Alles Güt!

Well everyone - we have arrived, safe and sound. I have to say that I am SO happy that the moving part of our trip is over. It was a lot harder and more traumatic than I thought it would be. And we would never have managed it were it not for the help of Eric's friend, Mark Joyce (a thousand thank yous to MJ - you will be treated like a king when you visit us).

And so now we are here in Berlin. We spent last night in a hotel but got the keys etc from the family we are renting from, Nina and Dirk. We were so wrecked from the move the day before (I had been holding off a migraine for two days) that we didn't get to spend that much time with them, which was a pity because they seemed very nice.

How strange it is to meet someone for the first time and then move into the their place the next day (which is what we did today)! They were hardly out of the place a couple of hours when we were straight in with all our gear!

Anyway, about our place. Senefelderstrasse is a lovely street, just off the main drag in Prenzlauer Berg. To me it has a very continental feel, tall buildings with courtyards. See the facade to our building above. Our apartment is on the first floor, just above a cafe and, get this, an olive oil shop (Eric is in his element).

Now our guidebook warned us about the graffiti in Berlin, but it is really everywhere. Above is the hallway to our place, which, to be honest, when I first walked in I was wondering if we were in the right place (Dee - Oliver Bond eat your heart out!).

The graffiti continues all the way up the stairwell. Strangely the "artists" use English a lot. One thing I would say is that their work lacks consistency - one says 'I love you' and another says 'I eat babies' (I mean, really).

However, the graffiti aside, I have to say that we are delighted with the apartment. The photos that Nina had sent us did not do the place justice. It is much bigger and nicer than we thought. A definite step up from De Vesci Court in Monkstown. Above is a photo of the room that Eric will be using to compose, chill out and generally be creative. It's huge, or as Seimi would say 'you-ige'!!!

This area has a million and one different restaurants (Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Japanese), all that look lovely and inviting, and all are incredibly reasonable (it is possible to for two people to eat a gourmet meal for under 10 euros here!). However, we decided to spend our first night in. As well as saving a couple of bob, there's nothing like cooking (see photo of Eric in the midst above), and eating your first meal to make a place feel like home. And though it is just our first night, both myself and Eric agree that this place already feels like us.