Page 5 - GC-Sept-Oct-Guide-2025

German Leckerbissen topics

By Daniel Schwarz in their head? Rents may appear apt living), and maybe with the local authori-
ne of the closest reasonable at first but wait until you even garden mainte- ties, which is mandato-
words to tidbit in read the fine print for the lease. nance! Not usually in- ry. Without this you
OGerman is Leck- When moving in, payment for the cluded are electricity, may not get utilities in
erbissen. Literally Leck- first month plus a security deposit telephone/internet, nor your name or even be
erbissen means tasty (Kaution) of 3 months is common. heating (but could be able to open a bank ac-
morsels or bits. The fol- The security deposit is returned with included in utilities). count.
lowing may include interest when moving unless dam- Basically, the landlord FREENOW App:
some tidbits of German ages are due. The rent (miete) is may pass all or some of A European mobility
culture, foods/drinks, usually described as rent excluding the associated costs along to the app that allows users to book taxis,
traditions, folklore, his- utilities KM (Kaltmiete); or rent in- renter. The rental ads can be very rides (private cars - like Uber in the
tory, language, and cur- cluding utilities WM (Warmmiete); cryptic, yet precise. A few more US, and yes, they have Uber there
rent events. or maybe extra for heating costs HK common abbreviations are: Whg. also), eScooters, eBikes, eMopeds,
Dinosaur Food: It (Heizungskosten); but the most in- (Wohnung) apartment; Zi. (Zimmer) carsharing, and even public trans-
may look like a prehis- teresting and costly item may be the rooms – but this has a bigger mean- portation. It serves over 150 cities
toric vegetable that dino- extra costs called NK (Nebenkos- ing where a one or two room apart- across 9 European countries that
saurs could have eaten, ten) which may be like an HOA fee ment will also have a kitchen, includes Germany. It was previous-
but its tender leaves and in the US, that includes a variety of bathroom, but advertised as one or ly known as MyTaxi until 2019.
mild taste has made it items such as, water, sewage, rain or two rooms. Note: German abbrevia- The app permits Taxi pre-booking
very popular for those surface water fee, garbage, heating tions usually include a period after up to 4 days in advance and is avail-
that enjoy eating cabbage. It is only son in crisis reads in the headline maintenance (not major repairs), the abbreviation. Now for a tongue able at many major European air-
grown on the Filder Plateau in Lein- “Sie sind nicht allein – Unterstüt- chimney sweeping, property tax, in- twister, the landlord needs to pro- ports. Payment can be made by
felden-Echterdingen, Stuttgart, Ger- zung in schwierigen Lebenslagen”, surances, street cleaning, cable TV vide you with a signed document credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay,
many. It’s called Filderkraut, a translated as: You are not alone – (if applicable), electricity for eleva- called Wohnungsgeberbestätigung PayPal, and even cash directly to the
large pointed white cabbage variety, help (available here) in difficult life tor (if applicable), hallway and so you can register as a resident driver.
and has been listed as an endan- situations. You may ask, does the property maintenance (for multiple
gered species. It is so unique that the U.S. also have a National Crisis
local producers have celebrated this Hotline? Yes, it can be reached by
versatile vegetable with an annual phone or text by dialing 988 (Sui-
Kraut festival for the last 40 years, cide and Crisis Lifeline).
every third weekend of October. At Abkürzungen in Wohnungsan-
the last 3-day long festival in 2024, zeigen: Means German Housing
more than 50,000 visitors attended. rental ads abbreviations. Renting in
Besides the music, dancing, and Germany is typically by the month,
foods, typical of a German festival, paying in advance and due on the
the prized cabbages were displayed first of the month with a few grace
and paraded through the town to days. Also, many ads include the
take home the title of “world cham- size of the rental by square
pion cabbage”. Although this cab- meters/Quadratmeter (sqm). A
bage has limited availability, it is rough conversion from square me-
sometimes available in cans on Am- ters (sq m) to square feet (sq ft) is to
azon as a specialty sauerkraut. multiple the sq m by 10. An exam-
TelefonSeelsorge – For the past ple is 120 sq m x 10 = 1,200 sq ft.
65 years in Germany a national The actual conversion factor is
counseling service called Telefon- 10.764, but who can calculate that
Seelsorge has been of-
fered to anyone
seeking help in a crisis
365 days a year, 24
hours a day. Neither
age, nor gender, occu-
pation or social status,
religious affiliation,
political affiliation, or
nationality limit ac-
cess to this free ser-
vice. This service is
available by phone, e-
mail, and sometimes
even on site. There are
more than 100 Tele-
fonSeelsorge offices
throughout Germany,
with over 8,000
trained employees ready on short
notice to offer help. Most offices are
run by the Evangelical and Catholic
Churches, that guarantee to those
seeking help anonymity and abso-
lute confidentiality. The photo of a
German postage stamp issued in
2021 shows the nationwide tele-
phone number 0800/111 0 111. The
e-mail and chat functions can be
found on the internet at
telefonseelsorge.de which is also
shown on the postage stamp. When
opening this e-mail address, the per-

Septembrer - October 2025 • THE GERMAN CITIZEN • 5