Category: Personal Space

The Italian Flair

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing today? I hope so far you’ve had a great week and a nice Friday, considering the current situation. This just seems to never end, does it? To be honest, I’ve had quite enough of it now, Covid can really go eff off now. I’ve had to move my flight twice already and will hopefully be able to finally go back to London next Sunday (fingers crossed). I truly can’t wait to be back in my favourite city and to see my friends again, I’ve really been missing them like hell.

As probably just about everyone, I’ve been trying to stay as positive as possible. And one way I’ve been doing this is looking back on some happy moments of 2020 – because there were actually quite a lot of them, surprisingly – and I recently got the chance to go through pictures on my camera. And that’s when I saw that I still had some pictures of my holiday in Venice left on there that I had not seen before. As some of you might have read and seen in my first post about the trip that I published a few months ago, the time my mum and I got to spend in the beautiful city of Venice was one of the most amazing weeks of the whole year and I’m still so incredibly glad that we went. Definitely one of the best ideas ever.

As the pictures are so nice to look at and kinda brought me back to the trailing streets of the fantastic city, I thought it would be nice to share them with all of you, to maybe add some sunshine and Italian flair to our Friday. As always, I hope you enjoy the pictures and would love to hear your thoughts and comments. And, naturally, I wish you all a lovely weekend and thanks for reading. x

Bye 2020

2020 has been the toughest year for me to endure, for so many different reasons. It took from me what was supposed to enrich my days, my year, my life. It stole months in London from me, concerts, adventures. It took time from me, but also gave me some back in exchange. If a year could ever be described as the most chaotic ride on a rollercoaster, then it would be this one.

At the end of 2019, I had just moved to London three months beforehand, had just started at a new university, and was just about to finally grow roots in my favourite city on earth. I was running from one concert to another, also thanks to my job as a bartender at a concert venue. Obviously, it wasn’t always easy and obviously, there were things I would’ve changed, but I was probably the happiest I had been in long. 2019 filled me with an amount of love and utter happiness I hadn’t felt in a long time. I couldn’t have imagined what was about to come, what was waiting around the corner. But I was happy, that was what mattered the most. And surrounded by people that I loved more than anything else.

Now at the end of 2020, I feel like I’ve just run a million marathons at once. And still, I am here, with a smile on my face, because as with every rollercoaster, there are countless ups and downs. And let me tell you, 2020 had a lot of downs. For everyone. But it also had a lot of ups. Ups I never expected to come. Ups that make me eternally grateful for everything that happened. I’m only a few steps away from being 25 (yikes). I’ve survived a pandemic that will hopefully fuck off soon. I finally made London my home by making it my own together with the bestest friends. I’ve said yes to a lot of adventures and have said no to paths that I knew weren’t the right ones for me. I put up fights that weakened me at that moment, but that I only came out stronger from. Now I’m the owner of my music magazine, something I’ve been dreaming about for years. I’m head over heels stuck in a crush for a guy I definitely cannot have (how surprising of me). I’ve met the most incredible people, have built up the most loving friendships, and have received opportunities I wouldn’t have dared to even dream about. I feel like I have finally found myself and my place in the world (just about). I’ve changed a lot and everything around me has as well. But I’m still me, just older, maybe wiser, definitely more confident, and still surrounded by people I love and cherish more than anything.

There’s no way I can tell what 2021 has in store for me. In store for the world. The only thing I can do is hope. Hope for a better future. And a year that will give back what the last one has taken and fill my life and the planet with love and happiness. If all goes right, it will be the start of something great, a truly better future, one that I will be proud and excited to look back on when I’m old and grey. That is what I’m hoping for. To sit right here in a year, filled with even more gratitude, joy, and love.

2021, please be good.

Hola everyone. This is my take on a short essay-ish text on 2020 and the start of the new year. I can only hope that 2021 will be a lot better for all of us, so I’m staying positive all the way. How was your 2020? I hope despite all the chaos and destruction it was still nice and gave you a lot of lovely memories. I truly hope you enjoy my text and please don’t hesitate to leave your feedback and comments down below or to get in touch with me to discuss it further. And until then, I wish you all a very exciting happy new year again, an amazing week, and, as always, thanks so much for reading. x

Meet GEM

Hola everyone.

God, it’s been so long since I last wrote down those two words. Way too long, to be completely honest with you. But I guess that happens when you are in the middle of your last year at university and also doing something very important and exciting on the side – the special something that I want to tell you all about today. First of all, I want to take the time to say that I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and that, despite all the chaos that’s happening right now, you’re having a nice time with your loved ones. I’ve been back at home in Austria for two weeks now, spending some quality time with my family, but now we’re also back to a full lockdown, so I guess we’re all in the same boat (except for a few special ones… looking at you, Australia and New Zealand). Anyway, it’s been quite nice so far, but I’m also praying that I’ll be able to go back to London once the time has come, I really miss it. It’s actually pretty cool to have not one, but two places that you can call your home. I feel very lucky. Which also brings me back to what I wanted to show you all today.

I’m incredibly proud to present to you my very own magazine – GEM. Yes, I really did it. I went and launched my own magazine, with the help of my incredible friend Lauren, who is also my co-founder and co-editor, and our fantastic bunch of super talented writers, creatives and journalists. To be honest, even while I am typing this out, I cannot believe it is really true. I can’t even begin to explain how insanely excited and thrilled I am to share this with all of you. I have been dreaming about having my own magazine for so many years now and now it’s really become true.

So far, the whole experience has been nothing short of an insane dream. All of a sudden, I have this thing that belongs solely to me and that gives me the opportunities and freedom to interview my favourite bands and to review gigs and albums and so much more. It’s become my ultimate creative outlet and basically one of the most important parts of my life – even in such a short amount of time. And I mean, I’m not going to talk around the bush for long… having freaking Wallows on our first cover and then Nothing But Thieves, my ultimate loves, on our second one is just… I mean, that’s the material my brain usually comes up with during a dream at night or when I create a nice scenario in my head during a mellow ride on the top. Basically, it’s the stuff you usually make up, not the stuff that just becomes reality all of a sudden. But now it has become reality for me and I still can’t believe I’m now living a life where I can say I’ve already interviewed most of my favourite bands, and all of that for my very own magazine. Peak craziness, I’m telling you.

Naturally, I could spend all day and night telling you about the interviews and the overall insanity of this all, but I guess that would take a bit too long for all of us. What I can say though is that I loved every single one of them and that Conor, the lead singer from Nothing But Thieves is probably the most incredible person I’ve had the honour of talking to. Best interview of my life so far, without a doubt. Which makes me even prouder to have the guys on our cover – a band that has meant so much for me for so many years already. Not to mention that their album ‘Moral Panic’ is easily the best album of the year for me. What a gem (pun not intended… or maybe, yes).

As with all things that take up such a big part of your life, the magazine has kept me and Lauren busy all throughout the past months and also through the Christmas holidays, but it’s always been good busy. Of course it can sometimes get a bit much, especially if the world around you has been in flames for way too long, but I would never complain about the magazine. It means way too much for me to do that. And now that our second issue has been out for a month, we’re already busy working on the upcoming one, which will be out at the end of January. I already can’t wait to share it with the world and every single one of you, it will be a great one.

And now the moment has finally come for me to share the magazine with you all. The excitement is real, honestly. First of all, here are the links to our website, our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And here is the link to where you can read our latest issue online and here is a link to our shop where you can buy a print copy of the magazine if you would like to support us or if you are just a paper person, like me.

I truly hope that you like the magazine and enjoy reading it just as much as I do. Naturally, I would absolutely love to hear what you think, so please don’t hesitate to leave your feedback and comments down below or to get in touch with me to discuss it further. I’m excited to hear from you. And until then, I wish you all the best time and already a very exciting happy new year. Let’s hope 2021 will be a lot better than 2020 in a whole bunch of aspects. And yeah, sending you all the tightest hugs and, as always, thanks so much for reading. x

Everything You’ve Missed

Hola everyone.

Holy hell, I can’t believe it’s been almost three weeks since my last post. I’m so so so sorry for being gone for so long, but trust me, once I get everything off my chest and have told you everything that has happened the past few days, you will start to understand why I was gone for so long. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve been this busy in my whole life. I guess that comes with getting older, right?

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Anyway, I hope all of you have been well the past few weeks and that the dread of life and the upcoming lockdowns (they’re everywhere, even here in London) hasn’t been pushing down on you all too much. I know it’s a rather difficult time for us all right now and I think I’m not the only one currently wishing for everything to get better soon. Actually, it’s quite freaky, because the past few weeks have been the best and kind of also some of my worst in my life and, not to be dramatic or anything, but my mind has been rather confused. But let me start right at the beginning.

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As mentioned in my past few posts, I’ve recently taken on the role as the editor-in-chief of my university’s magazine called LDN and, to be honest, it has probably been the most fun but also hardest work I’ve ever done. Working a shift until 5 am at a bar is nothing compared to this. Because after the shift, you’re at least done with work, but with a magazine the work just never stops. Ever. I remember the night we had to hand in the finished first issue, Lauren and I stayed up until 7 am to finish the mag in time for it to be printed by the day we wanted. And although this probably sounds really horrible to many, it was so much fun. Because I was actually spending time doing what I love the most – writing about music and sharing that love with the world. And this whole process has kind of made me realize that there is a potential there that needs to be utilized. So now, Lauren and I are actually thinking about creating our own magazine, which is extremely exciting. We’re still in the planning phase, but I’m so excited I had to share it with you.

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Included in all this excitement of the past few weeks are also the three amazing interviews I’ve had with Wallows, Boy Pablo and, believe it or not, Nothing But Thieves. Before I get all serious about them, please excuse me for a short fangirl moment…

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HOLY FREAKING SHIT I INTERVIEWED CONOR FROM NOTHING BUT THIEVES. AND BOY PABLO, THE CUTEST GUY EVER. AND WALLOWS, A BAND I’VE BEEN ABSOLUTELY ADDICTED TO. HOLY MOLY. OH MY GOD.

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As you can probably imagine, all three interviews were absolutely freaking fantastic. And it’s not just about me meeting the bands I love, but also about having real conversations with real people and I will truly cherish all these moments that I got to share with these phenomenal human beings for my entire life. Not to mention that my chat with Conor was without a doubt the best interview I’ve had so far – he’s truly the smartest, most self-aware person I’ve ever met – and their newest album “Moral Panic” is without exaggeration my favourite of the whole year (long-ish and very exciting album review to be posted on Friday, so please stay tuned for that). Please all go listen to it, it’s so so so good. And there are so many stories hidden in the lyrics, I’ve been listening to the album for a month now and still find hidden meanings. But apart from that, all these experiences made and still make me feel so lucky to be doing what I’m doing and to be spending my time like this. Talking to PRs, getting albums sent to me before the official release, talking to my favourite humans. It’s all truly insane. And although none of it is really my job yet, I know that I’ve found what I want to spend my life doing. I haven’t found anything in my life that fulfills me as much as that – and if gigs were actually a thing right now, I probably would be so happy, that I’d annoy the hell out of everyone. Not even joking.

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Obviously, there is also the dread of said lockdown that is coming up, but with all this work and our plans of starting a magazine up and uni work on top, I feel like I won’t even notice that much of a change. That might sound stressful, but in times like these I feel lucky to be busy, otherwise I would probably spend my days watching one tv show after the other and that’s not really something to happily look back to, right? On top of that, I’m lucky enough to be living with my friends, so we are still able to have a good time, even if we can’t go to restaurants anymore or the cinema. Also, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t expecting another lockdown. I remember when I talked to Conor, he mentioned having the feeling there might be one on the come up and I couldn’t really believe it, but here we are. Told you, a very smart man.

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And yeah, besides that nothing much has been happening. I think all of us have successfully settled into the flat and after our trip to Ikea a few days ago, it now truly looks and feels like ours as well. And although the past month definitely can’t be compared to what life was like last year – one filled with trips to the cinema, my job at Electric and countless gigs – I can’t really complain. I’ve loved my time back in London so far and it’s been nothing but pure bliss to live with Lauren and my friends. So I think I’m truly lucky.

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Naturally, I hope you also feel a sense of happiness, despite how crazy life is right now. I know the current global situation can drag anyone down really easily, so I just hope you’re all alright. Please remember I’m always here if you need someone to talk to – I’m a good listener. And until then, I hope you enjoyed this post and me babbling on about work and my interviews. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so please don’t hesitate to leave your comments down below. Oh, and I wish you all a happy belated Halloween. And I wish you all a lovely week and, of course, thanks for reading. x

Bella Venezia

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog and also a new week. I hope so far your Monday has been nice and that you enjoyed the past weekend. I personally spent most of the weekend exploring London and working on our uni magazine LDN. So far, I’m honestly super proud of what my team and I have achieved with the mag so far and I truly can’t wait to finally hold the first print issue in my hands. Although this is technically not even my own magazine, the past few weeks have felt like I’ve been building up something that is mine. Something I can pour all my heart and creativity into. And although I spend almost every free hour either working on or thinking about the magazine without really getting anything back in return, by which I mean money and such, it has made me happier than I could have ever imagined. It almost feels like I was meant to be the editor of the paper. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

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On the other side, it could also be that I’m spending so much time working on the mag to get my mind off of missing my family and my home, especially my cat and my dog. Unfortunately, both haven’t been doing super well, which has left me feeling completely useless and helpless. Thankfully my parents are doing the most amazing job at looking after both my babies and I can’t wait to be with them again in two months. I think it’s just also been very tough for me to live without a pet for the first time in what feels like an eternity. It’s like a piece of myself, of my soul was left behind when I moved away from home. Actually, my flatmate Elena was meant to come with her feline friend Gatto, but getting him to London from Italy has proven more complicated than we thought. So getting our new furry child has been our number one mission ever since. So that might be another reason why I’m busying myself with the magazine and also basically burying myself in plants. It’s as if my brain and soul are looking for anything that is alive besides my flatmates for me to look after and give my love to. To be honest, you could probably do some psychological study on this, because, I’m not gonna lie, this is a bit weird. But hey, it’s what’s keeping me sane and happy these days, so there we go.

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Additionally, looking back on my amazing summer – despite Corona and all that crap – has helped me a lot with staying positive. And part of that utterly beautiful summer was the trip to Venice with my mum, which is what I want to share with you guys today. Finally. I know, I’ve been talking about this for so long and never got around to showing you the pictures of our phenomenal trip, but I guess better late than never, right? So here they are, finally. My favorite shots from Venice.

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To be honest, my mum and I both came to the conclusion pretty quickly that a trip to Venice could never possibly have been any better than ours. Although it was a risk to go to Italy in the middle of Corona, we knew that it would be worth it all and it truly was. I don’t think Venice will ever be this beautiful again. We all know what Venice looks like in the summer – now imagine that same city but just without the people. Because that’s what it was like. Empty. Not like Zombie Apocalypse empty, but empty for Venice standards. And gosh, the weather was just so amazing. And the food was even better. I remember not really loving the city the first time I went there, but that trip definitely made me fall head over heels in love with it. It is definitely a trip I will never ever forget. And one that rewarded me with memories and pictures filled with some much beauty that they will prolong into eternity. But, just see for yourself.

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And yeah, now we’ve already reached the end of today’s post. As always, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and me babbling a bit about my life and my time in Venice. I truly hope you’re doing good in these rather stressful times and that maybe this post helped you get your mind off stuff for a short while. I’d really love to hear all your thoughts and opinions, so please don’t hesitate to leave any comments down below. And until then, I wish you all the best week and, of course, thanks for reading. x

London, I’m back

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing? I hope you’ve all had a great weekend and that the past few weeks have also been good for you. I’m honestly so so so sorry for disappearing for so long, it feels like I haven’t been on here for ages… Well, it probably has been ages, which is insane enough But let me explain.

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I think I have a good reason for my absence – as some of you have probably seen from the title of this post: I’m back in London (wohooo). It’s now been a bit more than two weeks since I moved back to the city and so far it has just been the best time ever. I’m lucky enough to live in a flat with three other friends, which also makes it the first time of living in a flat on my own in a real flat share without having to share it with the landlords. Although I’ve loved living with the landlords in the past, finally having a flat to ourselves feels like ease after having had to tiptoe around different houses and having to take care of someone else’s stuff all the time. Now it really feels like the flat is ours, which is just the most amazing feeling ever.

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So far, we haven’t been able to do and see too much of London, as both my friend Lauren and I had to stay in quarantine for two weeks, as it is a rule the UK government has put on nearly every country on the planet. So anyone who enters the UK from a country that’s not on the “good to go”-list has to quarantine for two weeks. I know, it sounds a tad awful now, but I think we made the best of our time. I got to transform, redesign and decorate my room in a matter of days, which would usually take me weeks after weeks, and the flat itself is also nearly done. I remember walking into the flat for the very first time and seeing this empty canvas of a flat just waiting to be turned into a fantastic piece of art. And now that we’ve had about two weeks of doing just that, it’s really starting to come together and we all can’t wait to finally go shopping together so we can perfect it. Needless to say, we truly love it already. And the most amazing part is, we even have a roof terrace (which basically is just a roof) that is perfect for lunches in the sun (yes, we’ve already tried that). It honestly feels like being on holiday, sitting up there and looking at all the apartments and skyscrapers around us, with the whole beauty of London right at our feet. And we’re also just about five minutes away from the Thames, which makes it all even better. God, how much I love this city.

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Apart from that, being the editor of our uni magazine LDN has occupied most of my time since coming to London. I think it has now turned into the first thing that pops up in my head when I wake up. And also, funnily enough, the last thing I think about before going to sleep. That’s how busy this “job” has kept me. And I know this must sound very exhausting, but it is actually a really positive thing, as I can spend my time doing what I love most – thinking and writing about music. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you, but I may or may not be interviewing Wallows and Boy Pablo this week and I may or may not be losing my mind because of it. Because, obviously, it’s no big deal to interview two of your favourite bands. No biggie. Not at all.

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Anyway, the past two weeks have probably been two of the busiest weeks of my entire life and I’m not even mad about it. I live for arranging interviews, for listening to songs and albums that I get sent from PRs, for designing the magazine, for all that stuff. All those things make this university degree more than worth it. So I am super grateful for all the stuff that’s happening right now.

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I think the only thing that’s making me a bit sad is missing my home, my family and especially Peaches and Molly. It’s the first time after over a year that I’m not living with a pet in the house and it’s honestly making me feel very strange, as if a piece of my soul is missing. But thankfully, one of the girls I love with owns a cat and the plan is to get him here asap, which I hope will happen very soon. I need to give a cat some love, I’ve got too much of that stuck inside of me. But I just signed up to be a cat-sitter, which is just so so so exciting. I hope it works out.

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And yeah, that’s pretty much it. I couldn’t be more excited to finally be back in London and to go to the cinema again and (socially-distanced) gigs. It feels like I’ve finally got parts of my normality back, which is nice. It’s amazing to finally be back in London, I’ve missed it. And with that, I’m gonna end this post and wish you all a lovely week and hope that you’ve all enjoyed today’s post. I know it was more of an update than anything else, but you know me, I love telling you about my adventures in London and moving back to my favourite city definitely is one. So get ready for more stories in the future. And until then, thanks for being here and, as always, thanks for reading. x