German Kitchens....

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For those of you that have been asking .... yes my kitchen is now all fitted and up and running.

And for those of you who do not know the deal with renting houses in Germany, it seems that almost any property you rent comes without a kitchen!? Yes you read it correctly, rented properties are rented without a kitchen!? Some of the smaller properties may be rented with a kitchen, but believe you me, I wouldn't call a tatty sink, draining board and a cupboard underneath, a kitchen (and I did see some properties like this on my search for a house) - but they do and it's a selling point.

So, whenever you rent a property you then have to buy a kitchen and (unless you're a wiz with DIY) you also have to pay someone to install it. They are fully fitted kitchens, not freestanding as you might expect. And for all intense purposes they are exactly the same as the kitchens we have at home. Except when you move, you take your kitchen apart and install it in your new property. Don't ask me what they do if it doesn't fit ... or if you need some more units .... because I haven't a clue and quite frankly hope I don't find out!

I guess it would be fair to point out at this stage that unlike rental properties in the UK you don't seem to be able to sign for the usual 6 months contract over here. They do like a longterm contract so most properties are rented on a 2/3 year lease. So I guess that makes the kitchen thing a little more plausible.

The Germans are obviously very good at installing kitchens, as ours was installed in one day. By the time the guys had left by the end of the day I had a fully functional kitchen. Admittedly they did build most of the units prior to arriving.

However, I did get a little worried at one stage when I popped my head round the door to see how they were getting on to see both guys sat there, looking at the wall, scratching their heads ..... their English was almost non-existent so I couldn't ask what the issue was. I figured just turn around and walk away .... what I didn't know couldn't harm me.

And my kitchen turned out beautifully .... see what you think. Attached are some before and after photo's.

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