I mentioned in this blog post that we bought a lot of furniture at IKEA, originally scheduled on December 30, 2020 for delivery. But due to insufficient parking spaces outside the building, IKEA refused to unload the parcels and just left us no furnitures for 2 weeks.
When I look back, no wonder why IKEA would ask you if you have enough parking spaces before paying. At that time, I naively thought: ‘There are many parking spaces outside, so it should be no problem!’ Then I placed the order.
Now, as a big problem standing in front of us, the first thing we did is call a friend!
So Curry Boy mentioned this to his Spanish colleague, David (a very friendly and local friend) and asked what to do about it. He said without hesitation: ‘I can help! You can load the stuff into my car and I can help bringing it to your apartment!’
But the problem is, we ordered a lot from IKEA, including a double bed, a 3-door wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a TV cabinet combination, a working desk, and an L-shaped sofa ordered from another company. The total is more than 500 kg! After David heard it: ‘Oh! Then the sofa could be a problem. Maybe it can’t fit into a car!’
Well, it is impossible for a private car to load all the goods. We need to rent a medium-sized truck and change IKEA delivery to Click & Collect. That is, you have to pick up the goods yourself, and then ask David to help you as a driver!
However, the old problem is still unsolved. How to unload goods if there is no parking space when the goods are delivered outside the building? So David suggested: ‘Bring them to the office!’ and then slowly moved them to the house. It is theoretically possible, but it is very troublesome and requires so much time and effort.
While they were discussing, I turned to ask Facebook.
I went to the relevant Facebook group to ask for help, and I received two replies in a short time, only to find out that the parking space outside the house can be rented! Search online for ‘city name, halteverbot’ (Halteverbot means No Parking) and you will find relevant information. Basically there are two methods:
1 – Apply to the municipality to rent a parking space by yourself
Take Düsseldorf Halteverbot as a search example, you will find that Duesseldorf.de has a page that introduces how to rent a parking space to solve the problem of moving. You only need to fill in a form. The rental parking space needs to be at least 14 days later, and the fee is €35. But do remember that a permit to rent a parking space is not enough. You need to arrange for no parking signs to let other drivers clearly see when and when parking is not allowed here.
2 – Hire a company that provides rental parking spaces
There are many companies that provide parking space rental services, among which you will see different options, such as:
Option A: Rent only No Parking sign, but do not need to apply for a permit
This one is cheaper, costs about €55, and the processing time is usually only a few days, but the problem is that if someone ignores your no parking sign, or parks for other reasons, you do not have the authority to notify the police to tow the car.
Option B: Rent a No Parking Sign and Apply for a Permit
You provide all the information, and they will apply for a permit on their behalf and put up a no parking sign for you. Even if someone parks indiscriminately, you can ask the police to tow the car away.
Considering the convenience and safety issues, we decided to use the Halteverbot123 with option B. This company has a good review, although it may be €5-€10 more expensive than the others. For the sake of smoothness, we still chose him and paid €110 for this service.
14 Days Simple Life
During those 14 days, when there was no bed frame, only mattress; no sofa, only carpets; no wardrobe, only four 100-yen cloth boxes brought from Japan; no working desk, only a dining table. I actually lived very comfortably and had plenty of space to exercise. The only thing I felt a little uncomfortable was that there was no sofa and I could only sit on the ground.
Now all the furniture is delivered! Thanks to the hard work of the two deliverymen, the 500 kg was carried to the 5th floor. Thank you!
Afterwards, we made a simple dinner. Curry Boy and I looked at the room full of cardboard boxes and unfinished furniture, and said gratefully, ‘It’s finally here!’
Curry Boy, who had been assembling the furniture all day and started to experience muscle soreness, lamented, ‘It’s not easy to be a delivery man. It takes so much effort and moving every day, but the salary is very little. As a white-collar worker, I just sit at home all day and use the brain, but the salary is very different.’
The next step is to assemble all the furniture, safety first, and hope everything runs smoothly!
