Skeletons in my closet

It's no secret that from day one of living in Berlin, my clothes have had to stay nestled snugly on the floor as a means of storage (I term this in the loosest possible way). It's also an unwritten law that when you move into your significant other's apartment, it's only obvious that you'd share closet space. However, when both the closet and apartment are as small as they can get, that is imply no option. The funniest part is that I was strangely drawn to the idea of keeping them neatly piled on the floor whereas in the past I'd fling anything unfolded and worn into a deep dark corner of the closet.

Seven months down the line and we finally found the perfect non closety looking closet at a fraction of the price of the hundreds of other possibilities we looked at (and no, Ikea was not even on our list of last resorts). It was an unsuspecting find at the Market at Boxhagener Platz on Sunday and it didn't take a lot to convince us that this was the one we had been looking for. 

So much SILO Store, so little time

Visiting the Spanish concept Store Silo had been on my to do list since they appeared in the Nido magazin alongside my dear Caroline from The District Six Store. Somehow " life" was always an excuse, an I just never got around to popping in. Since the sun managed to show its face today, and I had little work on my plate, I flung myself out the front door and onto my bike and whizzed off to Silo.

With their clean white walls, antique pressed ceilings and an array of stacked wooden boxes as the stores focal point, it's hard not to instantaneously fall in love with the space. All their items are carefully selected by the Silo team and each have a unique charm. It's tricky boiling down any of my favourites to just one or two, but the Traditional Oil Cans by Ilsa and glas boxes by  La mediterranea would make the cut. I was lucky enough to have a quick word with the ever so friendly Elena, one of the co-owners of the store, who was there at the time. They will also be exhibiting their products at the Weinachtsrodeo Designmarkt in Brunnen Strasse this weekend.

Borneo-Sporenburg

Now that my 'stint' in Holland is very close to its due date, there was still one last thing in Amsterdam I had my heart on seeing. Before I had left South Africa, I was reading 'False Flat: Why Dutch Design is so Good’. A good chunk of one of the books chapter was dedicated to Borneo-Sporenburg, a new take on traditional Dutch canal housing designed by West8 Architects. I had set aside some time in my day to see it, and actually had some trouble locating the dock itself. Turns out, I was pretty much in front of it, I just had to lower my expectations in reality from the perfectly cropped images I had seen in the design books and blogs.

‘Two peninsulas in the eastern part of the Amsterdam docks, were to be exploited for water-related activities, as well as2500 low-rise dwelling units, with a density of 100 units per hectare. For anew interpretation of the traditional Dutch canal house, West 8 suggested new types of three-storey, ground-accessed houses deviating from the usual terraced house in being strongly oriented to the private realm by incorporating patio sand roof gardens. By repeating this type in a great variety of dwelling modes and with maximum architectural variation, an animated street elevation emerges with a focus on the individual. At a larger scale, a delicately balanced relationship exists between the repetition of the individual dwellings, the roof scape and the great scale of the docks. Three immense sculptural blocks take their place as landmarks in the vast expanse of houses.’-West8 Architects

 

Berlin, you son of a bitch

I mean this term in the absolute best possible way, that Berlin, you may just be the best place I have been to. There is something about this place that just does something to you. Of course the people I met and the things I did may influence this considerably, but the entirety of my time in this city consisted of a no bullshit Berlin.

No more words can really describe this place, so I will keep the rest for myself, sorry folks...

kreuzberg canal // wohnzimmer café // bauhaus archive museum // mauer park beauty in the spring// glory whole  kaffeehäuschen // lovers at a protest in front of brandenburg gate  // mauer park childishness in the spring // deep chill at adalbertbrücke // jewish museum // lichtpark // selfie time at the bauhaus archive museum // kaffee pause // portraits at  my good friends café journale

IT'S A CONCRETE JUNGLE OUT THERE



Because Rotterdam was completely wiped out during the war, it's anything but your traditional Dutch looking city. Skyscrapers tower over the canals and uber modern architecture adorns every building. The Erasmus Bridge is an iconic piece of architecture that is located about 5 minutes from the Rotterdam Centraal station by Metro. Oh and did I mention the city has it's own metro, I fucking love the metro. Its just so European.

I had been told many stories of Rotterdam, some good, some bad and some neutral. I thought to myself that there is no possible way somebody couldn't love a city as modern and up to date as this one. But I kind of get it now. There is not a single trace of the traditional Dutch architecture that you see in the rest of the Netherlands, which makes the city that much more colder (besides the weather of course). Regardless, I still stood in awe of the buildings and felt quite insignificant next to them...

LIKE AN IKEA VIRGIN

Back in South Africa we don't have IKEA. 

 

Because of this, I deemed myself an IKEA virgin amongst the other American au pairs in my town who had been numerous times back in the States. The main reason behind our great trek to the store was to purchase a plate of their famous Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria.

 

And so I had the meatballs, and they were as delicious as I was told. On finishing our meal, I dreaded the thought of having to split the bill and pay separately between the 7 of us, only to realise we had already paid in the food line. I liked that. No having to argue with the waitress about separate bills,  wavering the right amount of change or under tipping the staff. IKEA really got that down!

 

The actual store part is great too. You worm your way around a maze of fake living room, kitchen and bathroom layouts of all the store furniture and write down the number of the items you like. When you get to the ground floor, you go to the designated number area, collect your box of unassembled parts from the shelves and go to the self  service check out points. Sure I knew that was the concept behind it, but to see and experience it in the flesh was pretty cool too.

Also, I realised this is what my face looks like when I'm in mid conversation

DUTCH STUFF 1.0...

Just something I put together on my last day of work. Not much work got done today as I couldn't stop daydreaming about going to The Netherlands. much of the day was spent thinking about Vondelpark, cheese, riding bicycles, the canals. If I don't physically slap myself I just go on and on, so best some slappage be taken out on me. 

On a last note, go Dutch or go home friends...