The sweet life (well...sort of)

Despite having the day off and the well deserved opportunity to sleep in, I awoke to an inflamed throat, deep chesty cough and a sniffly snotty nose. My appointment to exchange my South African drivers licence didn't go to well either, since I lost my original licence and tried to explain my way out of it with poorly spoken and half broken German. This is not the first time it has happened and I am starting to doubt whether the Universe even wants me to be in possession of having one, be it a German or South African one. Having walked out of the offices in low spirits and still without a licence, I decided to treat myself to a visit to the doctor  (not very often you hear that). What I thought would be a 30 min wait and consultation, turned into almost 2 hours, with the doctors recommendation of "some throat sweets". I hadn't waited all that time just for someone with some silly medical degree to tell me some herbal sweets would do the trick, when hard influenza drugs and antibiotics is what I really wanted

Another door was walked out of that morning with my spirits lower than ever. If all I needed were some throat sweets, then that's exactly what I would get (well sort of anyways).

I stopped by Herr Nilsson's Scandinavian candy store in Stargarder Strasse for my so called doctors prescription of vanilla fudge pieces and chocolate covered almonds and Brazilian nuts. A cosy traditional like candy store where you fill up your own brown paper bag with sweets without limitation, I however managed to control my temptations and only purchased a bag totaling 1 Euro 40 ( to my surprise too). I nibbled on a few pieces on the way home and snapped some photos of my proud purchase whilst the sun was still peeking in the late afternoon.

I may not be completely cured of influenza, but I sure did cure my sweet tooth cravings.

Frolicking like a five year old

Having tried to write a few failed sentences and half put together words about snow falling, and how beautiful it was ( can somone say cheesy!), Nobody really cares about my words, and with reason since the images are just so much more! I should however highlight that the title of this post does actually reference me back to Saturday night where I had experienced snow falling for the first time and may also have  had  a few glasses of wine in me too. This entire experience that night however did not make the taste of Fabrizio's 1 euro noodle box taste anything remotely like noodles (mostly just noodles doused in soy sauce)

South African Snapshots- Part One

Having lived overseas for just over a year and a half, returning back to South Africa and seeing everything for the first time was like I was on some serious psychedelic drug. I suppose it really put the saying "being high on life"to a whole new level.

The most overwhelming feeling was in actual fact the sense of space that surrounded me everywhere. On first waking into my parents living room (which is not big, but most certainly double the size of our apartment), the closest description I can come to is that of being in a museum hall. I suppose the fact that the space I had lived in and been surrounded by on an almost daily basis whilst growing up felt strange by seeing it "for the first time"again. Needles to say, I threw myself onto my old bed with the linen smelling just like home and with fond memories.

On one of the first few days of being back, I casually went to Pick n' Pay, a South African Supermarket, to buy some essentials. I felt completely gobsmacked by all the food options and variety of absolutely everything! I became so used to shopping at  The Netherlands's Albert Heijn and Berlin's Netto, where there is literally just one brand of each item. I must have looked like a tourist with all the snapping away I was doing with my camera and small notes made in my sketchbook. When paying for all my items at the cashier, I felt  absolutely spoiled when a lady (Spongile) personally came and bagged my things. If you may not already know, here in Europe, you have to bag your own things at such a fast pace due to the 'production line' of customers behind you. I was quite traumatized by this experience in the first few months of living in Europe, but realized that all along I was quite spoilt with the service I had in S.A 

What I anticipated most about being in South Africa was going back to Johannesburg and seeing the city I fell so deeply in love with whilst studying there. I never in my life though I would be so overjoyed at seeing Taxi's clog up the city's CBD and hearing their never ending honking. On one occasion, I quickly snapped a photograph of a taxi whilst at a robot (what we call a traffic light in South Africa). The light turned green before I managed to finish taking the photograph, but the starstruck taxi driver  stood still and waited for me to finish taking the picture before driving off. 

The overall energy of South Africa is truly something I cannot explain. Perhaps it's just what I have ever known growing up, or maybe I just love that damn place so much, despite all of it's flaws. One such flaw is a serious lack of funding towards public museums and culture. I visited the Johannesburg Art Gallery ( JAG), to view an installation by renowned South African Artist William Kentridge. The building itself was in absolute deterioration, and not a soul around to view ay of the incredible works despite the museum being free of charge. I realized as we drove out of the museum parking lot and out into the crowded, chaotic and rubbish piled streets of the CBD and Hillbrow, that there are far bigger problems to take care of. If you are ever in need of a reality check, thats most certainly the place to go to.

Johannesburg Arts Galery, Pick n' Pay, Fort Klapperkop, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Maboneng Precinct, Protea (South African National Flower), Braamfontein, Voortrekker Monument, Juta Street, Askari Game Lodge

Back to Berlin

After two glorious weeks back in my home country of South Africa, the time has come for me to return back "home". What an incredible experience it's been coming back here with a fresh set of eyes and a whole new perspective of the world. I met some incredible people during my time here, and also re-kindled old friendships that felt like I had seen just yesterday. I can't wait to share all the photography and video shots I took with the rest of Berlin, and further intrigue everyone about my Beautiful South Africa

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.

Based in Berlin (for now)

Never did I think I would be updating the blog from being Projekt Holland to being Based in Berlin, but somehow things just turned out that way, and there is no better time to be based here than now. The idea behind  Based in Berlin, is showing  the things that get done in this place, an adventure if you will. The first 6 weeks of it in pictures:

Alexanderplatz

 

Mitte

 

 The District Six Store

 

 Kopenhagener Strasse

 

 Tempelhofer Veld

 Prenzlauer Berg

 

 Gorlitzer Park

taken from Elsenbrücke

Mitte

Unplanned Italy

As I run all the photographic memories of this beautiful and history rich country through my head, I am tempted to leave you with nothing more than these images. Of course, I was lucky enough in that I had the best guide, and seeing the city by scooter. Apart from all the ice cream and espressos that we consumed, another one of our guilty pleasures was going around on the scooter and letting the fresh breeze from the ride cool us off. Every single street of the city has a story to tell, and I struggled to put my camera down (even taking a few sneaky shots whilst on the back of the scooter)

From Rome we took a bus to Siena  where we stayed for three days and ate like kings. It was here that I got the first few glimpses of all the rolling hills of the Tuscan region and the ever so beautiful Piazza del Campo. We road tripped to the coastal town of Santo Stefano, and swam in clear blue sea's on Giglio Island. Not a single part of our trip was planned, and  in true adventurous style much of our accommodation along the coast entailed last minute camping with all of a tent and mattress.

As we literally ate away our 'budget' and the camping got the better of us, we headed to the mountain regions of Mount Amiata and his hometown of Abbadia San Salvatore. We were treated to true Italian home cooked meals, and exploring more of what Tuscany had to offer. Most of the time I had my head stuck out of the window and my mouth wide open in awe. The entire region, and I mean absolutely all of it, is like a beautiful painting.