A Look on the Inside

Living room

When we found out that we were to move to Berlin, a nice place to live was high on our list. We considered the options of Craigslist or an Airbnb-like service, but finally settled on a Makler, that is a realtor who finds apartments and takes a monthly cut of the rent. It seemed like a raw deal for the renter, but the safest option. And with James wanting to start work two days after arrival, we did not want any surprises.

Several websites of varying degrees of customizability offered their services - but how close would the photos on the website be to reality?

Living room - dining area

We had a fairly short list of things that were very important or important: Close to the TU, not too small, a desk and Internet, and a bed that was suitable for a 6 months stay (a surprising number of apartments had only one full-size bed, and we needed queen size or better).

Large bedroom

On the nice-to-have list was a second bedroom and a balcony or garden. We were also worried about a hot summer, so top floor or west-facing windows made a place less desirable.

Small bedroom

After looking at different place for literally hours - and after we had missed out on two places - we finally found a promising apartment. By then, time was running out, so I decided to call the owner, who was very nice. I told her our situation and she said she'd be interested in having us as her renter.s We worked with the Makler to get the contract in place, and moved money into the owner's account.

Office

The place looked good - larger than most places than we had looked at, with several desks and two full bedrooms. But what would it be like for real? In early April, I was relieved to hear from James that he was quite pleased with the place. The location was even better than expected, with two natural food stores and a yoga studio just down the street, minutes from public transportation, and a large pedestrian mall not far away. Restaurants, a movie theatre, and, of course, the Kudamm were all close by.

Eating area in kitchen

When I finally arrived last week I was happy to discover that, if anything, the place was even more attractive than the photos. Everything was attractive and uncluttered, with nice-looking furniture and lots of space. The wood floors (Dielen) were old and creaky but just living in a place that old is charming.

Wood floors - note the different patterns

The high ceiling will hopefully help on warmer days - regrettably, the place does have 2 west-facing rooms. Interesting old-fashioned decorations also show the age of the house.

Door and ceiling

The kitchen is small but functional - and besides, there are so many good restaurants, we're not sure yet how often we'll eat in for dinner.

Most charming is the fact that the owner is an artist who makes tiffany lamps and other art with glass, and here pieces are found throughout the apartment.

View toward apartment house across the street, and glass art

I am, quite frankly, amazed that someone would just rent out a beautiful place like this for a whole summer to total strangers. But James and are are thrilled to have the place, and will certainly take care of everything (we even promised to water the plants).

Glass art