friends – that lemon life

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?

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Adventures in Amsterdam

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing today? I hope you’ve had a lovely weekend and that you’re enjoying the last bits of summer we’re being granted with. Can you believe it’s already September? Because I surely can’t. It feels like some elaborate joke, something someone made up. Even the thought that I’ve been home for half a ycear now sounds ridiculous to me when I say it out loud. Time is a strange thing, it really is.

Likewise, it’s also insane to me to think that I’ll be moving back to London in less than two weeks. Like, when did that happen? Super super strange, truly. And it’s not just that, even just thinking back to the past few weeks and months makes me wonder whether I’ve dreamed it all or whether it truly happened. Did I really visit Lauren in Belgium? Did I really go to Berlin? Did I really get new two new tattoos? Did Lauren and I really visit Amsterdam? In the middle of a global pandemic? I guess it must be true, because I’m sitting in front of a ton of pictures that were definitely taken in the incredible Amsterdam and that is also definitely me in the pictures. But see, this is how I know I had the best time ever – because it sounds too good to be true.

To be honest, the trip to Amsterdam is definitely something I will never forget. Not only because Lauren and I spent two amazing days there, filled with adventures and tons of fun, but also because it happened out of nowhere. See, that’s the good thing when a country is so small – you can reach nearby cities in a matter of a few hours. Pure luxury, I tell you. So when I came to Belgium and Lauren and I started planning our days we had together, we got the idea of going to Amsterdam and as it was only a few hours train journey away, we instantly booked it and started off the adventure two days later.

And, god, it was just so so so cool. We went to amazing restaurants, sat at the canals, went on night strolls, basically walked through the whole city and we even visited their botanical garden, which was so beautiful, I can’t even put it into words. Out of all of this though, I think my favourite part of the whole trip was visiting STMPD RCRDS. Those of you who’ve been following me and my blog for quite a while now will know how much that labels mean to me, but for those of you who are rather new here – STMPD is my dream workplace. I know, might be a bit strange to say it like that, but it really is. Ever since I’ve fallen in love with EDM and ever since that label was started, I’ve been dreaming about working there. Not only because their artists are so freaking amazing, like SO good, but moreover because it just looks like the best workplace and best team to work with. So, because of that, actually being at their office and seeing that very building with my own eyes, a building I’ve seen countless amounts of times just by being a Martin Garrix fan, made me freak out a bit. In short, being there meant the world to me. I’m still so grateful for Lauren actually walking through the whole city with me just to see the studios. Made my year, truly.

So, that was what we did in Amsterdam. As you can probably guess, the photographing came to no end during the trip, so right now I’ve got these amazing photos that I can’t wait to share with you. So, without further ado, please enjoy.

And yeah, there you go, guys. These are my favourite shots from our adventures in Amsterdam. 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

My week in Belgium

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing today? I hope so far you’ve had a great start of the week and a not too harsh Monday (as we all know, they can sometimes be a bit of a pain). I once again have to apologize for being away for another week. As mentioned in my previous post, my mum and I went on our yearly mother-daughter trip last week – we went to Venice and it was so freaking beautiful, holy moly – which led to me not having much time to sit in front of my laptop and write. But as far as I know, no holiday is planned for the upcoming weeks until I’m due to move back to London (I’ve finally found a new flat, yey), so prepare for a ton of content for the next weeks and months.

Today, though, I’d like to share with you my favourite pictures of the amazing week that I got to spend in Belgium with my friend Lauren (for those of you who’ve been following my blog for a while, meaning the past few months, you’ll know who she is), which was a surprise for her in its entirety. It all started on her birthday in June when her mum messaged me about wanting me to be their big surprise for Lauren, who I hadn’t seen since March, when we had all left London because of our nice friend Corona. And after a few days of messaging back and forth, we had finally found the perfect dates for my visit and a few weeks after that I got on a plane again after what felt like forever. The best part of the whole trip was definitely Lauren not suspecting a single thing. Running towards her at the airport, her waiting for her uncle and definitely not me, and seeing the utter surprise in her eyes made getting up at 4 am on three hours of sleep and having that damn mask stuck to my face for hours and hours more than worth it.

The next days were filled with laughter, happiness and one adventure after another – at one point we even spent a night in Amsterdam, but more on that later – and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. After the dreadful weeks and months apart from each other, seeing her again was all that I could wish for and the whole week has definitely turned the summer of 2020 in a far better experience than I thought it would be.

And with that, I’m more than happy to share my favourite pictures of the whole week with you guys (except Amsterdam, because that deserves a separate post). All in all, we went to Brussels for a day, got to visit Brugge and even the seaside and I finally got to take a stroll around Lauren’s hometown. One thing I can say for sure is that Belgium is a freaking beautiful country and that having the sea so close to you is a literal gift from heaven. But just see for yourself and please enjoy.

And yeah, there you go. These are my favourite shots from my time in Belgium. I still have to pick up my latest roll of film from the store, which I also had with me in Belgium, so do stay tuned for that as well. And yeah, until then I 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

The Incredible World of DARK

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing on this fantastic Friday? I hope so far you’ve had a great week and that you’re all feeling well. Personally, I’ve had a super busy week, juggling free time with my new job at my mum’s company and my also new job as editor-in-chief of our uni magazine LDN (link here), which the team and I have been trying to give a huge makeover and thereby rejuvenate it and turn it into the amazing paper it can and should be. And I know it sounds a tad stressful as a whole, but, actually, I’ve really been enjoying it. I’d rather be busy and happy doing more stuff, than wandering around the house, not knowing what to do with myself. And it kinda makes me enjoy and savor some chill and free time even more, which is actually what I want to talk about today – a very specific, but incredibly amazing TV show that has been ruling most of my free time the past two months. As seen from the title and the cover picture, you can probably guess which show I am talking about. Exactly. DARK. Probably the best show I’ve ever watched in my life. But let me start from the beginning.

For those of you who don’t know DARK yet – my god you’re missing out -, here’s a short intro: DARK is a German sci-fi thriller series co-created by the great Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese and produced by Netflix. Set in the fictitious German town of Winden, the show starts right during the aftermath of a child’s disappearance, which exposes the secrets of, and hidden connections among four estranged families as they slowly unravel a sinister conspiracy which spans several generations. Throughout the series, DARK explores the existential implications of time and its effects upon human nature.

I’m purposely not going to reveal any more about the plot, as literally everything is a spoiler and as this is literally one of the best, if not even the best series I have ever seen, I don’t want to spoil this perfection of a show for anyone. What I need to add though is that the show is in German (although it has been dubbed and translated into many other languages), so if you don’t speak German, I would highly highly highly recommend watching the OV version with subtitles. No dubbing can come close to how perfect the voices of the German actors go with the show and with the overall feel of it. Seriously.

I think what makes this show even more special for me, is that I got to watch it with my best childhood friend Maria, who I usually very rarely get to see as I obviously live in London and she lives and works in Vienna. But – and this is going to sound super insane – thanks to the quarantine (crazy, I told you), we were both forced to stay at home and as we only live minutes apart from each other, we spent most of the quarantine watching movies and tv shows together. And DARK was one of those shows – or more like the one show that ruled our weekly and daily tv marathons. I remember googling which shows to watch on Netflix and DARK immediately seemed like the most promising and interesting one, even before I had watched the trailer, which then sealed the deal. Usually, I am not that attracted to German-produced movies and shows, so I think both Maria and I went into that first episode with a bit of uncertainty.

But after like the first five minutes, that was more than forgotten. I can’t remember the last time I had such a fantastic, thrilling, and exciting TV/movie experience. We fell in love with the main character Jonas in an instant. And the amount of times this show has made us do multiple facepalms, made us cover our faces in shock, even made us jump off the couch out of utter surprise. It’s truly insane but in the best way possible.

So far, we’ve seen the first two seasons of the show (I even watched it twice) and as the third and last season has been released last Saturday (happy apocalypse day btw, for all my DARK lovers out there), I couldn’t be more excited to finally get behind all the mad secrets and hidden stories of Winden. But as much excitement I feel towards the prospect of finally getting to see the new season, the thought also gives me this somber, even sad feeling. It’s sad to see this show end. But I know the last season will be a hell of a ride. And I’m more than ready for it.

I probably don’t have to mention that I HIGHLY recommend watching this show, I think I’ve made it very clear that you all need to watch this show right now. Honestly. You will not regret a single second of it, I promise. And for all of my fellow DARK fans, I’d love to hear what you think about the show – but no spoilers, please – so don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And until then, I wish you all the best weekend and, as always, thanks for reading. x