48 Stargarder Straße

We're finally moved in to our new apartment.  Pictures will be forthcoming, but suffice it to say that this is an amazing place.  A tree-top apartment with warm wood floors and lots of light.  Birds in the morning.  Children laughing on the sidewalk.  A feeling that you have somewhere to return to after a long day's work.

It's a good feeling.

Signed, Sealed, and (almost) Delivered

We signed the lease on our apartment today.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be out of the sublet and into our own home!  This weekend we went to visit our future neighborhood.  We're across the street from a Planetarium and also located in what seems to be a hotspot for Vietnamese food.  There's also no shortage of ice cream shops, lazy cafes, and inviting parks.  The one drawback is the one hundred and two stairs we will have to climb to get to our apartment.  It will be more than made up for by the light and quiet on the top floor, but this promises to be a move-in to remember.  In fact, I'm considering changing the blog title to "102 steps" in commemoration.

Here are some pictures:

Ours is the top right apartment.  

Waaaaay up there is our balcony. 

And a place for bikes in the inner courtyard. 

A typical Berlin front hall.

A bit of neighborhood color.

September Skies

Something beautiful happens in this continental climate that causes the clouds to look unlike any I've seen before.  Watching the skies change in this summer-fall transition, I'm reminded of a Renaissance painting.  The light, the shadows, and the color all come together to form an incredible vista (and the view from the 17th floor doesn't hurt either).