I had the pleasure a couple of days ago to get an Invitation for this year's SuisseEMEX in Zurich, a b2b Exposition for Marketing-, Communication- and Eventexperts. Divided in different sections, there were plenty of inspirational stands, from Promotion to Online Marketing, offering classic and innovative communication Tools to reach the own customers in the most effective way.
One of the effective ways...
Most companies had very impressive inscenated stands, and it was pretty clear after I got there, that there are hundred different ways to communicate and promote a brand with creativity and originality. In my case, I was interested into the whole Event Marketing part, and got the Chance to meet a couple of creative heads and passionate People about it.
Colorful and lively was the stand from WeSpray: this German Company offers custom made Graffiti walls (a good example was the one for Herbert Grönemeyer's stage decoration while he was on tour) and even Workshops. It was fun to see how different a Graffiti can be used, and also very reassuring that streetart found acceptance in the Business as well.
Another great Meeting was the one I had with the lovely Claudia Carlucci: owner of the gourmet online shop Oliarte, full of fresh products from the Gargano area in Italy. Her stand could have more been for those who are looking for a decent giveaway for a Client, but the product range was amazing. It wasn't really the classical Pasta reseller, she sells Little gems from the south italian cuisine like a Lemon-pepper jam or a chocolate-orange liqueur. Most of the stuff was unfortunately sold out, but it was good to see that People still appreciate some classics to make a good customer happy. She's very passionate and has an enormous know-how regarding italian Food, she loves it exactly how I do.
I had the opportunity to step by at the Toasted. stand during my visit, and had an interesting Chat with Philipp Bareth about live bands, music in general and already visited Festivals. After talking for a while I even had the chance to give a little interview. Toasted is an online Magazine for students and Young People that organizes a bunch of entartaining Events like live rooftop Music sessions or Sportcamps in different Swiss cities. During my talk with Philipp I realized that they have a lot of great ideas about reaching young people, and what I liked the most were their motivation and open attitude. I hope to meet them soon again!
Giving an interview
Unfortunately I couldn't attend one of the Google Workshops about online Marketing. I just could hear People reporting about how interesting the speechs were and how much I could have been learned. I hope to have some more time next year, it would have been very informative for me, since I'm only working with online tools and social media.
Google Training- and Conferenceroom
Tourism was also a Little part of the Exposition: the mountain based cities Davos and Arosa were there to inform about their great Hotels and Apartments for the upcoming season. Me and my friend Paulo were very impressed about the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa, with ist own lift, one of the biggest Spas of Switzerland and breathtaking architecture. Davos has a Special place in my heart, because my grandfather used to bring me up there when I was a Little Girl. As I've heard rumoring they have one of the most impressive Music Festivals held in the Swiss mountain's landscape, the Songbird Festival. So, everybody that steps by over there on the main skiing season, should definetly enjoy some great tunes!
After absorbing all the News and Information, we were glad to join the evening apero Held in the same venue, at Messe Zürich. There was a Dj playing, the drinks were flowing and the typical Swiss Bratwurst was served, which could have been funnily "decorated" with coloured sauces. The atmosphere from that Point on got more relaxed and laid back, everybody seemed to have a good time and toasted to another successful day.
LiveCom Apero
Color your Wurst was obviously a success :)
A Special thank you to Andrea Paul from the Ming Agency
Reaching London from Berlin Tegel was like giving birth to a child for me, even if I have no idea how this could feel like. I've never experienced my flights delayed more than 30 minutes, so knowing that my plane would take off 2 hours later was Kind of nerve wrecking for me. The fact, that the aircraft had to land in Cologne to Change ist Crew in addition, was the ultimate test to proove my Patience. I passed. ;)
My involuntary night view over UK
London, or, the United Kingdom in general, fascinates me since Ages: for me, it spreads rock 'n' roll from every corner. Think about all the great bands and songwriters coming from the UK (The Beatles, Travis, The Libertines/Babyshambles, Jake Bugg, Ed Sheeran, Paolo Nutini, Franz Ferdinand, just to mention a tiny amount), the legendary Glastonbury Festival, the nicest biker boots I've seen worn, great night- and live music clubs.
I came to London to visit a friend of mine who decided to live abroad for a while (I'm having her back soon, yay!), and I decided to go and explore a few districts I've never been the last time, due some time issues.
Camden Town
The district was loved from past away too soon singer Amy Winehouse, she even decided to have her own house there, so I was wondering what Camden was all about. At the moment I came right out of the tube station, it was clear: it seems to be a totally different place compared to the rest of the city! Buildings are colorful, have Converse sneakers attached on and the crowd is mixed between tourists and dandy looking locals. Camden was known many years ago for its food market and produce stalls. For what I've heard, the last of them shut down last year, leaving space to a touristy market, selling everything: from handmade jewelry to alternative clothing. Besides the market, chain stores moved to the district and a lot of restaurants. It may get a bit crowded on a weekend, but there's still a peaceful athmosphere there: you can enjoy a bite or simply grab a beer and sit by the water at Regent's canal watching people living their life on a sunny day.
During the evenings, pubs and bars get crowded. There are a lot of Pubs in London that offer a backyard terrace, which is even cozy on chilly nights because there are heaters in action. So for somebody like me, that wants to enjoy a smoke while having her wine, it was the perfect match.
Market (indoor)
Streetart for Amy: a tiny selection of many pieces
Shoreditch
Shoreditch was a total new entry on my to-do list. With its colorful streetart, nice secondhand shops and industrial warehouses used as art galleries, you can totally feel the bohemian wind going through the lively streets. It's such an inspirational place located between the historic east end and central London, and actually great for shopping! I found a pair of unique boots (of course, pair number 50...). Brick Lane Market is another Address for vintage lovers. What I liked the most was the collision of the modern buildings around Liverpool station and the classical red bricked houses almost in the same district. It's just one step away from each other.
Tips: Take some time for Shoreditch. There's a big selection of shops and things to see.
Notting Hill
A former co-worker of mine told me tons of exciting stories about chic Notting Hill in the early 80s, how much she loved Portobello Road and having a walk at Hyde Park on a sunny day. It was clear that I didn't wanna miss that! What I loved the most, was the architectonical side of the district. All those lovely houses, in every form, shape and color, with gardens and not, they seemed to be all Little Castles with princess in it. As kitsch as it could Sound :) I took tons of photographs only of those buildings! Once you're there, you can't miss the world famous Portobello market. It Looks very similar as the one in Camden, just bigger and with more (on my visit, it might varies) antique trouvailles and little things for the own home decor. Pity I had my luggage on the weight limit, I saw a bunch of sweet tea sets that would have been the perfect fit in my kitchen...
Practical Infos
Where to stay: The London House Hotel is a cute Boutique Hotel just steps away from Bayswater tube. Very practical especially if you're coming from London Heathrow: the express Train takes you straight to Paddington . From there it's a 15min walk. In case of a lazy evening, there are Shops, Cafés and Restaurants just around the Corner.
Front of The London House Hotel
Where to eat: Camden Town - Q-Grill, offers a selection of fish and meat dishes with own light BBQ seasonings, combined with a large wine list, beers, modern and those more classic of Cocktails. / Sushi Salsa - Just by Regent's Canal, offers a big variety of different Sushi platter to share. / The Blues Kitchen: Texan Restaurant, great brunch selection on weekends, live music and even its own radio online.
Q-Grill in Camden
The Blues Kitchen
Notting Hill - Portobello, italian Restaurant, has some very well done Pizzas. And please, try their starter with Parma ham and Mascarpone, one of the most delicious matches! A good tip for a drink is Prince Albert: they have a cute backyard garden.
Antipasto at Portobello Restaurant
Backyard at Prince Albert: courtesy of princealbert.co.uk
Angel tube - Upper street has a big selection of Restaurants. In my case, I had a bloody Mary at Cabana (didn't know that's a typical pre-brunch Thing in the UK :D) and then headed for a delicious brunch at the Blue Legume (Egg Benedict - yes!).
Brunch at the Blue Legume
Egg Benedict <3
Going out: Due my very late flight I didn't make it, but my friend Sabrina reccomends Fabric on a Sunday night ;)
It wasn't absolutely planned, but I hope you enjoyed the culinary journey ;)
I've been in Berlin the last time in 2008, where the September breeze was already reminding to my summer loving Soul that a jacketless time was history already. So being aware of that I was going to visit the German capital while the heat was at its peak currently, was a reassuring Feeling. I decided to stop by in Berlin to combine some culture with a little bit of nightlife. As I told so many times already, it's not a big secret of myself being in love with electronic music. So, Berlin is one of those meccas, where you can get as much deephouse as you want, almost every day of the week. It's hard to choose between all the big headliner names and fab venues, if I could had cut myself in 100 pieces, I'd have been attending everything everywhere.
I was disappointed to have missed the Diynamic Festival a couple of days earlier while being in Sweden, but you know, you can't always win ;).
I arrived Berlin on a Thursday afternoon, ready to float into the Weekend. I was lucky enough to get an enourmous Apartment in Neukölln, a turkish-delight district, which was beyond my expectations. Charming and oldschool, big kitchen (having an Italian background makes me obviously have a kitchen fetish and lots of love for cooking), plenty of light. I had public Transport just in front of my door and could get easily everywhere I wanted.
My apartment in Berlin Neukölln
So me and my friend Paulo decided to have some homemade apero and dinner at home, before heading to one of the most legendary Nightclubs in town: Watergate. This Club is well known for booking and having as residets big names, like Miss Kittin, just to mention one of them. In Addition to that, Watergate has a strategic Location right on the Spree river, terrace included. Since I use to work on crowded Saturday nights, it's delightful for me to be able to enjoy a night out on a Thursday. Because Thursday is not equal Thursday in Berlin: Thursday is Thursdate at Watergate! The queue was long, the mood was light like the summer breeze, everybody was out: it felt like Weekend already and the music seemed to be the center of everything right now, right there. Thursdate has two acts playing every week. In my case I had the honor to hear Tiefschwarz and Acid Pauli at their best. Having the weather at its best, it couldn't have been better for me! I switched from the clubfloor to the terrace, to enjoy some fresh air and have my drinks by the water.
My view over the Spree river from Watergate
To give you an idea of what I'm actually talking about (me, talking about Music. It can get emotional and confusing from time to time :D), here the recording of Tiefschwarz's set that exact night at Watergate:
The reason because I call Berlin one of the electronic Music meccas, is also because it doesen't really matter where you are: you can hear a good deephouse track almost everywhere. I was glad absorbe some new music and I discovered the most songs in Shops, Cafés or Restaurants, besides at Watergate of course.
Some good Streetart discovery
Having a break at Blumencafé
During my Musical discovery, I had some good walks between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. One of my favourite shopping districts became a street called Kastanienallee, where a lot of Little local Shops and Secondhand Stores can be found. Other districts interesting for Shopping victims may be the streets around Hackescher Markt (Liebeskind, for example, for leathergoods) or around the S-Train Station Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (more for the Mainstream Kind, like Forever 21, H&M, Bershka and so on. I had to step by at Liebeskind Berlin as a former leathergoods sales assistant, and found some sweet new wallets.
I needed a wallet so I bought two ;)
Continuing my talk about good music, I couldn't miss the exhibition about David Bowie at Martin Gropius Bau, a beautiful italian Renaissance styled building. The Exhibition Shows Bowie's constant transformations, how inspiring Berlin was for his Music in the 70s, his thoughts on paper, his costumes and personal music instruments. It's a magical experience. As a visitor, I drowned into this audio and visual history like nowhere else before. I was glad to learn more about this master of Performance! One of my favourite tracks is and will remain for a lifetime "Starman": I don't know exactly why, there is a huge selection of great David Bowie Songs, but with this one here I feel catapultated in a totally free era, the 70s, indeed. Those who want to know more about this gorgeous human being should be fast: the Exhibition runs until August 24th, 2014.
Martin Gropius Bau
I stepped out of the S-Train at Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse almost for mistake, and thanks God I did! The Train Station of Friedrichsstrasse was the one who divided Berlin East and West from each other a couple of years ago, while the wall was still Standing. If you got the time, please go there! You step by at the free Exhibition "Grenzerfahrungen" currently held in the Tränenpalast, the former building Close to the Station where People living in Berlin west and east had to part from each other. It features interviews, original signs from that time, letters and original Video documentations about how hard it could have been don't see close friends or even your own lover just because of the Wall. I was confronted as a Student for a period of time in south Italy about the topic, so It touched me a lot, to hear all those stories about the people living Berlin after World War II. And if you really think about it for one second, the whole Thing isn't over since a very long time: we're talking about the end of the 80s.
My visit wasn't only about Music and Exhibition, I actually also had the time for some leisure :) On a sunny afternoon a drink on the rooftop based Monkey Bar at 25hours Hotel is a must! You'll have the perfect view over the whole City and the zoo. And the Drinks are just yum! (try their Cosmo!). They usually have a Dj at the decks and everybody's having a good time enjoying the tunes and having time off from work. The hotel has 149 rooms, "urban" and "jungle" themed, a Spa section, free Wifi and the mediterranean inspired restaurant Neni. So there's absolutely no wish open for a guest!
25hours Hotel Berlin
25hours Hotel Berlin
The view!
My saturday night didn't exactly go as planned, however, I had the time to go for a great dinner. On reccomandation of a friend, I made a Reservation for a table at the asian Restaurant DuDu (Reservation required, especially for a saturday!). We had some great Sushi, I think the best I've ever had! Salmon was tasting as fresh as just caught, I think I've never experienced that somewhere else as I remember, so thumbs up for them!
Practical Infos
How to get around: Berlin has a very good public Transport System that comprends buses, Metro and S-Train. A 3-days pass costs around 16 Euros and it's totally worth it.
Where to sleep: I had Bernhard's amazing Airbnb Apartment: he is one of the loveliest Hosts I've ever had! Otherwise I've also been at Motel One right on Alexanderplatz, strategical Location to move around Berlin, especially if you're there for the first time. Hotel is chic, not too pricey, clean and has a lovely staff. You can find them all over Germany.
The wonderful summer sun shining into my apartment in Neukölln
Clubbing: I had the time of my life this time at Watergate. Two other spots to reccomend are for sure Ritter Butzke and Berghain. The last of These two can have a Queue up to three hours of wait, and it's famous for having one of the most severe doors in Town. And please: no photos inside the venues!
What else?: Summer in Berlin is pretty charming. There are plenty of "City Beaches" in town or along the Spree river that are worth a visit. Renting a bike and having some good walks in the parks are other two ideas, to enjoy one of the most creative capitals of Europe.
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