Biel/Bienne the bilingual watch city: 954 km to the southern foot of the Jura – and back

With around 57,500 inhabitants, Biel/Bienne is Switzerland's tenth-largest city and its largest bilingual one: German and French have equal status, and the authorities must reply in both languages. Anyone moving from Berlin to Biel/Bienne brings their household goods out of the EU customs union into Switzerland. Duty-free are the items you have used for at least six months and will continue to use in the Seeland – declared as removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut) with the signed Form 18.44, a complete list of items and proof of the new residence, for example the tenancy agreement or an employment contract with a watchmaker. We collect everything in Berlin, drive across the border and reassemble it on Lake Biel.

On the way back from Biel/Bienne to Berlin, the list with both addresses first goes to the Swiss export customs office. At German customs, household goods remain duty-free under Regulation (EC) 1186/2009 if you have lived outside the EU for at least twelve months and used the items for at least six months. For this direction too, we write a fixed price after the survey.

From Stromstraße we take the AVUS and A10 onto the A9; at the Hermsdorfer Kreuz we switch to the A4 past Erfurt and Eisenach and via the Hattenbach interchange onto the A5, which leads via Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and Freiburg to Weil am Rhein at the border near Basel. In Switzerland we take the A2 through the Belchen tunnel to the Härkingen junction, the A1 to the Luterbach junction and the Swiss A5 past Solothurn and Grenchen to Biel/Bienne. Around 954 km, approx. 14 hrs of lorry time including breaks.

In Germany, lorries over 3.5 t drive at a maximum of 80 km/h (§ 18 (5) StVO), and after four and a half hours of driving time a 45-minute break is mandatory. The route is too long for one day's driving time: either two drivers take turns, or the lorry stays overnight before Basel and crosses the border on the next working day; between 10 pm and 5 am lorries over 3.5 t are banned from driving in Switzerland. Since October 2017 the eastern branch of the A5 has led around Biel with about 4 km of tunnel to the Bözingenfeld. We take the same route back to Berlin.

Biel/Bienne lies at the north-eastern end of Lake Biel, right at the southern foot of the Jura, and is the main town of the administrative district of the same name in the canton of Bern. The medieval old town climbs the hillside; on the Ring stand the town church of St Benedict and the Venner fountain, and only a small part may be driven on – at 20 km/h. Below, the Schüss divides the new town at the Zentralplatz. The neighbourhoods have two names: Mett/Mâche, Bözingen/Boujean, Vingelz/Vigneules, Rebberg/Vignoble, plus Madretsch and Champagne. Funiculars run up to Magglingen and Leubringen. Where your address lies determines lorry size and carrying distances; we clarify this in advance. Registration takes place within 14 days at the city's Population Department (Abteilung Bevölkerung, Neuengasse 28).

If you move back to Berlin, you deregister in Biel and register within two weeks at the citizens' office (Bürgeramt) – with ID and landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). We apply for the parking restriction in Berlin at the district office, and the signs are up 72 hours beforehand. This way the handover by the lake, the export and moving in on the Spree mesh together.

These figures help with initial planning for Berlin–Biel/Bienne and back; only the fixed price after the survey is binding:

We put the roughly 954 km between Moabit and Lake Biel at from €3,560 – outward and return. LSVA, border clearance and a second driver are separate items in the quote; what counts is the fixed price after a free survey.

First comes the load in cubic metres. On the route to the Seeland, the roughly 954 km, the Swiss heavy vehicle fee, customs clearance and two drivers or an overnight stay are added. In Biel itself, floor, lift and access – for example in the old town, which can only partly be driven on – make the difference. Extras: furniture assembly, parking restriction; it becomes cheaper with a part load.

You choose the building blocks, we carry them out for Biel/Bienne:

• Private move – from the Berlin period building to the Biel flat
• Company move – workshop or office with separately listed equipment
• Furniture transport – single items securely strapped
• Part load – small quantities on a shared run
• Move with assembly – dismantling on the Spree, assembly by the lake
• House clearance – cellar and loft in Berlin cleared

Biel/Bienne is one of many routes we serve from Berlin-Moabit. The locations overview shows which other regions we drive to; you will find the individual long-distance routes under long-distance moves.

Are you moving to the Seeland or back to the German capital? We look at your belongings, fill in Form 18.44 and the list together and send the fixed price for the roughly 954 kilometres in writing; guide price from €3,560. Appointments on 01625978461.