Hello Germany, I'm here!

I made it. I actually made it.

Four (quite long) days ago I stepped off a plane and made my way to the Arrivals lounge of Frankfurt International Airport. There I was greeted by three Germans, ready to welcome me into their family for the next three months.

I type this in my new home in the middle of the German countryside watching Fireman Sam, or rather Feuerwehrmann Sam. It's not quite how I remember it growing up as a child in England. Sam et al appear to have turned into Pontypandy's super rescue A team; not only putting out fires and saving kittens from rooftops but becoming Pontypandy's coastguard too.

I should probably point out that I'm watching Feuerwehrmann Sam on my own. Anna, the five-year old girl I'm here to look after for the next three months, is at Kindergarten. The TV is on to try and ease the eerie lack of noise in my new home (and also to help with my learning the German language.)

Everyone warns you moving country is a big deal, but no one quite prepares you for the change!

And it has definitely been a change. Taking everything I want for my life in Germany, and using only a plane to take it, somewhat limits what can be packed. Despite moving house over 12 times in the last eight years, I've often failed to clear out unwanted items; habit, time and personal nature resulted in me chucking most of what I own into the back of a car and hoping for the best.

This time, packing a Ford Feista to its gills was not an option. This time, I had just one large suitcase, one small suitcase and a handbag (thank God for BA's generous hand luggage allowance!). This time, my whole life had to fit into 46kg give or take a few hundred grams.

I'm a natural hoarder (a gene I've inherited from my father who would keep anything 'just in case'), so ruthlessly going through my clothes created THREE bags of items I no longer wore, and several pairs of shoes that had seen significantly better days. Not to mention the collection of general things I no longer used, picture frames, cables, jewellery, little gifts from people I'd never opened, unburned candles, endless toiletries I didn't need. However even after getting rid of several bags worth of items it took me days to make everything I wanted/needed to fit in my suitcase. (And we'll just not talk about the small collection of items I've wistfully left in England with the plea to anyone coming out to visit to bring an item or two with them...)

Now the drama of the cases is over and done with - well until the next move - the next challenge is settling into German life, learning the German language and not forgetting to drive on the right (so far I've not actually got behind the wheel of a car though so that's not such a problem).

I do, however, really miss breakfast cereal.