I left a rainy London and arrived in a rainy Berlin.

A couple of things had stuck in my mind from discussions about the city : that I’d love it, that the public transport is amazing, and that rents are dirt cheap.

I haven’t really found any of them to be true - with the exception of the public transport which is good, but really only on a par with London.

Rents seem fairly high - I’m paying €180 a week for a massive room in a shared house right next to Alexanderplatz. I can’t seem to find any reasonable places for under around €600 a month for a one-bed flat.

It really is just like any other city that I’ve ever lived in. Though the streets are FILTHY - there’s dogshit about every 20 yards and broken glass everywhere. Walking around is like playing minesweeper. This might just be fall-out from NYE parties; there are firework casings everywhere too.

I’ve taken a desk at Betahaus, which is a coworking space about 2km from where I’m living at the moment. It’s €180 a month for 24/7 access (including a workshop which I have yet to explore). There’s a reasonably priced coffee shop downstairs with (I’m told) two chefs who cook up a decent €5 lunch each day - they’re off this week.

As Randy Pausch would say, here’s the headfake - I’m not paying for a desk, I’m paying for myself. €180 buys a month of my productive time - that’s got to be a bargain.

In other news, I ran 8.3 miles this morning and just redownloaded Pzizz in anticipation of a few naps around the office.