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The Diplos Move to Berlin

July 31, 2013

Hi there! You must be really surprised to finally hear from me! A lot of things have happened (and are still happening) but I figure if I don’t write a quick catch-up post now, all the events of the past 2 months will just never appear on my blog. So here is a quick catch-up on what’s been keeping me too-busy-to-blog…

Before I sold all the stuff I wasn’t bringing to Berlin, LivingETC Indonesia did a quick shoot of my Jakarta Apartment. What an honor to be featured.  It was the perfect way to cap off our 4 years in Jakarta and a great way to remember our flat before we sell/ship and leave. Will post photos of the spread next time. Below are the lovely Atri (editor/stylist) and Erwin (photographer) who doted on DiploDog the entire time.

brawijaya apartment-020

SANTA FE MOVERS

We packed out our Jakarta home and shipped it to Berlin using Santa Fe relocation company.

DiploDog during Jakarta pack out
DiploHome pack out Jakarta santa fe

MOVING IS HARD FOR DOGS TOO

DiploDog had to be confined on our last day of packing because he was throwing up. (I think he could feel how stressed we were about leaving in him in Jakarta.)

DiploDog in Animal Clinic Jakarta

He had to board in Animal Clinic for 2 months while waiting to fly to Berlin (there is a 3 month waiting period after the rabies titer test is taken). The owner Karin of Animal Clinic and the staff were so sweet they would send pictures of DiploDog regularly to let us know he is doing find. Our Santa Fe agent Lizette also visited him regularly and took pictures with him to send to us. We used Santa Fe’s pet relocation services as well.

DiploDog in Animal Clinic reception
DiploDog receptionist at Animal Clinic 1
DiploDog receptionist at Animal Clinic 2

ARRIVED IN BERLIN

 Arrived in Berlin and stayed in the fabulous Concorde Hotel for a week. They had a good breakfast buffet there!

Concorde Hotel Berlin 00
Buroma Apartment Hotel Berlin 00

Stayed in Buroma Apartelle for another 2 weeks while flat hunting.

Found a lovely apartment that we love because a) it was one of the two apartments that we could find with 2 full bathrooms, b) it has a big kitchen with tons of storage, c) good neighbourhood and d) it can fit our stuff and has storage space. It has some bonus features though like the gorgeous bathroom, great insulation, etc.

DIPLODOG FLIES CARGO

DiploDog in Berlin

DiploDog arrived. He was skin and bones due to dehydration of a full days travel via KLM but we were just so happy that our little DiploFamily was back together again. Thank you to Santa Fe, Animal Clinic and JakPetz for making it all happen.

Because DiploDog was attacked before we left he could not be titer tested in time for the 2-month quarantine outside Germany. He had to stay in Jakarta for 1 month and follow us. We had to hire Santa Fe Pet Movers who coordinated with Jakarta animal clinic and Jakpetz to prepare everything for DiploDog to safely move.

GUEST ARRIVING BEFORE OUR SHIPMENT

My in-laws arrived, BEFORE my shipment. Talk about stressful timing. Good thing TD’s officemate lent him an air bed! When our shipment arrived it was chaos. Imagine 3 additional people (aside from the 3 that are already there) trying to make space among all the boxes of stuff. I shudder to think at how scratched up the parquet flooring already is. To be honest I’d rather unpack slowly but surely instead of hurrying up and getting stuff damaged.

4 years of our stuff (which took 5 days to pack in Jakarta), took our German delivery men 3 hours to bring up the stairs (on their backs with some rope!!). It took them another 3 hours to unpack the furniture.

2013-07-20 11.49.08

It’s been a little more than a week since our stuff arrived and we are still unpacking. All the boxes and wrapping material is all over the place and OC-me is getting really stressed out. Sigh. Mental note: future self, never receive guests in the middle of a move! Bad idea. 

I would love to post more pictures of the simple yummy food we’ve had in Berlin and other experiences.

If you’d like to get more regular updates and pictures on what is up with #TheDiplosInBerlin please Like my Facebook Page and Follow me on Instagram. I post pictures almost everyday!

Again thank you so much for your patience and I hope to hear from you! If any of you have recommended things to see/do/eat in Berlin please drop me a comment!

2 Comments · berlin good to know

Comments

  1. Deepa says

    July 31, 2013 at 1:14 PM

    Welcome to Berlin, DiploDog! Yay!
    Unpacking and sorting is stressful and seems to take forever. Been there! But knowing you, you will have a lovely apartment in no time. I ended up throwing away a lot of things that we had brought with us (boxes of summer clothes!) which of course makes room for nice new things 🙂

    Reply
  2. diplomaticwife says

    August 5, 2013 at 10:50 AM

    For real? Did you literally throw them away or give them away? Thanks for the positive vibes Deepa! I cannot wait to get started on fixing up my home!

    Reply

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
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