I live in a spacious German "double-wide"....yeah, that's American slang for an awful small apartment. In July, after moving back to Germany and going into 'retirement'.....I came to realize the impact of moving into this place near Wiesbaden.
I dislike using the expression 'small'.....but it's appropriate. You basically walk in the front door and enjoy ten feet of hallway space....a typical thing for German apartments. Between a shoe rack, a small cabinet, and a bigger cabinet for brooms and mops....the hallway is the only room with a open feeling.
The bedroom was designed with a customized bed and cabinet closet. The door is permanently affixed to seventy-five percent open......which means that you can't have the door ever absolutely open. Yeah, it's a bit awkward to get used to.
The 'office'? Well....it's big enough to cram a small bed into....a bookcase....a closet....and a cat tree. Mounted on the way is a nifty cabinet piece, which took four people almost two hours to assemble and place.
The bathroom is kinda like an RV bathroom....maybe one notch bigger. I have to share it with the cat, and he doesn't like that much company when he does his business.
The kitchen? A giant room of sorts.....big enough to wave your arms around, with a four-person table. The cabinets are precisely staged, and as long as you don't buy another toaster, coffee maker, or juice-maker....it's ok. The stove? It's a modern ultra-fancy type....with forty-four functions. I try to stay away from it. The fridge? Well....I have the wondrous ice-maker type.....which dispense Tunus-glacier ice and water (the Tunus mountains are nearby and our water seeps out of that and runs down into our valley where they dump it into the city water supply).
The living room? Well....it's compacted, and then compacted again. As long as no other furniture or electronic gear are ever purchased again.....it'll all work. Space to move things at other angles? No. There is no repositioning of any living room item.
The balcony is the only real private spot on the house....sad to say. It has a fair view of the valley, and off in the distance....Frankfurt. On a fair day in summer....I can almost watch airplanes landing at the airport (at least, the lights are seen). With a table and two chairs.....you can sit and ponder upon just about anything. Adding more comforts to it? Well....it's best not to bring that up.
I have to be careful over commentary to the landlord (the wife). If I bring up broke items....it usually peeves the landlord off. Complaints over lack of space? Yeah, that will peeve the landlord as well. Commentary over wall color or temperature or funny smells? It's best to just avoid any words, and just grin (to bear it).
On various days, I have this RV-type feeling....like I'm on some campground, and taking one step from the living room to the bathroom. In a way, it's a camper mentality. I'm adjusting to this and likely will improve very little....except to praise the landlord for the little creature comforts of the place. It could always be worse.....it's just that somehow.....you'd wish for a recreation room....a pool table.....a carport with a couple of chairs.
So, if I seem to be acting like a camper on occasion....you can understand why.
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