Bewohnerin in Bremen!

The life of a hosteler is starting to wear on me already. I was woken up 3 times last night by same 3 hostel (hostile?) "room-mates" - thought it would serve them right when I got up for work ... and then they woke up even earlier!

I see an analogy for the Bremen town musicians - I think I've been the cat sleeping between the mutt, the ass and the cock.

Second day at work, feeling pretty dozy, either because of the huge learning curve or the lack of sleep. My new colleagues are very welcoming. I'm looking forward to a chance to do some lab work when they need a hand.

By the end of the day, I worked up the nerve to call a few of the renters and even arranged to see a few.

The first room was south (or is it west?) of the river in Neustadt, but a fair hike from the nearest tram stop. The building looked a little bedraggled, but the front steps had just been re-cemented. The woman met me at the top of the stairs and invited me up the long winding staircase to the top floor. Three of the five rooms were empty - she was expecting a new tenant next month. The other tenant has a 2-year-old. The rooms were empty, but the kitchen was bright and roomie. Maybe because it didn't have a fridge! At €170, the price was right, but the contents motivated me to keep looking.

The second room was in an apartment with a woman and her daughter. Unfortunately, her daughter answered the phone and didn't know the price, but everything else sounded nice, especially the balcony. My colleague tells me the neighbourhood is very posh, so I'm really going there to see how the other half live.

Not surprisingly, the apartment is beautiful, new concrete building, balconies in every room, kitty-corner from a tram stop, yet very quiet. The woman renting it showed me around - the open modern kitchen (with thyme and sage growing on the balcony), the living room with wicker couch (and satellite tv antenna on the balcony) , her daughter's room where she would move into and finally the master bedroom. Breathtaking. And obviously out of my price range. After we discussed the rent, she continued showing me around the cavernous tiled bathroom and the laundry room. Five minutes later, she'd made up her mind. I can have the room for my budget.

Riding the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof, I feel a little dizzy with glee.

My last night at the hostel. Have bed, will sleep.