Saturday 14 August 2010

Moving to Madrid

Yes it has been a long time, since I have last written anything here. When you are working all day there is just not that much happening to write about. However since some time has passed there are a few things I can tell. Let's start with .. moving to Madrid!
So I moved to a flat very close to work. I was even able to walk there. All very nice... I had two CouchSurfers planning to come. A french girl was supposed to come on the day I moved in.. and an American guy sometime after.
The french CSer ended up somewhere else, because of communication problems(I tried to reach her on her french number, and it seems there often is a problem with french numbers and when she called me, she left a message on Spanish! ..with a lot of background noise, and so on..).
Then my landlord turned out to be a lunatic. She was/is in another country. Since I moved in 10 days before the end of the month, I asked if it was possible to wait until the end of the month and then pay, because I wouldn't have to transfer money from Germany but could use my first salary here in Spain. Additionaly the amount of money she asked for was higher, than what she had advertised (by 60€uros!) and there was no indication that there may be more cost in the ad. I told her that.
Then she just went nuts. She accused me of not wanting to pay(and she actually made it impossible for me to pay, because she never supplied me with the necessary banking details, even though I repeatedly asked for them!). Well after a few email volleys I got tired of her lies and attempts to threaten me, so I warned her, that I would get an attorney on the case. This definitely had an effect and she offered me, to pay less, if I'd move out. I happily accepted that offer, knowing how easy it is to find a flat in Madrid during the summertime (if you are not picky) and that I would be rid of her...
I also had the American CS guy with me during that time and had accepted a Russian artist (sometime before my landlord went nuts) who wanted to come in July to stay with me.
Originally I wanted to look for a flat during the night as time was short and I was working during the day. So on one evening I went out to look for a flat, only to return 1 minute later... I asked someone on the street about night buses and they said there wouldn't be any going. (I checked later and I think that was incorrect information..)
To be continued!