abstract technology © Lilly Schwartz 2011

Yesterday it was again raining so it was time for one of my bad weather close-ups. This time I took a picture of Ezequiel’s beautiful red headphones. One day I have to try them out to see whether they’re more than just pretty.

The bad weather is actually getting on my nerves by now and I can’t wait to get to a warmer climate again. Maybe living in Berlin is not such a good idea after all considering that I have such delicate health in cold weather. Berlin is actually one of the coldest places in Germany in winter. However, I have always liked Berlin and the opportunities here seem endless. Nice relatively cheap flats, museums, English language cinema, lots of shops, areas with interesting things to see, second hand bookshops, cafés, lots of tango, many universities with groups of related interest. Really, I like it a lot and the longer I live here, the more I seem to like it.

I’ve even noticed today that I’ve come to feel a little bit at home here, which is rather surprising since I’ve longed to develop that same feeling in Brighton for years and never managed to come anywhere near it. The closest I got was this feeling of familiarity. It probably had to do with the fact that I never could arrange myself with the relatively low living standard unless you had a very well-paying job. In Germany even unemployed people don’t have to share their flats. In comparison in England I often saw people in good jobs sharing with one or two people, because it was just so ridiculously expensive. And people there don’t even seem to complain or question their circumstances. Keep calm and carry on, because that’s all you can ever expect. I never understood it! This mentality of just accepting things as they are was probably another part of my feeling always a bit out of place.

However, don’t let me ramble on about England. After all I don’t live there anymore and I’m certain that I will not go back, no matter if they offer me the best job in the world (which they won’t anyway). I actually see my future here in Berlin, especially since I’m starting to feel at home. Maybe we will need a winter residence somewhere warm though. Do you guys have any ideas where it would be nice and warm?