berlin – that lemon life

Hallo from Berlin

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog and another week. I hope you all had a great weekend and that you’re all doing well. I for my part had a quite busy weekend, meeting up with my family and saying goodbye to most of them. It’s insane to think that I’ll already be back in London in six days. Feels like an eternity since I left in March and like no time at all, as if I just blinked once and the past six months wooshed by. And now it’s already September and time to go back to real business. Absolutely insane.

On the one hand I’m sad to leave, as I haven’t spent this much time at home in a very long time (the last time I’ve been at home for longer than three months was in 2015), and I’ve gotten so used to being with my mum and dad and my babies everyday. But on the other hand I’m also super happy and excited to go back to London. And now that I’m moving into my first very own flat with my friends, I know the upcoming months will just be the best ever. But besides that, I’ve also just missed the city. Don’t get me wrong, I love the countryside. It’s what I know best, being born and having lived on the countryside for most of my life. But cities give me those sparks of excitement and thrill that the woods and endless fields can’t compete with. They’re both incredibly beautiful, but cities will never feel like hills and mountains and those will never make you feel the same as when you’re walking through the streets of a busy city.

That is just one of the reasons why I was super happy when my friend Lauren agreed to go on a trip to Berlin with me a few months ago, which is what I want to share with you all today. As most of you guys will know, I’ve always thought of Berlin as a third home – the first being my true home in Austria and the second one being both London and Brighton in one. Back when I got to live there for a few months in 2017, I couldn’t help but fall head over heels in love with this amazing city and I’ve been craving to go there again ever since, so even though a pandemic was sweeping over the planet, Lauren and I were quick to decide on our trip and to book everything we needed. And in the middle of August, just one week after our time in Belgium, we met up again in Berlin and spend another incredible seven days there.

To be honest, the trip couldn’t have been any better. I think we did and saw nearly everything there was to do and see in Berlin that week (apart from the stuff we had already seen and places we had already visited in the past). We went to the cinema – twice even (for the first time since March, which is still absolutely shocking to me) -, went to some amazing restaurants, visited some cool museums, the lovely botanical garden and even my old flat, spent a lovely evening chilling at the river Spree and, as some of you will maybe have seen from a past blogpost, I even went and got two new tattoos – click here for that post. And, very importantly, I also got to visit my second home in Berlin again, Dussmann, which is only the best bookstore ever. And on the last night we got to watch the sun rise and its rays shine on the beautiful city after we had spent the whole night watching a The Wrecks live gig online (worth all the sleep we missed out on). All in all the trip was an absolute dream and if I could, I would go back in an instant. I couldn’t be happier about our decision to really go, despite the whole madness our world is currently stuck in. It was so worth it.

And yeah, as you can probably guess, I had my camera with me nearly the whole time we were in Berlin, so I’m more than happy to share these beautiful shots with all of you. Please enjoy.

And yeah, there you go, guys. These are my favourite shots from our adventures in Berlin. I truly hope you enjoy this post and the pictures. As always, I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. I wish you all a great week and, of course, thanks for reading. x

I’m back (ft. new tattoos)

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing on this beautiful Friday? I hope you’ve had a nice week and a lovely day so far. And, as a matter of fact, I hope you’ve had some amazing past four weeks, because that’s how long I’ve been gone for. I know, you’re probably thinking ‘where the hell has she been???’ and, to be honest, I don’t even know where to start the explanation. Going into this summer filled with uncertainty and discomfort, I would’ve never thought it would turn out like this, but I guess I straight up made the best of it, because in the past month, I’ve not been on just one, but two holiday trips and I’m already packing up for another one next week. Can you believe that? I’ve been to Belgium to surprise my friend Lauren, then we went to Amsterdam, then I was home for a week, then we flew to Berlin for a week, now I’m home again and I’ll be leaving for Italy on Sunday with my mum for our yearly mother-daughter trip. There is just soooo much going on, holy moly.

As you can probably guess, this has led to me piling up a huge stock of topics, events and themes I want to talk to all about and share with you guys. It’s massive, that I can tell you – starting from me attending my very first Tomorrowland (still can’t believe that happened), to all my trips and up to a very special online gig I attended with Lauren at 4 in the morning a few days ago. So much amazing stuff coming up, so please stay tuned and excited for more.

For reasons of actuality, today’s post is about something very very very special that kind of connects to everything I just talked about. Looking at the title of this post, you can probably already tell what it is about. That’s right – I got new tattoos, as in more than one. As in two, to be precise. As you all know, I’m overly in love with tattoos and have my goal of getting like half of my body covered with them set as a personal mission. For all of you who know how Marzia Bisognin-Kjellberg, Pewdiepie’s wife, looks like, including her amazingly tattooed arms – that’s what I want right there. And as the stubborn person that I am, I’ve spent the past years working towards that goal, with all the passion and love for ink that you can possibly imagine.

I know some people get tattoos of designs that they like, but for me it’s always been essential that I have a special meaning connected to every single one of my tatts – the most recent two being no exception. First of, I got a teeny-tiny heart on my left wrist to symbolize the three months that I spent in Berlin during my first ever stay abroad. It may not sound like much, but I was alone for the very first time in a new city and new country and looking back, I think it was the most vital time for my personal development. I don’t think anything has ever had such an impact on my personality as those three months. They made me who I am now. So that’s that.

And for the second one – well, that’s just too special to even put it into words. Before I booked my appointment, I knew that I wanted it to be something that would re-connect me with my grandpa. I know I’ve never really talked much about him on here, but back when he was still here (he died in 2009), he was the most important person in my life, apart from my mum. He was my best friend. And I just loved him so so so much. And as I am a very sensitive and call it “esoteric” soul, I still feel like he’s always close to me, watching over me and watching me grow into the person I am destined ot be. Thus, I wanted a tattoo dedicated to him and after much deliberation, and lots of drawing on myself, I decided on getting a picture of us both together tattooed on my arm. I had already found the perfect artist in Berlin – her name is Daana Avni and she’s literally a tattoo wizard (check her out here) – and after I had initially messaged Daana, it only took a few hours until we had fixed the appointment.

The appointment itself was absolutely amazing and to my surprise it all went down pretty quickly and pain-free. Daana was an absolute angel and made me feel super welcome and appreciated and listened to all my thoughts and answered all my questions. I think what made the whole process even more special though was that it all happened in Berlin, one of my favourite places on earth. Before I had even decided on getting a tattoo, getting some new ink done in Berlin sounded like an absolute dream, a rather impossible one too, but now I’m back at home with these two beautiful new pieces of art on my arms and I couldn’t be happier. I love both of them so much I can’t even put it into words and I’ve been proudly showing them off every day. Tattoos really just are the coolest things ever.

And there you have it, guys, these are new tattoos. I hope you liked reading about their story and I hope you like their look as well. As I already said, I’m utterly obsessed with them and can’t wait for the next ones – getting closer to my goal, tattoo by tattoo. As always, I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. Also, once again, sorry for disappearing for so long, hope you didn’t mind too much. I wish you all an awesome weekend and, of course, thanks for reading. x

Why I need to live in a city

Hola everyone.

You know, basically I’m from the smallest town you can imagine. We have like two supermarkets and a kindergarden and a primary school. After that we have to drive to the next small town to go to high school. So yeah, my hometown pretty small.

Actually I’ve always felt that I fitted better into a city. And while studying in Vienna and now that I’ve lived in Berlin without coming home for weeks, I just KNOW that I need to live in a city.

I notice it even more because I’m now at home and not staying in Vienna. And seriously, I can’t do anything here after 7pm, even less when I want to do something on my own. All of the shops close at 7pm and it’s dark and cold and usually I’d go to the cinema but the only one that is like close to me is so small that the current selection of movies is spectacularly lame. For real.

Do you know what I mean? When I was in Berlin I could go shopping until 9pm. And the big book and creative store, my favorite place in the city, was even open until midnight (yes, I’m serious and yes, I know, it’s freaking amazing). So whenever I was bored at night I could just take the subway and go there until it was time to go home and to bed. And of course the cinema, holy moly. So many cinemas, so many movies to watch, what a heaven.
And just overall, in such a small town life outside basically stops when it’s getting dark. And in a city that’s when it all starts. And me being someone who lives at night and sleeps over the day, that’s a perfect concept.

So yeah, I just know that I need to live in a big city. One as big as Berlin (sometimes Vienna is even a little bit too sleepy for me). But of course I’m happy that my home is at the countryside, because growing up there is just so much better than in a city. It’s relaxing, calm, you get to know all of the people in your town and it’s just so peaceful. So when the time for me has come to settle down and build a family, I want to live at the countryside. And also when I settle down for a little while in a city, it will always be one of the most important aspects for me to be able to see my family every once in a while, so I yeah, I will probably not chose something too far away.

Actually, I think London and Brighton are perfect examples for that concept. London is like the most amazing city ever. And Brighton is a charming town, a mix between city and town and when you walk away from the city center you feel like you’re in a small town again. And the sea is right next to the city, so that’s just another plus, because who doesn’t want to look out of the window and see the beach and the ocean. So yeah, London and Brighton are always floating around in my head when it comes to the future.

But guys, please tell me your opinion and if you share my thoughts or not. I mean, I know both types – friends who want to live in a city and friends who want to stay in their hometowns or just at the countryside overall. And I’m really interested in how the situation is all around the world, in your town, in your opinion. So please don’t hesitate to comment something, I’d be happy to read from you.

And yeah, that’s pretty much what’s going on in my mind right now. I hope you enjoyed this post and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Also, the two babes Tyler and Josh won a Grammy last night and I feel like a proud mum. It feels so good to see such an amazing indie band like Twenty One Pilots win over the whole world and get the well deserved credit for it.

I’m back home

Hola everyone.

So, the three months are over. And I’m back home again, without a flight ticket to go back. And to be honest this feels pretty weird.

The moment I knew I’d be going to Berlin was really important to me. I was pretty shocked to be honest. And I didn’t believe it. And I didn’t know what to expect. But I loved it, seriously. I loved the work there. The people. The city. And even though I was extremelyyyyy happy to be home again, I miss it. Knowing that I won’t be heading back to Berlin for the next months, maybe even the next year, feels pretty odd to me. But nonetheless I happy that I’m back home again. And that I went to Berlin in the first place. I’m hundred percent sure that I’d regret not doing it for the rest of my life, every single day.

Overall I think those three months really did bring some changes in my life. I mean, I was on my own pretty much all the time, except when my parents or my friends visited me. And being alone just forces you to think about yourself. About what you want in your life. And what you don’t want. And how to spend time with yourself, without needing someone else to keep you company. I went to cinema, to concerts, museums on my own and did things I never thought I’d be “brave” enough to do all by myself (before that I always thought that going to the cinema alone is like the most pitiful thing in the world). And I think being away those three months made a lot of things clearer to me. I know that I want to be a journalist. Because I now know what being a journalist feels like. And I loved it. Every single second. And I know that I love living in a city. I mean, I’ve always wanted to live in a city, but was actually never sure if it was the right thing for me. But I’m sure it is know. And after being away from my friends and family and everything I know, I have the feeling that I can live in another country for a little longer time. I mean, I want to study in London, this is like one of my biggest dreams ever, but I always had the panic that I wouldn’t be a blue to stay away from home for such a long time. But I think after being able to handle those three months, I’m ready for the next step.

Looking back at the. time I had in Berlin, I have to say that I learned a lot about me, my life, dreams and a lot more. And even though I had some tough days, days I wanted nothing more than fly home and cuddle up on the couch with my mum, I don’t regret it at all. It’s the opposite, actually. I’m really glad that I went to Berlin. And I loved it. Every single day.

So yeah, now that I’m home again, I’m ready to take the next step and I’m excited to find out what life and the world has planned for me. Bring it on.

If any of you want to know more about my time in Berlin or just want to chat, I’m here. And until then I hope you enjoyed this post and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Ps: I freaking got a ticket to see Mr. Edward Christopher Sheeran on his tour and I am loosing my mind. Holy moly.

Fashion Week – Day 4 & 5

Hola everyone.

Today will be a very productive day. Due to what happened yesterday – I went to the cinema – and the fact that I can easily put day 4 and 5 of Fashion Week in one post, I’m going to not only gift you with one post today but with two. Yey.

Sooo, here comes the first one. I spent the fourth day of Fashion Week doing another interview and then writing my article about my whole experience and of course the three labels I did the interviews with. The label I met on the third day was Karin Fraidenraij, another really cool brand that uses lama and alpaca wool to produce their clothes. The wool comes from Argentina, like the designer and owner Karin Fraidenraij, who I did the interview with.

I found it really fascinating to talk to her and hear how much she loves what she’s doing and how she fulfilled her dream of combining her argentine roots with the german lifestyle she’s living now. And apart from that her clothes are extremely cool, seriously.

Link to her website – link

And right after that I drove back to work and wrote my article. And on the next day I finished it with a small video and pictures and to be honest, I freaking loved it. I loved writing about something. And just about something I liked, something I focused on for a whole week, something that I could get deeper into. That’s why I want to write for magazines. Because you can concentrate on your story. Get deeper into it. Discover it. Embrace it. It follows your for a whole month until the magazine is printed. And I really like that. Because that way – I know that – I can really work with my writing skills and get the most out of them. So overall this whole week and the finished article reaffirmed me in my career choice. I know that this is the right thing for me. And I will never ever ever forget this week. Never.

So yeah, there you go. Post one of two, one missing. Honestly, I loved my week at Fashion Week. And I never thought that I’ll get this opportunity to attend it this quick, this early. I mean, of course I dreamed about attending it one that but that I’d be attending it this quick… I would have never thought this. So I can’t even tell you how grateful I am. Anyways, I really really hope you enjoyed this little things, let’s call it a series, as much as me. And if any of you want to chat, I’m here and the comment section is waiting just for you. And until then, as always, thanks for reading. x

Fashion Week – Day 3

Hola everyone.

Soooo, the day has finally come to tell you what happened on the third day I attended the Fashion Week in Berlin. Actually, the day didn’t quite go how I expected. I mean, it was fantastic after all, of course, but started with quite a huge heart attack.

The morning went as usual, I got up, dressed and ready for another cool day full of Fashion and awesomeness. First I drove to a trade show called FashionTech, which was all about how technology can be combined with fashion. And there were some speakers at the conference there and one of them said something that still keeps running around in my head: “Today, every single day, technology does another step forward. We work on it. But why won’t we combine this technology with our clothes?”. And it’s true. Why don’t we do that? I mean, personally I don’t need to have a t-shirt that changes its color according to my mood changes. But just the idea is getting me so excited. And then the shock came.

I was listening to the speakers at the conference when I saw that I had gotten an email from my boss. And I thought it would be something about writing a second article about Fashion Week – because I told him that I could do that – but oh hell no, it wasn’t about that. The mail said that I should get back right now and write the article as quick as possible. And I got so damn stressed. Really. I thought “oh my god, how am I going to write an article if I still haven’t had all my interviews and if I haven’t even been to every trade show?”. So I called him. And then I called the online department. And I told them everything, just explained the situation. And to my big surprise they weren’t stressed at all. They were like “hey, chill, take your time and send us the article whenever you’re finished”. And I was soooo happy. I mean, I am a person that always sees the good things in everyone, I’m just happy and always hoping that everybody else is too. And when they reacted so smoothly and nicely, it just supported me even more in my opinion that this job, this field, is the right thing for me. And the way they treated me, not like just like I’m a little intern, but like a real journalist… That made me really happy.

Anyway, from that moment on the day was freaking amazing. After looking around at FashionTech and seeing clothes that can save data or send signals to other devices, which is pretty freaky, I went to the biggest trade show called Premium. I’m not quite sure how many brands it featured but there were eight huge halls, so I guess A LOT. It was really interesting to see all the different labels and styles and upcoming trends. The only thing that was bugging me was the amount of people who were there. There were just too many. And after pushing through masses of human bodies I just gave up and took the shuttle to the trade show I was looking forward to the most called Seek.

Seek was all about streetstyles and urban clothing lines, young labels and fashion for young people. Not to mention that Lazy Oaf had a stand there too and hey, we all know how trendy Lazy Oaf is right now thanks to all the YouTubers who are praising the label like crazy. But before I get to that, here comes the funniest thing. On my way to Seek, on the bus, I was sitting next to a guy, probably at the age of my dad, and we started chatting a little bit. About how I got there, about what he was doing and so on. Actually he flew to Berlin from France just to attend Fashion Week which was so interesting for me at that moment. And here comes the funny bit. We separated after getting out of the bus but ran into each other at the trade show about five times. Even another time after we had officially said goodbye. He looked at me and said “wow, that’s strange” and I just had to laugh. But so strange, seriously.

So that’s the story of how I learned how networking is done. Now let’s get to the most interesting part, the fashion part. Oh my god, the clothes there were amazing. I officially know now how the future pieces of Lazy Oaf will look like and I can only say – get ready. Seriously. Usually I’m not the type for bright clothes that crave for attention but it looks like I might buy one or two pieces of the upcoming collections. And besides that I just loved the athmosphere there. Everyone looked so cool (like every day), a DJ was playing music for the whole arena and the location was just straight up amazing. I felt cool. That’s how it was.

And then it got late again and I made my way home. With like 4 new bags full of stuff. That’s one of the cool parts of being a journalist. You get free stuff (hehe). The bad aspect of that is just that I went home with a close-to-falling-off shoulder and a hurting back like I’m a old grandma. But hey, when you had such a wonderful day nothing can spoil the mood.

So yeah, there you go. That was my third day at the Fashion Week in Berlin. Another magnificent day and another hundreds of hundreds wonderful moments I’ll never forget. If any of you have any questions or just want to talk, I’m here. And until then I hope you enjoyed this post and the pics right down below and, as always, thanks for reading. x