Since our new place came completely unfurnished Marty and I now had the overwhelming and daunting task of furnishing it. I haven't moved into a completely empty place in SO so many years and even then I brought along with me a ton of things - hand me down dishes, and blankets and artwork etc. etc. Since we moved to Germany with NOTHING for a house we had the task of buying, finding, borrowing, EVERYTHING. Brooms, garbage cans, towels, pillow cases (x4) bedding (x4) BEDS (x4) Seriously, crazy! And since we really don't know how long we will really be here all of this could potentially be just for 7 or 8 months. Which seems a waste until you remember that you actually have to live and should probably enjoy those remaining months here.
So, Marty and I started on what will now be remembered as "The Amazing Furniture Race"
We knew we could buy everything brand new at Ikea. It was affordable and basic and would serve our needs. But even at Ikea prices when you need EVERYTHING we are talking well over $10,000! So we found out that they use a special Ebay site here the way we use Craigslist.
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| The first of several Ikea lunches! |
I also joined a few Facebook sites where people in Berlin sell or give away their furniture and household items. For the next few days Marty and I would email potential furniture sellers and set up an appointment to come and view their item. If we liked it upon seeing it, we paid a small deposit and told them we would be back on Saturday with a truck.
Some things were definite hits and others were definite misses. We agreed that you cannot trust a photo and we definitely had to see it in person. Because we had to see things in person we crisscrossed this city more times than I can count. We walked and walked and walked. One day I happened to glance at my steps tracker on my phone and I had clocked in over 12 miles!! That is nearly a half marathon. No wonder we were both beat!
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