Hello World!  7 October 2019, my first blog entry.

So who am I writing this for?  It occurs to me that other Americans may want to visit or relocate, more or less permanently to Germany...so to that end I will try to describe some of the processes, as well as my daily reality.

I first moved to Wiesbaden on Dec.7th, 2010... a dubious date in infamy...only 78 years after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. ;-)

I had separated from my then wife of about 20 years, and aimed to start life over..begin a new life at age 60.  Why?... hard to answer... boredom... post mid life crisis... the desire for a new challenge... fond memories of my childhood in Wiesbaden and wanting to relive that time... it is complicated...and a mix of all those things...

So... how does a person become allowed to stay longer than a 3 month Tourist Visa and rent an apartment? In my case, renting an apartment turned out to be easy... a family friend owned some apartments and happened to have a vacancy... I paid 730Euro per month and that included water and electricity, heat and Nebenkosten (general communal upkeep of stairwell, trash etc). 

Since I had decided to stay long term, I needed to register with the city of Wiesbaden at the Bürgeramt (like city hall) in the Luisenforum. So now I was a legal Wiesbaden resident, and took a copy of my Anmeldung (city registration) to the Ausländerbehörde (Immigration office)to seek a long term resident status for my passport.  They wanted to see bank account information, proof of health insurance, my apartment rental contract, and so on.  They will give you a list of all documents they wish to see...you gather those together and come back, and if all goes well...they will issue you a permission to stay for 1 year (in my case)...sometimes they will give 2 years... but I was issued 1 year twice, and then 2 years, and then I moved to a new location and after 5 years I qualified for and was issued an "Unbefristet Aufenthaltserlaubnis"... this is like a permanent resident or green card status.  So... while it is not a slam dunk easy process... it is doable, and you just need to be patient and go through the steps.

Renting or buying a dwelling is no problem here...I first rented my apartment...and in 2013 I bought my house.  You will most likely find a house through a Makler (Realtor) and if you decide to buy it they will know a NOTAR (Notary/Real estate attorney) to handle the paperwork.  This process added about 10% to the purchase price, so be prepared for that.

The photos are from my first flat in Wiesbaden.  2 Rooms, high ceilings, a 2 minute walk from downtown pedestrian zone.  It was the best and worst of time... worst ..because it was also an incredibly lonely existence.

bedroom

dining 

living, dining, kitchen

dining kitchen

Kitchen

So...here I was in my little flat...plenty roomy enough for me... embarking on a new life, in my old favorite city in the world.  Wandering daily around the city of my childhood brought back tons of memories...wonderful...but in the end..pointless and bittersweet... but ...that is part of the lesson I would learn.

In the early days, I would spend many hours walking around my old stomping grounds from my early teenage years, and I have to say it was wonderful to be back in the first place I really loved being in, as a young emerging person.  I will post some photos of the important and favorite/familiar places where I lived.

Russian church

Marktkirche

Front entrance Kurhaus

rear view of Kurhaus

Kurhaus

Modern photo of the Eagle Club

Eagle Club as it was in the 60's, 70;s

My 7th grade home room

my 8th grade home room

My parents best friends, Hans and Uschi and my mom

Sonnenbergerstrasse 24, Priscilla's first dwelling in Wiesbaden

My band, 1963-64

The Von Steuben Hotel (now Dorint)

the American Arms Hotel (now torn down)

HH Arnold High School 1964 (now torn down and replaced)

So, these are a few of the familiar places of my youth...there are many photos I can't find at the moment, and as I come across them I will post them.

The memories of from 1961-1964 are bitter sweet. My parents really enjoyed living next to Eagle Club...easy walking distance to downtown Wiesbaden, and close to the Theater and restaurants.  The often met a group of German friends, Hans and Uschi and others at the Paulaner for dinner and great beer.   

From my side I loved being in Wiesbaden, and the challenge of learning and using German, but I was not very confident socially. I think my main focus, internally, were a few girls in my class... Ann Barr, Becky Thompson, Nicky Thompson, Suzanne Hudson, Susy Schulte.  I think the hormones were beginning to rage...but they had no place to go...and I was so shy I couldn't really talk to any of them.  I was enamored with Becky Thompson. I think I saw something very special in her, but I don't know how or why I had that impression, as I never had the chance to speak with her... but my heart would stop when I would see her in the hall.  Later in life she became a college writing professor and has written several well regarded novels under the name Rebecca T. Godwin.  So, I guess my gut instinct about Becky being special was spot on.