A cool thing about living in Europe is the old buildings, and so much of what is built in this city is old, like 19th century old. And the history is often much older. On Sunday we visited the local castle, in the southern part of Bonn, called Godesburg, which was built in 1510. This is a great place, built high on top of a hill, to view all the surrounding areas. From this point we could see to Cologne in the North and several castles to the east.
As I looked around the city, I tried to picture our final resting place. No, not a cemetery, but the perfect house or apartment where we could call home for the next 18 months. I have had my hopes set on something old here, something unique and “European”, with character, charm, and high ceilings. We have seen a few of these places, but nothing is quite right so far, either it is too far from buses, has no parking for the car we will buy, has no space for the kids to run around in, or is just plain too funky to make work.
So we are expanding our search to newer places. Convenience is valuable too. There are several apartments within walking distance from Olof’s job and the kids’ school, all newer (from 1960 to 2009), with not much charm. But I am open-minded, right?
On our walk about town after the castle, and a few stops for apple cake and cheese bread, we ventured up to the kids’ school with the ulterior goal of scoping out some of these newer apartments. The school is located smack on the Rhein river. It is a beautiful, new, two story building with a play yard that got the kids excited to start school. It also happens to be next door to Olof’s office. It is ideal.
So, what could be better than finding an apartment within walking distance? One of these potential apartments is in an “American compound” that was built when Bonn was the capital of west Germany, and the Americans were here to make certain that Germany would stay in-line and that Communism would not creep in from the East.
This compound is huge and now rents out as apartments to common citizens like us. Unfortunately, we have found that there is a waiting list to live in these 1960s residences, and we just don’t have the time to wait.
An alternative that got us excited was also very nearby. A newly built complex of townhouses, an eager to rent landlord (according to the realtor we spoke to), a good size, a garden, what could be better? We could not get an appointment to see the apartment on a Sunday, but were so eager we decided to check it out from the outside, and I could come back with the kids the next day.
Alas, some things appear to be better than they are - and just because all criteria seem to be met, there may be something amiss. In this case, and some may say I am too picky, the “garden” is no more than the size of our former minivan, and the town house is 5 bedrooms in about 1200 square feet in 3 stories. Imagine how they squished that in! Compact is a generous word.
Well, all this judgment, and I have not actually seen the place on the inside. No judging a book by its cover, I know, but this is also a reminder not to count my chickens before they hatch! Or, if something seems too good to be true, perhaps it is… I will see for myself in the morning and try not to get my hopes up too much.
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