow.
Germans are punctual.  Their public transportation system is rarely late.
The Munich transportation system is very good about accommodating strollers, even double strollers.
I can walk to a grocery store, pharmacy, dry cleaner and two different parks in five minutes.

I get to spend time outside everyday.

Some things I don't like about public transportation:
If there isn't a good connection to where you want to go it can take forever to get there.  If I had a car it would only be a few minutes instead of an hour.
I really hate it when I barely miss the train have to wait 10 minutes for the next one.
I would like to be able to leave on my schedule instead of a train or bus schedule sometimes. (I usually feel this way when we miss the train)

I don't like having to walk in the rain and snow, but I have an awesome rain cover for my stroller.
I miss driving sometimes.  I miss turning up music and singing along with my little ones.

 

I never thought that I could live without a car, (in Jacksonville we had to have two) but I have and have had a great new experience.  I always like to add a picture and this is an oldie.  You can't tell, but they are actually in the subway station about a year and a half ago.