So, I haven't updated this in some time. Intentionally, mind. But I probably should have written that I was stopping. Sorry there now...
When I left you ("oh my brothers..") your humble narrator had just arrived in the oh-so-amazing city of Berlin.
I'll try and keep this nice to read. That is, mostly photos. Apart from this paragraph.
I guess the first thing we noticed here was how very hard it is to find an apartment in Berlin. It really is crazy. And it's a strange crazy - everyone is poor and arty, so it's not a simple supply/demand scenario. Every apartment is quite cheap to rent, there are just at least 20 people vying for each apartment. We were also in the same boat as most of the bohemian Berliners in that none of us are actually employed...and given that we were living in a campervan, we couldn't exactly get a reference from our last landlord. So it was a little tricky. But we prevailed. We decided to split up into three different apartments, and I moved in with a girl who turned out to be the best flatmate one could ever hope for, Ciara. Here is Ciara making pizza.
I found some nice busking spots, where (as long as the weather held) I could make easily enough to live on and pay rent etc. I wasn't sure how this would work out, but it turns out Berlin is a pretty cheap place for just about everything.
Now I'm back. It's freezing, but I love it. We're all fairly broke, but I love it. I've spent so much time over the past five years getting annoyed at myself for not grabbing life and living it to the fullest, and for the first time I (mostly) feel like I'm doing that. So what if sometimes I stay out raving for two days straight and then spend another two in bed. We're young. Go live your life.....'cus haters are always gonna hate ;)
When I left you ("oh my brothers..") your humble narrator had just arrived in the oh-so-amazing city of Berlin.
I'll try and keep this nice to read. That is, mostly photos. Apart from this paragraph.
I guess the first thing we noticed here was how very hard it is to find an apartment in Berlin. It really is crazy. And it's a strange crazy - everyone is poor and arty, so it's not a simple supply/demand scenario. Every apartment is quite cheap to rent, there are just at least 20 people vying for each apartment. We were also in the same boat as most of the bohemian Berliners in that none of us are actually employed...and given that we were living in a campervan, we couldn't exactly get a reference from our last landlord. So it was a little tricky. But we prevailed. We decided to split up into three different apartments, and I moved in with a girl who turned out to be the best flatmate one could ever hope for, Ciara. Here is Ciara making pizza.
We settled into the flat and bourgeoisie neighbourhood quickly, enjoying regular games of table tennis on the table a few metres from our door, and cooking many nice meals:
Hopefully the pictures convey it a little. But this past 6 months has found me possibly the happiest I've ever been. It's hard to overstate. I literally spent most of those first few months in Berlin with a big grin on my face.
Next, I met another musician named Bjorn while busking one day, and we started playing together. And got some arty photos taken of us by the talented Finbar.
My whole family came to visit on separate trips, and we did various touristy things.
Next I went home for Christmas, where I played some gigs with Bjorn...
And one by myself..
Had lots of fun busking..
And got to see lots of friends I'd really missed...
Now I'm back. It's freezing, but I love it. We're all fairly broke, but I love it. I've spent so much time over the past five years getting annoyed at myself for not grabbing life and living it to the fullest, and for the first time I (mostly) feel like I'm doing that. So what if sometimes I stay out raving for two days straight and then spend another two in bed. We're young. Go live your life.....'cus haters are always gonna hate ;)
