Whenever I open this blog...I long for the sea..already. Though it's probably way colder there than what we currently have in Florida. Where could I get such a beach basket? Where would I put it, however?

The company we signed up with for home exchanges has bi-annual newsletters. They always share good stories of successful exchanges. Did I mention I wanted to post our last not so convincing exchange in France on their Forum and they wanted me to rethink my sarcasm? And be more positive? Well, that's my writing style and I don't want to lie to my readers. It's all in my little booklet:Intrepid Home Swapping:Secrets to Successful Home Swaps.Go to Amazon and invest into 99cent and you can rad the nitty-gritty.
I want to share an inspirational piece of yesterday's newsletter here with you. Too late for this year's exchange but  a great thought:

STORIES I TELL MY FRIENDS ABOUT HOME EXCHANGES

I often try to sell the home exchange idea to our friends, and in the process, I cite some of our best experiences. Number one in this category is the wonderful people we have met as a result of these exchanges. Our procedure when we initiate an exchange is to let our hosts know that
we will meet them at the airport—usually Phoenix, but sometimes Boise— bring them to our home which will have the master bedroom ready for them (we sleep in the guest room that night and leave for the airport the next morning); then host a cocktail party with friends and neighbors to meet them. At this party, when the couple is introduced, we say something to the effect that we are leaving to stay in these folksʼ home and weʼre hoping, while they are here, you will look after them. We donʼt go into specifics like we hope you can invite them for dinner, cocktails etc. Our friends and neighbors get the idea and all of the couples we have hosted have bragged on how well treated they were during their stay in our home.
Since this was arranged ahead of time and our host couple knew what was going to happen here, they, in turn, contacted their friends and asked them to do the same for us. Now, the best part. Let me tell you about some experiences.
When we got to our hostsʼ home in Hamilton, New Zealand—a beautiful home overlooking the Waikato River—we heard the doorbell ring and when I answered, there was this beautiful lady there and she said, “Hi, Iʼm Lynnie, a friend of the hosts, and if you will invite me in and pour me a
glass of wine, Iʼll tell you how you can come to our house for dinner.” This incident led to numerous dinners both at their place and ours, and..." on the story goes.

Not only is everybody making friends all around but everybody keeps an amicable eye on each other-- for all you doubting Thomases out there!

The clock is ticking

Nothing much to report on the home swap front at the moment except that the countdown is ticking: about 100 days and counting. We're mulling over whether we should book a rental car for the trip from Hamburg to our final destination. It's about two and a half hours from the airport by public transport which is excellent in Germany. However, for those of you who followed us last year, you know that we don't travel light and have 6 big Berthas with us. Why? Don't ask. To schlepp those around from train to train is very tedious, however, and backbreaking. We'll see who wins: convenience or reason.

Here's a picture of the house we're going to spend 3 weeks in. it has a thatched roof like its boathouse.

That's the Life

Have you got your head around the idea of Home Swapping yet? It has a lot of advantages once you jump the mental hurdle of having strangers in your house. Don't forget they will want to have their house treated in an equally respectful fashion: a variation on the Golden Rule.You're trading house of similar standards, not with low lives who want the chance of a lifetime to holiday in a nice villa and trash it while at it....:)
We spent the last 2-3 weeks on finding an extra spot that we could add on or visit before our stint in Meck-Pomm..This spa resort is one of the most prestigious At long last, we found it! A beautiful second home of a family in Baden-Baden.Lovely scenery, a Casino to satisfy all our gambling needs, shopping!!!All of this in walking distance. Pretty cafes  to watch the world go by ( and it will be a nice world in that town...),
great restaurants and food ( and it will be an expensive one at that). Oh I know why I miss my home country!

Visiting Meck Pomm

Anyhow,we are going to the one that borders on the Baltic Sea, Mecklenburg -Vorpommern, or Meck-Pomm as a British friend called it.(Even for German speakers it's a mouth full!). That’s where Wismar is located, a Unesco World Heritage Town that belonged to the Hanseatic League. And Heiligendamm where  from June 6 to 8, 2007, Heiligendamm's Grand Hotel hosted the 33rd summit of G8 leaders. Many beautiful seaside resorts, including Usedom, the island of Ruegen that got facelifts since reunification and are favorites among Wessis now. My former in-laws hailed from Greifswald, a long trek away to their new home in the west after the Russian troops evicted millions of German after the war. My own family from my mother’s side came from Silesia which fell into the hands of Polish and Russian troops after the war. In fact my family was only evicted in the winter of 1946-47. There is a short story I wrote about it a couple of years ago:  There is no going back. I don’t have any emotional bond to that part of Germany, but my aunt who is still alive does. She and my mother feature in the story. And now we’re going to visit.

Meck Pomm- one of the “new” states

Meck Pomm- is one of the “new” states- and short for Mecklenburg -Vorpommern.

After reunification, the federal Republic of Germany got six more states (Bundeslaender) which until then had belonged to the GDR (German Democratic Republic). As a Wessie (from Western Germany), I had always been annoyed about their claim to democracy. There were so many proofs of the contrary…

Germany now has 16 federal states; only 10 until 1990. Berlin was never one of them but had a special status, a city ruled by the four allied powers since the end of World War II. Now it’s the capital of reunited Germany. Most people will be hard pressed to name them all, maybe now after twenty years plus, they are well-known. Here’s the challenge to Germans and all other readers alike: fill in this picture below…:)

Special Sale of Season 1

Announcing special sale of my eBook on Home Swapping.(Season 1) Season 2 is under way...http://cheapkindledaily.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/todays-featured-read-101/ Will go live tonite! Have a look, maybe even like that page? Thanks.

Agreement

So we've signed the contract for our next exchange in July. The company we're using and where we are members calls it "exchange agreement". There are two sides to the agreement, ie. each exchange partner lists the names of the visitors and contact details. This is also the place where relevant insurance details are listed about the cars that are going to be swapped-- if you want that part of the deal.   
Only these people are allowed to stay--unless otherwise stated. E.g. I always mention that I may have my children stay the odd day while we are there. Otherwise people could be inclined to run a B&B, have wild parties, or come with a gang of 8 family member, I suppose.
Under special arrangements we list that the other party will be responsible for using our Pay TV option. After last year's experience where the French had run up a bill of almost $80 I can only advise you to include that in your agreement. In all fairness, this bill was paid without any quibble. Well, after all they had agreed to it in advance. How feasible it is to enforce any financial arrangement between two countries that are so far away and have different jurisdictions I can't even start to imagine.
The only recourse I can see is to complain to the organizing website and approach them as a mediator. The is a special process that can be invoked...if it comes to that, an official complaint.
This agreement is also made online. Each partner has the chance of making changes and then the agreement is signed electronically.
"By signing this agreement you are acknowledging that you accept the conditions and understand that the cancellation of an exchange, once an agreement has been signed, is a serious matter and may lead to exclusion from further participation in a ...exchange."
Sounds reasonable? I left out the name of the company on purpose. It is available upon request.