FOUND: The Perfect Flat

When we signed the lease for our temporary apartment we had to decide how long we would be renting it. We decided to stay for two months assuming that would be more than enough time to pin down a long-term flat. We ignored the situation the first week (rightfully so, I think) and when week two hit we decided to get a move-on. Reg’s co-workers were tremendously helpful throughout our episode of House Hunters International and their initial advice: Get going. The more we asked for advice the more we began to hear stories of nightmarishly lengthy apartment searches, some as long as six months. One German acquaintance described in full detail the 300-meter long line of determined tenants-to-be he had witnessed, all of them waiting for a couple-minute-long walk through of the apartment of their dreams. If they liked it, they would apply. If the landlord liked them best, they would get it. Listening to him my first thought was, This can’t be for real. As he went on and I realized he was, in fact, for real I became weary. My next thought, It’s waaayyy too hot to stand in a line that long right now. Oh, the horror!

So, with countless pieces of advice from Reg’s co-workers and our new American friends we got on the horn and started looking. The website we used is in German (this is funny now but used to be infuriating) and can be described as both overwhelming and incredibly helpful because as a result of using it I now have gray hair, but we also have an apartment.

Many thanks to Google Translator (the first friend I made after I moved here), Reg and I were soon able to decipher the German enough to input our query and have the site furiously spit at us an exhausting list of possible home-sweet-homes. When the first results list offered us over one hundred flats, we realized pretty quickly that we had better narrow down. So, we took to the streets and ventured through all of the burroughs that had been recommended to us. Reg had seen the Alster, a lovely lake situated near downtown, when he came to Hamburg last November and he took me to see it while we were on our hunt. We both agreed that living near it would be ideal. When we had the location, location, location puzzle piece in place we narrowed our search and scheduled some visits.

Some visits turned into twelve visits in nine days. Exhausting, yes, but beneficial because we became more decisive with each flat we saw. After walking up ten sections of stairs in one building I made the executive decision that no elevator = no go. We saw some great flats, too. Early on in our hunt Reg and I visited a great place on a charming street in Harvestehude, a burrough next to the Alster. It’s on the main floor (hallelujah) and sports two terraces, a large living space, bathroom, and bedroom, and a five-minute walk to both the water and street life. For me it was love at first walk-through. We added it to the list of potentials and applied, then diligently continued to set-up visits to additional flats. Deep down I knew, though, that I had left my heart in Harvestehude.

Several days passed before the broker called and offered us the Harvestehude apartment. I couldn’t contain myself—I had to bite my tongue so I didn’t tell her I loved her. After Reg’s co-worker, Ingo, translated the 15-page contract for us over the course of an hour (bless him), it became a done-deal. We move in August 15. (Eek!) Helllllloo, Harvestehude!

living room

bedroom

Wondering what that empty space under the window is for? Well, when we figure out where and how to buy a refrigerator, we'll put it down there.

That' right! Our new home-sweet Hamburg-home comes with not one but THREE lovely terraces just waiting to be beautified.

All we need now are the keys!