Best of; A farewell to Berlin, part eins

Warning; emotions. Today, I'm in Berlin packing up my apartment and saying goodbye to a significant chapter in my life. It's pretty strange, it's like breaking up with the love of my life. Despite knowing that the decision to move back to Copenhagen is the right one for me right now, it's not easy leaving behind a city that I have loved so much the last couple of years. In 2010, I randomly ended up in Berlin, a city I didn't know very well. Maybe this was why it was so easy to fall in love with it, and it really was an insane, intoxicating love. Towards the end of my stay in 2011, I literally had to pinch my arms every day to believe that I could actually be this happy. Leaving that summer was the hardest I've ever been through, and the next year and half was the worst period of my life. My only goal was to come back, but last summer when that finally happened, something had changed. I still loved Berlin, but not with the same passion as before. And this time around has been hard. I really wanted it to work out, but we'd just outgrown each other. I still love Berlin, but the city is also hurting me, and it's too much work. So now it's goodbye. Maybe I'll come back sometime, but for now I'm moving on. Berlin will always be very very special.
Here's a round of my favourite glimpses from 2010-2011;

I was so fortunate that my old friend AnCa also moved to Berlin in July 2010. We rekindled our friendship, and Berlin wouldn't have been the same without this amazing dame. I'm so happy she's one of my best best friends!

My first apartment in Prenzlauer Berg. It was huge, old and incredibly beautiful.

AnCa and I moved to Graefekiez in Kreuzberg in January 2011. Huge apartment, very old and interesting, and then we got Nikolai as roommate. Double win.

Karen Sofie, 23 years old. It feels like forever ago.

Berlin Soundtrack #4: Grizzly Bear

In July 2010, right before I moved to Berlin, I bought Grizzly Bear's 'Veckatimest'. At first, I listened to it in my father's house when I sat on the balcony watching the sea, feeling the sun on my skin. I listened to it in the car when I said goodbye to Denmark and drove to Berlin. I listened to it the first few weeks when I biked around in the heat taking in all the new things, making the album the soundtrack of the summer city as I fell in love with it. Now I started listening to the album again, and it still amazes me how music can transfer you from one place in time to another. When I listen to the beautiful songs, it's like being back in the summer, in the haze of strong and passionate love to Berlin, to the dark nights with drinks. Ahh, it's good.

Auf wiedersehen, 10407

På fredag flytter jeg fra Prenzlauer Berg, fra Eugen-Schönhaar-Straße, fra postnummer 10407. Selvom jeg glæder mig uendeligt til et nyt boligkapitel i syd, har jeg været meget glad for mine 48 kvm i nord. Især i sommer, da vinduerne var åbne, og jeg nød weekenderne i sofaen med klaverspil udenfor vinduet, solstråler der farvede sildebensgulvet i guldnuancer, og de smukke detaljer på loft og døre. Så farvel, Prenzlauer-hjem.

Kaffe og frihed

Klokken tyve i tre, med skrig og råb og vilde øjne, blev februarnummeret sendt afsted. Alt for sent, selvfølgelig, men hvornår overholder journalister nogensinde deadline? Det magiske klik med musen betød, at jeg kunne slæbe min udmattede krop hjem til Prenzlauer Berg, brygge en kande kaffe og med god samvittighed bruge en time på at kigge ind i væggen. I aften sker der noget spændende, som der kommer mere op om senere - jeg glæder mig usigeligt til at skulle fortælle om det! Og forresten, tillykke til Susanne Bier med Oscar-nomineringen for den sublime 'Hævnen'! Nu håber jeg bare, min mulige interviewaftale med Mikael Persbrandt rent faktisk kommer til at ske...

Berlin, 6 måneder

I dag er det præcis et halvt år siden, jeg begyndte mit Berlin-eventyr. Det føles, som om det var sidste uge, jeg cyklede rundt i byen i 36 graders varme og fik hjertebanken over alt, jeg så og oplevede. Det gør jeg stadig. Nu skal jeg til at lede efter et nyt sted at bo og se Berlin fra en anden vinkel. Byen, som er så nem at falde til i, og som er fuld af små, hemmelige rum, der venter på at åbne sig op.