Bernau

In the following two weeks we visited possible apartments and houses in B**. We knew the town well, as we had stopped often there on our way to the northern province, Inga’s country. Wars had spared the town, that still had parts of its medieval wall. This is where, inside the old town, that we found what we were looking for: a top floor apartment in a recently renovated house, with a cellar and a small terrace. The place was a bit smaller than my urban flat in the city, but it had all that we needed, a nice kitchen, a large living room opening on the terrace and a comfortable bedroom, as well as a small study. The terrace had a nice view over the ancient wall and a park nearby. We promptly negotiated a contract, and signed off for a reasonable deposit. 

Moving

I organised our move, rented a van, and recruited two of my students to give us a hand (the heaviest load were our books and the long table). A week later we moved in, at the end of the day, and were in our new place for our first night there. Inga was very happy. In a few days we had found the right place for our furniture. Inga undertook the greening of the terrace, as far as she could, given we were now in November. We had taken our best plants from the balcony with us. The house had three floors, and on the third, our floor, there were only two apartments. Our neighbour turned out to be an old – I guess in his sixties – photographer, who also knew a lot about local history. 

Peace

We were familiar with the town, and quickly identified the essentials, local shops, and a good bike shop for repairs. We registered with the local library. The route to my work was straightforward. Inga was closer now to the woods, and to the owl. B** was a quiet town; the young, working residents often commuted to the capital, whose center was forty minutes away. We settled down very quickly, adjusted our sleeping routines – early morning to midday – and kept to ourselves.

Picture: Memorial of the witches in Bernau bei Berlin with the names of the women that have been accused of witchery according to the town chronicle of Tobias Seiler. 

>> At the Gate of Night