A temporary home

Angelina Fischer benefits from all the new services provided in the Science City

Looking out of the window, one can see trees, lawn, a small road, the landmarked façade of a classic modern building. “I like that it is so quiet. It’s not as busy as Berlin-Mitte,” says Angelina Fischer. “I prefer it to be quiet, where I live.” The 22-year-old student from Darmstadt was lucky and managed to grab the last available mini apartment facing the courtyard of the new “Medienfenster” building. Even from the other side, right where Adlershof’s main street Rudower Chaussee starts, a sensitive eardrum is left in peace: “In the evenings there is nothing going on.”

This is what the young woman has learned until now. She has gone to the Kaufland supermarket on the other side of the road to stock up on necessities. Other than that she has yet to get to know Adlershof more. At the time of this conversation on her current well-being, Angelina Fischer had only spent two nights at her new digs, which are right at the beginning of Rudower Chaussee, Adlershof’s main street.

The long, ocher-coloured brick building, which was completed in summer, consists of a seven-storey tower and a four-storey main building. The 153 furnished, one to three-room apartments provide a temporary home for students, commuters and other mobile inhabitants of the City of Science and Media. Tenants like Angelina Fischer, who, after completing six semesters in materials sciences at the Technical University Darmstadt, is currently doing an internship at the Leibniz-Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) on Max-Born-Straße, initially limited to three months. It takes her 10 minutes on foot from her apartment: “Why should I drive an hour from Berlin-Mitte every morning?” This was one of the reasons why she found living in Adlershof desirable.

Angelina Fischer lives on 24 square metres, the smallest available apartment. She has a shower, a kitchenette, a bed, a cupboard, a book shelf, a desk and a dining table, all in white semi-gloss. “You come in and it’s just wholesome.” The only thing missing is a space for a washing machine. For that there is an in-house laundromat on the bottom floor, which is also home to shops and restaurants on 920 square metres. A Greek restaurant, a bakery-cum-café, an organic bistro, a tea shop, a convenience store and a flower shop.

It’s the first longer stay in Berlin for the student from Darmstadt. Her father, who had dealt with the IKZ professionally, had pointed her towards the option of doing an internship there and took her to the apartment viewing in Adlershof in September. Four weeks later, she moved with nothing more than a laptop and a suitcase full of clothes. So far after two days she has met one neighbour on the hallway. She used to go to a gym regularly in Darmstadt. Here in Adlershof, the “Bodystreet” is right in her neighbourhood. She will probably go and check it out.

by Winfried Dolderer