Staring at stairs…

I have discovered today a beautiful stairs blog...full of great pictures by those like us who stare at stairs …

So these are the Altbau’s stairs, in massive black oak…all the way from 1914 to nowadays…they are such a beauty!

Germany, real estate safe haven…Berlin comes in number 4!

Another interesting article by The Local!

Munich and Hamburg ranked Europe’s best property investments

3 Feb 09 12:20 CET

Munich and Hamburg top the list of places to invest in real estate in Europe, according to a new study released this week.

Largely unscathed by the subprime lending crisis and the recent global bubble for property prices, Germany’s real estate market is now considered a safe haven for investors by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rents in Berlin: back of the envelope

From The Local

29 Jan 09 10:58 CET

More Germans rent their homes than anywhere else in Europe, but it‘s not such an affordable option as it once was, according to a new study released on Thursday by real estate association IVD.

The Flat is almost ready!

Well, our goal was to be ready for the Berlinale…we’re almost there!

I was in Berlin at the beginning of the week and we just need to finalize the storage in the corridor, plus buy and fix the washing-drying machine, but all in all the Flat is ready!

I also met a new neighbour who just started her renovation…we had a good chat on bathroom tiles, old windows and optimal resizing of those awkward post-war floor plans!

It’s a pity we will not be able to be in Berlin for the Berlinale though…but just a few days later. So, it will be soon Cleaning Time, taking away that fine invisible dust, placing the brand, new furniture at the right angle, starting to work on the lights, unpacking cutlery, pots and pans, cups and glasses. And the Samovar!! The soul of the flat…

Textiles were purchased in Rome at the Fiera del Bianco in january, very nice and very good value for money…a luggage full of linen and pillow cases in fantastic hues.

We are indeed satisfied. The prussian soul of the flat is now showing all its potential and the high ceilings are fabulous, still we applied the good Bauhaus rules and with its clean lines, the flat now looks liveable and warm, as though it had always been like this. Gemuetlich, precisely.

at last…Monocle talks about Berlin!

Monocle Weekly – February 1st 2009

With these grey and rainy sundays IN ROME it is a pleasure to listen to Monocle’s Weekly radio broadcast, at lunchtime.

This week Mr Brule’ and guests discuss about innovative, small-scale shops …and that’s in Berlin.

And also, about innovation in printed media, guess where…in Berlin, again.

With the crisis beating into cookie-cutter big-scale operations, sustainable models like Berlin win. As per our Ideal Neighborhood list…