from Nov. 23rd, 2007 3am: ...everyday is an adventure.

Yesterday we tried to get our sleeping schedule on track by going to bed at a relatively decent hour, around 2:30am. Once again we woke up thinking that is must be morning when in fact it was 2pm! Well, that definitely shortened our day but we still did a lot.

First, breakfast and then off to an internet cafe to check up on some emails we hoped to hear replies to, including some info on how to connect to the internet in the apartment. Next we headed to what we believed was the correct office to file for Registration Certificate, which basically means that we file with the police who we are and where are living. All people living in Germany are required to do this within 7 days of establishing or changing addresses. This is also our first step in applying for a residency permit.

We made our way over to the building we thought we needed to go to which is on Karl-Marx-Allee. The location did reveal a 'Rothaus', or Town Hall, and immediately inside to the left was the office we needed. At this point it was already 5:30pm and it closed at 6pm but we got the forms and were encouraged to hurry and fill them out. There was no way that we could fill out all the questions that quickly (as they were all in German) so we ended up leaving witht he forms to look over further and turn in later.

Our next stop was the IKEA-Templhof, a short ride to the south side of the city. We were starving by this point and ate dinner in the expansive cafe that this very large IKEA houses. It was very cafeteria-like, with a set number of entrees, but the food was rather good and reasonably priced. I had 'Kyckling', which was 'Hächen mit Gemüsepasta' or Chicken with Vegetable Pasta. The pasta had a slight curry flavor, which seems to be a spice of choice here.

As always, shopping through IKEA is an awe-filled experience. We spent quite a long time but had to hurry at the end to get at least the basic necessities, before they closed at 9pm, sheets and a comforter. Once at the checkout counter we were surprised to discover that they would not take my VISA debit card (we haven't established a bank account here yet) and had to put our pillows back and pay with what cash we had on us. But, there were still many things that we needed so we knew that we would be back.

Once home again we were quite exhausted so we basically just ate leftovers and went to bed. We thought mid-nightish was a perfectly good time to try and get back on our sleeping schedule...but we both woke up about 1:30am. Oh well.

I just went on the patio, and looking around the courtyard saw one light on. A guy, at least topless, came over and opened this window and then turned the light off. I swear he had two thin horns coming our of his head about 6 inches long. I could see his silhouette really well in front of the light so if they weren't suppose to be horns, they were something else that really looked like horns. (?)

Now-maybe I should study some German or read so that I can get a bit sleepy and go back to bed.