A New Home in Berlin

Germany is full of bureaucracy.
No news there, I know.

Before you can rent a place, get a mobile phone contract, a bank account, anything really, you need to prove that you have a favorable credit rating. There’s only one organization in Germany dealing with this.

Even though I left the country 16 years ago, I still kept my old bank account, so that was merely a question of dropping by a branch and having it re-activated, but I needed the document for the credit rating before I could even start house hunting.

It took them three weeks to sort me out, and the most unreal thing happened: 
Three days later, I found a permanent home. A new home in Berlin.

That came unexpected, as there’s a bit of a housing crisis, but I’m a little privileged and can spend a bit more on an apartment than the average person here, hence zero competition.

The place is just ten minutes from Berlin Central Station in an area that’s just being built. 
Everything is new, but also, not much is ready.

A new home in Berlin!

This is the place, completely naked, with only two light bulbs in the bathrooms and a kitchen built in.

So, the work starts:

I enjoyed these weeks. Being creative, doing stuff with your hands – I missed it!
But even more critical, day by day, bit by bit, the place became a real home and turned into a fantastic apartment.

I paid attention to details right from the start:

Other things didn’t work out in the first attempt (but could be fixed with super glue):

Personalization is important:

And a few days later, the first piece of  furniture arrived:

And more, every day:

My stuff from Cork was still on the way, so this looks a little empty:

A week and a half later:

Another two weeks later:

There’s a reason why I wanted to become an interior designer as a youngling! As you see, the theme is grey and purple throughout the whole place. 
I matched even details like towels, curtains, blankets, and whatnot.

A little paradise in central Berlin. Now to discover the city!

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