Vacationing in Norway?

I am going to be out visiting my family in Norway for the next two weeks. So, I won't be updating this blog until then. 

If you are interested in visiting Norway, I would highly recommend it! It is a really beautiful country and nature lovers will want to come back often. Hotels are very expensive, though, as are restaurants. So, you might want to check into renting a cabin or bringing a tent and enjoying nature.

If you want to take a car or RV, then you can either drive through Denmark and Sweden or you can take a ship across. We will be driving to the northern tip of Denmark and taking a ColorLine ship across to Oslo. From there we will drive up to my uncle's cabin. We will probably eat tons of fish, since the fishing is so good there. But, you can also expect us to eat Fiskeboller and Lompe med Pølse.

Income tax calculations

If you would like to see an estimate of how much will be left over from your salary once you have paid all of your taxes, then try out this calculator from Spiegel.

http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,223811,00.html

Health insurance for the whole family

Each parent will need to have their own insurance. It can be with the same company, but it doesn't have to be. It is fairly common for one person to have government insurance (Krankenkasse) and the other to have private insurance. However, private insurance is only allowed if you have an income above 47,700 Euros annually.

The children need to be covered by the same insurance company that covers the parent with the highest income. This potentially up until they are adults. If they start working, then they need their own insurance.

An interesting option in Germany is the "Zusatzversicherung" (extra insurance). Since the government insurance has a fixed type of coverage for all people, many people purchase Zusatzversicherung from a private insurance company. This way, you can get better service, reduce co-payments or have more types of services covered. For example, you may want to ensure that you always get a private room if you are hospitalized. Few, if any, of the Krankenkasses provide this. However, there are Zusatzversicherung packages that provide this.

Train strikes?

It looks like the locomotive drivers have postponed potential strikes until August 6th. If you want to stay up to date on the situation check out their website in German: www.bahn.de/aktuell.

Immigration rights

It looks like immigration rights in Germany are being refined. It has been reported that the Federal Assembly has made stricter conditions around defining which family members may receive immigration rights and they have also are being much more strict in requiring people to participate in "integration courses".

I personally don't care for much of the tone around "integration". It would be wonderful to see the philosophy be structured around helping people become effective contributors to society and less of trying to "make them more like us".

Obviously, there is a need to reduce the number of people who are abusing the social support system. Yet, there are many, varying interests in this political issue and it is easy to cover up some of the personal biases against foreigners with new laws. I applaud politicians who see immigrants as an enrichment for Germany and who are focused on shaping the laws to reflect this attitude.

Really cheap travel

If you are new to Germany, you may not now about the cheap flights that you can find. You can find some truly amazing deals. If you check out the website www.billigflieger.de, you can seach through all of the low price airlines at once. However, go to the airlines' own website to actually book. There are often rates there that aren't found on billigflieger.de.

We recently flew from Hamburg to Marseille for a long weekend on Ryanair. Two adults and two children round-trip ended up costing under 400 Euros. If we had waited one week longer to book, we could have gotten the tickets for half that price at the same airlines. You have to pay for each piece of luggage and the weight limits are VERY low. If you are overweight at the airport, it is expensive. But, they are somewhat flexible with the weight on carry-ons. So, travel light and try to survive on just carry-ons.

So, find out where your closest budgets airlines fly through and look at where the fly to. For example, I live in Hamburg and if we fly Ryanair, we fly through Lübeck, which is about an hour away by car. They do provide bus service from Hamburg, too. From Lübeck we can fly to: Marseille, Barcelona, Dublin, London, Milan, Florence and Stockholm.

Most loved vacation destination in Germany?

According to many, the baltic coastal area in Germany is the most loved vacation destination for Germans. It is a very beautiful area with lots of nature and some charming cities. It is also where you will find the sanddorn berries (picture above). These odd berries are extremely rich in vitamin C. There is a northern German tradition of using sanddorn syrup (sweetend with honey or sugar, since it is so-o-o-o-o sour otherwise) for breakfast in your oatmeal or yoghurt.

Timmendorfer Strand is relatively near Hamburg, offers upscale dining and Sunday shopping. The beaches covered with wicker beach chairs for rent can get very crowded during the school break period, though.

Others prefer destinations such as the island Rügen with its white cliffs and wonderful nature. The archipelago is simply charming for any boating.

Often couples or families will rent a house or apartment for a whole week (or two). This can be quite affordable and gives the opportunity to cook, rather than having to spend all your money on restaurants. Often you will be able to avoid the beach taxes if you have a rental. Just ask at the reception if they provide this.

More information in German can be found on the Deutsche Ostseeküste website.

What are your favorite vacation destinations?