About 2215, I’m reading in my dark bedroom, alone in the house, when a loud bang startles me—seemed like something struck the house as I felt vibration from it through the headboard.
Came slowly down the stairs to find second level bathroom window swung wide open and listing with only the lower hinge attached. Closer inspection showed claw marks in the wood from presumably something like a crowbar. Called Polezei and they arrived after a nervy hour. I wasn’t certain whether someone had gotten in and then hid when I came down, and I had to make a cautious search of the house while I waited.
Polezei took notes and pictures and made a more thorough search, but were pretty brisk about it. 10 minutes in and out.
In retrospect, my mistake was that I had left the metal shade up enough for someone to crawl through, and had left the window in its louvered position. It’s a second story window but can be gained by climbing the bars over the window below and gaining the patio. Requires some determination but obviously was accessible.
I should have either kept the window closed or only left it louvered if the shade was drawn closed in the manner that allows those small gaps.
I’m passing this along as a security recommendation—doubtless Germans have this well sorted, but I hope to save some other naive recent arrival from the same experience, particularly as summer arrives and nighttime open windows are the only way to cool off. I was very fortunate that the window swung on the hinge after being crowbarred and made such a loud crash—that is likely what scared him or her away.
Here’s a picture of the sill, hand marks where the bold robber grabbed to pull up, and then the bent metal and wood where the crowbar was applied to jack the window off of the hinge.
I hope this saves someone else from being targeted. Meanwhile, it’s 0200 and I’m still unable to get to sleep 😕. I’m thankful that my family is on travel but being alone in this circumstance sucks.
I’ll be grateful to hear any other suggestions on good German practices to improve home security. I’m in a detached home with pretty easy street access.
by Common_Power4145