Sabine was a gracious host. She did many things in advance to welcome me for my one night stay. With a message sent thirty minutes beforehand, we met in front of her apartment. The large room inside Sabine's family's apartment on the 4th floor is well situated, three huge windows high above the street below provide bountiful sunlight (direct and indirect), and floor to ceiling curtains for shade and privacy. A large sofa, a desk, chairs, coffee table, and a loft style bed. Its like a studio apartment with a shared bathroom. I would say, if you have any fear of heights, he loft bed might not be your cup of tea at 2m off the floor. :) For me, it was fine. Her Alt-Bau (meticulously restored 19th century) apartment was very "gemütlich"; a mosaic tile entrance with vaulted ceiling, and wooden staircase that wound up and up. The neighborhood is one of the most resilient, working class neighborhoods of former West Berlin. Safe, clean, multi-ethnic, and friendly. A true modern Berliner Kiez. Though it is just one block away the clamor of the Kaiserdamm, Schiller Strasse is quiet and calm. Full of excellent restaurants of every sort. There's a new microbrewery / vegan restaurant nearby that was excellent. The Turkish fare is top notch. Antique toy shops, craft beer and fine wine, local fruit and vegetable stands, etc. The pedestrian only zone of the Wilemsdorfer Arcaden is just a few blocks away. So is the U2, and S5 & 7. You can be in Tiergarten/Mitte/Hauptbahnhof in no time at all.