My time in Berlin is coming to an end...

Soon I will be leaving Berlin. I am moving back to Copenhagen. Not because Berlin isn't a great city, but because it isn't Copenhagen. It isn't home.
This past year in Berlin has been hard at times and easier at others. One thing is certain it has been an experience. I am happy that I chose to to move to Berlin, but I am also happy to be going home.
It feels like it's time to leave now, I have gotten all out of this experience that I could.
And I am not leaving for good, one day I will return to Berlin, but probably just for a short visit ;)

Getting ready to leave Berlin

My time in Berlin is coming to an end and in little over a week, I will be back in Copenhagen. But leaving Germany has turned out to require a lot of work. The things that could be taken care of online or by a quick phone call when I left Copenhagen seems to be a lot more complicated in Germany. Here signatures and stamps are required to do anything. Sometimes it seems that they've have search for the most difficult way to do something and then decided on that. But I guess that's just the German way to do it. They do seem to be rather fond of their bureaucratic ways..

Luckily, it seems that I have everything in order. There are still some things to be taken care of, but I don't think any of them will cause problems.

At least I hope not ;)

Happy Christmas!

It's that time of the year again:)
Christmas is here! Or well tomorrow is christmas eve. And this evening I'm flying home to celebrate the holiday with my family. Can't wait!

So happy christmas everybody!

Cash or credit card?

People who have been to Germany know that here you won't get far with a credit card. Cash is the way to go. And that can be so very frustrating, especially when you're from Denmark and not really used to carrying around cash. I've been living in Germany for 11 months now, and I honestly think that I have used an ATM more during this time than I will for the rest of my life. Okay, that might be an exaggeration but I don't think I'm that far off the mark.

It's not like you can't use a credit card anywhere here in Berlin. Many places accept cards, it's just that you can't count on it. So you still have to make sure to have cash.

Anyway, this just one of the small differences between Germany and Denmark (and many other places).  Living somwhere where you are not depended on having cash on you is definitely something I am looking forward to. Even after 11 months I still am not quite used to this cash society ;-p

No more Sprachenatalier!

Last night, I attended my last German class at Sprachenatalier. Another sign that my time here in Berlin is coming to an end. I've attended class for 32 weeks (so it says on the certificate I received from the school) and I've learned a great deal. I am far from being fluent, but I can construct more or less simple sentences and understand quite a lot. So all in all, I'll say that my German classes have paid off!

But as I still have much to learn, I am considering taking it up again in Copenhagen. It should not be that difficult finding a language school in the Danish capital that offer German classes.

Happy December 1st!

December is finally here! If you haven't already figured it out December is my favourite time of the year. It's christmas and my birthday rolled into one, litterally:)
It's filled with light and jollyness. And I am so ready to take on christmas! Bring it on!

The decision has been made...

I'm coming home! When my contract ends mid January I will back my bags and head for Denmark. Now that the decision has been made, I know I've the right choice. I'm ready to move home to Copenhagen. Berlin is great, but it has never truly felt like home. And now feels like a good time to find something new to do in the one place that has always been home.

Let the preparations for a new relocation begin!

Jack, Jack, everywhere Jack!

Now that it's getting colder here in Berlin, I see Jack everywhere. Almost everywhere I look, there he is. Mostly on jackets and backpacks, but I've also spotted him on for example hats.

I am obviously refering to Jack Wolfskin. It seems like you're not a real German unless you own something bearing the iconic paw that symbolises the brand.

Jack does of course also live up to the German idea of pracital over beautiful, not that he isn't pretty, but he's probably leaning a bit more towards practical ;)

Impatiently waiting for christmas

I love christmas! It's absolutely the best time of the year. Every year when November approaches, time seems to slow down. As the days crawl by in a pace that can only be described as extremely slow, I impatientely wait for the calendar to read December.

This year is no exception. I am as impatient as ever and am already comtemplating when I can start christmasing without looking like a christmas nutter.

Psst! The truth is that I've already put up some christmas light. But don't tell anyone ;)

Happy first birthday!

Today, this blog turns one year old! During this past year, I have tried to keep you updated on my experiences as an expat in Berlin. I realise that most posts have been random thoughts or photos of more or less random things. I do, however, hope that you've been entertained nevertheless :)

I realise this sound sort of final, but you won't get rid of me that easily:p

More to come!

One year ago today...

A year ago today, I visited Berlin for the very first time. I was here for a job interview, this job interview is, as you may have guessed, the very same job interview that led me to move to the German capital. A lot has happened since that day and the experience itself seems so far away.

Since I relocated to Berlin, I've moved twice, started to learn a new language, got the hang of the long distance relationship, learned that Germans don't mind blowing their nose in public, bought countless plane tickets, gained heaps of professional experience and much more!

At times, things were moving really fast and time flew by (an example being June, as you may recall). But at other times, it felt like the clocks had stopped. But in any case, 2014 is soon coming to an end.

Now that my contract here is soon fulfilled, I need to consider my next move. The choice comes down to either staying here in Berlin and try to get my contract renewed or moving back to good old Copenhagen. What makes the choice difficult is that what makes the most sense doesn't really feel right. But I guess that's true for many things in life.

I know that whatever I chose I'll be disappointing someone, the question is who do I want to let down the least.

While I'm considering all this, christmas is drawing closer and I am indeed a sucker for christmas. But more on that later!

Life as a commuter part III

The last two weeks, the schools of Berlin have been closed due to autumn break. And I have been enjoying it! Probably not as much as the children, but still. The reason for my joy? An almost empty tram in the morning on my way to work! I have been enjoying the extra wiggle room immensely. But now it's back to reality! As of yesterday, the kids are back at school and I have to get used to having less space on the tram yet again ;)

So, I've been wondering...

how come is it that German women need a secluded area in the fitness centres to do their weight lifting? Here in Berlin you'll also find fitness centres just for women, again weird! Is it because German women are more shy than women elsewhere? Or that German men are more likely to harrass women, who are working out? Both scenarios seem unlikely to me. But then why?
But I guess that's just one of those small differences between Denmark and Germany...

East Side Gallery

Today I decided to make the most of the lovely autumn weather we're having here in Berlin this Sunday and take a stroll along the East Side Gallery.

The 1.3 km long stretch of the old Berlin wall fascinates me with all its bright colours and beautiful art. Definitely worth a visit.

From summer to autumn

September is coming to an end and so is the summer. The days are growing shorter and the leaves are changing colour.
I've tried to catch this transition from summer to autumn on camera:

A looooong week

Finally, the weekend is here! This week has been one of the longest weeks of my life.
I've had difficulties getting up in the morning, I've been struggling to concentrate and the days have seemed so incredible long. The first week back at work after a holiday is always hard, but this weeks just seems to have been harder than usual. This might have something to do with the fact that is was a very good holiday, I might actually go so far as to saying the best holiday of my life. So the contrast of being back at the office is just so much greater than after your average holiday.

Hopefully, next week will be easier to get through. But before that I am going to enjoy this weekend. I don't have much planned yet, but that actually feels like just the thing I need right now. A nice quiet weekend to recuperate after a hard week's work ;)

So orange is nur Berlin

If you've ever been to Berlin, you might've noticed the bright orange rubbish bins scattered across the city. They actually seem to be on every street corner, so if you somehow managed to miss them, you must have been walking around with your eyes closed :p

Anyway, the rubbish bins might all be orange, but the are not the quite the same. Different text or images are printed on them. I've made a little collection which is by no means exhaustive;)

The cold that wouldn't leave

So, I've managed to catch a cold. Not that odd, happens all the time. This particular cold has stuck around for a week and a half, but luckily it now seems to be overwith. The cold resulted in something I've never tried before. I lost my voice! It was only for a couple of days, but it makes you realise how often during the day you need your voice. Also, I discovered that it was easier for me to talk Danish, harder to speak English and almost impossible to speak German. I'm assuming that the mothertongue is easier due to the familiarity of the language's or something like that.

But German being a relatively new language caused me a lot of problems. Which was rather unfortunate since I had German class. I managed by whispering or simply keeping quiet.

Losing your voice really makes you appreciate it and I'm really happy it's back!

Church bells

When I come home after a long day at work, relaxing on my sofa with some mindless TV is on the top of my list. However these days these supposedly relaxing and quiet moments are being ruined. After my move to Friedrichshain, I am living near a church. Nothing wrong with that, I grew up near a church. But this church is something special. Every day at 6pm the church bells start ringing, that in itself is not so strange and it doesn't bother me that I can hear it once in a while. What does bother me is that it keeps ringing for 6 minutes! Every day at 6pm! What is up with that?!? It's invading my quiet time! I can live with the fact that it goes off at what seems like random hours of the day (5.47am, 7.20pm and 1am are just examples). But why must I be submitted to this kind of auditory torture every day? 6 minutes can seem like a really long time, when you're just waiting for the minutes too pass so that you can go back to enjoying your quiet time ;)

The little things...

To pass time, procrastinate and otherwise keep my self entertained, I play a little Candy Crush. You could even go so far as to say that it's a guilty pleasure of mine :-p
Anyway, for the last couple of months (yes, months!), I have been stuck at this really difficult level (level 168, in case you're wondering) but today I finally solved it (and is now stuck at the next level ;)).
Advancing to this next level brought a smile to my lips on this otherwise dull and rainy day. It really is about all the little things:)