A concept worth copying

Each neighborhood in Hanover has a bookshelf such as this one somewhere, which is full of books. The concept is the following:

You can use the bookshelf anytime.

You can choose a book.

You can borrow it and bring it back.

You can keep it and replace it by another book.

When you like the book so much that you want to keep it a longer time, you can. But when it is really so good, others should also be able to read it.

When you have many books at home that you would like to bring to the bookshelf, then do so. But please only as many that fit in the bookshelf.

When something is broken, please call the following phone number xxxxxxx.

Now, is that great concept or is that an absofuckinglutely amazing concept many cities should copy?

Happy Easter

It's snowing and 0 degrees. Happy Easter!

More than a thousand words

Pictures are worth more than a thousand words, right? Well, supposedly. Therefore, here are some of our new flat, one project that's been keeping me so busy lately...

signed and confirmed

It is signed. It is confirmed. We will be moving to a bigger nicer apartment on the 1st of November. We'll be gaining an extra room, 20m3, a balcony, the charm of Altbau with 3m high ceilings and Dielenboden, and last but certainly not least, 10 steps up instead of the actual 93 to enter our soon-to-be new home. I am delighted, as this also means that I will finally be surrounded by all my furniture and personal belongings very soon. They have been in storage in Madrid since December 2005, but it's time to send them to Hannover at last! Now, don't jump to conclusions though, Hannover is still a temporary solution, i.e. the plan of leaving to Godknowswhere asap remains. The wait will nevertheless be much more pleasant. Of that I am convinced.

See you upon our return from our swiss-italian Summer vacation in two weeks!

Holiday feeling

Every time I go to the sky beach, I get that wonderful holiday feeling. The sandy lounge bar with beds and transats is the perfect place to relax and lay in the sun during the day, especially since nobody is there during the week. But it is also the perfect place to have a fresh beer watching the sunset and cooling down before going back to our sauna under the roof! Hopefully the word of mouth is slow and I can enjoy it until the end of the Summer...

Here & everywhere

It's here. It's everywhere you look. It's loud. It's colorful. It smells like beer and grilled sausage. It's often also takey. Since yesterday is Hanover completely upside down, overpopulated, invaded, unrecognisable, as the first local WM game was played here. And to think we I (seems to me I'm the only one having some trouble with it!) still have 30 days to go...

I therefore started a new project right here, the best way I found to 1. tell you all about my recent trip and 2. escape daily from this frenzy football atmosphere for a few minutes!

Oral improvements

On a un problème Françoise! I am here to learn German and I do go to 'intensive' classes where I learn a lot. But the classes focus mostly on grammar and exercises and as they finish end of March I would like to focus on oral expression after that, as I need to improve my speaking German. But where and how to do that is the question... Any ideas are welcome.

Roller coaster

I feel like I am on a roller coaster these days. I am surrounded by boxes, some closed, others unfinished and open. I stress out about not being able to finish the packing on time, and minutes later I realize I have plenty of time ahead of me. I worry about how to solve the legal issue of my company not paying me everything they owe me, and then just feel thankful to have left and the hell with them. The fact is I go from happiness and relief, to stress and irritation in a matter of seconds: I love the appartment M chose and rented, but get all frustrated when I see that we can't seem to agree on oh so many things about it.

I am happy about my decision, of that I am sure. I spent a wonderful weekend in Hannover and felt relieved when I saw all the pieces of the puzzle fitting together. I soon forgot about how nightmarishly my trip had started, when the airline made me pay a fortune for 18 kgs excess baggage, after my 'savior' sat next to me in the plane: a very nice Spanish lady, whose daughter followed the same exact path I am about to embark on. She left everything she had in Spain (job, appt, etc.) to move to Hannover and be with the man she loved. Funny coincidence, right? Or maybe not?

Our future little love nest

The days are flying by. I can't believe I only have today and Wednesday left at work. It's thrilling, and it honestly feels good to know that it's my last hours working with this awful team. And it feels even better to know where I will be living in Hannover. Yes, you read that right, we already found our little love nest: a small attic apartment in the central List neighborhood. We're signing the contract this week! Meaning we'll do lots more than originally planned in my trip there this Thursday. Not only will we go to see the language schools, but we'll also be able to go to Ikea and choose some of the furniture we need to buy. Hopefully this won't involve a big argument, as we can't seem to agree on the same pieces: M's priority is the cheapest price, whereas mine are nice design and good value. Call me spoiled, call me whatever you want, I need to feel comfortable in my home even if this involves spending a bit more. Especially when I am moving to a foreign country.

The Plan

Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and Boys, it's confirmed: I am going ahead with the temporary solution. The Plan is simple: I am leaving my job (announced it to my boss this morning and boy did it feel great!), leaving Madrid, and starting a brand new student life in Hannover January of 2006! Yup, I plan to spend the first months of 2006 taking it easy, savouring my finally living together with M, and immersing myself into the German culture. I will take intensive German classes for four months, my goal being to be fluent by the end of April. And hopefully by then, M and/or I will have found a new job in another European city which will finally take us to the long-term solution.

I am happy, I feel light and free, excited and a bit scared. It just feels right and I cannot wait to start this new phase of my life. It's time for change. At last.

Forcing changes

M did not get the job. The Swiss company was forced to hire internally by its HQ. The sad part is that the Swiss company would have chosen M if allowed to hire externally. Anyhow, a new hope is gone and frankly, I cannot go on like this. I am falling apart. I believe I have been very strong and patient all these months. But enough is enough. Something needs to change. And as the famous proverb goes 'if the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain', I am gonna have to force changes myself.

I am going to Hannover tomorrow; M and I will talk about our options. I have a pretty good idea of how to hasten changes, but I first have to see if M also sees that as a good option. Coming back to my current job after the Christmas holidays is certainly not an option in my book. More on that next week, when I'm back and know more about it myself!