Our haus

Welcome to our (temporary) home!  Here, the Babyleins will take you on a quick tour:

This is the exterior to our apartment.  Ha! I joke!  This is actually the Schloss Charlottenburg, which is across the street from our apartment.  More on casa de la Sophie Charlotte later, in another post.

Gianna in the doorway of her bedroom

The entryway is what you see immediately upon opening the front door.

Gianna's bedroom. 

As I stated earlier, this apartment is very nice. I was so worried about it being small, dark and well, European.  It is very European, and filled with antiques (not so perfect for two curious babyleins).  Stefanie calls it a "traditional Berlin apartment," but I had no idea the apartments were so large in Europe. The apartment is full of windows and light. The rooms are large and spacious feeling. Well, Bode's room is the one small room. It is about the size of a large master closet (and has a huge antique wardrobe in it, which takes up about half the room's space). Bode's room is on your right when you open the door. I didn't take a snap of his bedroom but will later. Gianna's room is across the hall from Bode's room. Her room is very large.  Obviously, we are not using the bed.  Well, I am using the bed as a changing table (covered with our receiving blankets from home) and the table for diapers/wipes, etc. Her windows (and balcony) look out to the Charlottenburg palace. 

The dining area, or "information central" where we keep all guides, paperwork, random toys, etc. sorry for the mess!

Our bedroom/entry to Gianna's room/hallway

Charlottenburg palace as seen off our balcony.

Our bedroom is also off the hallway, toward the back. It can also be accessed through Gianna's bedroom through two double doors. It also overlooks the Charlottenburg palace.  Bode is enthralled with the "Charlottenburg castle" (as he calls it) and can often be found looking out the windows at it. 

The dining room/living room is a large open room (much like ours at home). We sometimes eat at the dining room table. Mostly, Bob and I use it to look at maps/guides and use the computer. I also throw random toys, stray socks, sippy cups, etc. on it throughout the day. The living area has two small loveseats and one chair (very IKEA looking) and a small marble coffee table. The marble coffee table makes me a nervous wreck. I am sure one baby is going to smash his head on it at some point during our stay. After the living area is a small hallway where you can access the bathroom and kitchen. The bathroom is like a master bath in the U.S., with a bathtub and separate shower, double sinks, and a toilet in a separate area. The one "European" touch, I guess, is a large heated towel rack.  At first I dismissed this feature, but I am starting to love warm towels after my shower! There is also a washing machine in the bathroom. We use the towel warmer to dry our clothes and it works amazingly well! The kitchen is small, like a galley kitchen.  One side is the oven/stovetop, sink and dishwasher.   The other wall is occupied by a long kitchen table. This is usually where we eat breakfast and lunch (sometimes dinner). The refrigerator is large like a U.S. refrigerator (again, I was worried about it being one of those creepy small European fridges) and is off the kitchen in its own nook. 

Hallway to kitchen, bathroom on the right (white marble)

Does anyone know what this green/white basin is?

Plates on the kitchen wall.

Our liaison, Stefanie, after inquiring about Bob's surname, informed us that the owner of the apartment is Italian. She has a lot of plates on the kitchen wall that have the names of restaurants/cities in Italy.  I would like to know the stories behind these plates. Are they just tacky souvenirs? I would also like to know what the miniature green basin is in the hallway (a urinal? a baby bath?).  The apartment is filled with antiques, and I am a nervous wreck with Bode exploring the apartment and its fixtures!  But this place is great. 

There is central heat, but the old radiators are still in the apartment as well.  The first week, we didn't use any heat at all.  I think because we are on the top floor, the apartments below were heating our apartment just fine!  It does get a little chilly at night now, so we've turned on the heat. 

When we arrived in Berlin, it was pouring rain.  I thought, "Great. It's going to be hard to get around here in this weather."  But so far, it has been sunny and clear skies.  I think we are going to get more rain later though.  The temps have been nice, too. I think high 50s during the day and low 40s at night.  Crisp but not too cold.  Perfect days for the park!

I will post more photos of the apartment later.  We hope you've enjoyed the tour!

xo