By the time I first visited Berlin in October, and indeed again in November, Ollie was surprisingly au fait with the city. He had spent many of his evenings on arrival wandering around, getting his bearings and experimenting with eateries, so could already act as my tour guide. I was also impressed with his level of German: he had the advantage of GCSE level knowledge somewhere in the dusty archives of his brain and by forcing himself to speak it where possible, tuning into conversations in his office and embarking on lessons, he could get by reasonably well. I on the other hand, have a very long way to go. Having never learnt German in my life, I quickly enrolled on a 10 week course last October, which gave me a few basics, but it's still incredibly daunting being here with so little knowledge of the language. I gave it a go in a coffee shop earlier, confidently asking for 'eine kleine Americano' (I knew a vague knowledge of Mozart would come in handy one day!) but, on using the term 'to go' - as advertised by the cafe itself, instinctively fell back into my native tongue and rounded off my sentence with a half-hearted 'please' (despite knowing full well how to say this in German). It will take some getting used to I suppose, just as will many other aspects of becoming a Berliner.
The most significant plus about Ollie moving here first, however, is that I am currently sitting on a sofa in a gorgeous apartment in a great location, all sought out by himself. It really wasn't easy, particularly navigating the German rental system, but he managed it and I couldn't be happier with what he's done. Renting in Germany is more akin to buying in the UK. People rent on a long-term basis, partly because rates are fixed at the price set when first signing the lease. Properties tend to be owned by companies rather than private landlords, and tenants have much more free reign of their let than they do in Britain. Hence, one can make as many changes/adjustments as one likes. You're free to paint walls, hang pictures, change the flooring etc etc - one one condition: that the property is returned in its original condition at the end of the tenancy. The vast majority of properties come unfurnished therefore - a complete blank canvas. And, given the rule about returning them from whence they came, people take everything with them on leaving. Everything, as Ollie discovered, down to the curtain rails and light fittings. He was lucky to get somewhere with white goods in the kitchen: although he has had to purchase a washing machine. Thus, he's had an interesting, challenging and expensive time since moving here, but we are pretty much there now. He has a designer's eye and has fitted the place out rather tastefully. He has spent an extraordinary amount of time in IKEA and built everything: bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, storage unit, TV cabinet, sofa, table and chairs. He's done a magnificent job though and I do love it.
I arrived in Berlin on Tuesday night, Dad having kindly driven me to Gatwick with as many of my things as I could manage. It's such a short flight (1hr 40) it doesn't seem that far away, and the weather over the past few weeks has been very similar to that in Britain. In fact, I am lucky as it is unseasonably mild at the moment.
Yesterday I spent simply unpacking and sorting through all my stuff. My last few weeks in the UK were absolutely manic! I was so lucky in spending it meeting and catching up with so many people before I went, but as a result was completely exhausted by the time I landed here! In fact, although I got up fairly early yesterday morning and had breakfast, I soon afterwards dozed off on the sofa again! Thus, I had a lazy day finding homes for my things and being housewifely in making dinner in time for himself to get back from work. We did go out in the evening, down to a local bar which had a hidden jazz club in the basement. Tipping myself into the spirit of things, I ordered a beer, regretting it halfway down. No one can say I didn't try!
Today I have been much more perky and ready to face the city! A little too nervous to venture out by myself yesterday, I had a lot of exploring to do. After lunch, I decided to go for a walk locally and only in doing so did I realise just how central we are here. In 10 minutes' walk I was by the river and in the central touristy area where the museums and Cathedral are. This is probably the most aesthetically pleasing part of a city not renowned for its beauty.
From there, I wandered back northwardly and found myself in Alexanderplatz, a busy shopping area (by the foot of the TV tower visible in the second picture above). It's a bustling area, full of shoppers, parents with small children, students, tourists and mobile wurst sellers, which amuse me very much. You never have to stray far in Germany without finding a sausage on sale. I poked around a few shops before moving on again, back towards the end of my wide circuit.
One final challenge presented itself before going home, which was getting the grocery shopping done. Ollie had given me directions to our nearest supermarket, which I found tucked inside what initially seemed to be a kind of slightly shabby indoor market. Happily, the experience was fairly unstressful. I am never quite sure in foreign supermarkets how to approach the fruit and veg section: are you supposed to weigh it yourself?! So I spend a bit of time casually observing other shoppers whilst fingering some oranges, until I established it seemed OK to just grab and go. Big relief. The German culture is really not a million miles from the British, at least as far as I have observed so far. Many brands were recognisable, there were a few things I couldn't get and an excess of cured meats, but otherwise the whole experience really wasn't a million miles from poodling round Tesco and so there was nothing to fear. Importantly, I now have coffee, chocolate biscuits and stuff for dinner, so I'm more than up and running satisfactorily!
And so, readers, that was my first few days here. Next week I am apparently being thrown in at the deep end with a visit to a ski resort somewhere near Dresden when Ollie's parents come to visit. In the meantime, I have to start keeping my ear to the ground for job opportunities and, when it comes to it, figure out all the complicated stuff such as getting a social security number, bank account etc etc. Still, my first mark of residency was made today by adding my name to the buzzers downstairs, which also means I can now receive post! All correspondence gratefully received - if you know me and want my address please do ask.
I must get back to my Schwein roasting in the oven. Tschuss for now.
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