A Very Berlin Dilemma: How to get an Anmeldung when Subletting

Do these people look like they know what they're doing?

I am always so pleased when someone stumbles onto this blog and actually enjoys it, rather than leaving comments like "Nice article. Visit Winerpark". It is even better when someone leaves a comment or e-mails me directly (swoon!). This has happened in the past and I have been happy to dump my knowledge all over them.

How we ended up living in Berlin and were actually able to find a place to stay and jobs to pay for it is equal parts dumb determination and Berlin magic. I am no expert, but always willing to share.

So the latest call for help got me thinking and I didn't have a great solution. So I am submitting the question here (with the writer's permission) in case someone else has a better answer.

Question: How do you get an Anmeldung when Subletting? And good thing getting a permanent apartment in Berlin is so easy. (Germans, that is #sarcasm.)

Tips for Applying for an Apartment in Berlin

Won't you please let us live here?

It's been a little quiet here lately.  That's because life has been busy, as discussed in my last post (along with boozing with a baby).

The other thing sucking up our free time is looking for an apartment. We knew it was going to be difficult. Despite the continual "Is Berlin hot or not?" playing out in the media (latest on our neighborhood, Wedding, from the New York Times), competition for Wohnungs is fierce with between 6-2.1 billion people applying for every place we've applied for.

Each apartment is a cattle call and we aren't quite adept as the Germans at throwing elbows. I went to one showing in Prenzlauer Berg that had a line down the stairs...for 3 floors! I just laughed and left and we met Ian for a drink. What else is there to do?

Baby UBlau: U55 & U4

"Good decisions" aren't my strong point. I'm in for adventure, making every day count and a bit of the crazy. Thus you might not have noticed my absence for the last few months. Maybe I finally lost my hold on reality or the Ausländerbehörde had enough of our shenanigans.

But no! We kinda, accidentally made a great decision. We had a baby. And she's awesome.

Unsurprisingly, it's taken a lot of time and I've got a new hobby of writing about her - a lot. If you wanna know about what's it like to have a babe in Berlin, I share an occasional helpful post amidst weekly videos and an astronomical ton of nonsense at In Berlin, Baby.

Another thing taking my time is work. I am writing/editing/content managing my Po (booty - learning new baby related words) off. I put up 10 Germany Travel articles a month at about.com, direct Insiders Abroad and their quarterly magazine, manage EasyExpat part-time and contribute to German-Way. This is hard work on top of watching a beautiful little lady!

And perhaps worst of all, this work stuff is eating up the things I used to write about here on the blog. Now I have to professionally present how to go to the movies in Germany or why I have come to appreciate the low water levels in toilets. In short, there is a lot less swearing.

But then we do something so ridiculous, so utterly useless to anyone but us I say, "Ah-ha! This is a post for Back to Berlin..and Beyond!". The recent such adventure, the first since the birth, is a Baby UBlau.

Should you visit the Fernsehturm?

As former Seattlites obsessed with our needle, it's a bit funny that we ended up in another city with a fondness for a futuristic tower.

The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) hardly towers at a mere 368 meters (1,207 feet), but in a city this flat you can see it from most points in Berlin. It is actually the highest point in Germany and much taller than our beloved Space Needle. Its like welcoming an old friend when you look up from a place you've never been and - there she is! - you see the tower. One of the major selling points of our apartment is that you can see the Fernsehturm from our loft bed, living room and front balcony. There are few things I like seeing more in the morning. 

2 Weeks in Manchester

We first spent a weekend in Manchester for a wedding and were charmed by its unique architecture, character and history. In a good mood from the festivities, we weren't sure if it was just these rosy personal feelings or if the city really kicked ass. Especially after we agreed to a house trade that had us spending 2 weeks of summer break in this industrial northern center and locals first question in response to our plans was a polite "Why?".

Lucky for us, we did enjoy. A lot. Staying in a place for longer than a night or two allowed us to gain a insiders' perspective and explore the greater north (including York, Edinburgh, Port Sunlight, Liverpool and Chester - watch this space for posts!).

And much like the vacation to Ischia (but in a less island paradise kinda way), one of our primary goals on this vacation was to relax. The baby is coming and a whole different, slower and hopefully just as fulfilling way of traveling will be necessary. Let's consider this a successful test run into our new life.

Pregnancy Hiatus

I keep thinking about this blog.

I love tracking our adventures in Berlin and beyond here and have a stack of posts on our recent trip to Manchester and northern UK in my head, but have failed to get them to the page in any kind of timely fashion. Like many bloggers, life seems to be interfering.

Lost Pet in Germany

I've written about our cat, importing pets from abroad and adopting the bunnies - I never wanted to write a post about a lost cat in Berlin. But there we were on Monday, preparing for my 21-week pregnancy check with our power still out in the kitchen (a German apartment story for another time) realizing the cat wasn't in the house. Catastrophes never happen at a good time.

As we live on the 6th floor attic apartment (dachgeschoss) with nowhere for the Bellatrix to go but out the window, we could guess what had happened. Hot days and nights have us cracking the windows to coax in a nighttime breeze and a strong wind must have opened the windows enough for the cat to take a cool rooftop stroll. I was already close to tears, but Ian comforted me by telling me her only recourse was to go into one of our neighbor's apartment. We would put up signs all over the Hof (courtyard) and entrances and when a neighbor found a furry surprise visitor they would give us a call.

(The last few days have been traumatic and I go into detail here, but rest assured we have a happy ending. If are just looking for tips to find a lost pet in Germany scroll to the end.)

Where to Take Your Parents in Alsace-Lorraine

Colmar, France

In typical PorterBall fashion, we packed a lot into my parent's last trip. After trying out Swiss life, we swung through the Alsace-Lorraine region of France on our way back to Berlin. I wanted to give the P's a taste of French life - even if it was German flavored.

The Alsace-Lorraine region (or Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen if you're feeling especially Germ-y) has been tossed back and forth between Germany and France several times. Though it currently is in France (and has been since 1922), this mishmash of cultures has resulted in some of the best of both sides.

• Must Eat: Flàmmeküeche - basically a very thin crust pizza, typically with lardons (bacon), white onions and a cream-based sauce.
  
• Must drink: Wine, of course! But Germany's influence means you won't get sniffed at for ordering a beer. Sadly, I could have neither. Another apfelshorle s'il vous plaît.
• Must see: Serious cuteness. Hubsch. Mignon. No matter how you pronounce it, this region is filled with towns straight outta a Disney set.

Funkhaus Nalepastrasse Tour

This city is full of nondescript, even decrepit-looking buildings that hide a world of Berlin history. So we weren't put off when we arrived in the middle of nowhere (technically Oberschoeneweide) to what looked like a never ending waterfront of abandoned factories.

We had been invited by a friend to take a tour of Rundfunk der DDR and really had no idea of what to expect. But as we're usually ready for anything, a tour of an East Berlin radio we would do.

Babies and parents and instagram - oh my!

The night of the test. We think this is...good news?

After sitting on the news for a whole month - a record for us - we finally told everyone what is up with my not drinking. Preggers.

Though initially terrified (seriously check those faces), we are getting towards the wildly excited end and are doing our best to figure out how to have a a baby in Germany. I am freaking out and keeping the US family informed on a tumblr of random at In Berlin, Baby. If you too find yourself interested in why we have considered the name Clovis for our offspring or what movies we are watching to prepare (movies are the new books, right?) - head on over.

On the other end of the spectrum, the parents are coming! Once again, my brave parents are trekking over the ocean from the American west coast and this time landing in Copenhagen. I will be meeting them up there where we are sure to cry and be fools saying hi again for the first time in almost a year. Ian will meet us the next day in Hamburg and then we will finally show them our new home in Berlin. Thought they've seen it on TV, this will be their first viewing in person. I hope they like it, and will forgive us the stairs.

Berlin's Allied Museum

We hadn't planned on visiting the Allied Museum. It is located by the American embassy all the way down in Dahlem and we had never even been that far south except on the U3 Ublau.

But then a friend visited at Christmas, was surprised by his wife at the airport, and promptly lost his passport. It was a bit of a roller coaster.

Impromptu visit of the American Embassy at Christmas time!

10 Things Berlin has Taught Me

If I got you down with my last post - sorry about that! I've been feeling down while looking for work and seriously felt my love for this amazing city wane a bit. But - sorry parents - that doesn't mean we're going home.

We came to Berlin to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum.

Our kiez: Wedding*

Falling out of Love with Berlin

Usually I look at the "Berlin Hates You" signs and smile grimly, happy to have made it this far in a tough city to call home. But lately the message has been feeling a lot more personal.

We originally moved to Berlin with something that can only loosely be called a plan. No jobs, no friends, no place to stay...we were young and dumb and thought it would work out and miraculously IT DID. We found jobs, Ian as a teacher and I wrote expat guides. We made friends. We traveled. We were happy and the city was our oyster.

Visiting a Berlin Gartenhaus

I've always admired the small garden houses that line rail lines, dot the countryside and can be found all over Germany but never imagined I would actually get a peek inside. Generally, our friends in Berlin don't own more than a bicycle let alone a second home.

So when Ian's kita partner (aka his work wife), a life-long Berliner, invited us to visit her and her family's Garden Home we jumped on the U-Bahn.

Located deep to the SE of Berlin in Königs Wusterhausen (fun name, eh?). It was a bit of a trek but completely reachable by Berlin public transport with the purchase of a C ticket.

We were joined by Ian's boss, a transplant from Bavaria. In addition, Ian's kita partner's German partner and daughter would be there. This was one of the first times I would be intensely surrounded by only German speakers. I prepared for German language battle.

Take me out to the Mariners + Berlin Softball

I could give a f%*# about baseball, but Ian does. A lot. Somehow I have found myself at multiple Seattle Mariners games and am now spending my Saturdays in Berlin at softball games. Ah, marriage. At least baseball often comes with friends and beer. That I can deal with.

Seattle Mariners Baseball

Back when we were visiting the States in June and the Mariners had a prayer of living up to their potential, we went to a game. My mom, my dad, my visiting nephew from Texas (younger brother of our Berlin visitor), Ian & I went to a baseball game and it pure Americana. Ian has always enjoyed talking about sports with my dad (in cliche fashion, his dad just isn't into it) and my dad has dealt with his ladies general apathy for most things sports throughout the years and it was  a treat to have two enthusiastic guys to talk about the game with.

David Hasselhoff Visits the Berlin Wall

I had never really given much thought to David Hasselhoff. I certainly never expected to see him perform.

But that was before I moved to Germany and my American friends eagerly insisted that Germans love David Haselhoff. It doesn't appear that many actually do, but Americans seem pretty sure.

On the Hunt for Mexican Ingredients in Berlin

While we were excited to see our favorite German, Mr. Thomas, back in Berlin, we were a bit stumped on exactly what we should do with him. He has visited us in Berlin a few times now (& we visited him in Cologne) and while the city continues to amaze, we want each visit to be spectacular.

Luckily, Thomas came with built-in interest. After a year living with my burrito-loving family and just off another year in Mexico City, he was as crazy for Mexican food as most of us expats. It was decided. We were going to climb our mount Everest. We were going to attempt the impossible. We were going to find real Mexican ingredients in Berlin. Hopefully the hunt wouldn't kill us.

Our Berlin Orgin Story

A certain question has been coming up a lot lately. How the hell did we end up in Berlin? Meeting new people, chatting on that crazy interconnect known as the internet, and in a recent random e-mail:

Hey ebe/Ian,
Saw your blog/tweet, how did you guys manage to survive without job/housing in Berlin? I am back in Berlin, from Singapore and currently trying to see if I can 'survive' here. I was here in April and loved it thus I am back here now, 2nd day actually!

ebe & Ian in our first month in Berlin 2007

Look at these fools. How did we end up here?

Back to Berlin on House Hunters International

When we received an e-mail about being on House Hunters International, we thought it was spam. That's kind of a big deal and how would they have found our little blog among so many wonderful expats? But they did and yes, YES, we did want to be on it. And so we were.

Our Berlin Apartment Priorities 

• Price - I am tough about our budget. When we first moved to Berlin in 2007, we generally found studio sublets (aka 1 room in Berlin) for around 400 euro warm (meaning total costs including electricity/water & in our case, internet and TV). We had now upped the budget to below 600 warm.
  
• Neighborhood - We prefer Friedrichshain and the former east, but fierce competition had us searching further afield. In addition, Ian works at a kita in Pankow so somewhere close to the school was a plus.
• Transportation - Berlin is big so a U-Bahn or S-Bahn station close to the house was mandatory.
• Length of sublet - We're straight up tired of moving so the longer the better.
• Internet & Amenities - We aren't fancy, but we need that internet.
• Light & Airy - We like places that are light & bright and we don't have to look into our neighbors window. Balconies are my drug of choice.
• Accepts pets - At this point we are packing a bunny and a cat. I'd be happy to turn our home into an animal farm. Ian is resisting.
  

Why did you move back to Berlin?

"Because Berlin is one of the most exciting cities in the world."

"Because we weren't ready to be settled in Seattle. "

"Because we love being expats."

We got asked this question (and many more) over & over during the filming of our episode of House Hunters International. Set to air this Wednesday,

May 23, 2012 at 7:30 & 10:30 PM (West Coast time)

we are pretty sure we are going to look like smiling idiots that say things like "Wow!", "rain shower", and one really awkward "I love you". That doesn't mean we aren't excited.