I fall in love with Birkenstocks when I live in Germany . after 10 year of faithful service , my birk be all wear out so I go search for replacement . aside from severe sticker shock at the US price -lrb- yes - they have birkenstock outlet in Germany -rrb- this source be perfect with lot of variety and choice . I be a huge fan of the soft footbed and caution woman with average width foot to buy the `` narrow '' birk instead of the regular for better fit .