Back Yards

One of the advantages to living in a house in the US is usually the yard…a back yard is key for that outdoor entertaining or if a need to relate to green space arises. Apartments in the US are notorious for being 2-3 story concrete blocks where the only green space is the strip of grasse and a couple of crepe myrtle trees leading from the parking lot to the actual apartment or the management office. Of course, our apartments in Seoul and Taipei gave a whole new meaning to apartment life (the “how many people can you cram into apartment buildings” equivalent of “how many people can you stuff into a Volkswagen Beetle”.)

Well, here 's a view into our backyard, as shot from our back balcony.



I am happy to report that this is not the case in Deutschland. As evidenced by the pictures below, each apartment building usually has some sort of communal backyard with tons of trees, grass, and greenery of all sorts. The style of the gardening may vary, but every building will usually have this backyard/greenspace. Here is a shot of some of our neighbor’s backyards (as seen from our back balcony).



Our building’s backyard actually backs up to another apartment’s backyard (really, it is that way on the entire block) so it is an extra wide area. We have the feeling that we really aren’t living piled up on top of everyone else. If you look closely, you'll see another apartment building peeking through the trees.



Now, how does the “communal” use of this backyard work, you ask? Well, we are not quite sure, as we have yet to see any official entertaining or activities requiring the use of a backyard to have occurred in “our backyard”. Does one have to reserve the space for a party? Or is it just an “everybody is neighborly and gets along well” approach? Not sure, but if the past 2 months have taught us anything, there has got to be a form to complete, someone/some entity that must approve the activity, and a fee involved.

Seriously though, we have observed in other areas that people often hold outdoor parties, sunbathe, lounge in a deckchair and read, or play with their children and pets, etc. in these spaces. A nice touch, and an area we will use hopefully sooner versus later.