things i love about berlin - blue berlin: part 2

i had my white balance all wrong on these because of some settings i used on photos i was taking the night before, but i decided i love the blue cast they had, so i didn't fix them. i am still processing, both photo-wise and in my mind, my fabulous weekend in berlin. i didn't expect to fall in love with berlin the way i did. i think i had some preconceived notions of it based on other german cities i've been to and how i imagined it would be. and they were pretty much all wrong.

we spent most of our time in prenzlauer berg and mitte, both old east berlin. i don't think i expected the level of charm that was there. tree-lined streets, cobblestones, unique independent shops, well-dressed people with real style (and no bad socks), picturesque little balconies, sidewalk cafés, galleries. it was just wonderful and charming and laid back and welcoming.

for a city divided so long, berlin is surprisingly comfortable in its own skin. it's neither more nor less than it is and it's certainly not trying too hard. it doesn't need to. and the city seems to know that. there's also no residual schizophrenia evident from the long division it underwent. it seems that berlin was much more than the wall and it retained a character and life of its own despite that dividing line. just imagine the  history it witnessed and bore on its strong shoulders, coming out of it unscathed and with its charm intact. in a way, it's a bit like being east berlin and west berlin preserved a sort of independent, unique spirit that other cities - filled as their streets are with chain shops and restaurants - don't have. and frankly, maybe being east berlin protected it from too much capitalist western influence, allowing it to flourish as it so undoubtedly did. it must really be among the best of the european capitals.

i can't believe i waited this long to visit it. i've been reading for ages on various blogs and in magazines like *wallpaper, how great it is, but i guess it really is one of those things you just have to see for yourself. and i'm really glad i saw it in the company of a group of totally awesome, smart, funny women. that undoubtedly made it even better.

things i love about berlin: part 1

red bicycles - white vespa

white vespa - take 2
ok, it may not be a vespa, but it's a cool retro scooter in any case.
and i want one.

the lamps

pretty street signs 

big hamburger street

more to come. but suffice it to say, i. am. in. love. with. berlin. it's like the apple or the nikon of cities. i really don't know why anyone lives anywhere else.

grateful tuesday: because it's been awhile

it's been far too long since i did any posts about gratefulness. a mild depression over huge change and upheaval (even if self-chosen) in our lives surely intervened - changing home, part of the country and work all at the same time is stressful, even if it's what you want. but i feel it lifting. and even tho' the kitchen i have to live with for the time being (flaky (if adorable) architects and building permits take time) continues to depress me (and cause my continuing absence from domestic sensualist), i am coming up for air. i can feel it. interestingly, what's triggered it today is sabin's morning fever, which caused me to stay at home with her today. waiting on her, running to the store for the cottage cheese she was craving, drinking tea together and watching an entire afternoon of BBC Lifestyle programming gave me a sense of well-being that i could scarcely remember. (note to self: remember this.) and all of that has filled me with a desire to express gratefulness...

i'm grateful to lisa of lil fish studios for our recent swap. i sent one of my painted feather stones and she sent me this gorgeous feather stone of her own. very different from mine, yet a sister of it somehow. and an immediate treasured possession. and i'm ever grateful to trinsch for getting me started on the feather stone thing in the first place.

i'm grateful for being published - in an art book by hong kong-based artpower publishers (and i'm grateful that it finally arrived today) and even more grateful for the amusing asian translated subtitle of the book (because who doesn't love different color shades that serve as prevalent colors on the sock). but on the inside is a whole beautiful 8-page spread of my photos of my beloved blue room (along with a whole lot of other inspiring artists that i will share soon). and that just makes me smile.

i'm grateful for the creativity of my child. she creatively wrapped up the blog camp berlin presents today. and yes, i'm also grateful for the upcoming blog camp berlin.  the kid learned how to make these pretty boxes at school (thus i'm also grateful for the danish school system) and taught me how to make some today as well. and even if i do say so myself, i'm pretty pleased with what's inside.

and thank odin for that vintage scale, which seems to be where i take all of my photos of late.

latte. i'm pretty grateful for latte. and when it's accompanied by a tall hyldeblomst (elderflower) beverage and enjoyed in the sunshine at a gorgeous marina, all the better.

but today, i'm most grateful for an encounter i had with the folks at the apple help line. back in february, through the apple.dk website, i ordered one of those big, giant 1TB My Book Studio external hard drives made by western digital. i was in terror of losing my 50-some thousand photos after spilling water in my MBP and having issues with my iMac (now solved, thankfully). i got it and hooked it up, but never really got it properly set up because it kept giving me a strange message that it was going to shut down because it was too hot after i had it on for about five minutes. i never did anything about it at the time because of the chaos of our move, but today, i finally called about it to see if there was anything that could be done. and would you believe that without argument or questions into whether i'd dropped it into the bathtub (for the record, i did not), they said they would send a new one out to me by courier immediately and collect the faulty one? so tomorrow, i will have a new 1TB WD My Book Studio external hard drive. now that's service. and a big part of why i love apple.

what are you grateful for today?