The bobble head question

It's easy to get excited when there's an envelope from DHL in the mailbox. It means I have a package on the way. But when I open it and see a neon green slip of paper inside, I make a noise that's somewhere between a whine and a groan. This is a sound that is reserved for the notice that says I need to pick up my package at the Zollamt, the customs office. If you have been reading this blog long enough, you may remember that I wrote about the Zollamt before. That's when I had to go for the first time and didn't know what to expect. This was my 4th or 5th trip out there, and I still didn't know what to expect.

Why does a package go to the customs office? If it comes directly from a company outside of the EU, it will go there. And you will probably have to pay 19% VAT tax on it. I don't claim to really understand VAT (value added tax). What I know is that it taxes the increase in price added at each stage of the transaction: sale, resale, etc., whereas a sales tax is just paid by the end user.  I am taking an economics class online now and am really glad we are not studying VAT (yet).

Aside from merchandise that you've ordered through an online shopping habit (I'm in recovery),  there are a lot of other things that may end up at the Zollamt. Anything with suspicious content could go there - alcohol, perfume, chemicals, bombs, that sort of thing. And bobble heads, apparently.

To get to the Zollamt I have to ride my bike almost all the way to the airport. I would like to someday ride right up to the terminal, lock up against a pole, and jump on a plane. Maybe there's even a long term bike parking lot there. My only problem would be the luggage; Id have to travel light.

The Zollamt is an ugly building in an industrial park, with bad lighting and linoleum floors. It's home to a closet full of treasures - care packages, exciting imported purchases, birthday gifts, explosive chemicals, that sort of thing. My neon green slip of paper got me a brown cardboard box. The staff at the Zollamt, who look like they want to be anywhere else, make you open the box in front of them. This is so you can't hide your contraband I guess, or so if it explodes you are the only one injured. This is what I found inside.

Thank you, Kay!

The man behind the counter asked me about the thing in the little box. I wanted to explain to him that it's a James Shields bobble head and that the Royals have a real shot at the playoffs for the first time since my husband has been a devoted fan. However, I did not know the word for 'bobble head' in German, if one even exists. So I told him it was a toy. He didn't seem to believe that answer and asked me to unpack the item. The wobbling over sized head of Big Game James almost made him crack a smile. Almost. I was free to go - no VAT required.

My friend Kaska, upon hearing this story, decided that the closest term to bobble head in German is Wackel Dackel. This is a little dachshund statue that you put in the back of your car and it wobbles its head as you drive. Which raises another question - in English we call them Dachshunds, thinking we are saying something in German. But the name in German is Dackel. Dach means roof, so does dachshund mean roof dog? Languages are confusing.

 

It seems like the more I understand about Germany, the more questions I have. Should someone start importing bobble heads to Germany? Can you leave your bike at the airport? Should I bother trying to understand VAT? What is a dachshund anyway?

The big question, though, is whether the Royals can battle it out to make the playoffs and keep winning to make my husband a very happy fan. Maybe the guy at the Zollamt would even cheer for them too, in a grumpy sort of way.