Hot Property Is Turn-Off for Settled Angie
October 28, 2005
One would imagine that there is a Berlin estate agent sitting somewhere in the German capital scratching his or her head incredulously at this moment. Berlin is a popular city and there is no shortage of people wanting to live in its impressive and relatively cheap accommodation.
But news that Willy-Brandt-Strasse 1 -- one of the most desirable addresses in the city -- may remain empty when it is vacated in a few weeks has left many property experts perplexed.
The eighth floor apartment has a wonderful view of the Bundestag parliament building, is in spitting distance of some of Berlin's most stunning and historic architectural sites and has some of the tightest security in the country.
And yet, Angela Merkel has no intention of taking up residency in the chancellor’s private quarters in the Kanzleramt when she is -- presumably -- sworn in as Germany's first female leader on November 22.
Most people would be glad to live so close to work, especially in a heaving metropolis where rush-hour traffic at each end of the day can leave one feeling drained and claustrophobic. But Frau Merkel seems intent on staying on in her central Berlin apartment, despite the benefits of moving closer to her place of work.
Gerd's old gym shoes behind decision not to move?
Could it be that the outgoing tenant, Gerhard Schröder, had some particularly unpleasant habits while in residence there -- like leaving his unwashed soccer kit lying around or making an impressive 'beer wall' out of empty bottles?
"I go to work everyday from my apartment in Berlin Mitte. I have done so everyday and will continue to do so," the chancellor-designate told German news agency DPA while avoiding any reference to any unusual smells in the flat more common of a student squat than the home of a world leader.
Indeed, potential lingering evidence of past tenants aside, Angie has a point. From her current abode near the city's Museum Island, Merkel easily gets to work in the morning by foot in less than half an hour while taking a pleasant route along the river Spree.
Chancellor's quarters hardly a palace
On top of that, rumor has it that the chancellor's apartment is not big enough to swing a cat -- or in Schröder's case, a border terrier -- and that the small rooms are barely separated from working areas in the Kanzleramt office block. Even Schröder himself mostly lived there alone and went home to Hanover whenever possible to be with his family.
The married 51-year-old Merkel, therefore, sees no reason to up and move herself and husband Joachim Sauer from their home of seven years.
Angie's current home to undergo security upgrade
However, her elevation to the top job in German politics does mean that her home life will change even if her address does not. Living in close proximity to the Museum Island -- one of the city's biggest tourist attractions -- the soon-to-be chancellor will have to get used to increased security around her house.
A small price to pay, it could be said, when the alternative would be perhaps discovering Gerd's tennis socks down the back of the sofa during a flat warming party.