Black gold

Hello, my name is Lisa. I am addicted to coffee.
I don't know exactly how long this has been going on but I would guess 15-20 years.
My whole family are coffee junkies, my mom, my dad, even my gran. The first thing we do when we get up in the morning is to go to the kitchen and switch on the coffee machine. You know the one where you put the paper filter in the top and then the coffee grounds and the water goes in the back.
It doesn't matter who gets up first, he or she just makes enough coffee for everyone, takes a cup and fills the rest into a flask so there is enough at least until breakfast. And trust me that won't be the last time the coffee machine is running in one day. We drink coffee no matter what time of the day. I don't think any of us have problems sleeping after a cup of coffee.

Coffee has just always been part of my family, there is no time in my memory when there was no coffee. When I was little my mom would work night shifts so she would get up in the afternoon just after I got home from school and I would already have the coffee running. At that age, I didn't even drink any yet, but I already knew how the coffee machine worked. In fact I was too small to reach everything I needed, so I had to get a stool and climb onto the kitchen counter. I think I was about 8 or 10 at that point.

I can't remember when I first started drinking coffee. I know that when I moved out and into my first flat share at the age of 17 I already had a coffee maker. Or at least a filter you could put your grounds in, then you pour water and let it drip into your cup or flask. At a friends house a couple of years later I first tried coffee out of an espresso maker you know the ones you put on a stove. I learned to like that stuff, too and even bought one for my travels, because I can't stand instant coffee. I only drink that stuff when there is nothing else. It's for baking or lazy kids who just moved out from mom's, but eventually they will find their way back to the good stuff. 

But that's the problem here in the UK, there is (almost) nothing else. I have worked in nurseries and babysat in families and only one family had a proper coffee machine. ONE in maybe 20 or more places I have been. Hostels are the same unless you have longterm guests who love their coffee as much as I do. Unfortunately I lost my wee espresso maker while traveling, so I bought a french press. It has been replaced a few times, since those things are mainly made of glass they break easily, but I couldn't live without it. And my friends and colleges here at the hostel know it. My boss knows not to talk to me, until I had a cup of coffee. When people don't get an answer when they say hello, they know that I didn't have any coffee yet. Sometimes someone starts talking to me and chewing my ear off and I just tell to fuck off and that I didn't have coffee yet, and they apologies, even though I was the bitch. They even post funny pictures of how I am without and with coffee on my facebook wall like this one here. I even had a cup that said "wake up and smell the coffee", it broke my heart when it broke the other day. Such a great cup!

And cake and coffee just go together so well, it's actually a thing in Germany. If you invite someone over for coffee, it is usually at three in the afternoon and there will be some sort of cake of biscuit involved. That is just a fact. And never ever will you get instant coffee anywhere.

But it's more than just a drink or a way to wake up. I am not even sure, if coffee helps me with that, I think it has more to do with comfort. There is nothing better than during or after a night shift or a night out than sitting on the front steps of the hostel with a cup of coffee and a cigarette and enjoy the peace and quiet before the city wakes up and watch the sun rising. Coffee is warm and delicious and somehow soothing even though it increases your heart rate. I think it reminds me of good times with my family or friends....

This Is Krist Novoselic: Standing With Eddie Vedder and the Real Possibilit...

Miss Snowdrop: I am sharing this post, because I think Krist nails it. I think you can't just blame one side for what's happening, both are and the ones that are suffering are the civilians who most likely just want to live in peace and not in fear for their lives.



This Is Krist Novoselic: Standing With Eddie Vedder and the Real Possibilit...: Palestinian / Israeli Separation Wall Thank you Eddie Vedder for speaking up for peace in our world. Eddie has gotten some criticism ove...

a life of goodbyes

Life as a traveler is beautiful. The things you see and learn and the people you meet... it's hard to describe, if you have never traveled. Your mind has to open up, if you want to enjoy the ride, otherwise you just keep comparing what you see and do to what you already know and can't appreciate the fact, that although something is different it can also be good, especially when it comes to people. Because everyone has a different cultural socialization, not only depending on where they or their parents come from but on many different factors.

I think for a lot of travelers this is a natural process and they end up with friends from all over the world. And just by hanging out with people from other countries you can learn so much about the culture and the history of other countries. These are the kind of lessons no book, no teacher, no school could ever teach you.

And with some of these people you become really good friends. You travel with them for a while or share a dorm, you meet them at the kitchen table of your new hostel or the pub crawl and meet up again the next day or you might have surfed their couch or you're both working at the same shitty bar, because you ran out of money. No matter how you've met and how long you've known each other but with some of them you click in a beautiful way that makes you smile just thinking about them. It doesn't even have to be in a romantic way. You just love hanging out with them and getting to know them. And you become friends, like the best of friends. Friends you never ever would have met, if hadn't gotten on that plane and left home to go on an adventure. And for a while these new friends are part of that adventure.

But since you, maybe even both of you are on the road it means that you will part eventually. It's just the way it is as a backpacker. You move on, to see new exiting places and meet new people. And you have to say goodbye to the people you've met. Sometimes that part seems to be hardest when you're  traveling. You wish you could just shove your new friends in your backpack and take them with you but the only way you will be able to stay in contact with them is through the internet. I hate to say it, but thank god for Facebook. Over time you lose contact to them. Their faces become blurrier in your mind and the moments you've shared are not as clear in your memories as they once were, eventually you even forget some of those people. 

But a few of these friendships and relationships might last. I know a few people that have met at one hostel or another and they are still friends, still talk online, skype a lot and visit each other every now and then, even though they are continents apart. I know people that have become lovers, are still together and even might get married and have children one day - or already have. Some of these people are from the same country, some are from different continents, but somehow they have found a connection despite all differences... they would have never met, if they hadn't been traveling.

There are a lot of people I have met along the way and had to say goodbye to over the years and there will be many more. Sometimes it is brutal, because they've really become loved ones. And I wonder what they are up to now and if I will ever see them again, if they ever think of me...

Etsy and trying to run a business

I am not sure who you are and why you are reading this.

You are probably a friend of mine and you got here because I posted the link to this post on facebook and it is likely that you've read or at least skimmed over some of the last posts. Then you probably know that I am trying to get my new business with hand made crochet accessorize running.

I am not sure how else you might have gotten here. I posted the link to this blog in some Etsy teams. If you got here that way, well than you know how it is trying to run a business with handmade or vintage stuff and why Etsy or similar sites can be one way to get your stuff out there.

the handbag

Anyways in this post I will try to explain Etsy to non-Etsians.

The idea to open up a business didn't happen over night. It grew, slowly. It took at least a year and a half, if not more. First there was just me, finding a new hobby in times of total boredom (full time night portering at the hostel) and lack of money for buying a new purse and a cover for my kindle. It had nothing to do with what it is now. Then there were friends telling me that they liked what I had made and requesting that I make stuff for them. Still it was just a hobby.

And it grew and grew and at some point I just had to make it an official business because things had gone a bit out of hand and I spend most of my day crocheting and watching crochet videos on Youtube.

But I knew that I wouldn't stay here at the hostel forever, but since I sold all my stuff here, I had to find another way to sell my items and build up a business outside of the hostel. There are different ways to do that of course and depending on what you make my way of doing things might not be the right one for everyone. Sometimes I am not even sure, if I am doing the right thing here.

At some pint people started asking me, if I had an Etsy shop and I didn't even know what they were talking about, so I had to look into it. I did sign up with Etsy in July 2013 but it took me almost a year to put my first items up for sale.

Etsy seems to be its own little world and it took me a while to understand what the hell was going on.

There are basically three types of shops you can have:
- vintage stuff, which means it has to be older than 20 years
- arts and crafts supply, as in buttons, yarn, earring hooks and so on
- handmade goods, like jewellery, paintings, beanies, clothing, soap, shoes.... and so much more.

So Etsy (and other websites like that) is like a quirky online mall of artsy little shops and people where you can find the coolest, prettiest, ugliest, craziest, most amazing things. It is impossible to keep up with and see everything. You can dive in and never come back - just like with youtube or facebook. There are always new items, new shops and tutorials to discover.

If you decide to sign up you can do that either just as a customer or open up your own little shop. Of course Etsy takes a basic fee for every item you put up for sale through their website  - that's how they earn their money, just like Amazon or Ebay. The main reason I prefer Etsy is, that this site is especially made for handmade arts and crafts. People with small businesses all come together, we are all more or less in the same boat, all of us in different stages but we are all struggling to make this thing work for us, build an audience and the big dream of course is to be able to quid your day job one day.
And because we are all in the same boat, there is a lot of support from the other members, even when you are brand new. You still have to work hard to get attention for your shop and items and it can take quite a while till the ball starts rolling. So far I haven't had a single sale yet, I am still in the phase of letting people know that my shop exists and trying to get people to have a look at my items.
You can do that in all different kind of ways but in the end it is all about putting yourself out there and connecting with other people, let them know that you're there. You can like other peoples items and shops, they will see that in their news feed. There are teams with certain themes, like crochet, punk, origami, local support teams.... well you get the idea and in some of them you can show off your new items (called listings).

And of course you can try to get people's attention outside of Etsy.

Both my Facebook page and this blog got a button that directs you to my shop, so you can check my stuff out. That would make me very happy and maybe even bring me one step closer to my first sale.

My hostel romance

You know, sometimes things just happen... weird things that are really cool at the same time. Things you'd never have thought possible. For example the other day one of our longtermers agreed to get a strip of his leg waxed, just to experience what it feels like. So that same day I got the cold wax strips out, so he could make good on his promise to try it. But since these things come in pairs (2 always stick together), we had to find another willing guinea pig. It really didn't take long and a second guy maned up, saying he couldn't let a brother suffer alone. After surprisingly little screaming on their part they now have matching hairless rectangles on their legs. Since one of them always wears shorts we are kind of waiting for him to get sun burned just in that little spot.

Today something similar happened. A day or two ago some of us girls somehow got the idea to turn our boys into Emos. You know the newer version of a goth, with usually a lot of eyeliner, black clothes and funny hair that is spiky in some parts and straightened in others. And to my surprise ALL of them agreed.

And I wonder what makes people do such things, because for some of them it seems such a drastic change and the girls really had to get into their personal space to paint fingernails, put the makeup on their faces and straighten their hair.

Of course like so often with such questions it isn't easy to answer, it may be boredom and events like that are simply a distraction or as they would say, something to do. But you still have to be comfortable enough with the people around you to let them get that close to you. And closeness might be one of the answers to that actually. Most of the people involved have been here for a couple of months and know each other really well. In fact they seem to be doing everything together: some of them work in the same place, they go out together, they have meals together, quite often they hang out in the common area all day, we have some musicians in the group and if one of them has a gig at least a hand full of them come to support them. So there is a huge amount of trust between them.

On the other hand, there were a couple of shorttermers, as in people who only stay for a few nights, who joined the fun. So it can't just be the fact that "the kids" (that's what I call the longtermers) were bored and they were comfortable enough with each other to do that. I am not sure, maybe it's just fun to dress up and do silly things, slip into different roles and try a different version of ones self.

What ever it may be, here are a few more pictures. And if you have an answer to my question, you are welcome to leave a comment....

yarn yarn yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarn

I think I briefly mentioned that crafts have always been a big deal in my family, like a huge deal.
My grandmother was a tailor and I think my mother would as a teenager use her mom's sawing machine even though she knew that it would get her in trouble. I am pretty sure that she also learned crochet and knitting from my gran as well as in school.
So I've had hand made stuff all my life. In fact when I was born my mother was a single parent with a limited income and it was possibly cheaper for her to make linen and other things herself. My whole life, I had jumpers, dresses, skirts, shirts and socks that she or my grandma made, I still do actually.

I think I've also mentioned that when it was my turn to learn any of these crafts, I wasn't very interested, even though I didn't suck at crochet or knitting. In the past 20 years I've made a scarf here and there, but that was all I ever did. Until about 2 years ago I think. And well, you know the story of how I started to crochet here at the hostel and how my mother send me huge box of yarn.

At the end of June, I went to Germany to see my fiends and family and hang out on the coast for a wee while and of course I paid my mother a visit. Since my mother retired a couple of years ago and since I have moved out she has turned the whole house into a crafts centre. Literally every room, every shelf every corner is stuffed with fabric, yarn, craft magazines and books. It's crazy, I am actually kicking myself for not taking any pictures, because it is hard to put into words. My old room of over 20sqm has barely space for the mattress I sleep on when I come over (yeah, my bed and any other piece of furniture I used to own is gone). What used to be the attic is now a studio and that has about 80sqm (which is bigger that my last flat) filled with.... well you've guessed it. The old dining room is full of.... yep yarn and fabric.

So since I've picked up crochet, when ever I come over my mom gets a big box out and goes through her yarn with me - well some of it, all would be impossible - to see if I have any use for it, because she can't possibly knit that much (she doesn't really crochet anymore).

And this time was no different. We started at one end of the studio made our way through the whole thing and boom, the first box was too full. On we went to the living room, where she keeps the yarn for socks (one entire dresser full) and I think it was the next day she remembered some yarn she didn't need in boxes in the former dining room. And that's when the second box turned out to be too small.

So while I continued my travels (taking some yarn with me, so I could crochet on the road) she found an even bigger box to fit all the yarn in and send it to me. A few days after I got home it finally arrived. And maaaaan, I didn't even realise how much stuff it was, because we simply kept adding to the pile. Now I have sooo much yarn. As I've said, I already started to crochet away, while I was still in Germany and since I've come home I haven't stopped. Unfortunately the box is so big, that there is no space in my room other than my bed, so I am sharing it now with said box. Here are a few pictures of the box and the results, although it really doesn't feel like I've done any damage to the mountain of yarn.

Hostelreview III

I know I know it has taken me a while to write all three of my hostel reviews. Sorry folks!

So the last hostel I stayed at was the grand hostel in Bremen.
It took me a wee while to get to the hostel, since it isn't exactly in the city centre. From the airport it takes easily 30 minutes by tram. It is basically on the other side of town. I am sure you could walk from the city centre but that takes at least a half hour as well.
Once I found the hostel (thank god for google maps) I realised that the hostel is in a weird half residential halt industrial area. Definitely not a part of town with bars, sights or even a park. It has the advantage though, that the is hostel rather quiet.

I wasn't too sure where the reception was, since the hostel has two buildings but the nice young receptionist was outside and quite helpful. He even knew my name before I told him, which is nice on one hand but also a bit worrying since that means that they don't have that many guest.

Since I had booked the cheapest bed my room was in what turned out to be the older of the two buildings. Again it was a 4 bed dorm, without en-suite. Really nice is the fact, that my room had plenty of space, lockers (with key this time) and even drawers and a cupboard kind of thing. It seemed to me that the building used to be an office building and they were reusing some of the furniture, which is a nice way of recycling things. They also try to pep things up by using "Fritzkola" crates as stools and tables. Not so nice were the carpet and the walls - they were just gross.

The bathrooms.... oh well. I am not sure if they get cleaned regularly, they seemed to have the same kind of stains for 3 days while at the same time there was no hand soap and no paper towels.
The showers are even weirder. You have two shower cabins in one bathroom. You can't lock the cabins, you can only lock the entire room. And since the cabin doors are transparent you'd want to lock the door unless you like to flash your bits.

There is a kitchen/common room with a fridge and such in the building but there didn't seem to be a hob or anything so you had to go to the other building. The facilities in the newer building seemed a lot nicer although it too seemed like an old office building. But the reception/lounge area is nice, with lots of space to hang out and they also sell beer and soft drinks and you can get breakfast for a fiver, which is okay for what you usually get in Germany. I didn't spend much time there, so I can't tell, if people use that area or not.
I really just used the hostel as a place to sleep, because it somehow didn't feel like a nice hostel. It might have been a combination of different things. One big part is certainly the people that hang out in and around the hostel, who mostly seemed to be middle aged male longterm guests who are looking for work in Germany and some of them were sitting outside in their car listening to music, drinking beer while another didn't even bother to go inside to use the loo but used what looked like a flower bad. And those guys really put me off.
And since the staff are only around until 10pm and the front door seemed to be open 24/7 anyone could have entered the hostel at any time. At least you can lock your room door from the inside.

As lovely as the staff was and as cheap as the hostel is, I don't think I would go back, if I was staying in Bremen again. The location, the condition the dorm and the bathrooms were in and the people staying at the hostel did not make it a pleasant stay. 

Hostel Review II

Here is the second of my hostel reviews:

After almost a week of sleeping at my mom's and my best friend's place I went to the very north of Germany to Flensburg which is at the Baltic sea very close to the danish border.

The hostel I stayed in is called Flensbed. It's location is perfect, because it is a walking distance to both the train station (again, if you are traveling by train, car sharing is the way to go!) and the city centre.

The building is probably from the 60s or 70s and doesn't have much character but the garden and terrace are really nice and inviting. The perfect place to enjoy a beer after a day of exploring the town.

The ground floor of the building accommodates reception and the big common room and kitchen. There is lots of space for both cooking and just hanging out, including big couches and a flat screen. You also have direct access to the terrace and I think you can get to the garden as well. But barely anyone seemed to be using the kitchen and the common room beyond breakfast (they offer breakfast at the hostel, but it was way overpriced).
I stayed on the first floor in a 4 bed mixed dorm, this time without an en-suite but the common bathroom was just across the hall. The bathroom was quite clean but a bit weird, because some cubicles had a toilet and a shower. So if someone had a shower that toilet was also occupied. But since I was there during the week and there were no big groups I never had to wait to use the bathroom.
The dorm  room itself was a bit small, in my opinion they tried to cramp too much into the small space. Besides the beds there were lockers (without locks, as far as I could tell), two coffee tables (one would have been enough), a chair and a sink. Sometimes less is really more.
The beds were comfy although most of the pillows have seen better days and a second one would make sense. But they provide you with 2 towels for free, win!

What I thought was a bit odd is that reception is only open for about 4 hrs every day. So if you arrive outside of the opening hours you can't check in unless you phone them up and arrange for your key being deposited in a box outside the hostel for which you then get a code to open it. But any questions or complaints you have, will have to wait till the next day. At least, if it's anything to do with touristy things you can use the hostel's free wifi.
Really cool is also the bike hire, because the north of Germany has barely any hills and there are tons of bike paths, it's the best way to explore the area.
The one staff member I spoke to was really nice and again we exchanged hostel and travel stories.

All in all the hostel was worth it's 18 Euro per night (although bed linen is extra, so bringing your own or a sleeping bag might be worth it). You can't get more central, the facilities are great (I forgot to mention the TV in the room), but it would be great, if they would extend the opening hours.

Hostel Reviews

So, it's been a while. And that's because I was on holidays doing a lovely round trip in Germany.
And of course I stayed in a few hostels along the way. So here are my reviews of them.

First I stayed at frankfurt hostel right across from the main train station in Frankfurt/Main. You can't get any closer to the train station's front door. It is literally across the road, which is not only great, if you travel by train in Germany (which I don't really do anymore, because car share is the way to go in Germany, but that's for another post) but also for the local public transport like S and U Bahn, trams and buses, they all stop at the train station.
The hostel itself occupies everything but the ground floor of an at least 100 year old building. Just the entrance area has beautiful old tiles, an impressive arched Art Nouveau doorway and iron cast stair case rails.
The reception area, which is also the common area and a bar, has a very modern style to it. It almost feels a bit like a beach bar, with lovely colour full tables, a rather small kitchen area, big windows, comfy couches and big flat screen. There is also another common room which mostly serves as computer room ( free wi-fi everywhere and a bunch of computers you can use free of charge), but also has more tables and chairs in case the lounge gets to full.
I stayed in a 4 bed female dorm with an en-suite. It was fairly minimalistic but sill stylish with a bit of funky wall paper. What I really loved about the room, was the fact that there was enough space in the room for your luggage and you didn't step on each others toes to get to your bunk. It also had a table and a couple of chairs which I think really comes in handy, if you just want to sit down in peace and quiet and write a couple of postcards.The en-suite was basic, maybe even at bit small, but hey it was a freaking EN-SUITE!!! It means I didn't have to share one loo with 20 other people or run down the hallway at night and locking myself out in the process. So no, I am not complaining at all!

So much for the inertia - now for the overall fell of the place.... I think that is a lot harder to put in words especially since hostels can be such different experiences...
Vanessa the one staff member I chatted with for a bit was really lovely and we exchanged a bit of hostel and general travel experiences. Generally the reception staff there was in their 20s and seemed like the backpacker type, some of them clearly from other countries which deserves a big can of respect, because they spoke German which is a bitch to learn.
Really cool is the free breakfast with rolls, bread, cereal, yoghurt, juices, cold meats, cheese and probably other stuff I don't remember. It's a shame though that the coffee was awful but you can get proper coffee for only 2EUR at the bar.
They also have a free pasta night every night which the generally poor backpacker will be happy about. All you have to do is sign up a few ours before dinner is served, so they roughly know how much pasta they've got to make.
I mentioned the bar a few times already. First you have to know that Germany is quite liberal when it comes to drinking. In most cities you are allowed to drink on the street and especially the beer is cheap, sometimes cheaper that water (I am not shitting you). And so a lot of hostels sell beer or have a bar. The one at Frankfurt Hostel had an interesting selection of well known beers like Beck's and smaller specialty breweries, but also really good soft drinks (Germany is big in organic lemonade made from all kinds o herbs and fruits) and hot beverages like latte machiato or chai latte.
The hostel in general is quite big and modern and maybe a bit cold. I found it hard to make contact with other people but that might have been due to the fact that I had quite the migraine during my stay and wasn't as talkative as I might be other wise.
There are really only two things though that made the hostel less attractive to me.
One being the fact that people are allowed to smoke on the lounge's balconies which are small, but their doors are huge and nobody would close them while having a smoke. It really felt like they were still in the room and the entire room would be full of smoke.
The other thing is the fact that the hostel is basically situated in the red light district which does not only mean dodgy bars and people but in Frankfurt's case a lot of junkies. When I told my local friend where I was staying he was a little bit shocked and told me to be careful.
I have mixed feelings about the whole thing, kind of a morbid interest but I also know that it can be frightening. You definitely walk around that area with an open eye. I mean nothing at all happened to me while walked right through the streets lined with dodgy looking people and well... brothels, but I had the feeling that the men in that area look at you in a different way and check you out the whole time, but maybe that was me paying more attention to them. I don't know how it would be walking through these street as girl, looking a bit less punk rock and more girly than me, maybe they would have sleazy guys coming on to them.
But I think that, if you are careful and maybe have a friend with you, if you feel unsure you should be fine. The hostel seemed to be dealing well enough since you have to ring a bell and there is a camera at the front door, to keep an eye on who is coming in.

All in all I do recommend the hostel, it is definitely worth the money and in a very central location, you just have to watch your back a little more that you usually would when you walk around that area.