Update on June 2, 2021

Timo is currently attending the German Entrepreneurs' Roundtable as I type these lines. It takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at a tavern in Tochni, about a 30-minute drive away from us. Timo was very excited last time. People from all kinds of industries gather there: real estate agents, journalists, photographers, agency managers, yoga teachers, spiritual healers, and now even 'exotic' musicians. 😉 It's a colorful mix of people who have either recently moved here like us or have been living in Cyprus for several years. Besides interesting conversations, there were delicious snacks from the local cuisine. I'm looking forward to hearing what Timo has to say tomorrow.

Otherwise, the past few days have been exhausting: on Monday morning, we took a Corona rapid test to receive a certificate half an hour later, allowing us to visit non-food shops. It felt a bit like playing a computer game: going here, then quickly there, always racing against the clock. However, we were not checked!

First, we visited JUMBO, a 'everything store'. It's a mix of the IKEA small items department, Woolworth, and a 1€ store. A store where you can get EVERYTHING from dishes to textiles, cosmetics and DIY articles, child seats, costumes, and garden furniture. A store where you find things you didn't even know you needed. A store where you lose track after 5 minutes because it's so cluttered and colorful. A store you curse, but also can't do without! 🙈

Station 2: Superhome, a DIY store and garden center. Sounded promising, but it didn't convince us. Except for a few small items, we didn't find anything suitable here.

Completely different was our spontaneous visit to Mr. Bricolage just 500 m away. Mr. Bricolage is a DIY store, home center, and interior design store. Here we actually found a garden table and chairs, as well as umbrellas, which were promptly delivered the next day. And I have my first Cypriot customer card in my purse. 😅

On Tuesday, we went to Mavros, a toy store. I wanted to buy some new toys for the boys because they had to leave so much behind in Hamburg. We did buy something, but I'm not really happy with it yet. I guess I have to order some things online that I have in mind. And it's annoying that until now they haven't shown any interest in stuffed animals. But now they fell in love with the rabbit and the bear here in our vacation accommodation. 🤷‍♀️ I wanted to surprise them with stuffed animals in the new house, but 95% of the animals are these creepy colorful creatures that I would be scared of at night. 😬 Classic stuffed animals seem to have gone out of fashion...

We were also able to enter the upper floor of Sklaventis, a supermarket with an additional home goods department, with our negative test result. I'm sparing you a comment on the fact that you can visit the full grocery section with its relatively narrow aisles without a test but need a test for the upper floor, which is spacious...

Our IKEA delivery is supposed to arrive tomorrow, and except for the fact that we don't have internet yet in the new house (a nagging issue), we could move in. At least once I washed the bedding and towels from IKEA.

What else happened? Our company formation has taken another step forward. We have signed the certificate of incorporation and the articles of association and are now waiting for additional documents. It's exciting to see what we are allowed to do with a Cyprus Ltd. Or in other words, we can do pretty much anything except gambling and prostitution. 😳

Oh, according to the plan, our pallet should have arrived at Limassol Port today. We expect it to be delivered in the next few days. To be honest, I'm a bit apprehensive about it. Of course, I'm looking forward to some things, like my knee pad. But there's hardly anything I really miss. The pallet also contains memories like scrapbooks and wedding mementos, but I think Timo and I will sort through them again when unpacking. Maybe we'll get a flea market stand soon.

That's it for today. Thanks for sticking with me until here. 💪