Baku apartment

Bad 2- star hotel? Brothel? More kindly, think tacky summer beach rental.  Mostly cheap, mismatched furniture, way too much of it, and the most garish wall paper you can imagine, up to four different patterns in one room. Striped furniture that manages to be in a different color scheme than ALL the wall paper. Chandeliers that are quite nice, really, but just too much.  An unlit entry way that is wide open to the world, stray cats on the steps, quickly leading to a flight of steps with no handrail.  Knickknacks that are hideous to me but apparently meant something to the landlady, as did no doubt the large portrait of her daughter in a chunky gold plastic frame on the wall in the living room. A Santa Claus cookie jar leers out from atop the fridge, “ho ho ho!”. There is no desk or bookcase. A table crammed into the kitchen makes it is impossible for two people to be there at the same time. What were they thinking?? Other staff have near palaces up the hill.

On the plus side: a great location in downtown, in a good neighborhood (though largely store-less) near the boulevard along the Caspian Sea and near the old city. Several bus lines a couple of blocks away. Plenty of light. A/C and hot water. Quiet. The mixed: there is a balcony but it is unusable due to 1) awkwardness trying to reach it and 2) piles of junk left behind by the landlady. Decent water pressure in the shower but the holder is broken so it is hand-held only. The shower sits above a non-functioning Jacuzzi.  A brand new microwave just for us; the many control buttons are all in Russian. Sigh and double sigh.