Berliner Relle

moving on to pretty things.

2011-09-25T05:07:00.000+02:00

Hey all you lovely Berliner-elle readers,

I have moved onwards from the days of Berlin (sadly) and I am now documenting my new adventures in Melbourne, Australia.

It would make my heart very happy if you were to become a follower of my new blog you pretty things. Just follow the link. http://heyprettythings.blogspot.com

Love and happiness to you all,

xxx

where Mel was Bourne.

2011-08-14T14:26:00.000+02:00

thanks to Roz McQuillon via redbubble for posting this glorious Melbourne masterpiece

Tomorrow is the day I will dip my toes into the world of Melbourne.

Apparently I like to blog the night before I move somewhere, it's a funny wee habit that I have acquired along the road of relocation. One of the perils of having a somewhat obsessive nature, is that packing turns into a huge production that is neither fun or exciting for my Mr Lover and I. I can only hope that after such a debacle I have managed to remember every little essential item so as to be ready for my big adventure.

very bad blogger!

2011-08-02T21:33:00.001+02:00

The last post was close to 2 months ago and this makes me a very bad blogger. In justifying my reason for very low blogging activity, I can say I have a fairly legitimate excuse. The name of the blog is Berliner-Elle and the reason for launching this blog was to share my Berlin experiences. I felt like a bit of a cheater for blogging about things that didn't take place in Berlin. After some recent travelling I just cannot fathom how many amazing opportunities there were to blog that I let slip through my fingers. In saying that, I've decided that this blog will remain active and I will continue to blog about all things life - irrespective of them being in Berlin. This makes me very happy.

lucky to know you.

2011-06-27T11:45:00.001+02:00

Today is an emotional day. I am extremely excited about my impending Budapest adventure with my boyfriend and friend and being reunited with family after 14 months apart. On the other hand, I am facing the cruel reality of leaving a lot of very beautiful friends behind in Berlin. There are promises of visiting each other in the not-too-distant future (I can only hope!). Here's to you friends, I endeavor to maintain these friendships from the other side of the world. It is all of you that make Berlin such an incredible city and meeting you was something very special. Through what you have taught me, physically I am the same person but fundamentally I am changed.

gonfaron and goodbyes

2011-05-05T17:05:00.000+02:00

I can't really believe how fast the last 4 weeks have gone. I'm beyond excited to be in Marseille but there was a sad au revoir this morning, goodbye Gonfaron in all your donkey flying glory. I selected a few of my favourite snaps from my time spent in Gonfaron. Countless hours of helping out in the yard and gardens, countless delectable meals and countless entertainment provided by 2.5 year old cuties.
After the jump for more pictures...

marché aux puces

couldn't be more grateful for Chef G's amazing creations

day tripping in Toulon

fete de la transhumance

a beautiful postman

frolicking around St Tropez

an Easter with teeny tots

beaut shutters

a sweet boy in sweet Le Vieux Cannet

epic jump shots

Now...onto Marseille, Lyon and Montesquieu Volvestre

hunting for eggs

2011-04-24T23:23:00.000+02:00

Easter was pretty perfect for me, wee ones searching for Easter eggs in the garden and a turkey roasted to perfection. Easter Bunny must have been busy if he found us all the way nestled in Gonfaron, France.

hoppity hop hop

2011-04-22T20:32:00.000+02:00

Just because I'm not in Berlin for Easter doesn't mean I can't get excited about the weekend line-up. I have always been a big fan of all things lomo and Berlin gets a lomography easter egg hunt. I hope all you lucky little baskets still milling around Berlin check out this awesome photography workshop/egg hunt. 15euros gets you a camera, film and the opportunity to take part in a hunt to find and snap picures of the treats around Berlin. Best part is whoever finds the most treats wins..woooot!

If you head to Gericht Str 23 you can wear your best yellow frock and celebrate all things yellow. From video installations, live painting, illustrative work, photography and other artsy things created in celebration of this fabby primary colour. There's even yellow cookies and cocktails and if you do follow through with your yellow frock you only pay 4euro. win!

Oh and as I scan through all these updates I see that Kulturbrauerei is celebrating Easter in true bonfire fashion and they are promising it will be huuuuge.

As much as I would like to get amongst all that Berlin boom time I have an Easter egg hunt to attend on Sunday with a bunch of babes. These Frenchies better have a good Easter egg selection to make up for the lack of Easter related events around town hehe.

Happy Easter pretties, drive safely and eat lots of choc X

sunshine and smiles

2011-04-08T21:50:00.001+02:00

The Berlin goodbyes were sad but the sunshine and smiles in Nice are a real treat!

Things we have been doing in the last 2 days:

Eating a lot of cheese in baguettes
Meandering down romantic Rue's
Soaking up sunshine
Grazing on marinated olives
Strolling through markets featuring an array of local cuisine

Photo's as promised, after the jump..

.X.

1 more sleep!

2011-04-05T23:47:00.000+02:00

Last sleep at Scherer Str 9

Crunch time, my German visa runs out in 6 days and with only 1 sleep left I've been faced with some pretty testing packing time. There I went, packing an entire years worth of living into a few suitcases. In the meantime the sun has been working overtime and I've been busy enjoying the most wonderful farewell gatherings. For this reason of course I haven't had time to write about all the goings on. I share with you a lovely collection of Berlin Springtime photos, feast your eyes.


X

Picnic at Landwehr Canal

2011-04-05T22:32:00.000+02:00

Nestled between Prinzen Str and Kottbusser Damm is the glorious Landwerhr Canal. We had ourselves a merry little picnic one Spring Sunday. After dining on some picnic favourites: cheese, strawberries and leberwurst, some of us enjoyed an adventure aboard an abandoned ship whilst others raced around on fixies.

A spectacular afternoon with all my favourite Berliners and a new adventure for me. A short walk North from U-bahn stop Schönlein Str will see you hit Planufer, follow the Canal west and here lies very golden ground. Not only is the scenery just lovely but if you find yourself staying on into the darker hours you can walk East 5 minutes to Casolare Trattoria, I quote a friend 'the best pizza in Berlin'.

Berlin, sunshine looks good on you. X.

hear them roar!

2011-03-24T12:59:00.000+01:00

One Saturday afternoon following a Tigers basketball match, the team decided to wreak havoc among the streets of Kreuzberg. An army of men roamed alongisde the U1 tracks..equipped with Berliner kindl and a cat in a bag.
The rest of the story after the jump....

sizable group of Croatian men

What began with a few brewsky's and a sizable group of Croatian men at Luzia ended with numeous apfel korn empties, a peanut throwing competition and men swapping stories about the most outrageous foods, or rather, things they'd consumed. All outside a spätkauf.

Long live those fond memories of my afternoon with the tigers and Voltaire the cat.

2011-03-18T11:13:00.001+01:00

I have to say in all my years of celebrating St Patrick's day, there really has never been any experience quite like last night. An interesting combination of a Mexican restaurant La Pulqueria masquerading as an Irish Pub, the bar refusing to sell Guinness and a piece of tiramisu being thrust into my mits all contributed to a very memorable St Patty's. Long live the leprechaun!

Check out all the pictures after the jump...

Friends singing the Irish anthem

Even the guy selling roses was getting amongst the Irish love

The after party was a hop across the road at an Irish-run bar named Kleine Reise. If my memory serves me correctly there was a guitar and piccolo flute duo jamming out some CCR just to top the night off.

Last days - Charlie Sheen

2011-03-15T11:17:00.000+01:00

The complete devastation of Charlie Sheen prompted another thrilling party in the 'last days' series, hosted by Suz and Frank of iHeartBerlin. Located in your typical Berlinesque derelict house, complete with a substantial amount of peeling wallpaper and a bathroom doubling as a lounge.

The theme of dress was macho man or easy-to-get-girl with the latter being more prevalent. In fact, I would say most of the gay men who attended the party felt obliged to dress as a mix of the two - ~~macho~~ man + easy-to-get ~~girl~~. At times the dancing was so daring and provocative I found myself blushing. Namely a young man in the bathroom/lounge with strap-on leather shoulder pads and some rather vigorous pelvic thrusting going on. Clearly pre-rehearsed.

As Berlin is home to a growing population of hipsters, art-types and very eccentric personalities you'd never tell whether there was a theme of dress to begin with - anywhere in Berlin, at any given time. That fact alone made for some pretty fruity fashion at the last days party. (follow this link for a peek).

In true Charlie Sheen fashion everyone was messy and everything was sufficiently chaotic, with a home time just shy of 4am I think we sent Charlie off with a bang.

Thank you last days

xxx

Cupcakes & Gonfaron

2011-03-10T10:34:00.000+01:00

Walking down Griefswalder Str

Last Sunday had a sweet little cupcake date with a few friends at a delectable cafe by the name of Vanilla. During this catchup I was introduced to a lovely French guy who unbelievably knew of Gonfaron. Gonfaron, France - come 9th April our new home for 4 weeks. ~eeeheeeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~

Friends..meet Gonfaron:

Located in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region
Somewhat famous 'Le Village des Tortues' (Tortoise Park) where they take care of up to 200 tortoises yearly
No real particular attraction for visitors. However, there are old fountains.
A yearly celebration takes place - the legend of the "flying donkey"
Not so far from St Tropez

Needless to say..I'm excited!!

1UP

2011-03-05T20:13:00.000+01:00

Today was an exploration day dedicated to Friedrichshain. Starting with a positively nerdy visit to the computerspiele museum and finishing with some thrifting at Humana (4-story second-hand store). The sunshine was out this afternoon and despite the weather being on the chilly side, it was another perfect day in Berlin.

Fun computer steps in the nearest U-bahn

Daddio brought a game gear back from the States when we were young. The endless squabbles over 'Paper Boy'.

XL joystick

Dance Dance Revolution

The Pain Game - everytime you lose a point against your opponent the pad where your hand rests heats up, you get shocked and a rubber cord whips you. Judging by her hand my guess is that she wasn't winning? *ouch*

love.

2011-02-25T14:00:00.000+01:00

Most of 2010 I made excuses for not enjoying Berlin completely. My main complaint's were; not earning enough money, the cold brutal Winter, being without certain beauties of friends, going an entire year without eggs benedict from 'The Fridge' and the grungy state of the city in general. It's only now after having exhausted all excuses that I've fallen completely and madly in love with Berlin.

Thanks to Natalee for taking some pretty perfect shots of Berlin during her visit.

what a weekend

2011-02-22T11:57:00.000+01:00

Something that is never disappointing? Days and nights exploring the different boroughs in Berlin.

Saturday night was spent exploring Kottbusser Tor with a friend who unbelievably had her first excursion to Kreuzberg after living in Berlin for longer than any of us.

We began with a visit to Luzia - complete with vintage furniture, baroque wallpaper and built-in human size dollhouse. Across the road shining brightly were the words "Insert coin" - sitting pretty next to a trashy billboard. For only 10 cents in the slot machine this dico art installation named tamamümemu began. A big disco ball started spinning, lights shined bright, a gay anthem blared (Chaka Khan's 'I'm ever woman') and 3 pairs of happy feet danced up a storm. Much to the onlookers amusement.

Fits of laughter

We carried onto Multi Layer Laden where we sat on crates, sipping and absorbing our surroundings. A large cardboard cassette rotated, a home-made jukebox played pretty tunes and a creepy mannequin with duct tape over her mouth lingered over Sarah's shoulder. After a few of the best damn G&T's in town we started to notice the collection of rather explicit artwork gracing the walls. Feeling sufficiently trance-like we decided to leave and try out the bar above Kaiser's. After about 10 minutes of dancing next to a group of vigorous fist pumping Deutsch Jungen resembling something from Jersey Shore, we decided to call it a night.

Sunday began with sunshine and basketball

Sunday was filled with pretty friends, tasty brunch and a cappuccino stop by Gorlitzer Park.

Then Sunday ended with my very first beef and ale pie.

2011-02-21T20:15:00.000+01:00

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” - Pat Conroy

Seoul, South Korea

Check out the other places we visited during 2010 here...

Paris, France

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Nice, France

Venice, Italy

Rome, Italy

Oslo, Norway

Prague, Czech Republic

Pag Island, Croatia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Tyrol, Austria

Caves, Austria

Oia, Santorini

Dresden, Germany

Berlin, Germany - HOME

Potsdam, Germany

London, United Kingdom

up to our elbows in Ethiopian

2011-02-15T16:28:00.000+01:00

That one's my Valentine

My Valentines day was beaut. We started off the evening with a bit of pressy sharing underground in the Heinrich Heine U-bahn, tried out a new restaurant that served wonderful Ethiopian food and finished the evening snuggled up and drowning in giggles, watching Parks and Recreation. Last night was the second time I've eaten with my hands in public, the first was at Medieval Times on a family trip to LA. Last night, less awkward, a lot tastier and absolutely no men with swords galloping on horses. I would recommend this lovely little Ethiopian restaurant to anyone visiting Berlin. If not for some truly superb food then for a pretty funny experience. The pictures really do speak for themselves, particularly the aftermath shot where you see we had no trouble devouring the mountain of food.

For those in Berlin - check this.. http://www.bluenileberlin.de/1.html


A pretty full tum

Already dreaming up a few new owlfits..hehe

Happy belated Valentines all my pretty's

xxx

what cool kids do on Mondays

2011-02-03T13:30:00.000+01:00

Gangrene - The Alchemist & Oh No

More photos after the jump..

an experiment with an air pump

2011-02-02T16:15:00.000+01:00

Signed up to volunteer at the English Theater Berlin in Jan. Just got a phone call to help next Tuesday - premier night of 'An experiment with an air pump'. Really excited about getting to see some English theater! To the peeps in Berlin who are sticking around, you should also do this.

Yuss

get me some bangs

2011-01-30T17:29:00.000+01:00

I realise this blog is supposed to be all things Berlin so my post is slightly unrelated. However, when I stumbled upon this website today I just couldn't turn down spreading the word. After a fairly big night of eating chilli and drinking too many tequila shots, this has been the perfect activity for a slow Sunday. For the girlies who may be contemplating a new 'do'. You can thank me later;)
http://www.instyle.com/instyle/makeover/

Style your hair silly

killer brownie

2011-01-28T01:19:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday the boy and I met up with our new Texan friend to enjoy brunch at Bekarei in the trendy Prenzlauerberg. A hearty straight-to-the-point breakfast menu, superb coffee and an array of cabinet goodies. Amongst these cabinet goodies was...Frischkäse brownie. Oh the very thought had me foaming at the mouth all week.

Continue after the jump....

Thank goodness for the proposed 'Chilli Saturday' which will be hosted by our lovely Texan. A good excuse to give this brownie recipe a whirl and take the goods along for a test run. Using this recipe, I baked some "Killer chocolate-cream cheese brownies".


The original Frischkäse brownie

Fellow Berliners please go here and get all the details

Note: Frischkäse is German for cream cheese

ciao ciao,
x

blacky dress and models

2011-01-25T13:56:00.000+01:00

I was lucky enough to take a peek at the new BLACKY DRESS BERLIN autumn/winter 2011 collection.

most sensational model

Top 10 'Fashion Week Berlin'

Checking out everyone's steez
Seeing a blue poodle
Awkward manoeuvre around lady with giant tutu the width of at least 3 people
Limited edition diet coke bottle tower
Being scolded by German Junge for attempting to take bottle from tower
Making German friends who pointed out all the German celeb's
Impressed by all the old women looking fabulous in fur
Mercedes-Benz creating personalized silver bracelets
3rd row for Blacky Dress
Wanting an afro..

For a peek into the show, check the video here..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYe0MK8YwKw

pretty cool things in Berlin.

2011-01-20T14:38:00.001+01:00

I tutor some lovely kiddo's..with even lovelier Mothers who invite me to events such as; Bread & Butter and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. Oh yes. Let me be heard very clearly, I am in the wrong profession. The good (lots of fur), the bad (too much silicone), the crazy (knee to ankle boot tassles) and the drool-worthy (a rather extensive range of college-style bomber jackets at Criminal Damage). Every possible outfit you could imagine graced the isles of the tradeshow today. Oh how I secretly long (not so secretly given Im blogging this), to prance through the crowds in faux fur vests, big sunglasses (despite B&B being indoors), lethal looking heels and a fedora hat..whilst furiously taking fashion notes. Lucky enough to get a free pass into the fashion industry today. Wow. So geared for tomorrow, the Blacky dress show - check it here. I only have all night to agonize over an outfit.

More snaps after the jump..

There will most definately be photos following but I couldn't wait to blurt all this out.
Ooh some pretty cool labels to keep an eye out for: Nümph, Criminal Damage, Rosie & Roses, Eleven Paris and Jean Paul.
x

I heart goodie bags.

Winter sunshine

2011-01-18T10:46:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I walked through the streets of Berlin with sunshine. The day before that I only wore a light blazer, Saturday I didn't wear any thick gloves. I see a pattern forming..increasingly warm Winter days. Whether the big bad subject of global warming will make an entrance in justifying this weather - Or, it's just a stroke of really good luck for a couple weeks. Either way, no complaints from my end as I'm enjoying dressing like a normal human being oppossed to woolly mammoth meets snowman. I do hope it lasts.
I would like to post more and include more pretty photos of what we've been up to, but my computer had a hissy fit. Replacing computer parts in Germany is proving to be somewhat challenging.
Well I miss you lovelies back home quite a lot actually.
Loves

Cheers EyErOcK97 for the picture

I need your opinion

2011-01-07T09:20:00.000+01:00

The Jailhouse(naughty word) Bed

Thinking of heading to this 24 hour bed in tonight. The venue is Noodles Noodles & Noodles..the owners were inspired by Robert De Niro's character in 'Once Upon A Time in America'. The company concept is pretty cool, having created "The Jailhousef*#! bed". The idea of a bed masquerading as lounge furniture. The proposed 24 hour bed-in makes use of these beds with a side of comedy, burlesque and bedtime story readings..complete with handcuffs. Open to interpretation. I can be on the slightly naive side of life at times so would love to hear your thoughts after checking out the links.

Hope you all have a splendid Friday,
X

Alte Nationalgalerie

2011-01-04T13:23:00.000+01:00

Pergamon Museum

Pretty blue brightening up the Fernsehturm

A spectacular blue skied Winter day put us in the mood for checking out one of the fine museums nestled in Museum Island. Alte Nationalgalerie houses a collection of Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and Modernist artwork.
More after the jump..

Alte Nationalgalerie

To name a few...Adolph Menzel, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. Dan is a big fan of spending hours weaving through artwork so we spent a solid hour and a bit in this impressive museum, whilst learning about our preferred pieces from the collection. Daniels favourite was Arnold Bröcklin’s “Die Toteninsel (1883).

I have big love for the work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. He's a very clever man, aside from his exquisite artwork he's notable as one of Germany's most prominent architectures. His forte was neoclassical and neogothic buildings, as you can see in the painting featured below his paintings often feature the latter.

I found this sweet little snowman minding his own business right outside the gallery.


We both really loved this guy

farewell twenty ten

2011-01-03T13:49:00.002+01:00

More after the jump....

Lighting fireworks on our deck

Our firework launcher

Considering the year of 2010 served me very well indeed..with all the new countries I saw, new friends I made and challenges I overcame living in a foreign country. The style in which I sent it off wasn't at all testimonial to my gratitude.

Unfortunately our New Years was a little (or a lot) low key in comparison to past years. I wasn't my usual excited self, having being sick with the flu since London and feeling run down. The night before NY I hesitantly threw together a plan and flicked off an email. Most friends were more organized than us but a couple others hadn't planned anything so joined in. Although the bar we'd chosen was a really cool spot in the centre of fireworks mayhem, we piked pretty early. Our tummy's called so we all ended up chowing down burgers on a Kreuzberg corner. While neither of us were feeling particularly geared up for a big night, we made tracks back to our hood with the prospect of joining in the chaos and letting off some fireworks ourselves.

Midnight came and went, the fireworks around Berlin persisted until the wee hours of the morning and while Daniel slept off the flu I sat and contemplated new year resolutions(several).

London swallowed my purse!

2010-12-29T12:30:00.081+01:00

London was good to us..providing a break from the icy cold in Berlin and more than anything the chance to see friends we miss. Aside from these happy times I had a bit of a miserable afternoon in our second to last day there. The morning went swell..some meandering around the streets and climbing up The Monument with great friends in tow. Whilst the afternoon was not so ideal, my cold progressed at an undesirable rate (Rudolph aint got nothin' on me!) and I lost my purse during my Harrods experience. I will never forget my adventure in Harrods..sadly for the wrong reason. Bloomin' Harrods swallowed up my purse and all the irreplaceable items inside. After retracing my steps for a good half hour, Daniel and Abby kindly waited in Topshop for me to return complete with lost goods. Unfortunately I did not, tears aside I sucked it up and enjoyed an evening out at Brick Lane with some old friends. I'm pretty glad I didn't throw a big paddy and call the night off because I had too much fun. Much later in the evening the necessary follow up commenced, including the cancellation of credit cards and informing the insurance company of the incident. Let's hope the German side of things won't be too testing on my patience!

Daniel and I are miserable and sick in bed on the eve of New Years, here's all my fingers and toes crossed that we make a speedy recover for tonight. Our first and possibly last NY in Berlin, we better be up for machen party ya.

Happy NY 2011 all my lovelies out there,
xxx

Christmas in London

2010-12-28T13:19:00.001+01:00

Christmas day couldn't have gone more smoothly. We began the morning with a well deserved sleep in and brekky..complete with perfectly scrambled eggs, bacon and Moet champagne.

We all settled into the couch watching 'Boy' just to put a Kiwi feel to Christmas in London. I tell you despite being in our mid 20's opening pressies was a rather big deal! Complete with 'wows!', 'pretty look at this' and 'Ohh just what I wanted!'.

After the fun, James and Petra busied themselves in the kitchen prepping the pig and the biggest chook I've seen. While the meat was roasting we took a leisurely stroll in Kilburn Park, watched some squirrels and made use of the park's workout circuit.

Upon arriving back to Flat B Kilburn High Road the meat was near perfection and all the food was ready to be set out. All the Kiwi Christmas trimmings including a desert of ambrosia, trifle and pavlova yummy!

I hope everybody had a perfect Christmas, enjoyed spending time with family and friends and chowing down on delicious food. We were so lucky to stay with the ultimate hosts and had the time of our lives despite being away from our families.
Love you all, hope your travelling safe to New Years destinations.
xxx

Warrington is a goodie

2010-12-26T12:01:00.001+01:00

Our Christmas Eve dinner at Gordon Ramsey's 'The Warrington' was delicious, all the courses tasted just like Christmas should. In the safety of a warm and cozy dining room we watched the trees swaying in the bitter cold through double glazed windows. Did you know that having a Winter Wonderland Christmas is the best thing? Not only does all the food make sense with the cold weather but today while our chicken was roasting we took a walk through the park and played in the snow. I love you Christmas in London:)

Weihnachtsmarkt Withdrawal

2010-12-24T01:56:00.000+01:00

I'm not going to lie and say that it wasn't hard leaving the Weihnachtsmarkt fun (Christmas markets) in Berlin. Special in a hundred wonderful ways and complete with all the trimmings..ice skating rink, giant sized christmas tree, gluhwein and ferris wheel. Magical magical magical, I hope anyone visiting or living in Berlin takes full advantage of the festive season and checks out Berlin's finest. Top 3 on the list were: 1) Gendarmenmarkt Weihnachtsmarkt - ritzy and romantic. 2) Weihnachtsmarkt am Fernsehturm - authentic and charming, I found someones adorable set of pictures here. 3) As for you Weihnachtsmarkt Alexa, you will be sadly missed. You and all your bright lights and crazy fun.

Gendarmenmarkt

Weihnachtsmarkt Alexa

View from the top!

When did I develop this new fear of heights?

I am still feeling sufficiently festive after making trifle with our lovely host Petra tonight. And after the minor prepping for Xmas day I can taste the traditional Kiwi deserts on the tip of my tongue. One ingredient is missing, where oh where is the snow London? Give us a white Christmas..go on.

London how pretty are you?

2010-12-24T01:38:00.000+01:00

Safely landed in London, a pretty big mission waiting around sprawled over airport chairs for a couple hours. Being contained within our plane on Gatwick tarmac for over 40 minutes as ground staff sourced a spare set of stairs to get us all off! Running through the airport battling with 30kilos worth of luggage to make the last scheduled train to Victoria.
Estimated travel time: 3 hours
Actual travel time: 8 hours

Despite the headache, we are so happy to be here to experience yet one more city and spend time with some very wonderful people for Christmas.

Grumpy face for 2 losses in 2 days

2010-12-21T13:54:00.003+01:00

A sad face can sometimes be quite lovely. Photos thanks to photobucket, flickr, http://planetoddity.com,www.moodyscollectibles.com and www.paintmewhite.com (in order of sequence).

Monday morning - sooo tired that I fell asleep on the train to work. Whilst I woke up just in time to transfer I must have been in such a rush I left my brand new Christmas present of green NZ wool gloves (which I adored!!) on the train:( Not only did Mamma Bradley send them all the way from NZ for Christmas but I only had them 1 week and no longer have a matching scarf/glove set. Can I blame losing my gloves on my flatmate? He arrived home after partying at 4am and woke us with a big fight which resulted in me being sleepy and forgetful on the Monday train ride?

Tuesday morning - lining up at Post Bank for near to 1 complete hour of my life. Lovely lady at the desk rattles off a long chain of complicated German sentences. I gather she's telling me there's no package for me to collect as she precedes to tear up my Deutsche Post reminder card. They've sent it back to sender, unfortunately for me sender was Mamma back home in NZ. There goes my Kiwi Christmas goodies BOOOOO! Can I also blame this on my flatmate for taking my post reminder card to prison for a week?

Wednesday - scheduled flight from Berlin to Gatwick, London. Today 80% of the easyjet flights are going ahead so let's hope tomorrow shapes up to be a goodie.

I have a grumpy face and my heart feels sad about losing 2 things in 2 days. I must remind myself that although my problem seems rather large at present, there are people without family on Christmas. Above losing and not receiving gifts are many bigger things, family being at the top of the list. I hope everybody gets to spend Christmas with family or friends that feel like family:)

Indoor Winter Hobby

2010-12-17T09:54:00.000+01:00

Knitting
I have been teaching myself how to knit over the past 2 weeks. My new hobby, made for sitting snuggled up indoors and creating sweet pieces to add to the Winter woolly's selection. At times extremely frustrating but more therapeutic than not. My clever little friend inspired me with all her wonderful craft skills. She promised to teach me to knit but somehow our busy Berlin schedules got in the way. You can see her wonderful blog here she is truly truly gifted.

15 chilly things

2010-12-02T23:02:00.001+01:00

Chilly bikes in the garden

Feet chilling in the mound of snow

Superb beanie for chilly days

A very chilly walk to the train station

Chilly bottoms

Dogs going to catch a chill

Chilly Gran getting helped by a chilly Grandpa

Chilly little ampfelmann

Beautiful lights to warm the chilly nights

Wee bird home looked pretty chilly

Tractor looking very chilled

A chilly looking bike ride

Making big chilly snow angels

xxx

Pumpkin pie for hungry eyes

2010-12-02T13:24:00.000+01:00

On the 25th of November 2 American's, 3 Kiwi's, 1 French Canadian and 1 token German indulged in a night of thanks.

Host: Sarah the amazing American who nailed the Turkey despite being a vegetarian and who was fabulously adorned in floral cooking pinny. Together Sarah and her visiting brother cooked and slaved away over their first SOLO thanksgiving dinner. Their mother would be so proud!

More after the jump...

Aside from the delicious feast of pre-carved turkey there was an innovative cheesed and frostied (as in the cereal) potatoe dish, all the comforting condiments such as; stuffing, mashed potatoes and salad. Although the turkey was diviiiiiine, the potatoe cornflake dish seemingly stole the limelight both for it's tasty flavour and interesting mix of ingredients. I endeavor to get that recipe and get it out to all of you if you'd like. It may also be available on the weight watchers site?..um nooo joking. The desert spread consisted of these adorable home-made turkey's that Sarah whipped up. Ultimate American desert treats; oreo's, candy corn, Reese's peanut butter cups..all shaped into wee turkeys!

I showcased my pumpkin pie, which having been my first attempt I'd like to say was a hit.

Along with turkey's and pumpkin pie there was fruit salad and sweet potatoe pie..all very delicious and worth a few extra workouts at the gym.

We all had a ton of things to be thankful for (with snow and -10degrees scheduled in the weather forecast), however no-one felt it necessary to hold hands around the table and declare this. So, 2 Kiwi's in the corner underwent a very intimate declaration of thanks by themselves.

After turkey time four of us headed out to make party and see Rusko. He's a very talented beat machine, however I don't recommend stuffing yourself with thanksgiving food and bottoming out on a couch in the corner hehe.

I have decided that despite not being American, I will celebrate thanksgiving every year. You can just never be thankful enough can you? I love you thanksgiving.

Relle x

Weihnachtsmarkt Alexa

2010-11-27T00:27:00.000+01:00

Thank you http://wishbringer.twoday.net/topics/Event/

I'm sitting in bed listening to 'Christmas In Africa - The Seraph Choir', whilst writing this blog..it's so interesting. Some of the words I can definately make out, I wonder how they dance while they're singing? I'm almost certain consuming too many gluhwein's at the christmas markets accounts for my sudden urge to engage in such behaviour. So to the point already! Tonight......I went to the Weihnachtsmarkt at Alexa. You can see a pretty picture here. There are many markt's scattered throughout Berlin, each with their own special feature. Alexa is known to be the biggest and I support that claim, it is definately very big and happpening..imagine the Auckland Easter Show on crack, every epileptics worst nightmare.

3 perfect things that happened tonight during Weihnachtmarkt Alexa adventure

Lebkuchen that says I love you

Ate popping candy flavoured almonds
Drank Gluhwein (mulled wine) out of a little red boot while dainty snowflakes were falling:-)!
Decided which ride I'm going on next time

I am truly in my element after visitng Weihnachtmarkt tonight with a fellow christmas enthusiast yayayyayayyayyy (too many y's!). I'm sorry there are no great photos, Daniel nipped off to Spain and took the camera with him, boo.

FYI I switched from African carols to Frank Sinatra it's just more my thing:) If you feel like plumping up your christmas spirit listen to this festive song :)

love love

Gimme Hunter's!

2010-11-23T10:52:00.000+01:00

The forecast for tomorrow is snowwww. Can you believe that there will be snow in November? If I were back in NZ right now I"d be picking out my new summer swimming cozzy and playing tennis in the weekends. Booo. On the other hand winter is a good time for buying great boots, making heart-warming meals and listening to dreamy music. Equipment you need to make a wonderful winter day...

Search http://www.cloggs.co.uk for great Hunter wellies
Make this scrumptious delight that I found here..http://www.kitchenparade.com/2003/11/pumpkin-bread-pudding.php
Listen to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero's album From Below. You lucky birdies back home get to see these guys grace the stage at BDO. Green with envy:)

The best toasted sammy's in town!

2010-11-21T17:05:00.002+01:00

What a superb Berlin weekend, despite the rapidly descending temperature the weather is just beautiful and the friends are even better! Friday I had a snazzy home haircut by a fellow Kiwi, (Ex-Stephen Marr hair design, tell me about friends in high places! Wonderful perk yusss!) followed by many beers, nibbles and a very late bedtime. A cozy Saturday night in, yummy dinner, movie and warmth. For the first time in a while I faced a Sunday morning. Not only was I out of bed before 11am, but I'd already served up some home-made muesli/grated apple/yogurt/coconut combo and was on my way home from a power workout at the gym.

I found this IKEA apple-corer in the cupboard this morning..pretty sweet!

M.I.A

2010-11-18T13:03:00.000+01:00

Berliners from all different boroughs ventured out into the cold cold 4degrees to see the much anticipated Mathangi Arulpragasam (M.I.A) kick it at Huxley's. Her music is described as hip-hop, electric, dance, alternative and recently my Itunes took it upon itself to categorize M.I.A as world?

More after the jump...including video footage of Galang.

Those at Huxley's saw her perform a load of songs from her new album, Maya (2010) and a few from both Arular (2005) and Kala (2007). The new songs have a pretty differnt sound from her past albums. I can't quite put it into words but I almost felt over-stimulated listening to it, the sound is incredibly mechanical. Steppin' Up is a pretty dope beat though with plenty of remixes out there - hit youtube up!

While she didn't disappoint in the outfit department or quality of performance, I just couldn't really hear her singing an awful lot. The sound guys either needed to crank the mic up or she was just taking it easy with a few songs..completely missing out verses! She sang a good mix of beats from all 3 albums, obviously promoting more of her new album. I would have liked a few more of my fav's; Bamboo Banga, Big Branch, Hombre, Pull up the people, Bird Flu and 10Dollar. She did an amazing job of Galang, her dance moves are way too cool for school.

In summary M.I.A should stick to performing her old stuff (there's a reason the new album Maya only got 4.4 from a recent Pitchfork rating). She should also continue with her sweet dance moves and tour with Rye Rye next time!

Apologies for the wobble whilst filming Galang, truth is the floor was shaking I was actually holding still ahhhhhhhh I knoooow:) Crazy fun.

M.I.A - Galang

Interesting fact of the day: M.I.A is considered a refugee icon.

East Side Gallery

2010-11-12T11:42:00.000+01:00

Wikipedia says that East Side Gallery is a an international memorial for freedom. 1.3km of pure amazement, walking down what was the East side of the Berlin Wall reading quotes, photographing the works and fooling around makes for a perfect Berlin outing. My favourite pieces from the Berlin Wall (Berlin Mauer).

Feel free to leave a comment if you'd like to find out the artist of a particular painting.

More after the jump...

One of Berlin's most famous images by Dmitri Vrubel. Featured are Communist dictators Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing on the lips.

Potsdam Paradise

2010-11-11T10:19:00.001+01:00

Potsdam, capital city of the German state Brandenburg and only a 24km train ride from the city of Berlin. Aside from the cultural ambience, there are plenty of important things to note about Potsdam.

Potsdam is to Germany as Windsor is to England. Schloss Sanssouci was the former Summer palace to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.
The palace (schloss) of Sanssouci is an official World Heritage site.
Potsdam is home to Filmstudio Babelsberg, pre-war movie production company and the oldest large-scale film studio in the world.
Cecilienhof Schloss was host to the Potsdam conference (17th July - 2 August 1945). The Soviet Union (Stalin), The United Kingdom (Churchill), and The United States of America (Truman) met to discuss the consequences of World War II.

More photos after the jump...

Ku64, the dental enthusiasts dream

2010-11-02T21:33:00.002+01:00

Dear Pals,

Today I found out that the German water source isn't fluoridated, this news left me feeling as though I was missing out on having strong teeth. Feeling betrayed by authorities for not informing me of this vital fact upon filing my Visa application, I made it my mission to find a stash of fluoride and some xylitol chewing gum..hehe.
Not only did I find my goodies I stumbled upon Ku64, the most ridiculous and impressive dental practice in every way possible way. Upon purchasing my chewing gum I found out they had an opening for a dental hygienist (right place, right time), unfortunately my shabby German didn't cut it but I had the firm promise that once I learn a job will be waiting. The genius behind this concept has created an empire of fear-free dentistry. Check out the architecture group responsible (GRAFT), and feast your eyes on this.

To learn or not to learn German all in the name of a fancy dental office, this is the big question!!

I promise to be more consistent following up with more photos from the big trip with Milly Vanilly and Nateekinz, (watch out..I'll be drumming up a cheesy name for all of you soon!).
Ok, so that's a wrap.

Spook time!

2010-11-01T16:27:00.001+01:00

Germans fail to recognize Halloween and instead of stocking dress-up costumes, pumpkins and trick or treating goods they drown their shop shelves in Christmas goodies despite being 2 months premature. Fair to say with no pumpkins or spooky candies in sight, it made for a difficult task finding a costume. Not completely impossible though, after consulting my wardrobe I resorted to dressing as 'Princess of grunge' Courtney Love (not unlike my usual Berlin party outfits), Dan managed to pull off 'Where's Wally' effortlessly. Coming from a mother who threw the best Halloween parties in the street, helped plan our costumes weeks in advance and even set up indoor trick or treating one year due to rainy skies, there was no way I was missing out on some spook silliness. Friends over for casual bevvy's then an adventure to a Mexican friends birthday bash in Kreuzberg made for a spooktastic Halloween. Having immigrated to Berlin from Bolivia her party was equipped with pinata and a slightly creepy shrine in honour of the day of the dead.

Daniel really is all you need to see, however there are more photos after the jump...

Oh Rome

2010-10-29T11:32:00.001+02:00

My lovelies,
I report all about Rome, these days I find myself reminiscing about my brief time there far too often! Oh Rome! Rome is the most beautiful City I've laid eyes on and exceeded any expectations I had. Oh the romance, the good looking stylish people, the gelato, skipping through cobble-stoned footpaths, laying eyes on Vatican City. Weaving through the maze of tourist attractions, the free hugs around Trevi Fountain, climbing the winding stairs to the top of St Peters Basilica, taking in the view of St Peters square. Ahhh do you have all day because I could go on and on and on and on! The monstrous colosseum, relaxing on the Spanish steps, and most of all getting to experience every attraction with 2 of my most amazing friends. I have a million and one photos because we all went a little overboard, however I made a little movie for your happy viewing:)

Enjoy my beautiful people!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z4Kp3nN3Jc

Amore and donkeys

2010-10-22T09:35:00.000+02:00

Watch this space for recap on Rome and Greece:) I have been slack I don't need to be reminded of that fact but I promise for updates galore over the next week or so!
Love you all!!!

Berlin Festival of Lights

2010-10-22T09:31:00.001+02:00

The sixth annual Festival of Lights, presenting Berlin as a sparkling metropolis. Historical landmarks and famous spots are swimming in the prettiest of illuminations from the 13th-24th October.
Emily, Daniel and I ventured out into the spine tingling cold of the night, to weave our way through the maze of illuminations. Covering a very modest selection from the proposed 65 possible spots. We saw Hotel de Rome, Deutscher dome, French Dome, TV Tower and Berliner Dom - which was bathed in the most spectacular leopard print projection. Following is a showcase of Daniel's fine photography skills:)

Clockwise from top left: French Dome, Berliner Dom, TV Tower, Hotel de Rome, Unter den Linden, French Dome, Berliner Dom from afar

Miss everyone a heap load X. Wish I were home with NZ Summer approaching, opposed to feeling my fingertips through my leather gloves!

Willkommen Berlin Natee

2010-09-18T12:23:00.001+02:00

I'm reporting a safe arrival of Natalee from Dubai to Berlin, where she plunged into the icy wind front and jumper-worthy weather of Berlin after coming from high 30's. For Natee it was a shock to the system, but no bigger than some of the shockers we enjoyed yesterday while strolling the streets. Tongue for lunch, live bears in the park, witnessing 2 abandoned dog poops in the train station and a raging anti fascist demonstration right outside our apartment block (we live next door to punks, they can't get enough of those demonstrations). The weather may have been a cold and horrible welcome, however the day's activities were quite the opposite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAJP1UyonyU

Today's line-up, a hearty breakfast followed by an adventure to Tempelhof airport. Armed with nibbles and wine we're going to witness Berlin attempting to achieve a Guinness Book of World Records for the largest mosaic in the world. Using the Tempelhof runway, polar bears aim to create Knut the cuddly polar bear using 6,500 rubbish wheely bins. Tonight, we have some sweet tranny action at Warschauer Str. The formal name awarded to the event is trannylicious and it's the first annual Berlin tranny olympics. All you need to do is mouth those 3 words..men..fishnets..glitter and I am there!! Amongst the competitions; a wet T-shirt event, lip syncing, eating contests and finishing with a 100-metre tranny sprint.

Thanks for reading:)

I have been in ilegal parties better organised than Berlin Festival 2010

2010-09-12T11:57:00.000+02:00

The very deserving title I have given this post is a newly birthed facebook group that I just became a member of!

Edwyn Collins yay

Terrible organization aside, I'm here to share all the spectacular moments..drool worthy riffs..pumping beats and all around deep satisfaction with yesterday's line-up.
Let me begin with Edwyn Collins, "A girl like you", possibly one of the most satisfying singles to have ever graced this planet and yesterday was a fine execution of the song. I'll admit I was a little shocked to see him limp out using a cane and what appeared to be little control of the right side of this body. To satisfy my curiosity I found out that 2005 Collins suffered 2 major cerebral hemorrhages and underwent intensive neurological rehab. While he had to take a seat during the performance and spoke to the crowd with a notable slur, unbelievably his booming singing voice was unaffected. Video link..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3VB-i5au9k

Next up was The Morning Benders, an indie rock band from Berkeley California made up of 4 young talented guys. The lead singer is beyond cool, clearly seriously passionate and this is portrayed in his dance moves and facials which made for a rich performance. Do I have a crush on the lead singer or The Morning Benders?

Due to some unforeseen technical difficulties Neon Indian took roughly 40 minutes to set-up..spewed out about 4 songs then had to pack and gap. Disappointed..I was just getting started and didn't even hear Deadbeat Summer booooooo. He had killer moves though, I asked Dan if it were possible he perform a rendition when we get home..just for fun.

Fang Island, I was pretty excited about these guys anyway and boy did they deliver. I was blown away, 3 guitars, bass, keyboard and drum kit their music is termed math rock and at times their songs sound near tribal, not for everyone but a must for biking around Berlin:)

Daniel checked out Boysnoize and I stayed to see We Have Band only to be disappointed by yet another change to the schedule, that's a change upon a brand new line-up schedule ahhh idiots! What I did watch was the entire band set-up for some unknowns who they slotted on stage in place of We Have Band without informing anyone. Anyway so I saw a little of Boysnoize while waiting for Hot Chip to begin. Honestly I had high hopes and walking over I could hear some raw base lines and the crowd was pumping. However, as I approached he had changed his tact to cheesy euro electro which ze Germans were going wild over but I was not so impressed.

Sadly my only Hot Chip photo

The main stage was pretty packed out for Hot Chip and given the entire Saturday schedule had been changed that morning and they were the last performance, the crowd was pumping. Their performance flawless, their dance moves ridiculous (especially the main keyboardist!), their crowd interaction wunderbag (they attempted some 'Guten tag's' and 'Danke's'). They played all my favourites bar one, unfortunately the rubbish camera died but I managed to get a few seconds of sweet Hot Chip footage. I hope you really enjoy.

Oh yes and word is, if we keep our wrist bands on there may be some kind of compensation. Given they canned Fat Boy Slim moments before the scheduled 3:30am performance. Then changed Saturday's line-up on the morning and shaved 8 hours off the festival (originally finishing 7am Sunday, rescheduled to finish 11pm Saturday), 1 word for the organizers..ROOKIES.

Berlin Festival..yes oh yes

2010-09-11T12:04:00.001+02:00

Hi friends,

First night down with a ripe home arrival time of 2am and an epic night 2..waiting in the wing. Last night it was unexpected cool, the set-up was unbelievable. Berlin Festival 2010 is held at an old and somewhat abandoned airport in Berlin named Tempelhof. Mostly we hear stories of friends grilling at Tempelhof but haven't ventured out there yet.
No better way to be acquainted than attend a Fest with a line-up to boast home about. Everyone else in Berlin was obviously also excited as I waited in one of the biggest lines in a long time. Alas, I had company and it was a magnificent moment as the big Tempelhof entrance stood before me in all it's airport glory. They scanned my ticket and I was check-out bound to receive my arm-band. On the flight arrivals board all the bands were listed.

You'll have to trust my description because we borrowed a camera which was utter rubbish and I couldn't get any good snappy's. In terms of stage set-up it was cool, big main stage, 2 hangars, mobile disco and big dance floor with intense lighting. There were still some old planes in the background sitting out on the grass..well and truly fenced off. Friday's line-up for me was decidedly a warm-up for Saturday, but still good times. First stop Robyn, where I was serenaded with all her hit pop songs, less desirable ballads and I failed to stick around for konichiwa bitches (boohoo). Next I had it all planned to see Fever Ray and Atari Teenage Riot but unfortunately couldn't even get through the check-gate for the hangar. They had this stupid rule of only letting people through to the stage when people came out. This plan would work if all 3 stages had bands going on but they had lag times in between acts and only 1 stage with 2 big acts in a row. My question was..who's going to leave an amping stage and venture elsewhere where no acts were on? This was very illogical and although I do realize they feel the need to step it up since the tragedy that was the Love Parade tramplings, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10753448) I missed out on seeing the grim and kooky Fever Ray! I was angered beyond return so I had no choice but to get down with fellow Berliners to some sweet sweet Warren G Nate Dogg Regulate ohhhh yesssss.

Admittedly, love love the over-exposure in these piccy's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF74D3kbbTI&feature=related

Caribou were beyond cool, on the down side they were a little self indulgent. I myself would have preferred to party to Caribou but instead got a little bit party and a big bit really long at time boring solo's where they were getting all up in their beats..amazing beats nevertheless. I ate a great kebab at midnight and met a Kiwi in line while waiting, he told me to add him to facebook, I hope to come across Boom Nabu again (question alter ego). After browsing the camera footage on the train ride home, I decided I quite like using a rubbish camera..kinda like a lomo you never know what you're going to get. Tonight (after many hours of sleep!) there will be a well planned and well executed operation to ensure I succeed in seeing; The Morning Benders, Fang Island, Neon Indian, Hot Chip, Peaches, Lali Puna and We Have Band. All tonight, no exceptions and traffic regulations aside..one word dominate. I apologize for using capitals but it just makes it more exciting and more official ahh!

Vegetarisch ab Wedding

2010-09-02T13:51:00.001+02:00

Ok so here goes, my first official kebab rating. I like the number 5 so everything will be rated out of 5, innovative I know. Given I am not the kebab master I'm just Larelle, I'll draw from friends experiences to validate what I've said.

Name: Wedding kebabs (joking I made that up I didn't pay attention). But I'll revisit again for that flavour flav sometime soon.
Location: S-bahn Wedding at the bottom of the only set of stairs up to the platform.
Performance:
Vegetables used: There was eggplant (juicy), roasted cauliflower which on appearance seems peculiar but they're roasted then coated in balsamic vinegar, roasted courgettes, fried potatoes and the usual toppings of lettuce and red cabbage. 5
Predominant flavour: creamy yoghurt roasted vegetable goodness, with a hint of balsamic vinegar. 5
Fat leakage: Well given I was so focussed on rating the kebab I failed to recognize the foil at the bottom unravelling and oil trailing all down my new beige pants (who wears beige pants right? Well they're cool in Germany right now, H&M said so!). I mean the oil wasn't gluggy and immense it was pretty understated compared to some of those kebabs out there. Tastiness aside, if the stain doesn't come out that's one expensive kebab. 3
Bread (pide, pita pocket, wrap): Uniquely they use 2 mini wraps, then roll and press with a kebab press. 4
Sauce used: Yoghurt, perfect company for roasted vegetables (consistency thin, flavour not too overpowering) 4.45
Suspected secret ingredient: Balsamic is original, so they get 5
Overall rating: 4.4

Note: Our camera is currently in the hands of Panasonic Germany right now. Unfortunately you cannot witness this beast or any alternative kebab. I'm very hopeful that it will be only be 2 more weeks of photo-free blogging and I'll be back up and running.

An interview with the lovely Vivian Oberhollenzer

2010-08-31T22:52:00.000+02:00

Philosophically speaking, is the kebab half full or half empty? Half full
How do you take your kebab? With love and vege's (fresh please). Garlic, mayo, sweet chilli
Do you have a nickname? Viv
Best joint in town? Mustafa's, U-bahn station Mehringdamm.
If you owned a kebab shop what would you call it? The best kebab in the world
What's the most memorable late night story where a kebab was involved? Memories of ex's being smashed eating kebab, he drops it then picks it up again and continues eating (all Aussie guys would do that).
In so many words, how do you describe that meat on that stick? Anything but appetising, it doesn't really look like meat and probably looks more like a massive sausage. It's a massive sausage then they peel off the layers.
If you could chose a secret ingredient what would that be? curry sauce

So it seems Mustafa's is a hit on google, confirmation that 'all this fuss about Mustafa's' is belonging. There is a full-fledged website ahhhh check this out.. http://www.mustafas.de/ This kebab business is taken very seriously, at no point have I ever doubted that. If you have 5 minutes, no 2 minutes to spare then this webpage is a must see (riveting fun). Unbelievably, if you hover (aka hang, float over) the camcorder in the top right it displays live footage of the shop. This find is just too good to be true. It's official, I feel that my kebab quest is for the greater good of Berliners and their love for all things kebab. That said, I'm going to look up bike directions from work to Mustafa's for lunch tomorrow, yussssss.

Kebab Quest

2010-08-24T23:42:00.001+02:00

This kebab is Berlin legit!

Doner Kebab (better known in Berlin as döner kebap): Abbreviated döner and also referred to as donair, donar and donner. Middle Eastern origin + lamb meat on vertical spit + sliced to order = deeelish! Similar dishes are shawarma (Arabic), gyro's (Greek) and kebab (English).

I liken myself to the Hoff most days, particularly now that my knightly expedition has officially commenced.

Quest (In medieval romance): An adventurous expedition undertaken by a knight to secure or achieve something.

My time frame, open-ended.
My mission, to sample the abundance of these delightful bundles of meat and vegetables doused in lashings of creamy sauces and wrapped in cushioning's of bread.
My purpose, clearly to rate the multiple kebab shops and provide insight into the most tantalising!
My justification, to bike my daily 16km to work and back given rain or shine.
My hope, to avoid dominating 2 seats on the plane home

I'm teaming all my free time and my self-rated proficient taste buds to carry out this kebab quest. Who knows how far I will take this at this stage?? I'm merely suggesting it could quickly become heavy discussion among the doner devotees of Berlin and make me famous!

Join me on my kebab-consuming crusade,
Adios

Dan and Relle do rural Germany

2010-08-20T10:08:00.001+02:00

TEMPLIN
After our 2 hour journey on multiple trains we reach the region of Brandenburg and Templin. A small 8 km car trip and we reach Dargersdorf. There really is only 1 street in Dargersdorf, it's self-titled with a scattering of residential and bach type properties for a few of the well-off Berliners. A to the MAZING..if you can manage an "in" (we have Casp to thank for our weekend away in Dargersdorf) then it's definately worth the trip.

Templin is a very small and poor town, it sports a big pretty lake with peddle boats and scenic boat tours on offer. This is where they make money, apparently the tourism industry in Templin is thriving! Due to the vast array of extended forest and glacial lakes, Templin makes for a popular day trip destination for Berliners. Located in the Uckermark district of Brandenburg the population is only 17,127. The entire city is surrounded by a medieval city wall with 3 main gate towers and various entrances from where some of the wall was lost overtime. Ahh the serenity, if you enjoy the sweet chirp of birds in the mornings, forest expeditions involving goat patting and picking wild blackberries then you'll love Templin! Alternatively, you may enjoy indulging in the Germans beloved hobby 'FKK' which is simply getting naked anywhere! The various lakes in the district are 'FKK' friendly, a conservative option may be plainly rowing a boat.

Amsterdam part 2..

2010-08-20T09:46:00.001+02:00

Continuing on from Amsterdam (which feels like forever ago) we explored the streets, embraced the space cakes and wore suspicious looking emergency raincoats when it bucketed down with rain on our Red Light tour.

I'm not about to make public our naughty indulgences while in Amsterdam. However, I will share interesting facts about the 'lady's' themselves. The one's that like to know the logic behind everything and how everything works like me will appreciate:)
My collaboration of Red Light District facts I learnt while while on 'Randy Roy's Red Light Tour':

Do they pay rent? If so how much is it? They each have their own landlord and pay rent like any other human being. The rooms are below residential/business property and are owned by the government. Rent is about 100euro per day in which case there may be 3 girls sharing the shifts throughout the day. The cost with the girls is 50euro/15minutes. Apparently no guys really even last so the really good girls can overlap time and make heaps of money. I would assume at this stage that from the tone 'Randy Roy' was pro-prostitution.
How dangerous is it for the girls? Every room has a panic button and every corner a siren in case of an misconduct or foul play.
Why is it legal? They pay tax, which is how Amsterdam can 'legalize' having lady's on the streets. They make stacks of cash outta these girls!
What goes on in there? It's not always naughty business that goes on in the booths. An e.g given on our tour was of Mr 30-something who requested him and his 'lady' sit at opposite sides of the room, one by one she rolled him marbles. Apparently this was enough and he left really satisfied, a weird and wonderful Amsterdam story brought to you by me 'Miss naive', who up until this point has presumed all the men strolling the district were animals hunting down prey and now realizes that some of the men may possibly be psychotic as well!
Are the daytime ones cheaper because unbearable to look at? Every girl is the same price whether they look like a hot librarian or like a terrible version of Kirsty Allie before she lost all that weight.

I hope you enjoyed this valuable learning experience:)

Sunday in the Dam

2010-07-27T10:02:00.000+02:00

Riding through the Dam I tremble with anticipation at what this City will offer me over my 4 night stay. My train is making peculiar racing car noises, the tram driver initially forgot to take my fare money,we pass a group of shady looking young blokes and as we pass H&M even the clothing models look as if they've been on the Koosh. Is it in light of knowing cannabis is freely sold and freely smoked that I'm seeing the red ring in the eyes of everybody I walk past? Or is smoking cannabis the most common passtime next to cycling through the streets?

Once I arrived at my accommodation I couldn't escape fast enough. Destination "The Flying Pig", in my opinion the owner had only one real motive for not installing any ventilation in the pokey underground common room-slash-smoking room...Hotttttttttt Boxxxxxxxxxx! I explored the neighbouring park Vondelpark as I waited to check into my room. The edges of the park were littered with dodgy individuals (my judgement based on the content of their conversations with themselves). I questioned the safety of my exploration mission as I drifted through the hazy smoke and stepped over and around the hundreds of comatose bodies sprawled on the green. Joking!! Gross exaggeration there were pockets of dog walkers, cyclists, families holding hands, a dash of peculiar scents with a sprinkling of limp bodies on the green.

Morning 1 in Amsterdam
To be continued........

Norske språket er skrullete (2 words..google translate)

2010-07-20T23:22:00.002+02:00

Let me bring to your attention that all single women and men should make the journey to Oslo, Norway at some stage in life. These Norwegian individual's were genetically blessed and deserve a mention. Nowhere have I come across such a concentration of good looks, for sure Paris had the occasional head turner but Oslo is teaming!!! Not only are they sensational looking with their deep tans, light hair and limbs to turn you green with envy but they are very friendly and likely to be earning some mad cheddar (money?). I'm basing this on the ludicrous prices of food and drink (Daniel's single 330ml can of cider was equivalent to $13.50NZD) and I'm presuming the wage is relative? So singles if you're still seeking take the plunge!

Prettiest thing Oslo had on offer were the multitude of parks, water fountains and sculptures. Frogner Park in particular, home to Vigeland Sculpture Park which was created by Gustav Vigeland in the 20th century! The sculptures are set amongst lush green and bright florals with some preculiar works providing buckets of entertainment.

Most puzzling thing on offer in Oslo..whale shaped goodies. Last I heard there was some serious whaling going on in Norway. This leads me to 3 possible reasons behind whale shaped foods; a) Norwegians are demonstrating that they embrace the consumption of whales, b) these foods contain some part of the whale carcass (shudder), my last and most plausible c) bad taste. Let me assure you I didn't think twice about consuming my 6 lolly pick'n'mix collection equivalent to $6NZD, oh hell!

Oslo Live Festival 2010, featuring my new most listened on iPod 'Chiddy Bang' and one of Daniel's favourite rappers Bun B. Ironically his wife was on the stage behind the DJ station bopping and singing along to his morally-rich lyrics, regarding smoking weed and banging hoes. We have a prized photograph of Daniel meeting Bun B which was caught a millisecond second before our camera died, awkward to say the least.

Meet Edvard Munch, a deep and dark Norwegian Symbolist painter, print maker and leader of expressionist paintings. You may be familiar with 'the scream' we were lucky enough to see the original in the National Gallery. Reading about his childhood gave insight into his famous painting featuring a distressed individual set against a blood red sky. An interesting experience looking at some elite Norwegian art, also a new appreciation for JCC Dahl but you'll have to look him up as this blog is turning into a novel.

In summary Oslo welcomed us with luscious parks, spectacular architecture, breath-taking views and outlandish expense. We parted feeling refreshed, penniless and slightly underfed hehe.

X Relle

2010-07-02T17:02:00.000+02:00

I would like to enlighten you all on the coping mechanism involved with being booted in the nose by your opponent in a football match. A step by step process follows:

SHOCK: Complete and utter shock, as though somebody has just kicked a football as hard as they could..straight into your face!
ANGER: Most express their anger by use of profanity, others express with loud screams and facial expressions.
RECOGNITION: Tears may indicate the recognition of pain associated with being booted in the nose by a football. Tears may also indicate recognition of a bleeding nose and the need for future rhinoplasty.
SURPRISE: Over the referees decision to award a sympathetic free kick.
ACCEPTANCE: Accepting the sequence of events that led to a free kick and goal!!!!

So yes I feel as though I may return with a few bumps, bruises, strained muscles and perhaps a crooked nose after yesterday. However, most importantly I will now know what I must do to be awarded free kicks from generous and sympathetic referees.

Enjoy the weekend kids!
X

Back on the blog..

2010-06-28T18:42:00.000+02:00

I am officially back up and running after nearly a complete blog-free month. I was probably too busy enjoying all the public football viewings..beer..and lying in the sunshine. Not to rub it in friends, family and followers but we have full-blown Summer happening over here in Berlin, my main train of thought upon waking is 'where shall I lie in the sunshine today?' There will now be a steady influx of posts relaying my events over the month of June and I'm looking forward to it!

xxx

Mr Peeper

2010-06-28T18:41:00.000+02:00

Today's entry is unbelievably horrifying. It's often the most shocking moments of your life that make for exceptional stories and provide the most amusement!

Me: Today lying under a big tree in a small park within Tiergarten, bathed in 32degree sunshine reading a great book on my new rug

Creepy 30something man: Circling big tree where I was lying, staring at me with a crazed look on his face

Me: Putting the contents of my blissful summer's afternoon spread back into my bag, finishing off my chapter and zipping up my handbag

Creepy 30something man: Realizing I look afraid is edging towards the bushes without taking his crazed eyes off me

Me: Getting really worried and looking around for other people close by..spotted normal 20something guy close by..phew

Creepy 30something man: Entering the bushes, thinks I cannot see him and is standing there spying on me!

Me: Disgusted!! But also thanking Karen Walker for my super size sunglasses that are disguising my eyes and enabling me to watch his every move..

Creepy 30something man: Rapid movement from behind a generously sized shrub, appears to be engaging in the most sickening activity a man could do in public

Me: Rolling up my rug and running and wondering if I shall call the cops??

Normal 20something guy: Looks of sympathy and mutters a German sentence to me..the only part I could translate is 'er ist krank'..he is sick

On my train home I was humming the 'Teddy Bear's Picnic' song...

"If you go out in the woods today,

you'd better not go alone.

It's lovely out in the wood's today,

but safer to stay at home.

Beneath the trees, where nobody sees

They'll hide and seek as long as they please

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic".

THE END

Boobs and Bikes

2010-06-09T18:47:00.002+02:00

My new bike is a sweet ride, I feel like it may be the becoming of me. Today we went on an adventure to Tiergarten in 30 degree sunny skies. I wrote down what appeared to be fool-proof directions to Tiergarten (thanks to the help of BBBike Berlin). At direction 8 of 12 I got madly lost, ending up on the other side of the River and having no clue where in Berlin I was. I had to bike back for a good 20 minutes trying to find a road among the shlerers and shleises that sounded familiar. A bridge, a beach bar, a near death collision with a small child and I arrive in Tiergarten well overtime. I'm going to get a little picture just to show to you the extent of this park, 20km of bikers heaven.
I let rip..riding in wiggly lines, speeding up, getting up on my back tyre, exploring the depths of Tiergarten. This childish burst was rudely awakened when I went to snap yet another ride-by picture and realized I was photographing a field full of butt naked sunbathers. I aimed for a 180, instead settling for a small bail in the bush. This was both embarrassing and made me look like I was biding time to get a gawk, I did see one old man actually...haha ok we'll save that for another day.

Tchoos.

We like big bears and we cannot lie..those other bears can't deny

2010-06-07T19:39:00.001+02:00

Berlin has decided it's Summer and the City is buzzing!

With Sunny skies comes mischief..grilling, sunbathing and visiting bears. Live, roaring, people-eating bears tucked away in a small enclosure in the middle of Kollnischer Park next to Dan's work. In my ignorance I'm going to call that quirky, as I have no clue to the significance of having 2 brown bears in the middle of a City. They seem happy enough with their own private keeper, a pool to cool down in and plenty of visitors. Given Berlin loves it's history there's gotta be a great story behind them, for now they are Berlin's living mascots Schnute and Maxi.

Pause at 37 seconds!

2010-06-01T10:13:00.000+02:00

For those who wanted to check the Subject60 party, follow the attached link to Face Hunter's blog and watch the movie from the night. Better yet, pause at 37 seconds and you'll see me in all my glory milling around the cocktail bar. SNAPPED!!! The guy featured was perhaps my own personal bartender for the night..sad but true. Anyway I have a little crush on Face Hunter and love his work, hopefully this clip sells him to you and gets you all on board. Take note of Lykke Li's performance...*sigh*...amazing!
Bye for now X
http://facehunter.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home..

2010-05-31T13:10:00.000+02:00

Wedding has been a welcoming neighbourhood so far, kebabs a plenty and fruit shops galore. Everything is at our doorstep which makes life easy and lets me give Wedding 2 thumbs up! I went to IKEA spending 4 hours on Saturday and have now furnished our room. Daniel really enjoyed the 4 posted oh-so-girly iron bed-frame, that's what you get when you leave it up to the girls! We are lucky to have an area of lush green as our backyard and a park through the gate. Recently I presented Dan with ping-pong bats and balls, there have been some close challenges but I have yet to beat him.

Hope you enjoy xxx
P.S. Obviously it's always sunny like this too...pffft I wish!

Some fun Berlin snaps

2010-05-31T09:29:00.000+02:00

Out and about in Berlin so far, the favourites:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxfskezcFOc

Lykke Li completes me..

2010-05-29T11:22:00.000+02:00

Subject60 - a ridiculous marketing scheme to launch the new Volvo model. A lavish party series in each of Berlin, London, Milan, Paris and Madrid. The stars of the night were Swedish star Lykke Li (my most favourite singer ever, despite only having 1 album) and Face Hunter (Europes most popular street style blogger).

Exclusive tickets...well that's where I came into the scheme of things, winning 2 tickets via iHeartBerlin. Considering Lykke Li hasn't got a scheduled gig here I was a lucky little basket to get the chance to see her! I've never ever seen people so well dressed, I think Face Hunter had been in their thoughts when they were getting ready. The fashion was cutting edge, the cocktails were free flowing and Lykke Li's performance was outrageous! She is everything and more in the flesh, stunning..amazing..sensational voice and her dance moves were killer!

P.S. Oh and I was front row!!!

Lucky me:)

Karneval der Kulturen

2010-05-23T12:35:00.001+02:00

Berlin's most fabulous street festival started Friday and ends Sunday (today?..oh tear). Karneval der Kulturen means Carnival of Cultures. As the name suggests this is a multicultural event with multitudes of performers from all over the world covering 4 big stages. I'm struggling to sum up this event in a few short sentences, the food...the cocktail bars...the entertainment? The entire occasion was so far above my expectations of a carnival and sets the bar very high for all future Carnivals. All in 1 day I had me a Thai massage, some Chinese dimsims, Mexican taco's, watched a Capoeira battle, walked passed a blazing African BBQ and lost my mind over a Spanish churro (fried dough pastry, extremely bad but so extremely good). It wasn't just the eating we enjoyed, the music was also good and very diverse! 1 stage was showcasing traditional Turkish music, another African drums and the 3rd international bands such as an eccentric Scottish band called 'Punch and the apostles'. Fair to say as soon as I get out of bed I'll be straight back to Hallesches Tor for the last day of Karneval der Kulturen!

The flea market series - Strike 1

2010-05-17T18:15:00.000+02:00

Sunday in Berlin the shops are closed and from what I have experienced there's not a lot that goes on. Unless...you explore the finest of fleamarkets dotted all over the city. Yesterday we visited one called Flohmarkt am Mauerpark, I was impressed and to rate it I'd give 7/10.
The size was most impressive, after having spent a good 4 hours we still hadn't seen every stall. Exotic foods are the plenty and you can bargain hunt until you're hearts content! There's basketball games going on and an impressive outdoor amphitheatre with hundreds of people watching those brave enough to belt out their favourite tune.

All in all it was a Sunday well spent and I'm looking forward till the next flea market adventure.

Lost in translation..

2010-05-10T14:03:00.000+02:00

I report on an exciting note...we have now found accommodation in Berlin.

On a rather hilarious note, I would like to share with you some of the room adverts that translated from German to English made absolutely NO sense. The quest to find accommodation was testing at times but Im glad there was some light relief during the process:) For your entertainment...

Jan (32) sociologist and iris (32) social worker looking for a nice roommate! happy times together cooking smoke or go out in teh room is ok, but it can be smoked by arrangement in the kitchen.
We are looking for an experienced back yard for relaxing and humorous live together and some wine evenings.
We (between 23 and 26 years) are looking forward to us a simple, funny, nice person who does not have cat hair.
The kitchen is usually vegetarian / vegan, and a kitchen with a smoker sometimes long evening rounds and at other times densely filled days.
People who lust for binding community want to get involved, show responsibility for the whole-house self-administered, and may want to tackle with children like and want to live with them and like to live in the wedding.
I am looking for a nice roommate matching for housing parts.
Want to share my apartment with me? I OFFER YOU MY APARTMENT COMPLETELY FREE SHARE (food and lodging). 2) Pilates and Yoga meditation classes in my sports. 3) guitar lessons. 4) Spanish classes. Of course, with "POLICE APPLICATION".
We would find's great if you like, we're also happy to have time für'n short whistles and fun live together on you. Bath is also there - you can sign up, we look forward to it!

We reluctantly turned down cooking smoke, knew we both weren't experienced back-yards and didn't really want a fussy kitchen. Although we didn't have cat hair, we still didn't feel like joining the police force or having communal bathing time. So where did this leave us? Thankfully with two totally sane young guys in a really nice apartment not far from the hot spots.

Hope you had fun reading,

Your Berliner,

Relle xxx

Berlin...thank you for being an exciting city

2010-05-09T11:12:00.000+02:00

Well it has been 11 days since we touched down in B-town. I was lucky enough to nab myself a job after just 4 days and began working instantly. There are 3 new things I can do since moving to Berlin...

Ride a U-Bahn without holding onto any rails and without falling over when it stops
Pronounce the hardest word I have seen on the map so far...Schlesisches Tor boooyah!
And work an air-flow polishing unit which we didn't have back home

P.S. The video is up and running

2010-04-23T15:54:00.001+02:00

Follow the link from my previous post named...France with love x :)

From Paris to Berlin and every disco we go in my heart is pumping with love...

2010-04-23T15:45:00.002+02:00

Pumping with love!
So...we are on day 12 of our journey and have already been to 5 countries. It began with a quality sleep and feed in South Korea and right now I am sitting in an internet cafe in Zadar, Croatia. In between these places we visited Paris, then Nice (Im sure you copped a look at the food shots...words cannot describe the food in France).
From there we had a full day journey to join our Top-Deck tour in Venice, Italy. Clearly anything can happen...such as an Icelandic volcano erupting and French train drivers striking! So..we had to re-plan our travel plans, after an epic 12 hours getting acquainted with the train system and crossing the Italian border we landed safely in Venice in time for dinner. The people on our tour are fun and sociable people so we have already had many memorable moments. From gondolas in Venice to underground caves in Slovenia to crossing the border of Croatia, to my new friend and I losing our tour group on the way exploring a beach and hitching a ride with a young Croatian. To today, I sit here after having finished devouring fresh crispy pan-friend fish in Zadar. That is all within 4 nights and I cannot wait for what the next 8 nights hold in store for us!
Next time there will be photos I promise!

France with love x

2010-04-17T10:12:00.000+02:00

Some of my favourite piccys so far...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Ci2JIsids

Fromage and more

2010-04-15T21:34:00.000+02:00

So..I didn't get a picture at the Incheon bridge but what I do have is numerous pictures of the exquisite food here in France. I can't believe the variety, colour, flavour and how cheap you can get the goodies for. All I wanna do is eat, is that a bad thing? hehe The photos are pretty self-explanatory..buying olives at the fresh market in Nice, purchasing eats at the supermarche, amazing bakery food and bottom right are interesting Arabic sweets. Feast your eyes:)

2010-04-11T05:24:00.002+02:00

Farewell lovely people, the next time I post it'll be far far away on the other side of the world. First stop Seoul so hopefully getta picture of the sweet 12.3km Incheon Bridge. xxx

Lederhose - knickerbockers or shorts made of leather

2010-03-31T12:24:00.000+02:00

This is my first post and boy is it a goody! I had my final German lesson last night, seven solid weeks every Tuesday for two hours. Given I am a fresh graduate of beginner German, my German juices are flowing and I cannot wait to unleash on you. You could even treat this as an educational post :)

As a beginner I gather the most important things to know in German are...

Bier Beer
Rotwein Red wine
Kasekuchen Cheesecake
Apfelkuchen Apple cake

And lastly...

Ich mochte I would like

Now...to finish, here is a picture of me wearing a vital item of German clothing, enjoy for now. Relle