Keys.

I wrote in an earlier post that my purse was stolen and I lost my keys due to that. Since then I haven't had keys to the apartment and have to ring the bell and hope that someone can let me in. And usually it works. Sometimes I have gone somewhere else for some time and come back a bit later.

The question on everybody's mind now is: Why don't you get new keys?

I'm glad that you asked. This is why. IT'S HARD!

Step one was that I borrowed a room mates keys and went to a place near by to get them copied. No. They couldn't copy them because I have to have a safecard (sicherheitskarte) that allows me to copy my keys.

So I go to the office of the company that rents out the apartment that I live in and ask them how I'm supposed to do it. The man that helps me says that I'm not allow to live in the apartment because they who are on the contract is allowed to live there and they can't give me any help about the keys. The man looks angry and I walk away for there not knowing more then before.

Step two is that I ask Born to call Hausmeister or someone that can help me about the keys. He does. They also say that he can't have people living in the apartment and he just doesn't care. They say they can't give out new keys but Born says he has the sicherheitskarte so it should go anyway. Now the sicherheitskarte just has to be found. During this time I call and e-mail different lost-and-found places around Berlin to see if they have my bag or my keys. No luck.

The card is at a guy that lived here before so he promises to send it.

Step three getting the sicherheitskarte on the mail. Everything will be fine now, I thought and went to the same key place that I was at last. The man says that he still can't do it, that I have to go to the address that is on the back of the card. Stupid me, and it's also quite close to home. I go there. Nothing is there. I think it has just closed because it's late and try it again the next day. With keys and card I go to the address. Nothing there. I walk up and down the street and then ask people where it could be, but there is nothing at the address I was given. I see a number on the card. I call it.

Sidenote: I really don't like talking German on the phone. Even if I know I can do it, I know that my German a bit depends on body language and other things then just my voice. I also don't really like talking on the phone in any of the languages I know, even if I can do it.

I call and say I have a card that allows me to copy new keys and that their place on the address was gone. The man on the phone says that they closed that shop some time ago. He also asked me if I was able to fax him a copy of the card (who in they're twentieths has a fax machine?) so that he could make me new keys. Even if I say I can't fax he just gives me a number to send it to and says what it will cost and that I will have the keys in two days.

After hanging up I feel tried just of trying to get it done, but I do find a place to fax (might have been the easiest thing of the day) and a angry man (it is many angry men that are a part of this story) that doesn't want to understand me faxes the card on a piece of paper with my contact details and charges me 80cent. I'm okay with it.

It has to be so bloody hard to get new keys. I sometimes think that this country is just fucking with me for funzies. How can it be this hard? And take so much time.

So now I just hope that all has worked. That I will get a phone call in a day or two and have new keys. Let's keep our fingers crossed.