Saturday, July 31, 2010

Friday 30 July - Egg twins


11.11am, Erm...sleeping again! Emma and Catdog went off to Sachsenhausen at 9am but as I went last week (see here), I decided to have a productive day. I'll just have a little nap, I thought, after they'd left. And then suddenly it was 2pm! Guess I had some sleep to catch up on! Then Andy made me a good eggy breakfast...with a double-yolker. It was the first time I'd ever seen egg twins. Now in this house there are three sets of twins (or parts of twins)...Andy, Emma and Egg.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Thursday 29 July - Tschüssi!



11.11am, Waking Potts up so she could get her plane home, and trying to recover from not enough sleep. Bacon and avocado helped. It was so ace having Sarah (Potts) here, ace visitor, thanks for coming dream girl!! x

Wednesday 28 July - The year of the (cat)dog




11.11pm, Drinking too much gin with the most hilarious people. Catdog, Emma, Sarah, Andy and I were meant to be at Maria Peligro by 9 but we were still sitting round drinking and listening to terrible songs at 11.30pm.
What followed was a hilarious birthday night out for Catdog, where we went to Peligo, Zur Fetten Ecke and then Club der Visionaire. It's an ace club on the Spree, where we managed to find some Scots, get abused by a ginger woman, wake up a sleeping Emma and dance until 6.30am. Excellent birthday joy.
Oh, nearly forgot to say. In Zur Fetten Ecke, there was a tiny dog called Theo. He sat at the bar like all good dogs.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Wednesday 28 July - Happy birthday Catdog!


11.11am, Having a champagne breakfast on the balcony with my best friends, Catdog, Emma and Sarah. Catdog is the big 2-4 today (and doesn't act a day over 14) so we're celebrating Berlin-style. Off on our bikes for a birthday adventure day!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Tuesday 27 July - Bunting before breakfast!


11.11am, Sarah and I made bunting to celebrate our friends, Emma and Catdog, coming. They arrive today at 3.20pm and I think the excitement screams of joy from the airport will be heard in Munich. There's all sorts of fun planned for Team Berlin!

Monday 26 July - Remember the gin times?!



11.11pm, I was in Susann's house having gin with the girls (l-r: Me, Lee, Sus, Karen, Bree, Sarah). Fab night of hanging out on the balcony and covering all manner of subjects.
Today Sarah and I went adventuring; we saw Brandenburg Gate, went to the top of the Reichstag, then visited the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. Then it was time for a visit to the best French cafe for cheese, meat and wine (see more gushing about French place here) before heading to Susann's. I love spending whole days with girls, it makes me feel very lucky to have ace people in my life!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Sunday 25 July - Introducing, Karl Olympia Splendid II




11.11pm, Sitting in a bar writing a story on Karl. (Not about Karl, but on Karl.) Though Karl is a story in himself. Earlier in the day (after a mammoth sleep), we'd been to Mauerpark and had a mosey around a huge and ace fleamarket. I love it there, and picked up a scarf, a shirt and two little dishes.
Sarah, on the other hand, picked up a typewriter. Named Karl.
Karl is a pretty heavy lad, so after lugging him from bar to bar, we decided we'd best check if he worked or not...and he sure does. Which meant that for the rest of the day we were either talking about Karl, typing on Karl, or taking pictures of Karl. Or sometimes all three.

Saturday 24 July - Daylight dancing



11.11pm, I was in Maria Peligro, our fave Mexican bar, with my ace friends. Sarah had just arrived and we'd so far eaten pizza, drank a lot of wine and had shots (which meant we were going 'out out out' not just 'out'. We demanded that Keno (bar owner and lovely friend) made us bespoke cocktails (aptly named 'Keno's Bar-gain'...get it?!) then suddenly it was 4am and we were on our way to a house party, feeling super proud of ourselves for staying up until the sun came up. A few hours later, after dancing in the living room and chatting in the bedroom, and we were back home while Nick cooked us breakfast sausages (it was 7am after all). Welcome to Berlin Pottsy!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Saturday 24 July - Friends reunited


11.11am, Getting the house in order for visitors!! We've just been to pick up Karyn, a friend of Andy/Nick/Bree and am about to go and pick my friend Sarah up from the airport!! I can't wait to have some drinks together, catch up and show off some of this amazing city to some amazing people.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Friday 23 July - Horrible history


11.11am, I had just arrived at Sachsenhausen , a concentration camp about 34km out of Berlin. It was an amazing, haunting, poignant, eye-opening day. I was just about to write about some of the stories that we heard, but I think they're just too graphic and shocking to put on here, so I would instead recommend that you go and visit. It really is an amazing experience.
One thing that gave me the chills was the sign they had on the gate as people got marched in: 'Arbeit macht frei', which means 'Work makes freedom'. It was used at Nazi concentration camps to support the idea that they were 'education camps' but it seems a little too similar to the sign in our kitchen that means 'Hard work pays off'. (See the sign here).

Friday, July 23, 2010

Thursday 22 July - C'est magnifique!




11.11am, I was on the train with Susann and Schmez (my bicycle) on the way to Prenzlauer Berg for a French brunch at Tous les jours. There was a ticket inspector on the train, always exciting. Berlin's public transport works on an honour system, so tickets rarely get checked. Which makes it kind of jazzy when they do, because people get fined (€40) all over the shop. Yep, I live a wild life.

Anyway, French brunch. Best food ever. We worked off our big brunch with some ping pong and basketball... accompanied by some pretty hilarious Turkish children.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Wednesday 21 July - Flying high


11.11pm, Sitting at Cafe Vegas, the hilarious Turkish bar across the road from our house. Its main selling-point is the slot machines. We had such a nice evening tonight; we went to the first birthday of Maria Bonita, an amazing Mexican restaurant that our friends own.

Since Andy moved in to our home at the beginning of June, he hasn't had a dinner at home... Until tonight. We had dream food (including black pasta) and an ace walk to Templehof airport, just up the road, where the sun was setting. I love Berlin!

Tuesday 20 July - Winner dinner and Woozie Suzie


11.11pm, I was eating dinner with my lovely friends, Lee and Susann. Lee was the perfect host; she sent me a pre-text, telling me she had 'wine cooling and delicious food cooking'. What more could you want?! It was ace to hang out with Sus as well; a few weeks ago she collided with a car and has had a few brain injury issues, but she is getting back to fine form and it's so ace to be around her sunny self. Much love to these ace girls. x

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Tuesday 20 July - Home sweet home


11.11am, I was cooking up a scrummy breakfast for Andy and me. In my new bid to get up earlier and be more proactive, I had been up for a couple of hours, been to the shops, and bought breakfast goods and some pretty flowers to brighten up our kitchen.

Monday 19 July - A happy ending


11.11am, We were packing up to leave our dream camp home and return to Berlin. With five of us and all our stuff squished in the car, it wasn't the most pleasant ride, but coming home to a clean house, a shower, movies and napping was the best.

Sunday 18 July - Out with a bang


11.11pm, Emma and I were sitting on the roof of a bar, listening to Goldfrapp (pictured). The last night was my favourite, not just because of the bands (Massive Attack, Broken Bells, WhoMadeWho) but because of all the laughter. Everyone was in a really funny mood, and when we all went to bed in our respective tents, we spent about half an hour shouting out funny things from the last couple of days and giggling ourselves to sleep. Perfect ending.

Saturday 17 July - You make me feel like dancing






11.11pm, Dancing our socks off to Jamie T; even though he was a bit off his face, the songs were super fun. Earlier in the night, the girls (Eri, Emma and me) and boys (Andy, Nick, Keno and Muddy Rod) went their separate ways, but we all met up again and made the most of Friendly Fires and DJ Shadow.

Friday 16 July - Music of dreams




11.11pm, In the festival grounds, listening to an amazing line-up of bands: Shout Out Louds, Two Door Cinema Club, Delphic, The xx and Foals. A few fig vodkas later, Emma and I got our dance on... Such a fab night.

Friday 16 July - We've arrived!



11.11am, We had just set up our tent at Melt! festival, after an early morning drive and a long walk from the car park. I think we managed to get the best camping spot of the whole festival, right next to the lake (the lake pic is the view from our tent - nice view to wake up to!). We set up our friends' tents too and made a proper little camp for the seven of us, then spent the day sunbathing and swimming.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thursday 15 July - Ready...Steady...Melt!



11.11pm, I was laughing with my friends, Emma and Rod, about how disorganised they are for tomorrow... We're off to a festival called Melt! which is a few hours away from Berlin. To give you an idea, Emma's parting comment was, "So, how do we get there? Train? Where do we get the train to?" I, on the other hand, have the pleasure of living with the world's most organised festival-goer, so we are all packed, ready to leave at 5am in a new Mercedez! I'm so excited, I love festivals...I'm mostly excited about seeing Foals, I saw them once in Liverpool and it definitely rated in my Top 3 Gigs.
Anyway, I'll be away until Monday, but will record what I do at 11.11 each day. Lucky for you.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Thursday 15 July - Time for tea


11.11am, I was making a cup of peppermint tea. Sounds easy, but we don't have a kettle so we boil water in a pan... The effort of which has resulted in me drinking a lot less tea than I'm used to. I drank it sitting on the balcony, which looks out on a lot of beautiful greenery... good for the soul.

Wednesday 14 July - Pretty Potsdam



11.11am, I was on the train with six friends, on the way to Potsdam, a city 24km south-west of Berlin. It is the most beautiful place, lots of old architecture and amazing parks and castles. In the morning we went to Sanssouci Park, which has, in its grounds, a palace, fountains, Chinese buildings and huge gardens filled with flowers. I played in the sprinklers to cool off (33˚C today). Then we took a picnic to a massive lake called Holy Lake. There were lots of naked people, in typical German fashion. Such a fab, tiring, sunshiney day.

Ps. My camera had no battery so these photos are courtesy of Lee Reddell. Thanks Lee!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Tuesday 13 July - Pimp my ride.





11.11am, I was decorating Schmez!! My bike is called Esmerelda aka Schmezmerelda aka Schmez and, quite simply, I love her. Today I was pimping her so that, right now, she is the finest bike. Flower, lights, bells.

Today, Bree and Nick were meant to go to Paris...but easyJet cancelled their flight. Not the coolest thing. So Bree and I decided to have the best day of all time ever. And we did. We went for coffee in Olibiscotti, our favourite Italian (that happens to be owned by a handsome Italian man), then we discovered a Turkish market and then went to the Jüdischen Museum. Such joy and sadness.
The day was wonderful and, I like to think, made up for the lack of Parisien experiences. Especially because we then went to Peligro and met my Liverpudlian friend, Laura!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Monday 12 July - An uphill struggle


11.11pm, I was cycling up a big hill on my way home. Berlin is notoriously flat, and so perfect for bike-riding, but I think we've managed to live at the top of what may be the city's only hill. It's not actually that long or steep, but it feels it when you're at the end of a long ride after a big Thai dinner! We (Nick and I) were on our way back from dinner at Duy Thai in Prenzlauer Berg, the other end of the city. It was kind of a leaving dinner for Fran (second from right) who has been visiting from Melbourne. Fun times, but a sweaty ride back - today was another 37˚C one!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Sunday 11 July - ¡Viva España!




11.11pm, I was watching the Spain v Holland final of the World Cup. We were at a Spanish bar Yo Soy, which serves amazing tapas and way-too-good Sangria. The atmosphere was amaaaazing, so many Spanish people cheering and chanting... and, when Spain scored, everyone just went wild. ¡Viva España!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sunday 11 July - Hot hot hot


11.11am, Lying in my newly arranged room, thinking how nice and clean it is. It's 38˚C today, which is far too hot to try and attempt any sort of activity. So I'm doing nothing and then later I'm going to the pool.

Saturday 10 July - Freund und freundinnen


11.11pm, I was talking to my friend Lily on Skype. She's one of my oldest and best friends and it was so nice to speak to her after weeks of being a bit contact-less. She has a super jewellery/bag/craft shop, PrettyThingsFromPickle, which I would spend all my wages on if I had a job.
Had a tres lazy day today, with amazing Andy sorting our room out - new curtains, new layout etc, while I sat back and watched and then went out for Japanese dinner with the girls!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Friday 9 July - Pink skin, pink wine



Today at 11.11pm, I was in a bar called Zur Fetten Ecke with Bree, Fran and Lee, listening to a friend of ours DJ. Bree and I were a bit spaced out, as we'd been to Badeschiff all day, which is basically a man-made beach and giant paddling pool! It was super fun and soooo hot, but managed to cool down in the eve with the help of our favourite rose wine.