Winter has finally arrived in Berlin today:

Written by Liekie @ 09:37:42 pm
Tags: Berlin, Pics, winter

So in Holland it’s tradition to frie oliebollen (doughnut balls) on the last day of the year. When I was still in Holland I used to frie the doughnut balls at my parents place.
Here in Berlin this tradition continues, so last Sunday I got up early and started the “oliebollen party”.
Here’s the result after 4 hours of frieing on our balcony:

Written by Liekie @ 12:50:52 pm
Tags: Berlin, doughnut balls, new year, Pics

Today Yesterday I received an email from my sis. She has send a selection of the pics she has made during her staying in berlin last december. From this selection I selected a few to show.

East Side Gallery

On my slippers through the Sanssouci Palace

The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam

Enjoying the wintersun in the garden of the Sanssouci Palace

Written by Liekie @ 01:07:32 am
Tags: Berlin, East side gallery, Pics, Schloss Sanssouci

So tomorrow evening at 9 pm local time I am living in Berlin for exactly a year. And I think I am going deeper and deeper in the German sysytem. It started a day after my arrival with calling in at the “Bürgeramt” (the office for citizen) and a day later calling in at the jobcenter.
Then finally in June I managed to arrange my healthcare insurance, that was quite difficult, because I don’t have a job here so that means I needed to get some kind of private healthcare insurance. But since I got operated on my knee October 2005 they won’t accept me as a customer. Since I receive some kind of small early pension from Holland I actually have the right on a healthcare insurance in Germany, paid with the money i received from Holland. At the time I left Holland nothing was known about this because the dutch government changed the healthcare insurance system at january 1st 2006. No- one was able to tell me what to do at that time.
Then somewhere in July I received a letter from the city of Berlin, they told me I was allowed to vote for the city council.  Unfortunately we were in Holland when the city council elections took place and we forgot to request to send our votes by mail .
And last and worst thing; last week i received a letter from the “Deutsche Rentenversicherung” (the german pension insurance). I need to call in there for a total health checkup because I requested a pension there??? I don’t get it… The only thing I could think about it’s an order to the german insurancecompany from the dutch insurance company wich provides me the very small early pension. I think they want to re-approve my healthcondition in order to take away my early pension.

Written by Liekie @ 03:57:44 pm
Tags: Berlin, Germany, health, insurance

Last night we had a thunderstorm and it rained very heavily.. This resulted into floods everywhere in Berlin.
In our neighbourhood the Pragerplatz was full of water. The pond wasn’t even to be recognized, all cellars of the houses around the place were full of water. In some of them the water was about 1 meter (39.4 inches) high.
One part of our house cellar got some water as well, and ofcourse it was the part where we temporary store our stuff because of the renovation. So at 11 pm last night we were moving boxes from one side to the other side of the cellar. Fortunately the 2 cellars we normally use were dry. There I stored all my stuff I took with me from Holland.
The damage was not super big, unfortunately a box filled with Ricos records got wet and a box filled with his cd’s. Also some pics of mine got wet…

Written by Liekie @ 12:33:31 am
Tags: Berlin, cellar, storm, weather