How it all began, an inspiring story and ... I miss Berlin.

Shop window in Kreuzberg

Before leaving Montreal, when I knew we were moving to Berlin, I have to say, I was feeling excited but also really overwhelmed.  I'm moving to Berlin?  I'm moving to Germany?  A place where I don't even speak the language!? What am I doing?  So I started searching online for blogs about living in Berlin or Germany.  I wanted to read some stories by real people about what it was like there.  I'd been to Berlin before but I had no intention of living there then, so my perspective was different.  I loved the city, but what was it like to live there?  What's up with these German people ... are they cool or what? 

One of the first blogs I found was Haus Maus, a blog about an American setting up "Haus" in Germany.  I thought this was good for me to read and a good place to start.  I spent the next few days reading all her posts.  I was pleased to have stumbled upon a blogger with whom I had very important things in common.  First of all, we were both from America (ok, so I'm Canadian, she's American - whatever), second, we are married to Germans, next we are both into Interior Design (she's well established, I'm still a student), and lastly, we are both called Holly.  These factors made me feel like I could take her opinions seriously and that I could learn and discover a lot from reading her blogs, whether it be about design or about living in Germany as an American.  I soon started following her other blog Decor8.  And then a whole new world unraveled for me.  Suddenly I was reading all these blogs by other people about things I liked.  It was very fun.  During this time, I started my blog - but only for the purposes of my family and friends so they could keep track of my thoughts and experiences in this new life - that was only just beginning for me and oh so far away from them.  I also thought that maybe there is someone out there who is also embarking on such an adventure and maybe they will need reassurance, as I did.  I hoped that by reading my blog, they can see that life is life, no matter where you are - but that Berlin is super awesome!  Now, this blog has turned into more of a personal exercise for me and I find I benefit from it greatly.  And I have a nice blog list that keeps me busy reading and learning about interesting things everyday.

So that's how it all began.

Today, I was over at Decor8 and Holly had a great post I would encourage you to check out, featuring an interview via  Freunde von Freunden (FvF) about a self taught American artist who's in Berlin at the moment getting ready for a show.  His story is quite inspiring, especially for those who are looking to change something (aren't we all, or haven't we at some point?).  Also, I'd never heard about FvF - a Berlin based interview magazine that focuses on displaying the working and living lives of creative people. I'm definitely adding it to my blog list.  I'm grateful to Holly for blogging about this today.  I love reading things about Berlin - I miss it so much.

Biking in Friedenau

xoxo
Holly