Ich bin ein(e) Berliner(in)

Yes, I am officially a citizen of Berlin now. I went to the citizen centre yesterday early in the morning. The centre opened at 8 am and at 7.48 when I arrived, there were already about 30 people in line before me. I think I got through quite fast though, most of time I was waiting for my turn. At 8.50 I continued my way to the finance centre to get a tax number. The weather was kinda crappy again, so I decided to go one stop on the underground, since I had my monthly ticket now. The underground apparently didn't think my idea was that good though, because it never arrived. So I had to bike in the rain, which sucked! Where's the amazing weather that everyone talked about? The finance centre was quickly taken care of and I was at work at 10 am.

The beautiful old building where the citizen centre is.

I finished work quite early and hurried home, where my boyfriend already waited for me. After grabbing a quick coffee we headed out for a small Charlottenburg-tour. I love all the small streets, the old houses and the parks. It really is a beautiful part of Berlin. Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the fourth biggest of Berlins 12 boroughs with its 320.322 inhabitants, but only the sixth biggest in areal (64,72 sqm). It's main sights are the Technical University of Berlin, the Berlin University of Arts, the opera Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as the Olympic Stadium and Charlottenburg Palace, which I live right next to.

My next door neighbour: the Charlottenburg Palace

Why aren't our sewers in Finland as pretty as this one?

Today was the most interesting day at work so far. Yesterday I got a translation assignment, which I started translating this morning. It was great to come to the office when I didn't have to start with asking for things to do. I also got my very own account and got to start managing some projects. The day went by so fast, because I had stuff to do! More of this!

A view from the bridge Schlossbrücke outside my house

It's summer! This beautiful park is on the way to my nearby grocery store.

Tonight I met up with a collague, Chris. He showed be around in Kreuzberg and I finally got to go somewhere other than my own part of the city. Chris has a background as interesting as mine (or even more so!). He was born in Hamburg, grew up in Stockholm, studied in Lübeck and lived in Vienna and New York before coming to Berlin. That's quite a lot for a 31-year-old! Now I have someone to practise my Swedish with, which is great! And I do have to say, his Swedish is very good for someone who hasn't lived in Sweden for 15 years. After walking around for almost two hours we ended up in a Sheesha café, where the sheesha was probably the best I've ever had! On the way home I was amazed my the warmth of Berliners, everyone was smiling to me and even spontaneous chats took place in the underground. I can't help falling in love with this city!

A view from the bridge Admiralbrücke over the Landwehr Canal