Did you find your sublet on Craigslist or something similar? Or was it through a short term rental agency?
We did the Craigslist route the first time around, with not much luck. We’re looking to come back soon, and hope to sublet for a month until we get our feet on the ground….Any advice would be great 
Hi Leigh,
Yeah we found it through Craigslist. In fact, that’s where we found every sublet we’ve stayed in (I think, three in total) – it seems to be the place most Berliners go to advertise their flats.
Alternatively, you could try and find a holiday apartment and see if you could get a good rate for staying there a few weeks. Would be more expensive, but you’d avoid the pitfalls of subletting – see https://uberlin.co.uk/the-dummkopfs-guide-to-subletting/
I’ll let you know if we hear of anything. What areas are you looking in?
Ha! I’d be more than happy to be a hipster dickhead if I could live somewhere like this!
Zoe says: es ist alles eine Fassade! (p.s that was from google translate so if I’ve just swore at you or insulted you then that was not my intention!)
Click through for more on No Fire, No Glory and Bonanza Coffee Roasters
[…] may be wrong, but it feels like there’s been no decent coffee in Friedrichshain since No Fire, No Glory moved up to P Berg. So we welcome Silo, recently opened by two Aussies bringing with them flat […]
That’s some serious dedication. Most of our friends in Kreuzberg usually smirk about visiting Friedrichshain. Give a shout if you’re headed there again sometime.
James says: You missed us! We were there just yesterday – next time…
…unless we act like good Kreuzbergers and never come back!
James says: Hi there,
We’re not actually in Fshain – we just travel there for the coffee! Have you been to No Fire..?
We live in Kreuzberg though, so not that far from you guys!
Zoe says: aw shucks, thanks hun! I’m loving my new camera and I think I’ve found my calling…sod webdesign, I wanna take pretty pictures!;-)
“Let’s Go”
The electronic billboards at Heathrow seem scripted. Trite little visual devices to underline our motivation.
Looking up at the glass ceiling, I see myself reflected back against the black sky, surrounded by half of my worldly possessions: two suitcases, one wife.
This feels like looking at a screen, like watching a twee indie flick in which our protagonists go on a journey that somehow serves as metaphor for their new life together. In my head, Bon Iver scores the scene.
On the plane, my wife remarks that she can’t look directly at the sun, as if all that is out there in front of us is too bright for her to visualise. I have no such problem, staring straight ahead until blankness fills my eyes. When I look away tiny trails of light remain, little paths back to my past.
Outside, everything seems otherworldly. The rolling fog looks like the surface of the sea, the sun peeking out from a hot pink horizon. Half an hour later, crisp white light cuts across a cloudscape that resembles snowdrifts on a glacier.
I believe that we are doing this in the same way you believe in the plot of a film for 90 minutes or so, only to pick it apart afterwards. We are immersed in this experience, but it’s hard to convince ourselves that this is our life, and that it will last indefinitely.
Seatbacks upright – we are now beginning our descent into Berlin.
This post has been entered into the Grantourismo HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition.
[…] started überlin to record our move from London to Berlin – in fact, I wrote our first post on the flight over! But what began as an online diary about two expats’ exploration of a new […]
[…] und James Ankunft in Berlin Im November 2010 ist nachlesbar im ersten Blog-Eintrag “Up in the air“. Fünf, sechs Mal waren sie vorher da, immer im Winter, zum Beispiel zur Modemesse Bread […]
[…] you.” Looking back, our move out here four months ago – which seemed so overwhelming at the time – was as simple as changing tracks, switching direction. But it may have saved […]
Thanks so much for entering our contest, James! Apologies for not saying so earlier – I did get here to take a read, along with the other judges, but it’s been a frantic month being our last weeks of our Grantourismo trip, so I think I forgot to leave a message.
The entries were all so good this month, so thanks for contributing such a high quality post. At last – at long last – we’ve announced the winners of our January HomeAway Holiday-Rentals Grantourismo Travel Blogging competition. Details here: https://bit.ly/hYq2VB
Thanks again for your entry. We’re announcing the February contest details a bit later today – the final contest is going to be a very easy one! Please spread the word
James says: No worries Lara, I’m not sore for losing out to any of those entries! Impressive.
I’ll keep my peeps out for the Feb contest!
Its that detail of the Bon Iver score that got me. I think you’ve nailed the way that big life changes can feel like you’re watching a film. I look forward to absorbing more of your blog
James says: Thanks Emma – I had to cut some words to make the post eligible for entry in the competition, but I was determined not to lose that bit. Hope you enjoy the rest of Überlin, and I’ll check out your blog too. Cheers!
Anon says: Mega writing skills
James says: Ditto. Can’t believe I haven’t seen your blog before! Keep fighting the good fight – and writing the good write?
James says: Thanks Eck! I’m trying… just ask Zoe!
Eric Noble says: aw james this is amazing stuff ..you are a true 21century poet!!!
Could you resurrect the Palast der Republik for one last print? That bronze and ebony facade (perhaps on pleasingly yellowed paper) might lend itself to the medium.
Great idea. A little more challenging than the TV tower, but I’ll have a go!
What fun! I love the idea of a Berlin print series.
Thanks!
Any suggestions for a Berlin icon I can do a woodcut of?