Auf Wiedersehen Berlin.

Seriously, I have no idea where the last 10 months have gone. It seems like just yesterday I was still at work in stationery with Zoe. and the team, counting down the days until I escaped for Germany and a year in Berlin, and now it’s the end of May, and I’m packing up again, but this time to move within Germany. And on that topic, it is truly incredible how much junk you can accumulate in a year. The paper rubbish alone has filled four of the trusty green Coles shopping bags, and the other random rubbish – yes, it’s taken me about two weeks, off and on, to pack up my flat. Made all the more difficult by the magnificent weather outside in Berlin, the hundreds of “end-of-the-year-and-probably-the-last-time-we’ll-see-each-other” shindigs with the other assistants, and yes, travel too: well, wouldn’t you do the same thing if you had 10 days off in the middle of May, three eager travel buddies, a few hundred Euros saved, and return flights to Morocco were less than 200€ return? Yes, you know you would.

Anyway, it’s my last weekend in Berlin – last full one anyway. Last night we went out to Russendisko, the Russian disco in central Berlin, a truly unique cultural experience. It’s so much fun, especially last night for some reason – the atmosphere was electric, and the entire place was jumping. There’s a theme song for the place, “Moskau, Moskau”, and playing that at Russendisko is like playing Land Down Under at a Socceroos match; the entire crowd goes absolutely wild. I completely love this place, as do two of my best mates in Berlin, Tim and Sam, so it was clear that we would go there last night. I really hope that Hamburg has something similar… doubt it though, but if not, there’s plenty of other options. And hey, Berlin’s only two hours on the train away. Yes, I’ve already warned the boys I’ll probably be crashing on one of their couches for most of the weekends in June, and possibly July, until they leave. There’s just too much going on here.

I’ve got mixed feelings about the move to Hamburg next weekend. I will definitely miss Berlin. This city is unlike any other in the world, and it is without a doubt my favourite city in Europe, and my second favourite in the world – I could live here for the rest of my life but Melbourne will always be my home. Berlin though – there’s no explaining it. You just have to come here. And for those of you who have had the incredible opportunity to live here, you know what I’m talking about more than most.

But for now, it’s a new city, new job, new flat, new friends – it’ll be a challenge, and I know I’ll be busy for the first month – actually, for a lot longer than just the first month, but I can’t wait. I’m definitely ready for a change – school’s been pretty boring for the last few months, with over half of my lessons being cancelled for some reason or another, and I’m looking forward to leaving. I’ll miss my table buddies in the staff room – Simon, Christa and Conny, and some of the other staff, and definitely some of my classes, but I won’t be half sad to leave like I was in Kusel. I’m ready for some serious work – something I can get my teeth into, and from what I’ve seen of the Berlin branch of the company I'm joining, there’s definitely plenty for me to do. I can’t wait to get started; I’m also going to get an English conversation class running there, which should be good. We’ll see how it goes.

This week, it’s all about Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin. A total of four classes – if they’re running – and a lot of socialising, and some packing, but apart from that, it’s all done. So basically, by this time next week, I’ll be in Hamburg, albeit in a youth hostel for the first few nights, but as soon as I have an address, I’ll let you guys all know – and hopefully this one will work! So, until Hamburg, auf wiedersehen! -J