Eva’s home and communication were stellar. Her place is stunning and it’s in a great location. She was responsive and always willing to help with navigation and art recommendations in Berlin.
When I first arrived she invited to me to have wine and cheese with a friend and to go to a gallery opening with them! It was incredibly kind— and a very personal introduction to the city.
That same night I asked her for grocery store recommendations because I like to cook my meals while traveling to keep costs down. She seemed very surprised at this, and said that I should not cook because it was very inexpensive to eat out in Berlin. I later learned that while Berlin was more affordable than other cities I had traveled too, it was still far more affordable to cook meals in. She has a beautiful kitchen, and I would have loved to have used it, but she seemed put off by me asking to do so.
The next morning we shared our morning coffee on the terrace which was lovely. The following morning I went out on the terrace by myself, and when she came out she yelled at me and told me that I needed to ask before using it. She quickly made me gather my breakfast and take it to the kitchen. I understand that there may have been a miscommunication, and that there could be a cultural gap in how I perceived this message from her. But I was very startled by this interaction, scared actually, and did not want to eat any more meals in the house, out of fear of not knowing when I would make a mistake. I was also confused because the terrace seemed to me, a common space, as it was off of the living room area.
This pattern continued and I came to realize that she can be territorial with her space. I am not saying there is anything wrong with this, it was just a very different experience than I have had with any other Airbnb.
Overall Eva can be a very lovely and helpful host, there were just a few incompatibilities.