First of all, what is Airbnb?

In my own easy definition, it's a platform where people come and share their apartment, home or part of, in exchange for simply ... money. And in Airbnb you can be both Host and Guest.

How does it work??

So you go to the website of Airbnb, register yourself then searching the city you want, choose the apartment you like from photos, description and comments of people who stay there before you. When a nice apartment found, you just simply send a message to the host when you want to stay at there property, then waiting for a reply if you are accepted as a guest to stay there. As simply as that. :) Airbnb offer mostly an apartment/a house that you got it all for yourself, completely private, but sometimes also a room in a house or apartment, basically like living with them.

Traveling with Airbnb is like you stay at a friend apartment, (mostly) there is no breakfast served, you have to shop for grocery by yourself and definitely take care of the cleanliness. Sometimes there is an offer for breakfast and cleaning service but of course with extra cost.

So ... why would you do that?????

Answer: With so many reasons!!! but here let see 4 of them.

1. It's cheap!!!!! especially in big city in Europe where you can easily pay 120€ per night for 2 person in a totally normal 3 stars hotel with a space which barely enough to leave your huge luggage open on the floor. Not only the room is cheap. Most place include everything needed for living and of course ... a kitchen. So you can basically cook for yourself and that save a lot of money especially a city like Paris which eating in a decent restaurant could cost you loaded.

2. Most of them have a superb location!!! You can choose a place which is really in the city center, close to a lot of restaurant and train station and completely easy to go anywhere in the city. With a location like this, you either have to pay a lot for a good hotel or have to stay in a dingy hotel with cheap price.

3. For person like me who's not only traveling to see the attraction of the city, I also like to see the life of people in that city, this platform is a sweet due for me. I got to see where local people shop, eat and going about in their everyday life. Sometimes you also got a place with a totally beautiful view or a great expensive apartment with exclusive furniture which you can not find elsewhere.

4. It's good for traveling as a group. It's mostly really hard to find a place where you and 4 of your best friends can stay together or the price is mostly unbelievable. But a lot of places from Airbnb you can stay with your group of friends/family together in one place for a really good price. I have seen places where you can stay there from 3 people and some places up to 10. You can even rent a whole villa with private pool and you end up paying only 50€ person/night.

Concern??

1. Cleanliness of the place : You just must be thorough when you choose an apartment/room/house. Read the comment!!! See what people say, see if the place is really as seen on the pictures.

2. Safety: Again, from my experiences I have no problem and again….read the comments!!!

3. It's my vacation, why do I have to cook and clean? If you are not a person who have to have someone to do your bed everyday, there would be no problem staying with Airbnb. It's not like you have to vacuum the place, just be take care about it like when you stay home. And for breakfast, of course there's no breakfast but when you stay in a city like Paris or Vienna, what would be lovelier than having breakfast at one of countless cute cafe in these city??

I totally enjoy using this service in Paris and Vienna and I would definitely use it again anywhere I have a chance. It was completely a wonderful experiences.

Interested?? 

Knock yourself out and click here www.airbnb.de/c/rschlomann and register yourself. 
You will get a 19€ Vouncher for your first trip and we will get it for our next one ... 

Have more questions?? Feel free to leave a comment. :)

With love <3
Pia & Richard

Hello world  I feel like a really...... really...... lazy person leaving the blog for more than two month especially with and unfinished story…....So now the last part of all the documents epic…however…you know the end of the story already……I got the visa!!!!!…and I’m married    so after I finished with this one I think about to write about Wedding…and married!!! 

So….the story was left off when my documents arrived Germany….my fiancé (back then  ) took the first chance to go to the city hall to submit the documents. It was really the last chance before the office is closed for Christmas.  We thought that everything will be ready and the documents will be with the court before Christmas (it was around 10 of Dec 2012) However…..the staff was so nice to inform us a few days before Christmas holiday that…she forgot some signatures!!!….and the documents still with her!!!!   So in the end……Richard  had to go to the city hall again after new year holiday to give a signature. Finally our documents were with the court ….and only around 2 weeks later we got a letter that our married is approved and we have to pay 100 euro so they will issue the approval document.  Richard paid already on that day….and our thought was that the approval document will be with us after Richard’s vacation in Thailand, around early Feb so it should be with me around late Feb……that was our hope……..

After the vacation….....the document was still not there….but there is a letter indicate that the court cannot locate our transfer…..with a few communications….some weeks waiting….the staff finally say….”Oh….I forgot….I will work on the document for you today….” ……..so finally the document arrived Richard on 08 Mar 2013….3 months after the my documents were sent to Germany. The approval document was sent to me on the next day…. normally it would take around 1 week for the document to arrive so…16 Mar but it would be too easy if it arrived on time….it took 5 days more of heavy hearted of waiting…..21 Mar the document arrived…..

Finally I got all required document to apply for the visa....after that it was quite a light story….I make a schedule with the embassy already on 27 Mar 2013 (3 times changes due to unexpected delay of the document). The submission of the visa went well….all documents were there and of course no problem with the interview. The staff told me to wait around 8-10 weeks before the visa is granted. However, unexpectedly on 12 April the embassy called and inform me that the my visa is ready  ….turn out this time they only need 2 weeks….lucky me 

So…...that's all…I finally got the pass to go to my wedding….there will be more documents to handle after the wedding…but I think after all this….anything is fine with me 

Cheers!!! See you in the next blog entry 

With a lot of love  

Pia and Richard

Since I finally got the final document that will allow me to go to Germany and get married (!!!! Excited!!!!) ....my visa!!! so I will tell you (initially a bit but now when I start writing seem like there're a lot of things to be told.) This entry is really about all the documents and process that we need to go through in order to marry in Germany and get it accepted by the law so I can live there with my love one. 

The process can be summed up like this :

1. Get the permission to marry in Germany

2. Use the permission document to apply for visa.

As simple as that!!!! But….no.... don’t let it fool you!!! Before I can understand the process clearly like this…I have to try and get the hands on by myself 

Process number one is the hard one because you cannot just easily write some forms and ask for permission. The first process can be breakdown to…..a few steps.

First: Gather all required documents which are : Your birth certificate, a document from your home district state that you are truly single!!, a document from the central office state that you are totally single and belong to no one!! (They need two documents to really make sure you are available  ) and the last one is your home registration.  This process take me a few weeks…it’s just that I have to go to work and don’t have that much free time….so if you are free…it take you 2 days. I will not get into detail how to get each document….some are pretty easy like you birth certificate or home registered. (Time: started 8 Oct 2012, Cost : 30 THB for issuing documents and copy)

Secord: Get all the documents to be ‘legalized’ by the German embassy. The way they do it is to send a letter to the office who issued the document to confirm that they actually done it by reply the embassy mail. A copy of your passport need to be legalized too but it take only the embassy staff to do it in one day. One big spot point ….make sure that if your document has been corrected you must make sure that the one available at the office who issued it has been corrected too!! Like my birth certificate…..it’s been corrected a few times for my real name and address by different distric offices….I already took the copy I have to the embassy but I have to take it back because each point of correction must be confirmed by each office who corrected it i.e. the embassy need to contact 3 Thai office….and you can imagine how long it could take to get all to reply. The only way is to make sure that the actual document at the district office who issued my original birth certificate is corrected too. So I have to go to the district office …contacted the staff to see my real birth certificate and get it corrected. So I end up needed 2 trips to the embassy and one additional trip to the district office. This legalization process normally need 6-8 weeks depends on how long the Thai office needed to reply….it can even get longer than 8 weeks……. For me it took only around 5 weeks because in my "single certificate" from the district office state that the document is valid for 90 days…..so the embassy was kind to expedite the process for me. But…don’t worry that the document will be expired…as long as it is not older than 6 month by the time it reach the court in Germany, it will be fine. (will be explain in the next step) (Time : Document submitted end of Oct, get it legalized early Dec, Cost : around 6,000 THB for legalization)

Oh…...I think only these 2 steps is too long already …so let finish this later with  part 2…3 …or may be 4 

Even though these process seem to be hard…annoying…it’s also a good experience…without this sweet fortune (to meet my hubby to be) I will not know the nice and cozy Goethe institute….don’t know how it works there in the embassy…may be I have a happy goal in my mind that is why I have made all steps happily (even with the heavy heart wishing that all step going well  )

Cheers!! See you in the next part(s).

With a lot of LOVE

Pia & Richard 

hmm...how should I start with this.......but I think...people with long distance relationship must understand me very very well....

let me start with the start of this story......Last year, on my flight back from Frankfurt.....the saddest flight i have ever had.....it was a connect flight and I think I cried almost the whole first flight. Nothing that sad...but I'm such a cry baby and flying away like that was a bit too much for me. Even I have put a brave face at the airport because I didn't want Richard to be worry...and I promise him I will not cry anymore after a little mental break on the last day . Now...come to the part I'm about to tell.....on that flight...I was lucky to sit next to an Australian woman who came to travel Europe alone...for a few month by quiting her job and everything. She was fascinating.  So... we talk and we also asked for the purpose of our trip...and yeah..that's when I start to cry.  She told me that her sister also have a long distance relationship. It's really hard for them....with techology...it can help a lot...but you know it's cannot substitute the real human touch. She asked me...when is our trip again....I said it's planned to be in July....( it was Apr at that time)...I said it's so hard and I miss him already. And then...she said one simple sentence to me which change the way I think about this hardness since that day..."look it like this....it's only 8 Mondays." ...wow...it's just a simple fact.....but with a different way to look at it....it difinitely change how I feel......let say...it's 8 weeks...it's 2 month!!!!....It sound too too long for me.....so now I see it only 8 Mondays that I have to get up to work...until the happy time come again  (Actually...I waited more than 8 Mondays though )

So...the next time you wait for something....Just count how many Mondays left 

with a lot of love 

Khanompia

A good song to enjoy the sunday afternoon.