So here is our long overdue post about where we live.
Our apartment building, the IBZ Berlin, hosts visiting academics from around the world. It's like an airbnb that you can stay in for up to two years. The actual apartment leaves much to be desired—don't get us started on the kitchen—but it's an easy setup for an extended stay in Berlin.
The best thing about the IBZ is how much Hazel loves it. There's a large internal courtyard where all the children in the building play. Hazel will spend hours playing in the courtyard, mostly unsupervised, with her friends. She's never had so much freedom and neither have we. There's also a club room with a piano and a teacher that visits once a week, so Hazel is now taking piano lessons on site; she also gets to attends bday parties and occasionally weekly concerts in the club room.
We live a block away from Rüdesheimer Platz. It's a large plaza with a garden, fountain, playground, and in summer, a wine garden. Apparently, the New York Times once described Rüdesheimer Straße as one of the most beautiful streets in Europe. It's not bad. Around the square are several restaurants, cafes, bakeries, a small grocery, a tea shop, a butcher, and various other local businesses. Hazel enjoys the artwork in the U-bahn station and the ice cream shop the most.
Our neighborhood feels mostly residential, but has a fair amount of local shops and restaurants, and a Lutheran church that rings its bells incessantly. A monk clanging out a monotone five minute church bell solo isn't annoying at all.
The nearest shop is directly across from our building is a well-known—and affordable—wine shop; you can get 1 L of a good German white for 6 euro, and they make their own schnapps. Excellent.
Hazel is still enjoying the local parks (and rock and roll cafes).
Dad taught Hazel to ride a bike (no training wheels!) and they are enjoying dangerously exploring the city together with only a bit of yelling.
The best part is the increased amount of family time (especially for Hazel and Dad). The 40-hour workweek is a real thing here, and weekends are sacred. In the states, I would be laughed out the door at a job interview if mentioned I had to pick up my child three times a week by 4:30 (or here if I said 4:30 rather than 16:30).
Berliners love their street events (particularlly this rollerblading marathon); kinder (feral and domestic), little old ladies, hipsters in lawn chairs slugging pilsner. All of them shouting enthusiastic encouragement, some spinning those clacker things, kazoos, beating on metal utility boxes with sticks.
Expectations have been exceeded, this break from the US has been refreshing, it couldn't have been more timely. In summary, we are doing great and Hazel's gives it her trademarked thumbs up (that's a big thumb huh?)
