STYLE IN YOUR CITY // YELLOW BERLIN

It's been another fortnight since our last series of Style In Your City, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I think this is definitely my favourite image from Instagram from the last fortnight due to the sentiment of live vibrantly from Xanthe. My post pick was by These Four Walls, as I have a taste for travel at the moment and it was great to get a glimpse of Lisbon through this link up.

As you can see my #StyleInYourCity post is not in Bristol but rather Berlin, I have so many cool pics that I wanted to share with you and I love the pops of yellow I found on my travels. When you think of Berlin, most people think of the words: grey, industrial, cold and concrete, and while the last one might be true, I couldn't have found it more different. Yes there is graffiti and areas that are unloved, but there is also colour and curiosities waiting to be discovered and that is why I love seeing places through others eyes as there is always a new perspective to see.

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POSTCARDS FROM BERLIN

Last weekend I was super excted to be travel to Berlin for work with my blogging pal Fritha, and if you follow me on IG you would certainly have seen a few snapshots of us as we explored the city and filled our bellies with delicious bites. Our job was to find the best the city had to offer and review cool eats for LovinBerlin, 16 places over 3 days, which is a lot of eating!  

We stayed over at the wonderful Linnen Hotel and Apartments (anthother post on that to come) and I can't wait to come back and stay, with a park on almost every corner I couldn't help thinking how much F would love it here, plus Paul would love the food.

Apart from my love of street art and urban landscapes, one of my main reasons for wanting to visit was to see the Berlin Wall. On the evening of November 9th 1989, my dad woke me from my sleep and lead me into the lounge to watch the evening news. My nine year old self sat in front of the TV crossed legged, watching strangers desperately reaching through a concrete wall with tears of happiness while people celebrated in the street. I remember sitting on the floor with my teddy and crying, it was so overwhelming and I didn't really understand it at the time, but I knew it was a poignant moment that my dad had wanted me to witness, and it's a memory that stuck with me through adulthood.

So as I approached the Berlin Wall Memorial and felt the cold concrete under my hands as I looked through the gap, it was no surprise that 25 years on nostalgia ran high and the emotional flood gates opened.

I loved exploring Berlin, getting used to the U-bhan and feeling like a native city dweller. There is street art and graffiti on every corner, puncuated with green patches and cool coffee shops which spill out onto the street. People watching here is amazing with so many styles to take in, and the creative buzz feels like electricity in the air.

We stayed in East Berlin which gives me a perfect excuse to return so I can explore the rest of the city and see what else it has to offer, and as I wandered down Graefestrabbe in Kreuzberg I think the city stole a bit of my heart.

So here are a few snapshots of our work weekend, I can't wait to share our cool bolthole with you too.

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // AN URBAN STORE

It's been another fortnight since our last series of Style In Your City, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I loved reading your posts and all your stylish photos over on Instagram, I think this is definitely my favourite colourful coffee capture. My pick from the last fortnight was by Not Another Mummy Blog, I loved discovering a new city and how friendly a local neighbourhood cafe can be.


This fortnight I focused on stylish interiors, I'm slightly cheating as this is a store I found in Amsterdam but totally loved this urban feel and wanted to share it with you, plus I'm hoping that city might adopt me ;)

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OUR URBAN PLAYGROUND

Earlier this week we stepped outside into the first real frost I've seen this winter. We were met by neighbours dutifully scraping their windshields, condensation rapidly evaporating with each breath, beautiful and blinding winter sun shining down as we cautiously shuffled forward, slippery underfoot.

After being cooped up in the house for most of last week due to F being ill, I was determined to get a little fresh air and stretch my legs, even if it was only for a venture round the block. After a few moments of toddler stubbornness and F refusing to get up off the step, we left our street and took a stroll. I love taking walks, normally I love strolling through the woods, surrounded by the rich green trees or wandering shoeless along the shore, toes wriggling down into sand with every step, but there is something to be said about an urban walk.

For me it isn't just tree lined streets with fancy houses, set back with their beautifully presented gardens that grabs my attention. Often it is the gritty, unloved areas that are most interesting. Where plants push their way through paving cracks and spill onto the streets unnoticed,  small graffiti marks tucked away in shy places, left for someone as a secret. The strong contrasts of cement, tarmac, brick and cobbles wash together to create a landscape waiting to be discovered. Normally in these places we tend to overlook our surroundings, these bricks, the same as yesterday hold no importance when running for a bus or popping out to get milk. So to take a slow walk – toddler speed – and breathe it all in is refreshing. I am an observant person by nature and visually take a lot in: shapes, colour, light, but to visit it through a child's eyes in the morning sun was as lovely as the cool blue sea.

The trick to seeing all this beauty, the mix of green nature versus mankind's grey, is one word. SLOW. Who am I to rush this boy when he wants to peer into puddled water, green algae, decomposing leaves, painted hearts, tangled weeds, faded numbers? If I can not stop to appreciate the small things then how will I ever realise when the big things are standing right in front of me?

This is our urban playground.