I was going to write a post about the awesome weekend I just had. Unfortunately, I’ve misplaced my camera and I feel that updating without photos wouldn’t do it justice. Instead, I’m going to write a little about what I’ve been doing to settle in.
The day after I arrived, I went to the Bürgeramt (Residents’ Office) in Steglitz because I wanted to get a real German passport (my current one is only valid for a year). I still had the photos from when I applied for the temporary passport, so I took them along.
The Bürgeramt is a little like CentreLink, but offers many more services. I took a number, sat down and proceeded to be annoyed that I didn’t bring a book for the next hour.
When my number was called, I sat down with a nice lady and asked her for a new passport. She was a little confused when she couldn’t find me in the system, and we determined that’s because I hadn’t registered as a resident in Berlin, yet. So register I did, and we organised a few different things for me:
- Real passport. This is going to take about four weeks to organise. I’ll have to go and pick it up when I get back from my first Tour d’Europe.
- Personalausweis (ID card). In Germany, every resident needs to carry either an ID card or a passport. I’ll also be able to use this to travel throughout EU countries, rather than having to take a passport with me.
- Lohnsteuerkarte (Income tax card). When I (finally) get some gainful employment, I need to hand over the Lohnsteuerkarte, upon which they will record some details. I get it back at the end of the tax year (which is the same as the calendar year in Germany). Not sure whether I need to do a tax return, I’ll find out in six months!
They also told me that if I want a German driver’s license, I’ll need to get my Australian license switched over within six months. After that I’ll have to go through the same rigmarole that new drivers have to.
After leaving the Bürgeramt, I went to open a bank account at the local Sparkasse (one of the German banks). Opening an account was quick and easy. I spoke to a lady that had an uncanny resemblance with Maggie Gyllenhal. About fifteen minutes later, I had an account and she gave me all the details I needed to transfer money from Australia (which is where most of my money still is). Unfortunately, I still have to wait for my key card, so in the mean time I’ve been living off cash and credit card.
Speaking of which, credit cards aren’t nearly as widely accepted in Germany as in Australia. I was caught out when I wanted to settle the bill at a restaurant and didn’t have enough cash on me. EFTPOS (or EC) is much more common, but only for transactions above a certain value.
Needless to say, I can’t get a German credit card until I have a job. Sparkasse offers one that will make travel within Europe a lot easier for me.
So after I had that all sorted out, I’ve started applying for work! I’ve applied for two, so far. One as an English language trainer at Inlingua (I’ve already been knocked back) and another as a librarian for the Zentral- und Landesbibliothek (Central and State Library) Berlin. The librarian job looks to be rather awesome, because it involves a fair bit of tech. It’s also quite well paid, so I’m concerned that I’m not qualified for it.
Regardless, I’m flying out in four days for Vienna. I’ll have a camera by then, even if I have to buy a new one.
