Description
Comfortable 35-y.o. smoke-free home in a quiet residential neighborhood, where most residents are retired. The large living room affords a lovely view of the Mümmling valley and a balcony, from which we enjoy watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve each year.
The first floor of the house is rented to an older married couple -- a writer, like myself, and his wife. We live in the second floor of the house which opens onto a lovely terrace on the hillside. Our two sons (18 and 20) live on the top floor which is also available for use.
Our home is roomy by German standards with 108 sq meters (1160 sq ft) on the terrace level and 65 sq. meters (700 sq ft) on the top floor. The main bedroom is "comfy" small with a king bed. Also, there are two small bedrooms with one single bed each (see photograph). The bedroom on the hill side of the house doubles as my office, where my computer is located. Another two larger bedrooms upstairs, where my two sons sleep, were previously the living room and kitchen of a small vacation apartment. (My sons are still both attending school.) The bathroom on the main floor has a bathtub; the bath upstairs, a glass shower cabin.
The kitchen has appliances to include: electric ceramic stove top with oven, dishwasher, and a refrigerator with a separate freezer compartment. A large freezer is located in the cellar. Washer and dryer are located upstairs.
High speed Internet (16,000 DSL) and telephone (free calls in all of Germany) are also available for use. Calls to the US can be made for 2 cents per minute using a coded prefix.
Neighborhood
Our home is situated 600 ft above sea level on the west side of a hill (the sun side) in the city of Höchst in the Odenwald about 30 miles southeast of Frankfurt, Germany. (It is a small town in the country with lots of fresh air and NOT to be confused with the smelly industrial city of Frankfurt Höchst).
Höchst has only 3000 residents, but it is large enough to have four supermarkets and several small shops. (If you want to watch movies in English, you can borrow films from the local video rental shop using our video rental card. Otherwise, CNN and CNBC are available in English on TV.) Shopping centers are rare in Germany, but there are large shopping areas in within 30 minutes of our town.
Centrally located, Höchst is 15 minutes driving distance to Michelstadt, where the oldest city hall in Germany is located. Michelstadt is a lovely "gingerbread" city with many "fachwerk" buildings (the kind tourists love to see in Germany) and is known for having one of the most beautiful Christmas Markets in Germany. From here it is 10 minutes to the Breuburg castle, 30-minutes to Darmstadt and Aschaffenburg, 60 minutes to Frankfurt, and 75 minutes to Heidelberg.
If you prefer to ride the train (which is desirable if you plan to go to Frankfurt), you can walk 7 minutes to the small train stop from which a train goes directly to Darmstadt and Frankfurt or south to Michelstadt, Erbach, or to Eberbach on the Neckar River (a wonderful day trip).
About Us
My wife and I were married 24 years ago, and moved shortly afterwards from Germany to Hawaii where we lived for 3 years. Afterwards, we moved to Springfield, Virginia, and then returned to Germany, where we have lived since 1988.
I am a retired technical writer with a background in languages and computer software. (I've written about 80 books, but none that anyone would want to read. Technical books aren't very entertaining. Right now, I'm writing a book about cycling and meeting people on a 5000-mile bike trip I made in 2006.) After spending 14 years as an officer in the US Air Force, I accepted a position with a German software company from which I retired in 2006.
My interests include cycling, kayaking, photography, gardening, writing, and computers.
I volunteer at an independent protestant church in Erbach Germany as an IT consultant and multi-media specialist. The teens my church call me the "beamer" man. Faith in God is important to me and my wife, and I have attended (or held membership in) several churches (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Weslyan, Baptist, Nazarene, CMA, Calvary Chapel, Catholic, and several independent churches - yes, there is a common thread in all of them.) I started a small interdenominational bible study group in my company and watched it grow to 180 people before I left.
I speak German, Spanish, French, and some Italian. Currently, I'm learning to speak Portuguese. My wife speaks German, English and French.
My wife works in hotel administration at the Hoechst Monastery, which has been converted into an international convention center and is used by businesses, clubs, schools, and churches for retreats and week-end getaways. It has 118 beds.
Angela and I sing in the Herbertscher Choir in Höchst and play the trumpet and piano in our local church.
Destination
Positively NO SMOKING - due to allergies in our family.
Currently, we are only interested in offers from Hawaii, Fiji, and Tonga. Our oldest son, wants to return to where he was born - in Honolulu - as a graduation present. (After 2008, we will open our home for other locations.)
For 20 Dec 2008 - 11 Jan 2009, the dates are somewhat flexible, but since our two boys are attending school and plan to travel with us, we can only flex them a few days in each direction.
Due to allergies in our own family, the house is perfect for people with allergies. The living room has a wooden (parkett) floor, and the rest of the house has cork or laminated floors. The living room has a very large leather sofa and easy chair.
Car swapping is preferable.
