A New Berlin-ning

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a month since I arrived in Berlin. As usual, time has both flown and crawled since then, and I still haven’t quite absorbed the fact that this isn’t temporary. But quite a lot has happened in the last 30-odd days, so let’s do some catching up:

After spending most of the month of December doing some much-needed relaxation and recharging at home with my parents and siblings and seeing old friends, on December 27^th my mom and dad and I drove down to San Francisco to drop off Ben’s car in Palo Alto at his parents’ house, and then take me and my luggage to the airport. Especially after having so much time together, it was really hard to say goodbye to them—and they must have felt the same way, because as soon as I arrived in Europe I got a text from Mom saying they had found a good deal on tickets for the family to come visit in May, and bought them!

Boarding the airplane, I was definitely feeling nervous and questioning this whole thing. Honestly, I was terrified to be heading off with no job or school or anything set up in advance—but the thought of Ben awaiting me on the other side was exciting and reassuring. We hadn’t seen each other since he left back in September, so as you might imagine, we were both looking forward very much to our reunion. Eventually I settled in for the long flight across the Atlantic, which proved exceptionally uneventful—I don’t think the captain ever even switched on the Fasten Seatbelts sign the whole flight other than for takeoff and landing. After two short layovers in Copenhagen and in Stockholm, I finally arrived at Berlin Tegel Airport, collected my luggage (including one rather battered bike box), and found my husband after some trial and error (the airport had more terminals than we thought). It was so good to see him, and all my doubts were wiped away in that moment. I was so glad to finally be here!

First glimpse of Scandinavia!

Our current home in Berlin is a small, furnished, one-bedroom flat in a neighborhood called Wedding that Ben found to sublet back in October. The building is on the older side, with high ceilings, tall windows, and squeaky wood floors, and it's a really cozy space, perfect for the two of us. There's even a futon in the dining/kitchen area for guests (hint hint!). The bedroom/office is nice and big, with plenty of space for our bikes and room for me to roll out my yoga mat in the mornings.

Together again! My first morning in Berlin.

My first few days in Berlin were spent recovering from jetlag and exploring the city with Ben, who enjoyed playing tour guide and introducing me to the sights and the U Bahn system. Ben was still on break from classes until January 8th, so we had lots of time to ourselves. I also got to meet some of his friends from school, as well as a friend he made back when he was staying in the youth hostel, before he found the apartment. Everyone has been super nice and welcoming, and it has been so good to be together in our new home!