Ok, this is a lot harder than we bargained for. I think we have contacted about 50 landlords in the Freiburg area and still no place to live (besides the rubbermaid containers we are taking on the plane). The market is completely in the landlord's favor, as people line up and even 'apply' for apartments in Freiburg. So, we have a huge disadvantage to start with as it is much easier to deal with someone you can meet personally than a flight risk from Kanada. We gave up on trying to do it ourselves and through rental 'agents' in Germany, and employed the services of one of Peggy's friends and a guy from the Uniklinik - where I am going to work. We found a pretty nice place about 5 km from my work and we have our application in the pile of ten, so 10% chance. Here's hoping...
Oh, and the visas. So the guy at the consulate says "apply when you get there, not here" even though everything we learned said to do it now. So, he reluctantly agreed, and made a couple of calls to make sure we would get them in time (we fly out on May 17). Then, he takes our passports, and attaches them to the paperwork for the visas. I was a little stunned, but after a short assurance from him, we all walked out sans passports, and a receipt Erika could have made at the craft table. Who gives away their passport to some stranger from a hole-in-the-wall office? I still can't believe we agreed to it. Not to mention the $360 price hike from the quoted internet price of $90. But we did get some cheap paper Bavaria/Germany flags out of the deal. I think it was the single worst case of consumer responsibility I have ever had. Here's hoping...
Jeff
