Sunday, October 6, 2013

Ich bin eine Berlinerin

After a three-month break that turned into a five-month break in Bordeaux, having left our Parisian appartment in early May, we have finally reached our final destination and our new home for a while: BERLIN.

HOW DID WE COME TO THAT?

A wind of change had been blowing on us for some time and we finally yielded to it earlier this year, feeling it was time for new adventures. At first we had set our minds on Montréal but it proved to be a bit tricky and quite a huge move for a first home out of France. Indeed I'm used to travel a lot around the globe, but I'd always had a French pied-à-terre -- until now.
Then I had a conversation that aroused my attention during my trip to the 2013 Eroc... Thinking it over and together with Wonka (and Deven the cat) we found that it was an excellent compromise, not too far but not too close, a little exotic but not too much, new but known... and we immediately launched our organization program:
  1. Leaving Paris and settling for a while in my family in Bordeaux in order to save 1000€ of rent per month;
  2. Then moving to Berlin with my dad's car and our stuff in it as soon as we would have found somewhere to stay in the late summer-early fall.
We were one month late on the planning due to several mishaps, but better late than never!


BORDEAUX BREAK

My stay in Bordeaux was a jump back in time, bringing me back more than 7 years ago, before I moved to the Capital. It was also the closing of my Parisian chapter and the opening of a new one waiting to be lived. It was an out-of-time break, not belonging to any period of my life, and yet reminding me of too many: fresh and old at the same time. In five months, I had the time to make an updated re-version of the city: relationships, landmarks, routines...
Indeed I could enjoy a little routine that suited me quite well, with workout three times a week at a physio-coach friend of my dad's, focusing on my upper body because he couldn't do much for my legs (do I got big thighs?!) together with my Bro' and Karla. I also spent countless hours in my homemade music studio in the highest room of my father's house, revising old songs of mine. Completed a dozen of unreleased recordings during the summer -- may start sharing them soon.

These habits were sometimes broken by punctual events, such as the last games of my season with the Paris RollerGirls (incl. Team Unicorn, the HDG, the LRR and Dublin), a great photoshooting, the French Team Try-outs by late July, followed with my jugding of the Shanghai Slalom Open in early August, the Six Hours of Merignac race a week later, a videoshooting for the online-skating freeskate contest (coming soon)...
I also mingled with the local rollerderby life, throwing a couple of parties at my mum's that turned into Just Dance challenges, and running a few agility workshop for the Petites Morts.

That was one full and hectic long summer!

Wonka was away for a while to complete her ankle rehab with a 4-week stay at the CERS, after her third and last surgery. We're both fixed for good now, a perfect timing for a new lease.


MOVING IN

We are sub-renting a 36 m² room in a 87 m² appartment for 3 months in the north of Neukölln, at the fifth and last floor of a building at the corner of two streets. An ideal place and location to start with!
I shall attend my first practice as a Berlin Bombshell in a few days, as soon as we have settled enough to breathe... to be continued...

2 comments:

  1. I hope you enjoy your time in Berlin. I've lived there during 5 years. It's an amazing city. All the best for you!

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    1. It's still brand-new and I haven't seen much of it yet, but it seems promising, indeed! :) Thank you!

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