Here we go. Ready?
NARRATOR: Lindsay and Linas have only been married a week
and are moving center stage to Germany.
LINDSAY: I am an opera singer,
and I was offered a job with Stuttgart Opera.
And in this competitive rental market,
will this honeymoon end as a comedy...
I don't think we would have enough space.
And there's the noise.
You can definitely hear the street.
It's not very big.
These cabinet fronts look like they're from the 1980s.
I'm not a huge fan of the color.
...or a tragedy?
Couch over there, big-screen TV over here.
Do we really have a budget for that right now?
Watch as "House Hunters International"
prepares for opening night in Stuttgart, Germany.
[ Doorbell rings ]
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
It's so cool that we got married here last week.
When Lindsay met Linas, it was like music to her ears.
Linas and I met a couple of summers ago
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I was at the opera there.
And a couple nights later, we went to dinner,
and we've been together since then.
NARRATOR: Now the newlyweds are leaving his native Lithuania,
a place they've called home for the past few months,
for Stuttgart, Germany.
LINDSAY: I've been invited to be with the Stuttgart Opera Company.
And we're both seeing it as a great opportunity.
I'm looking into nutrition schools
that allow me to work from wherever I want to.
One thing we need to do is put a lock on the bridge.
This is one of the coolest traditions
I think I've ever seen.
Their plans for the future are locked,
but in a city with six colleges
and students competing for affordable housing,
Lindsay and Linas worry they'll have property pains
instead of marital bliss.
Apartments are not as easy to come by in Stuttgart.
If we cannot find the apartment really quickly,
we will have to stay in a temporary apartment.
And very stressful.
So the couple has their lock,
and they come and lock it on the bridge
and throw away the key
as a symbol of their forever love, yeah?
True.
We're anxious to find a place.
I think it's gonna be really exciting.
It should be really good.
LINDSAY: Last thing to do.
We need to throw away the key.
All right. Here we go. Ready?
Ready?
[ Water splashes ]
Lindsay and Linas make their first move as a married couple,
flying 800 miles from Vilnius, Lithuania,
to Stuttgart, Germany.
The city of Stuttgart's vineyards, rolling hills,
and parks are unusual landscapes for the country.
The sixth largest city in Germany,
this economic powerhouse
is a leader in automotive and mechanical manufacturing.
Its wealth sustains
strong cultural and historical institutions.
Luckily for Lindsay, her new employer, the Stuttgart Opera,
has won the title "Opera of the Year" six times.
But with prestige come real-estate realities.
DEBORAH: At the moment, it's a little bit difficult.
We have a lot of students who just recently started college,
so most of the one-bedroom apartments are taken.
NARRATOR: And the happy couple is under the gun to find a home
before the mezzo-soprano starts her new job.
And what are you looking for?
How many bedrooms?
One bedroom is great for us.
I think that would be perfect.
Small office space would be nice, as well.
Okay, and location --
have you given it a thought?
Where do you want to stay?
Central would be nice.
I just need to be near
an U-Bahn so I can get to work fast.
So it doesn't have to be right in the center.
Are there any must-haves?
Okay.
And the outside space, I think is really important.
Calm and quiet would be really nice to come home to.
Understood. Good.
You're open? Okay.
What is your budget?
Well, I think that we're looking at about $1,100.
And at this point, we're pretty firm on that.
I think it will be difficult for me to find something quiet.
If you live downtown, you have to deal with the noise.
And they would like to be close to public transportation.
If we are going outside of downtown,
then it might be a little challenge.
NARRATOR: To gratify their wish list,
Deborah stretches the couple's budget,
bringing them to a renovated one-bedroom
in hip South Stuttgart.
I will show you a one-bedroom apartment.
The price for this apartment is $1,250 a month.
Okay, that's a little over our budget.
Yes, it's right on top.
It's quite a hike up here.
Oh, my gosh. Okay.
Well, we'd save on a gym membership.
Let's go have a look.
Your living room.
This is really cute.
Yeah, it's a cute little place.
And look at the view.
And the train is right there.
You can't get any closer
than the train right outside your window.
It was very clean, and I think it could be doable.
My first impression was cozy because of those wooden beams.
DEBORAH: Look at the actual living-room area.
And this couch actually folds out into a bed.
I thought it was a little strange
that the two parts were separated by the wooden beams,
but when you look at it from an architectural standpoint,
it was really kind of cool.
This is a kitchen, dishwasher, refrigerator --
fully furnished.
Okay, it has a nice view, too.
It's not very big.
But it has everything.
Would it really have enough space for both of us
A little scary.
It's a cozy little kitchen, but I think it's doable
if just one person cooks.
The appliances were looking very new and clean.
If we were cooking dinner together,
I don't think we would --
Being in the kitchen, I felt like Alice in Wonderland.
It's really not the most comfortable place.
So, this is the bedroom.
Okay.
Yeah, it's not very big.
[ Traffic passing ]
Well, and there's the noise.
Yeah, you can definitely hear the street pretty well from here
if you have to open the window.
But it's pretty to look at.
We have a shower here. Toilet and sink.
It's not very big.
It's a smaller bathroom, but the toilet is next door.
Okay, that's nice.
The bathroom looks very clean and new.
It was pleasantly nice and clean,
but it was a little small.
It didn't have a bathtub or a balcony.
LINAS: But it's close to the tram.
It's in central location. Lots of daylight.
To find an apartment that has a bathtub is difficult.
I think they are getting a good deal
in terms of the location and the rent price.
I will try to get a little bit closer to their wish list
with the next apartment I'm gonna show them.
NARRATOR: Sometimes you have to go the extra mile for peace and quiet.
DEBORAH: This is in the outskirts of Stuttgart.
LINDSAY: This is beautiful.
I'm so lucky to get to work here.
NARRATOR: Home to renowned composers such as Handel and Wagner,
it's no wonder opera continues to impact
Germany's cultural scene.
I'm Lindsay. It's so nice to meet you.
Linas.
Lindsay and Linas are in Stuttgart
following her dream of being in the spotlight.
LINDSAY: I am an opera singer,
and I most recently have sung
at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
And I was offered a job with Stuttgart Opera.
It's beautiful.
In 1912, this style of seating was rather revolutionary.
The seats are always ascending
so that everyone was guaranteed a good, unobstructed view.
We're looking forward to dinners
and having a couch and a TV
that we can sit and watch German television and movies.
NARRATOR: But in a market with more renters than vacancies,
they need to find a quiet apartment
in a convenient location before her curtain call.
You can't get any closer
than the train right outside your window.
Well, there's the noise.
And if they can't agree,
their search could end on a low note.
I don't think we would have enough space.
Being in the kitchen, I felt like Alice in Wonderland.
It looks like a nice stovetop.
I'm the one that ends up thinking about the smaller details,
and Linas is the one that can think outside of the box.
Do you disagree with me?
You were disagreeing with me?!
I don't have anything to add.
To find Lindsay and Linas a quieter apartment,
Deborah takes them to the outskirts of town.
On the plus side,
it's a home well under their budget of $1,100 a month.
DEBORAH: This is a residential area --
a quiet residential area in the outskirts of Stuttgart.
And it's a one-bedroom apartment.
The price is $875, and it's located right here.
When Deborah first told us that the apartment was only $875,
I was skeptical.
It was so far under our budget.
So, here we are.
Let's start in the living room.
Great.
Here we have real wood floors in here.
Oh, fantastic.
Mm-hmm. Light fixtures already installed.
And that's something that the previous tenant left.
You could keep it, or we could remove it.
It might be a good fix until we get our own.
When I first walked into the apartment,
I thought it was a nice layout.
So...
LINAS: That's a big balcony.
This is something we would use often.
I would love dining out.
Behind you is the refrigerator, and underneath the freezer.
This is the refrigerator?
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Normally at home, we would have a separate refrigerator.
Okay.
This is the cooking stove over here.
Definitely not like a gas stove I've ever seen before.
Is that a dishwasher?
Yes, feel free to open it.
We would have here all the things
that we would need for the kitchen.
Definitely, and it's a nice space.
I think we could both work in here.
But it is a little old-looking.
These cabinet fronts look like they're from the 1980s.
Yes, it's a little bit outdated, but it's functional.
Lindsay was turned off by the kitchen.
It's really old-looking. It seems fine to me.
The appliances seem to be outdated.
I'm really not sure that it's something
that I could easily deal with.
Spare room. You could use it as a study, office space.
LINDSAY: I'm not a huge fan of the color.
I'm sure it's possible to change the color.
Yeah.
Okay.
That feels a little crowded.
It's a little small and outdated, as well.
Also the ceilings are a little strange.
DEBORAH: Those are wood-look ceilings.
It's very common in an older apartment.
What do you think?
It has enough light.
Nothing can be perfect.
The bedroom.
This is spacious.
I really like that there's built-in wardrobes.
And what about the floors?
I'm a little sad that there's not the hardwood floors.
But it looks nice.
Also a very nice feature is the French doors.
Out onto the balcony. That's fantastic.
Wonderful. We see the same nice view from the balcony.
It has great value for the money.
And Lindsay liked this apartment,
but the style of the kitchen and the bathroom
is putting her off of this, and I'm not sure --
maybe this can be quite far away from her work.
LINDSAY: I'm not sure that this is something
that we could really live with.
We'd really have to think about it.
The apartment I'm going to show you is right up here.
It's on the sixth floor.
Well, considering that this street is loud and busy,
I hope that there's not, you know, noise up there.
MAN: It's half Pinot Gris, half Pinot Blanc.
Ja.
NARRATOR: Barely a week into their marriage,
Lindsay and Linas are now sipping the local flavors
of Stuttgart, Germany.
Some of our vineyards are more than 40 years old.
Stuttgart is famous for its Riesling, Pinot Noir,
and Sauvignon Blanc,
and the honeymooners look forward to planting roots
in this vineyard-rich city.
LINDSAY: We're very much looking forward
to a European style of life,
enjoying your time with friends and family, and working hard.
As they work out married life,
they're struggling to find a home that's quiet enough
for this opera diva to get her beauty sleep.
DEBORAH: What do you think of the area so far?
Quiet.
NARRATOR: Although house two's peacefulness was pitch-perfect,
its style was out-of-tune.
But it is a little old-looking.
These cabinet fronts look like they're from the 1980s.
And it was far from the opera house.
This is not close for her work.
DEBORAH: What I wanted to do this time
is present an apartment in a central location
and that also has many of the features they requested.
NARRATOR: Deborah caters to the couple's concerns
by bringing them to a home with modern finishes
that's closer to Lindsay's work.
We're now in Stuttgart West --
an area where they have a lot of historical buildings.
The apartment I'm going to show you is right up here.
It's a 2-bedroom apartment. The rent is $1,050.
Okay, that's not bad.
And it's on the sixth floor.
Well, that's probably a good thing.
Considering that this street is loud and busy,
I hope that there's not noise up there.
I'm sure it's gonna be quiet up there.
So...
We're now in the living room.
It's a nice space.
Mm-hmm.
LINDSAY: When we first walked into the living room,
I thought it was really quite a large space.
The carpet -- it looks quite office-like.
We have this industrial-looking carpet in the entire apartment.
Okay.
The view is lovely.
Yeah, the view's not bad at all.
I see the trees changing.
This is really a lot of space.
We would have to buy things to make it full.
We could throw a couch over there,
like a big-screen TV over here on the wall.
A big-screen TV?
I mean, do we really have a budget for that right now?
It's something we would have to take into consideration.
LINDSAY: We would have to fill it with a bunch of furniture
that we don't have.
Yeah, but I love the space over there.
I think it has a lot of potential.
DEBORAH: The bedroom.
Okay.
I don't see any closets.
Closets typically don't come with the bedrooms.
We can build it to however we want it.
Yeah, it's gonna get a little pricey, but okay.
What's wrong with these lights?
All of them are low and good for your head.
I'm sure we can get it fixed.
And the wires here.
We can also get the wires fixed for you. Not a problem.
LINDSAY: I'm really hoping that that is something
that would be able to be fixed before anyone were to move in.
I don't want any -- either of us to get electrocuted.
[ Laughs ]
We can really have a super king-size bed over here.
No bed, no closets.
But if you put a bed over here, then a closet,
it's not that much, then.
Yeah, but we have to buy all the furniture.
Remember, we didn't bring any with us.
LINAS: I disagree with Lindsay about the space in the bedroom.
You can put bigger bed or bigger wardrobe.
DEBORAH: The kitchen is fully equipped.
We have a refrigerator, oven, dishwasher.
And all of the appliances look to be really quite new.
wait a minute.
Is this -- this is the whole refrigerator and the freezer?
Very normal for Germany to have a small freezer unit
because we go shopping almost every day.
That's a little unusual. We could talk about that.
But I like it. It looks really nice, new, and clean.
So, here we have another bedroom.
Okay. Looks nice.
LINAS: Oh, we could make this into an office.
Here's the bathroom.
My gosh. It has a bathtub,
which is something we're looking for.
Overall, I think the apartment itself was beautiful.
I mean, there were just a few things
that seemed to be problematic with it,
but with the budget still within our range,
it's definitely a possibility.
LINAS: I think that the Stuttgart West is really trendy.
It's the place to be.
Yeah, but with the apartment being right on a busy street,
I'm kind of concerned about the noise, honestly.
The sixth-floor apartment --
we could make something really nice.
I really like the one in the suburbs.
We do.
NARRATOR: A week after tying the knot in Lithuania,
a job opportunity brings Lindsay and Linas to Stuttgart, Germany.
I know that we're supposed to be mermaids, or Rhinemaidens.
Did the director take that into consideration
when they were picking this fabric?
Yes. Yes, of course.
NARRATOR: Wanting a tranquil home
and a place close to Lindsay's work
in the heart of the city hasn't been easy.
...We would have enough space.
In their budget of $1,100 a month,
they must choose between being centrally located
or quiet and off the beaten path.
So, what do you think?
Located in vibrant South Stuttgart,
house one is a renovated one-bedroom
that's slightly over budget, but has a convenient view.
You can't get any closer
than the train right outside your window.
I liked that it had character.
But despite the short commute to her work, they have worries.
Remember how small that kitchen was?
I really think that we'd get in each other's way.
And there's no bathtub.
We both really wanted that bathtub.
House two is below-budget
in a quiet area with most of their must-haves.
That's a big balcony.
This is something we would use often.
And under our budget.
It had great wood floors.
But their tastes clash.
We would have here all the things that we need for the kitchen.
But it is a little old-looking.
These cabinet fronts look like they're from the 1980s.
Close to Lindsay's job in trendy West Stuttgart,
house three impresses Linas by being big and on-budget.
It had enough space over there inside.
It had a great kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful.
You can't do much better than that.
But she sees the shortcomings.
Carpet -- it looks office-like.
Closets typically don't come with the bedrooms.
We could build it however we want it.
It's gonna get a little pricey.
Also, those lamps -- they are just too low.
Oh, yeah. [ Laughs ]
We really should get rid of one of them.
I think for the beam one -- no.
I think the beam one is definitely out.
I mean, it's not really our style,
and it was over our budget.
The suburban and the sixth floor.
Yeah. I really liked the one in the suburbs.
The balcony and the view from that apartment was beautiful.
I'm not sure about the bathroom over there.
It's a really tiny space.
Yeah, but it had a bathtub.
Yeah, true.
What do you think about the sixth-floor apartment?
We could make something really nice, like a big, nice couch,
a big bed, you know, a big-screen TV.
Yeah, but it's just you and me.
I don't think we need it.
It had a nice kitchen.
I know which one I like.
I really want a balcony.
I want the apartment in the suburbs.
It's so far under budget, we can really use that savings.
The balcony apartment.
Opting for suburban serenity,
Lindsay and Linas choose house two to start their wedded bliss.
So, do you want cheese on your eggs?
Sure.
And would you make up some toast, as well?
LINDSAY: Even in this short amount of time
that we've been in the apartment, it feels like a home.
Work is absolutely wonderful.
I couldn't imagine that there would be
such wonderful people to work with.
It's supposed to be.
Yeah, that helps a little bit.
And I've been enjoying studying nutrition.
Looks good. Let's eat.
We still need to paint this and that.
We need to do some small jobs over here and there,
but we like it a lot.
I think it was definitely worth it
to be living a little farther out of town
and have an outside space.
I mean, look at our beautiful view.
There's no noise.
I know. It's very calm.
I really didn't imagine that I could be so lucky.
I could have only dreamed
to marry a fantastic man such as Linas,
and now we're starting our lives together
here in Stuttgart, Germany.