I do in fact have an apartment

I guess I will finish up some of the details about living in Berlin that I left hanging in that post a few weeks ago.

Not wanting to live in a cardboard box outside the U-bahn entrance I picked up the apartment search once again after the new years celebration was over. A few apartments had responded and so I set up times to look at two of the places and talk to the people already living there. All of the email conversations were in English so I had high hopes that it would be fine. Well let's say my German was just not up to the task in the end. Luckily for me my friend Sebastian who is originally from Germany happened to be in Berlin at the same time and I can't even begin to tell you how much he helped with the apartment hunting.

The first place I looked at was in a nice area of Prenzlauerberg. Almost right next to my building is what I can only describe as a mall, but a little different than a mall in the States. In addition to your usual clothes stores, shoe stores and a few small "restaurants" there were also several grocery stores and a bakery. It was like walking into Marketplace Mall/Bellevue Square and finding a Wegmans/QFC in the middle. So on the upside I wouldn't have to go far to get groceries. Also there were both S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations right outside but the apartment had enough buildings in between that it was still quiet. The bedroom was small but came with a bed, desk and shelf. What more do you really need? It could get the job done. There was a bit of a communication barrier with the guy showing the apartment as apparently his wasn't the perfect English responding to the emails he was here for his "friend" who I had been emailing. Thankfully Sebastian helped sort through with that. Well I didn't take that apartment right away even though it was in a great location I wanted to see some other places as well before I decided.

The next day I went to see one other apartment in Prenzlauerberg. This one was on a more residential street vs the hustle and bustle of the first apartment. To say this place was a bit messy is an understatement. I think I saw stale nachos in the shape of a bowl sitting on the kitchen counter. The room here was bigger, cheaper... and messier. Somehow no matter how much people tell you "The smell will be gone before you move in" it never really seems to change what you think of the place. In any case the three people already living here were about as eager to speak in English as I was to speak in German although Sebastian and his cousin helped here. It turned out to be a situation more like a job interview where they were interviewing people for the "position" and would choose who they liked best by the end of the weekend. This wasn't exactly what I expected and if I had to judge how my interview went I would say I wasn't getting hired.

After seeing that apartment I decided to go with the first one. Though a bit more expensive I knew the other two guys living in the apartment were also students from other countries and the area it was in was much better. On a side note about the expense of apartments, it is common for people to move into an apartment and then rent out the remaining rooms at much higher prices in order to pay the rent and make some money at the same time.

I had to stay in the hostel an extra day and it took me two trips across the city on the S-Bahn to move both my massive suitcases but I got myself moved into my new place on the 5th. I also met my roomates (American student and French student) after a day or two.

Well according to the good doctor here beer is good for you so why don't you have one, maybe something new (Unless you are at work. On the other hand if you work at a brewery then go for it). Cheers.