It’s been three and a half months since I got back to good old Germany. I do love Berlin. And I do hate the winter. All day gray sky, freezing cold and depressing. Berlin has a reputation for being one of the ‘in’ cities in Europe, so perhaps this sounds odd but truth is my life has been pretty uneventful ever since I moved here. Then again, what did I expect? Backpacking across Latin America for almost 2 years is hard to beat in terms of excitement. Which reminds me of all the stories I did not blog about. I hope I can fill some of the gaps in the future. So, don’t stop checking for new posts…

Where was I? Right, pasta salad. I was looking forward to move to Berlin, which I used to visit often and where some of my friends are living. Just after I arrived here two of my close friends moved abroad. And the remaining ones seem busy busy. Big city life, I guess. In the first weeks here, I’ve been couchsurfing at the places of various friends, then moved to a shared apartment (that one was cursed, but that’s another story) and right now I’m living in another temporary place for 2 months thanks to a former colleague who is – guess what – doing a three month trip through Costa Rica and South America. It’s a great apartment in a remote part of Berlin. Three rooms and 2 balconies all for myself. I never see or hear the neighbors. They are probably old. Or dead. The streets are totally quiet too. If you think of the opening sequence of the movie “28 Days Later” you got a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about. And it doesn’t help that I am working from home, only leaving it to hunt for food at the closest supermarket. So… little by little that feeling of loneliness has been creeping up. Or how someone once put it: “Sometimes in the evening I’m taking a stroll in the park with a bowl of pasta salad. To give the impression that I have friends that invite me to parties.” (Yes, that is German humor)

Alright, I might be slightly exaggerating but you get the idea. I’m not too familiar with that feeling. My friendships have always been important to me even if I may be behind with answering a few emails (truly sorry Baybars). The last time I felt this way was in my first months of living in Costa Rica. Understandable, since I didn’t really know anyone there beforehand. After living there for well over a year, I thought I made a few friends. But then I return to Germany and realize that in terms of friendship little remains from my social life over there. Is the only lasting thing from my year in Costa Rica a few memories, photos and the three words of Spanish I learned?

PS: Full disclosure: I don’t even know how to prepare a pasta salad.