Ima got her laptop fixed and uploaded some photos from New Years Eve. Amsterdam with the Dutch and the Slovenians and a party on a rooftop.

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(Jasmin as a sailor, Mikey as a Scotsman aka. himself and me as a cowgirl.)

I do admit it, Karneval is a pretty weird event. If you, like me, grew up with it you barely question it and it makes perfect sense: Once a year you dress up, party on the streets for five days in a row, dance to party songs, go to parades where people throw candy and just genrally follow a mad tradition without really knowing where it actually came from. It doesn’t matter anyway. As a child you love it, as a teenager you are annoyed by it and as you get older you fall in love with it again because it reminds you of home and good times. You can sing along to every song and you feel how it connects everybody on the streets, just like that. In terms of these things, Cologne is probably the most open-minded city I know. Karneval connects us all and even though we like to deny it, deep inside we’re all patriotic as fuck. I can’t wait to hit the town tomorrow and celebrate!

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I’m back from Amsterdam and the few days felt like a movie. You know the feeling when you experience things and all of a sudden you realise that it’s so amazing, yet very cliché and just like one of these film scenes that are totally fascinating but still seem pretty unreal, simply because they’re so brilliant and cool? I’ve probably said that before but I think that might even be the point when you actually start living.

Anyway, I stayed in a nice house with my Dutch friends and a three guys and two girls from Slovenia who came over for New Year’s as well and were a pretty cool bunch of people. On New Years Eve we first hung out at our place drinking and playing silly games and I ate my very first oliebollen (Ima: “You have to eat it, otherwise you’ll have a bad 2010!”), it’s some Dutch speciality and it actually tasted pretty nice.

Shortly before midnight we went to a private house party on the other side of the road, it took place in a big building, a former squat and now gallery or something. The best part of it was that it had a roof terrace from where you had a 360° view over Amsterdam. It was amazing. We went upstairs and watched the fireworks while a band was playing on the roof. The fireworks, the people, the music, the atmosphere, it just blew me away.

We stayed up all night, it was great. Not such a bad start into 2010 and quite promising actually.

Frank Turner, Monopoly with friends in Berlin, Christmas with the family & Amsterdam with the Dutch and the Slovenians.

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A new year means as much to me as my own birthday (practically nothing) but then again, it’s a nice frame for a part of your life and a good opportunity to start things. I always need events to change things. Or at least try to. I’m not saying I constantly make changes, it’s so hard to change things about yourself, even if you want to, but having an event makes it easier. Next year everything will get better - I keep saying that to myself all the time.

I spent New Year’s 2007/2008 in London, we stayed with a friend and went out in Shoreditch that night, missed midnight and saw no fireworks so we went home and joined the house party. 2008/2009 I was at home in Cologne. I had just moved houses and I was pretty down and depressed that day so I was planning on staying in. Friends eventually convinced me to come to theirs where we had sparkling wine and German New Year’s Eve traditions, we later went to a club and it turned out to be a pretty strange night out. At least we had fireworks.

This year I will go to Amsterdam, hang out with our Dutch people, relax, have fun and just let everything pass. Even the new year. It’s two thousand and ten already and it feels weird, I still remember the “Millenium” ten years ago - people wearing funny 2000 glasses and Robbie Williams singing on TV. Now another decade has passed.
Fucking hell.

Some older photos from Berlin and Cologne about two weeks ago. The boys getting ready for their gig:

(I have no clue who took this photo of me and I look well scared. The girl in the picture above is Josie who I met for some nice Berlin breakfast, picture below is The Cinematics in Cologne.)

Got my photos from Paris developed. I accidentally switched my camera to panorama mode at some point but they still turned out quite nice.

(This is Zazou, my friend’s brother. He’s only 9 but he’s already a ladykiller and he will have the world at his feet one day. Above you also see some shots from our pool party, the amazing Galeries Lafayette at night and the big wheel in the city centre.)

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In Paris the sky is never black. It’s sometimes grey, sometimes purple or blue-ish but in the city of light it’s always bright and you can barely see the stars at night. I went to Paris this weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We stayed in a huge loft flat in a house that used to be a factory, it’s so beautiful and unique that it’s sometimes used as a set for films. The photo studio that was located downstairs had a big pool where we had a pool party with delicious food and Pina Coladas, we all jumped in the pool shortly before midnight and sang French birthday songs.

Paris is an utterly beautiful city, we spent hours just walking through the city, seeing big touristy places, small alleys with tiny shops, homeless people in their tents, cafés, the Seine and huge buildings. I’d love to come back soon, see some more, get an idea of the night life, maybe improve my French as well. I don’t speak any French, all I can do is introduce myself which isn’t that helpful if you are trying to order food, ask for the way or have a proper conversation with your friend’s friends who don’t speak English. But it all worked out somehow, people get very creative when it comes to communication. We use our hands, our whole bodies, all existing languages that we know, because, quite frankly, all we want is to be understood.

We went home tonight and I’m back in my flat - back to normal, but inspired and pretty tired.

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Last weekend Sina and me went to Berlin. She had the vacation planned for quite a while, asked me to come along and I said yes. I mean, why not, it’s not really that I’ve got anything better to do and Berlin is often a highlight. When I’m over I usually stay with friends but this time we booked a nice hostel, the most amazing hostel there is in Berlin. It’s cheap, modern, comfy and open all night - what more can you ask for?

I’ve never really stayed in a hostel before (if you don’t count that one drunken time when we crashed that room in Munich with 6 beds for 8 people) but I loved it and it again made me realise that - if I ever want to live together with people, which I do - need to quit some of my habits, like talking in my sleep or walking around the house half-naked.

The first night we went out and saw The Paddingtons *, kinda nostalgic for me considering I’ve seen them on pretty much every gig of their tour when I was about 16. They’re not a particularly good band and their music is not exactly brilliant, it’s more something to bawl along when you’re wasted.

The next day we went second hand shopping and spent the day in town. Lots of plans were made for the night but we eventually ended up at the BEAT!BEAT!BEAT! gig and then all took taxis to Bang Bang where the guys from The Cinematics were DJing downstairs. It was nice to see everyone again and we drowned all occuring drama in cider.

Now I’m back home, back to work, back to uni and I wonder what’s next. Amsterdam maybe. And I got invited to a birthday party in Paris next week (fucking Parissssss! I’ve never been there and I don’t speak a single word of French, but it’s gonna be fun!).

* They were supported by Johann van der Smut by the way, you should really check these guys out and buy their EP.

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Last weekend we went to Amsterdam. The more often I visit this city, the more I fall in love with it. It’s beautiful, international and modern, sparkly and touristy, yet small and cosy. We biked through town all day and sat down in parks & by the canals. For some reason, despite being an incurable entertainment junky, I can spend hours on the back of a bike riding through Amsterdam, I can’t really describe it, it’s kinda magical.

When we came home the house was packed with people drinking and raiding the buffet, though it was already predictable that it would end in a rum-fueled party with people destructing the bathroom and leaving stains of cherry blossom bath bombs all over the walls. I was actually planning on getting my hair cut and it could have been wonderful. We were at this house party, the Polish barkeeper, who was the only sober person in this place at the time, was already getting excited about being my hairdresser and I felt brave & adventurous. Unfortunately, Janna’s boyfriend forgot the hair trimming machine - fuck - so nothing happend and at present I’m still fantasizing about how a new haircut would significantly change my life.

Vero is documenting our lives in pictures. Today we went late night shopping, baked cupcakes and recieved a letter from an old philosopher who we met in a café the night before.

Read on…

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Sometimes I do believe that something like fate exists. Last night, Franzi and me met in her hometown to celebrate her birthday. We actually wanted to go for cocktails but the bar was packed and we couldn’t be bothered waiting ages for a free table. So we ended up in a kiosk with bar stools, having cheap champagne and marble cake. As if someone was trying to tell us “Girls, did you really think you could just go out and have cocktails in a posh cocktail bar? Honestly, this is where you belong!” And I agree, it is where we belong, it’s always been and apparently it’s just not meant to change. And I even love it.

After a good night’s sleep on Franzi’s spare bed (the most restful sleep I’ve had in a long time!) I will spend this day at home on my couch with lots of pillows and blankets. I need to clean & tidy up the flat as well - Vero is coming to visit me on Tuesday, we haven’t seen eachother in ages (literally!) and we have made lots of plans for the week already. I can’t wait to see her again. Friday we’re going to Amsterdam, visit Janna, celebrate her birthday, explore the city & hopefully repeat our collective haircutting session. Good times ahead!

Photos taken by Franzi.

I’m back from Berlin and back online. My internet abstinence wasn’t actually planned but I just couldn’t be bothered going online very often and only checked my e-mails on my phone a couple of times.

I arrived on Thursday, same old 5-in-the-morning car-ride story, met up with some people at a friend’s place to go out and didn’t really plan on staying long. But for some reason I was still there at 4 in the morning and ended up walking home barefoot eating falafel from my favourite kebab place. Good times. It wasn’t too easy to get up early the next day and go to Berlin Festival, though… The festival was okay, Tempelhof airport is a cool location for an event like that, it was just a little chaotic and long (12+ hours everyday, I’m still tired).

Peter Doherty played a really good show, I’ve always loved his acoustic demos and it was so nice to hear them live if you managed to fight your way to the front and ignored the screaming girls and drunk boys (who were quite disappointed he was actually playing music and not injecting heroin on stage and shooting blood into the audience).

I spent the last days lying in our huge white bed, ordering and eating amazing Indian food, letting Riki braid my hair, talking about conspiracies, listening to peace music, walking around Prenzlauer Berg, playing a board game called “Therapy” (best thing ever!), watching “Skins”, sleeping, borrowing the PlayStation & having a SingStar party with friends & drinking cheap cocktails.

Me: “Your mum just commented on my Facebook status.” - Josie: “Haha, that’s a good one!” - Me: “No… really.”

For the third time we’re packing our bags and heading off to Ferropolis, the city of steel, for Melt! Festival. I’m really looking forward to it this time. We’ve got a car, a tent, food, drinks, raincoats, wellies and lots of other things that we might need or not need over there.

We’re leaving tonight already, then it’s off to the pre-party on the Sleepless Floor, we’ll recharge our batteries, start into the festival on Friday and be back on Monday.

Don’t forget: WE WILL TWITTER LIVE FROM THE FESTIVAL FOR @THEHEADHOOPS! So in case you’re interested, follow us & our updates live from my new hipster phone. If you want to meet up, camp with us etc. etc. drop us a line!

This weekend I got up way too early again to get on the car early as fuck, arrived in Berlin around noon, went to some charity event thing for free cake and food, jumped on a trampoline, went out & saw Mystery Jets - it was rather weird to see them again after such a long time. I didn’t really care about the band but certain music is often connected to certain memories and I felt like I was beamed back 3 years ago.

I walked home barefoot, got falafel from my favourite kebab place, we slept in, watched random TV, ordered lots of delicious sushi that was delivered quickly, watched more silly TV, talked about the universe, evolution and conspiracies. Then I went home again.

I spend so much time in various vehicles that I sometimes ask myself if this is actually worth it. I spend money, don’t sleep and eat unhealthy, I forget about things, keep running away and can’t ever get enough. But I know that I would go crazy if I had to stay in one place without the chance of just letting everything behind and getting out of everything for a while. No matter where to. And even if it’s just for a couple of days.

We were struck by the sudden heat wave, thirty plus degrees in the sun and of course I got horribly sunburned in the weirdest places you can ever imagine. I went to a free outdoor festival, fought through the fourteen-year olds with the vodka bottles in the train, slept in the grass, watched music and had cheap fruit sangria.

Now it’s dark and rainy again. I believe it’s because I cursed the sun. And now I fucking miss it.

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As I type this I’m sitting in Berlin, being a little bored as noone answers their fucking phone. I never understand how people can just not answer their phones. Or switch them off completely. But I guess I’m just paranoid and afraid of not being able to communicate.

I arrived here around noon on Friday, we went to do some shopping, watched TV, had drinks in the flat and later left for Club NME at Magnet. The Holloways were quite good, although it was the 5th or 6th time I saw them and they had at least 2 new band members. It was a good night after all and dancing to “Clean Up Your Eyes” on an empty dancefloor at 4 in the morning is always a highlight. I ignored the hamsters, fell asleep right away and was woken up by a call around 10 saying that my lift / car share thing home was cancelled. Nice one. Since I was too lazy to find something new last minute, I decided to spend the rest of the day on the couch eating unhealthy food & watching TV and moved to Josie’s place in the evening.

Now I’m here, after some good sleep, and still got a couple of hours until my lift leaves for Cologne. I think I might go for a walk later. Or flea market. It’s incredibly nice outside and staying in bed would be a complete waste.

Today we sat down in the studio and decided to get Janna a new hair cut. She actuallly just wanted to have a tiny bit cut off but I suggested a New Young Pony Club style haircut with a shaved-off bit and she was instantly up for it. - “Ok, let’s fucking do it.” So we just kept cutting and cutting and it turned out to be really cool. It suits her perfectly and I think she looks absolutely stunning now.

People getting new haircuts is really inspiring so in the end everyone gathered in the studio getting haircuts. I was so tempted to get my hair cut as well, something new, something radical. I didn’t let it happen though, there’s just not much you can do about my hair. I don’t even think I’m too much of a chicken - I’m up for everything these days.

Boat trips and canal cruises are probably the most touristy thing ever. But very relaxing. I just had a bottle of appple-pear-raspberry juice and I think I might move here for a bit at some point next year.

Tonight we’re going to see Hatcham Social, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and something else I don’t remember at Paradiso.

I’ve had a good time over here so far. On Friday I met Adam Ficek of Babyshambles aka. Roses Kings Castles for interview, you can read the result here (German only). He played a lovely show at Paradiso as well, only the afterparty was a bit strange, weird old crowd only enjoying themselves during “Sweet Home Alabama”. We had fun, though.

Yesterday we sat down by the water, watched the pigeons and ferrys and had amazing lunch from Albert Heijn. For some reason I’m in love with the Dutch Albert Heijn supermarkets, although they probably rule and exploit the country just like every other supermarket. But they’ve got amazing fresh smoothies and salads. If I lived here I’d only live on Albert Heijn orange-strawberry-banana smoothies.

I need to get dressed now, go to Central Station, borrow Janna’s bike and ride through the city. Wohoo!

I just arrived in Amsterdam, I’m staying in the most amazing house again and my room is almost like a hotel room. I love it. By the way, this is my friend Janna in front of the house on Google StreetView:

From about 5 different angles. Pretty amazing. We just found this website called StreetViewFun with the funniest screenshots from Google StreetView… like, weird people, weird cars, naked people, criminals caught red-handed, drug deals and more.

Last Saturday we went to watch football. Scottish cup final, Glasgow Rangers against… I don’t even remember. I’ve never been into football but I do enjoy watching it in Irish pubs, drinking cider at 4 in the afternoon and seeing grown-up men turning into children again. Rangers won. We stayed for a few more drinks, then went to Luzia, which is a very cosy alternative café in Berlin Kreuzberg. On our way back we met strangers who gave us balloons and had to stop by at the black&white photo booth. One thing I love about Berlin.

A little roundup of my trip to Amsterdam last week. I stayed in an amazing house with Janna and her family. Her mum is an artist so it alway smells of oil paint while her dad makes the best pancakes ever. I really love the Dutch architecture as well, the windows are so low that you can sleep right next to the window and be woken up by the sunlight. For some reason I never need much sleep when I’m staying with someone else (in most cases at least) so I opened the blinds and watched the sunny street while curled up in my fresh white bed.

Thursday night I borrowed a bike and we rode through the city. I haven’t felt that free in a long time. We ended up in a punk club in central Amsterdam, everyone was sitting on the pavement outside drinking beer while a mental punk band played inside (their singer could barely walk straight and still they kept playing and playing).

Friday we went to pick up Franzi from the central station, friends came over and we played card games, had cheese and pizza and later went to Paradiso for London Calling Festival. Marina & The Diamonds and Noisettes were pretty amazing but at some point I got so tired I almost fell asleep during Delphic.

Saturday we went water cycling on the canals. It was one of the most beautiful things ever. One day I’m going to move to Amsterdam, live in a house with a huge white bed next to big windows facing the canal and - of course - own a boat. I will just invite friends around and we’ll get on the boat, drink beer and and have a good time.

We later had some pizza at our favourite pizza place near Leidseplein, missed the Cinematics instore gig, got some disgusting yellow energy drinks and eventuall headed for Paradiso again. Saw Eugene McGuinness, Team Waterpolo, The Backhanded Compliments, The Cinematics… I don’t even remember everything. I eventually ended up having drinks in the downstairs bar, dancing to electro electro music and sitting around a campfire in the park with random people around 5am. I’ll be back soon!

I’m off to Amsterdam tomorrow for London Calling Festival! For some reason I’m not looking forward to it quite as much as I used to the last couple of times but maybe it will change as soon as I’m in this beautiful city again.

I just got told it’s actually Queensday on Thursday, which means lots of drunk Dutch people dressed in orange. A bit like carnival in Cologne I guess and  considering I’ve missed that in February I think it might even be fun. At least it’s something you should have been part of at least once in your life.

So I guess I will meet people, walk around the city, hang out in the park, eat pizza at our favourite pizza place, see lots of bands and apart from that, let’s just see what happens. I’ve become so sick of making plans recently.

1. Amsterdam, Holland 075 - The Venice of Northern Europe, 2. amsterdam linocut, 3. Amsterdam, Holland 076 - Spring at the canal, 4. Remember Amsterdam?, 5. Gabriel Rios, Paradiso Amsterdam, 6. Amsterdam, Leidseplein

Tomorrow is my monthly Berlin Friday. It became kind of a monthly routine now: I get on the car, listen to music, try to sleep (and fail at it), go straight to Mitte, talk, relax, put on fake lashes, drink cider, dress up, ride taxis through the city, go out, party at Club NME, sleeeep, have chinese noodles from the place down the road and just generally have a good time.

I’ll be back on Sunday! (Oh, and if you’re in Berlin, come down to Club NME at Magnet tomorrow, as always. I’ll be wearing a sequinned dress, just so you know.)

1. Berlin Mitte, 2. lashes, 3. No it’s not a disco ball, it’s a sequin dress., 4. cider, 5. YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE BUS RIGHT NOW!!!, 6. Club NME #6, 7. lomo holga 120 : party II, 8. Sleeping Softly, 9. NOODLES! MM!!

I came home from Berlin last night and, despite being tired as fuck, decided to go to that Nokia Loft Beat thing with Digitalism. The party took place in a big, white warehouse-style venue, furnished like a loft flat. You could get free makeovers, i.e. makeup and hair, or sit down and play with brand new shiny Nokia phones and laptops. The promotion didn’t work so well for me, though - the phones didn’t work and looked shit. And who needs a joystick for a mobile phone anyway?

I stayed for a while taking advantage of the free crisps and cheap drinks but the combination of lots of loud people plus electro music eventually made my head feel like it was going to explode. The effect of the painkillers I took in the morning started to wear off. So I got a salad döner from the place down the road, went home and watched Arte Tracks. Something about Donovan giving John Lennon guitar lessons, the Black Lips spitting on records and Tokyo’s anti-fashion party scene. Interesting to watch, although in my state the bright colours and spaghetti hats were doing my head in.

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I’m going to Berlin again this weekend. It feels good to just go away for a bit, even if it’s only for one or two days and I really need some distraction again. Tomorrow night we’ll dress up and make our way down to Magnet for Club NME.

I’ve designed the flyers and posters for the club night and it’s pretty cool to see them all over the city. I mean, I’ve had some of my stuff printed or published before but this time there’s about 5,000 posters and 20,000 flyers and they were basically everywhere I went during the past few weeks. It feels a bit weird to see something you did on your computer screen printed on A2 or even bigger or projected onto a club wall.

Anyway, it’s going to be a big party so if you’re in Berlin, come down to Magnet on Friday. Club NME, 27.03., 11pm, Magnet Club. 6€. Live: Two Door Cinema Club (UK). DJs: Mikey & Tim Chester (Club NME UK), Fake Lashes & Karrera Klub DJs.