Cronin Parents' Search for Home Part IV: Exploring Feldkirchen

Shamus and Karen drove through town searching for playgrounds, a bakery, a meat market, and flower fields.  In Munich and the surrounding areas, there are many fields of flowers with small locked boxes on posts for paying for cut flowers.  There is never anyone working at the money collection box; you simply pay for what you pick.  "One of my favorite things I've learned and experienced about the German people is that they follow rules.  All of the rules make sense, and so it makes sense to follow them.  Back in the States it would be almost impossible to stay in business if you just had a box with prices posted nearby.  There are some people who would pay, and I'm sure that there are lots of people who would just come and take the flowers without paying.  There are German thieves out there somewhere but it's just not part of the culture like it is in the States," said Karen.

They found everything they were searching for and more; they found an ice cream shop, a few grocery stores, and a kindergarten for their children.  "We applied at the German kindergarten but they didn't have enough teachers hired for the fall yet.  We're on a waiting list and our boys will hopefully start in October," said Shamus.  "It's pretty sweet.  There's a slide from the second floor that you ride down to get to the playground outside.  And there are a bunch of tiny sinks and toilets and everyone's toothbrushes are lined up hanging on the wall in the bathroom.  I don't think kids brush their teeth at school in America.  I didn't!"

When asked how they felt about their new hometown, Karen said "I think it's adorable.  It will be a lot of fun living a city life: going to the bakery and the butcher shop a few times a week, walking everywhere, and taking the S-Bahn instead of driving.  At the same time, this village feels like a small town out in the country, with tractors driving on the roads and big fields of corn.  Our landlords are wonderful, too!  They have already offered to let us borrow the bassinet that the landlord made when he and his wife had children 30 years ago!  They have been very kind and welcoming in a surprising way."

The Cronins will move to Feldkirchen in one month.

Cronin Parents' Search for Home: Part III - The Houses

On Day 1, Shamus and Karen found one potential home.  They named it the Pool-Balconies-Order'sUpKitchen House

There is a covered pool 1.5 meters deep to the left of the house behind the garage.  You can see in the above photo the many balconies, perfect for enjoying some fresh air.

Below, you can see the Order's Up window.  This view is from inside the kitchen looking into the dining area.  The door to the right closes off the kitchen.  The door you can see through the Order's Up window is the front door.

The only downside to the house was that there was only 1 full bath and a guest bathroom downstairs.

Day 2 was much busier.  They visited homes on every side of Munich, and not in order.  First to the west, then to the east, then to the north, down to the south and back to the east.
The first house was instantly eliminated because of the fridge.  Yes, the entire fridge was in one small cabinet.

The next house was another potential home: The Extra-Large Slightly Remote Home

This one had 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.  "I don't know that I want to have to manage that much house!" said Karen.  "More than one full bath brings this to the top of the list for me!" said Shamus.  Living in this home would require both Karen and Shamus to have cars, which wasn't the ideal plan.

The next house, named Karen's Favorite, seemed too good to be within the price range.


The back half of this duplex with the green garage is the home.  The front half is inhabited by a midwife and her husband.



Above you can see a complete kitchen, which was a big bonus!  Some of the houses have empty rooms with kitchen appliance outlets, requiring the renter to purchase cabinets, a refrigerator, stove and oven, cabinets, and drawers.  This home was recently updated with a new kitchen and new floors.  You can also see how bright the kitchen is!  Very uncharacteristically, this kitchen has no door, another bonus for Shamus and Karen.

"The garden is full of familiar plants, as well as a compost bin and a space for growing vegetables!  This feels like home." said Karen.



Another little bonus is what Karen is calling The Pointy Hobbit Door.  Located on the top floor, you can see the slant of the roof guides the shape of this door, which leads to a full bath.  There also happens to be a Pointy Hobbit Window on the opposite wall.


With 5 bedrooms and 2 full baths and a guest bathroom, this home was a perfect fit.  Not only was the building wonderful, but the location is also ideal. "The library is 2 blocks away, as well as the meat market, the pharmacy and a bakery.  There is an S-Bahn stop 1 block in the opposite direction." said Karen.  There are several kindergartens in Feldkirchen as well as 4 playgrounds.

At the end of the day, they asked their relocation agent to call the owner to apply for Karen's Favorite house.  In Germany, you must be approved by the owner, and in some cases, chosen over other applicants.  That night, Shamus and Karen prayed for contentment no matter what the answer was and that they would be chosen as the renters of this sweet house.  After receiving the financial information, the owners chose the Cronins!  "What a fun answer to our prayers!" said Karen.  Now that they had found the house, it was time to discover their new little town of Feldkirchen.

Cronin Parents' Search for Home: Part II - Enjoying the Culture

After a rather enjoyable flight from Atlanta to Munich, Shamus and Karen began their mission of finding Home.

First things first: Bavarian food!  Karen enjoyed a lieberkäse sandwich.  Lecker!

This was followed by a surprise, spectacular find:

Enter the train...

See a lego elephant...

And go inside a play!!!

As far as they could tell, this indoor playground is frei.  And around the corner, there was some dodgeball and an area to ride big wheels.

Then, Shamus spotted this and said, "Aww, look.  All the München beers in one picture."

Karen saw this sign, clearly communicating that "All superheroes should run this way to escape the evil canoes!"  What an exciting place!

That afternoon, they were able to attend Munich International Church, an evangelical church exegeting Romans.  Another very exciting find!

So far, the search was going well.  On to finding a Haus!

Cronin Parents' Search for Home: Part I - Flight

Shamus and Karen Cronin, parents to 3 sons and one more baby in utero, traveled to Munich in search of Home.  Shamus has been transferred to Germany for 3 years for his job.  "I'm really excited about the move!  It will be great to finally learn German and I can't wait until our children are more fluent than Shamus already is!" says Karen, stay at home mom and former Spanish teacher.  One of her goals for many years now has been to learn to speak German.  She has also always aspired to be a family that travels the world and this is quite the start.  "Munich is an hour and a half from Salzburg, Austria.  It's 3 hours into Italy and only 5 and a half to Venice.  It's also 3 hours to Zurich, Switzerland.  In 6 and a half hours, you're in Paris.  And that's if you drive or take a bus or train!  Many of the flights are less than an hour," says Google maps.

Shamus, who has traveled to Munich many times for his job, instructed Karen on how to fly international business class, a new endeavor for her:

1. Socks (provided by the airline) on.


2. Blanket on.


3. Napkin tucked at mealtime.


4. Enjoy a movie, or 2.


5. Lay down and sleep.

The seats in Business Class on this Delta Boeing 767 fully recline.  "It's probably worth it for some people to pay for Business Class in order to get the horizontal reclining position.  Others, like my husband, can sleep in almost any position."  says Karen, who thought her seat was very cozy.

The two of them flew to Munich for the Look and See trip.  Next, we'll see what they saw.