The View From Here

We have just acquired two new things of great importance: an apartment, and high-speed internet. It's not that I'm ranking those things as being of equal standing, but using a USB stick in an area with very weak (sometimes no) network coverage or scurrying over to one of Elena's relatives just to check our emails and update this blog until now has made me appreciate the convenience of modern connectedness.
It's been about a week since we moved in to our new digs, and we're glad that we don't feel like long-term guests anymore. It's a small apartment, but the space is maximized by having only a few rooms and a high ceiling on one side due to the slanted roof. Also, being on the top (4th) floor of the building with a balcony to the south and a sun-room to the north affords us plenty of natural light and a nice panoramic view of Balingen. As the interior is either devoid of furniture or an embarrassing post-moving mess, we would prefer to introduce you to our new dwelling by showing you a few pictures with a view toward the outside.

 On the south side, the neighbouring building is slightly lower than ours, allowing the hills of the "Schwäbische Alb" region just beyond Balingen to be seen.

On the balcony, the view to the left is of residential housing; to the right is the downtown, complete with church steeple. 

 On the north side is another apartment building, but also a nice patch of green in between. The highway is hidden behind the row of trees, but the sound of traffic isn't usually loud enough to be noticable.

 

Being closer to the highway and the downtown mean that both of us are that much closer to work and most stores, and we're thankful that we've found a place that suits us.

Who knows, maybe we'll even post photos of the inside if we ever get it to a presentable state.