Eating in darkness

To finish the birthday last night, we ate at one of Berlin's two darkness restaurants, Nocti Vagus. The only question Thomas asked me before he booked was "are you scared of the dark?" No, never have been. So it was a surprise that I met with joy when I heard what would happen.

Yes, the whole night would take place in TOTAL darkness, guided by our blind waitress Monika. It was an extraordinary experience to hone the other senses such as smell, hearing, touch and taste, to enjoy our food and our company, and to live for a few hours as some visually impaired people do.
After dinner, there was a group who sang of Christmas stories from around the world, with beautiful haunting voices.

The first thing I noticed when my entrée arrived was its smell (scallops). I found myself with my hands in my food quite a bit and there were inevitable moments of putting an empty fork into our mouths as we attempted to capture the food on our plates. Pouring wine was another interesting challenge... But by the end of the night, I felt like I was in any normal lively restaurant on a Friday night - how quickly we adapt to new circumstances...

Dark Restaurant & Dark Stage NOCTI VAGUS
Saarbrücker Str. 36-38
10405 Berlin - Germany

Phone: (030) 74 74 91 23

Liquidrom

Yesterday my partner and I celebrated part of his birthday at the rather divinely relaxing spa and sauna complex Liquidrom, famous for its underwater music in the circular relaxation pool... and that WAS worth it! It was both our first time here, located at the Tempodrom, near Anhalter Bahnhof.

I'd been told by a good friend about the musical pool, and despite at first feeling like I was in a floating disco, I can now also say that it's incredibly relaxing and had us both pleasantly exhausted after a good few hours there... If you're lucky enough to share this experience with a friend, make sure you tickle each other while floating on the water... it feels delicious!

Möckernstrasse 10
10963 Berlin

Open daily 10.00am - midnight
Friday & Saturday 10.00am - 1.00am

Papermade Heaven 2

There's a twin to Scatolina in terms of papermade bliss in Berlin and it's called R.S.V.P. in Mulackstrasse in Mitte. I used to work in the street, and so discovered the gorgeousness of this little stylish boutique, owned by Mieke Wander, with finely selected papergoods and accessories from all over... a must-see for paper freaks!

R.S.V.P.
Mulackstrasse 14
10119 Berlin-Mitte

Mon-Sat 12.00-19.00 Uhr

Papermade Heaven

This one is for my sister in Sydney... This little shop tucked in a side street of trendy Mitte in Berlin was introduced to me by a good friend here, with a fellow passion for all things beautiful. Scatolina is a boutique devoted to paper and here you can find all sorts of treasure... handmade, cutout, japanese, italian, european, books, journals, mobiles, lights, wrapping paper, anything you can dream of to feed your paper needs and desires... There's no website so you simply have to visit! Go forth and revel...

Almstadtstrasse 3, 10119 Berlin Mitte
Tel: 030 200 89 393
Scatolina@t-online.de

Mon - Fri 12-7pm, Sat 12-4pm

Rock Climbing

A new adventure started recently, thanks to my daredevil partner Thomas. He surprised me with an indoor Rock Climbing session. It's something I'd been wanting to try for a while now and it's something I'll be continuing with definitely. Very good for a girl who was scared of heights - I felt the fear but did it anyway, and that felt AMAZING!

We discovered 2 good places to go in Berlin, and last summer I went to watch an outdoor venue at the end of Mauerpark in Prenzlauerberg, from where my pics are taken...

http://www.diekletterhalle.de/

http://magicmountain.de/

Deep Living

Oh it can't be December already can it? I've been away a bit again with my partner, doing a wonderful workshop called Deep Living with James and Sarah Swank, bringing consciousness into the blocks which keep me from flowering into my full potential! It's intense and inspiring to go deep into this stuff.

Our teacher James speaks of Courage, Honesty and Consciousness as the 3 necessary skills to cultivate in order to live the life you want to live, being true to yourself. We "play" with these concepts in the context of people's deepest issues and I've been inspired to do trainings in this area. My partner also works with this. It's life-changing! Look out world, here I come : D

My leather scarves at Beuteltiere

Beuteltiere means Marsupials in German, you know those cute animals who carry their young in a pouch - we have a few famous ones in Australia - the kangaroo, koala, possums, wombats...

In this case though it's the name of the stylishly selected bags and accessories laden at Raumerstrasse 19 in Berlin Prenzlauerberg, where I now have a couple of my popular, limited edition, elegant leather scarves for sale, thanks to my dear friend Frau Dietel.

The shop is run by two lovely women Barbara Müller and Katrin Hufer who met as students of design studies. These women have a keen eye for quality, beauty and practicality in their selection of bags, wallets, scarves and jewellery from around the globe. They enjoy promoting the work of lesser known designers and thus it's in their store that you'll find unique pieces that others won't have!

The store is regularly updated with thematic decors, often in collaboration with creators of wondrous things such as origami Daschunds by Munich artist Jasmine T.

Sweet treats

My goodness how could it be November already? I was very busy with making costumes for Berlin theatre company Play2C's production of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at English Theatre Berlin recently (see my personal website for pics). That's how it came to be November, oh yes!

Yesterday my partner Thomas took me to an exquisite pâtisserie here in Berlin, of which there is a branch near both our places... this is potentially dangerous in the best possible way! It's called Albrechts run by French-trained Stephanie Albrecht. The cakes are out of this world sublime, and each time I go I will now have to try a different one. A must for any serious sweet tooth.

The future is light

I've been in France celebrating my father's and my birthday so it's been a bit quiet here in blogland. But of course when you've been to Paris there'll be things to blog about.
But let me go backwards...





Tonight back home in Berlin I saw the wonderful Australian dance company Chunky Move's GLOW (above) at Radialsystem V - groovy newish arts venue by the river Spree. It was my first visit to this venue I'd eyed off from my bike a few times. I already knew the work of Chunky Move - I consider myself quite a fan of the forward-thinking Melbourne-based company directed by Gideon Obarzanek. This work was created in collaboration with German software designer Frieder Weiss. It's an ingenious marriage of physicality and technology, a dance between body and computer, light and sound. I saw a few years back the second work in this vein Mortal Engine which was equally as impressive.



In Paris we saw the wonderful Japanese dancer choreographer Saburo Teshigawara, founder of Karas. He performed a solo Miroku at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. "Miroku" is the name given to the Buddha in his last reincarnation when the world has reached a state of harmony.

His stunningly controlled, centred yet chaotic movement was set off by beautiful spare lighting, also designed by him, which varied in tempo to complement his movements or to draw attention to part of him only. The colour blue was used to suggest the infinite sky or sea. At times it really seemed to me that Mr Teshigawara's body was being moved around by the air around him. I was moved to tears as I recalled a childhood dream of mine that endures to this day, to dance by myself in a huge space to loud music...

Ryan McGinley

I'm sure Ryan McGinley has probably been widely blogged about, but as this is somehow my visual diary of inspiration I need to remind myself of this remarkably talented, successful young artist's new series Moonmilk - such beautiful photographs! A topic that is close to my heart more and more - how we need to be in nature, communing with it. These photos for me are about the scale of us vs nature and yet we most definitely belong in it, particularly in our nakedness. Sublime!

Hut Up Berlin

Mmmm, soft felted beauty abounds in Hut Up, a lovely light airy store in the elegant little courtyard of Heckmanhöfe in Mitte. All the fashion and accessories and toys are made of felted wool, and sometimes combined with silk and other materials. Very beautiful. I own a little halterneck piece that always attracts admiration...

Oranienburgerstrasse 32, Heckmanhöfe, 10117 Berlin Mitte
Mon - Sat 11.00 - 19.00

Fashion Faces

Wow, I love these Fashion Faces made of clothing by photoartist Bela Borsodi... magic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG8CvTKYKJg

White Market #2

My beautiful friend Daniela (Frau Dietel - jewellery and pottery above) and I did the White Market again, Saturday just passed, and it was a sunny day under our very cute umbrella stand this time. We had a good spot, surrounded by lovely fellow designers and had fun, despite a quiet day sales-wise. Thank you to all the people who visited us and admired our work! It was great to meet you. My new wool hoods got a lot of attention - and they look good on everyone I think!!

Agata Olek

I have just discovered, through my friend Liz, the wondrously creative, colourful, eccentric, playful, inventive world of Polish born artist Agata Olek. Her work spans sculpture, installation, costumes for performers and more, and is crocheted, using largely recycled materials. It has moved me with its pure creative energy and wonder and cheek. Check it out! She's collaborating this month in New York with choreographer Carrie Ahern at The Lab Gallery.

Baumraum

Thanks to the Mono Kultur blog I discovered this wonderful site BAUMRAUM about Treehouses! Oh, I always wanted one as a child, and I say it's never too late to dream and make that dream a reality one day. Good to know where to go when I find the tree...