First of all, that reason is a very good one but something you really should not mention in an application or an interview. It might be interpreted as "I'm looking for something easy to relax". You should probably give reasons such as "lifelong dream" or such. But I guess that's something you already do. Another thing that might be worth trying is offering to do some sort of unpaid test week. Sort of like an unpaid intership, you'll need to be able to afford that of course but this way, even if nothing comes of it, you'll be able to list it as job experience in the next application. And you might be able to just ask the intended boss if this would be something to he/she'd like to better see your qualifications.
Again there is not much I can do to help other than listening. The job market is tough, even more so in the US than in Germany where it's mostly easy to get testwork. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you to get the job you wish for!