Ach... Long weekends

4 days are simply the best! Time to relax, get a lot of things done that you usually wouldn't consider doing and fun with friends! 

Today I found a new favorite interior design store called vintage fabrik in duesseldorf (nordstrasse). Definitely a place to visit when you are in the area and ready to find gifts, amazing pictures or vintage pieces for your home!

Here a few more impressions of the weekend:

Happy flower party with a few additions from our own garden!

The best looking lemonade I know!

Easter lamb ready for a snuggle attack!

A flying dog :) girls weekend! Exploring the city with my roommate! 

Mc Kinsey business after hours - sky office Düsseldorf

Last night it was time for some professional networking and learning more about the future of North Rhine Westfalia at the after business work hours from Mc Kinsey and the American Chamber of Commerce. The core group of the Rotaract Duesseldorf went and we certainly enjoyed the evening! 

The breathtaking view was only one highlight of joining an event on the 20th floor of the sky office!

Today we will have a model casting at work, so I pulled out the peep-toe heels to be on their eye level 😜

Have a lovely day! 

A Sunday Stroll in Pempelfort ("Stadtbezirke 01 - Düsseldorf")

Sunday has become my very personal day on which I take the puppy and camera out for a stroll in order to discover the beauty of the city Düsseldorf. In general, one can say that most buildings aren't exceptionally stunning, however there is a hidden gem on every street. All you got to do is open your eyes and appreciate the little things. Today, it was time to stroll around Pempelfort, which is the district that is only a few steps south of the district that I live in (Derendorf). I almost couldn't believe my eyes when seeing buildings that seem to be inspired by the Flatiron building in New York City. Here a few more impressions of Pempelfort. (I walked around following streets: Moltkestraße, Bagelstraße, Arndtstraße, Schinkelstraße, Schirmerstraße and along the unpathed Quartis Les Halles) 

This rustic doorknob turns this front door into a lovely and almost romantic highlight. 

 

Big city life = not knowing who lives next door, but starting casual conversation with other dog owners. 

A new must try café. I fell in love with the location, look and feel of this restaurant called "zimmer no. 01". Just across from it was a yoga studio and interior design store which seems to be the perfect spot to find birthday gifts for special people. 

Quartes Les Halles!

Step One: The Close Up

After waiting for an awful long time (really awfully long! About 13 hours!!!) until the battery of my new Nikon camera was charged all the way, it was time to take "her" out for a stroll. My dad was in town and we went to the fish market in Düsseldorf. It is a nice market where you can eat all sorts of things (not exclusively fish), stroll around, have a glass of wine (or cup of coffee), listen to music and enjoy the scenic view of the Rhine. Here some first results of team Taty and Nikon D5100 :)

Cappuccino art!

Beauty

Way to go in Düsseldorf! Fresh smokey salmon on the Fish market (Fischmarkt) right on the Rhine! 

Neon splash in Europe

NEON PARTY! When my roommate told me about this silly party where people throw color onto another I simply couldn't say no. It is one of those things that you simply have to check off your bucket list and "get it over with". So we got the tickets far ahead of time (which turned out to be a wise thing to do as tickets were sold out within 2 weeks) and cheered to finally attend this event. The mood was great and the music even greater (the most greatest :D to throw in some grammatically wrong exaggeration!) At 2am they finally turned this "normal" party at which everyone was wearing a white t-shirt into the color neon splash party we were lusting for! 

Ready, set, go! Craziness, here I come! 

And now? How did I like it? I can totally agree that neon splash parties or holi-parties seem to be the "foam parties" which were SO TRENDING in the 80ies/90ies (apparently! I am only referring to my colleagues!) YES, I loved the music and the countdown was tremendously more exciting that the one that we all come together for for new years eve. BUT, it is definitely the last neon splash party I will be attending. There are simply too many things on my bucket list of life in order to repeat this! 

Oh and I hate the fact that the "washable" color stained my pants and t-shirt! 

There you have it neon splash people! 

Frida in Düsseldorf - Tapasbar

Hello hello! And welcome from a tapas bar/restaurant in Düsseldorf "Unterbilk". My hairdresser referred this place to me which is a rather funny mix of Spanish and German atmosphere filled with lively people from university and the southern part of this city. The tables were plain and so was the decoration, however I could totally see this restaurant to be one in the more southern hemispheres in Europe. Service was friendly and food ok. I usually like it better when the tapas are freshly made and the bread is somehow unique. But if you are looking for a cozy spot for a first date or a place to flip through a magazine and to watch people, this is the place to go. OH and the little stores in this area (Loretto Straße) are even more amazing and invite you to relax and forget main stream stores like Primark and H&M. 

On a scale 1 to 10 Frida in Düsseldorf would receive a 5 mostly because of the people that brought this place to live! For more info click here: http://www.tapasbar-frida.de

Frida-Tapasbar

Bilker Allee 4

40219 Düsseldorf

It's the little things…

… that make you happy! Cheesy saying. Very true. This made me happy during the past week, besides catching up with friends. Walking Lotti. Joining a Pilates group and planning the christmas days! 

Morning walk with Lotti! Gorgeous or? The angels are making cookies :) 

Christmas tree in front of the Landtag (Düsseldorf) and the TV tower!

And last but definitely not least, my job at passionata! Who gets to make so many people happy by sending out red underwear for the night of the nights - new years eve - Did you know that if you wear red underwear at new years eve you will be lucky in all disciplines: love, business and personal affairs? 

I will certainly try it again! 

Exploring Düsseldorf with Friends...

Here are only some impressions. More info to follow! It was a very intellectual and fun weekend though! Filled with spontaneous adventures!(in regards to trying new places)

Impressions # 15

                                 

Its weekend! Time to stroll around the city and some shops before I move into my new apartment on sunday! Big life decisions ahead of me: what blender, iron board or washer to buy :( Welcome grown up life! Funny thing is that all those things will excited me once they arrive *haha* 

How do you like my new skirt? I fell in love instantly! (found at Zara) 

There is always something new and exciting to learn°°° True words from my Yogi Tea! 

I bumped into a lady that just got back from a doggy deli! Coolest idea ever! Lotti: Be ready to go shopping with Mami! (http://www.dogsdeli.de)

The most amazing thing during my stroll though: white strawberries! Didn't try them YET, but they definitely caught my attention!

Favorite Spots in Düsseldorf: Münster Therme (Pempelfort)

Old traditions, new places. This is my new motto. Last night I didn't feel like running, P90X or some other form of moving around. I simply had the urge to go out and find my future "go-to" swimming pool. To be honest, I had no clue that I would have this beauty of a pool right around the corner! The Münster Therme (of course this place had to entice me with its name, letting me think about my time in Münster) is rather hidden between two houses on Münsterstraße, but once you found it, the art nouveau style just captures your attention. This is the way I imagined my perfect Friday night! 

Once you enter you can either just go swimming (that's what I did) or even visit the Sauna, a salt grotto or the "themal pool" (which contains very warm/hot and salty water. Or you could call it the perfect place for relaxing!!!). Last night, however I tried the pool (which was also nice and warm which is rare in Germany) for swimming around. Until I finally made it into the water it took a little while. This place was simply too beautiful. 

The nicest thing about this pool was the fact that it was built in 1902 and severely damaged during World War II. It is only because some private investors brought in some capital and acquired pictures of this magical place, that the pool was reconstructed in the same exact style it was originally build. One big part of the experience is that you get one changing room to yourself that you keep for the duration of your entire visit. The locker is inside that one room, so you don't have to carry your stuff around when you want to start your relaxation or workout session. I definitely fell in love with the little curtains, carvings and the tiny number that tells you which one of the changing rooms is yours. 

Totally old-school and totally adorable!  

Besides, it was hilarious to watch the people around me. All sorts of people present :) Looking for a "real German" with beard, beer belly and "mini moustache" - check. How about a electronic freak that got waterproof headphones and "zoned out" while swimming? Got it! My real favorite were those "semi-professionals" though. Serious outfit, swimming "hat", googles, expensive bathing suit and still slower doing their crawl style swimming moves than me doing the "housewife style" breaststroke. 

Loving it! And going back! If you come to Düsseldorf, it is definitely worth a visit. So pack your bikini and dive into the time of the 19th century :)

       

Finding new routines, favorite cafés and products...

Today is the day of unity in Germany which means that I get to enjoy one special day off from work. In addition I can finally stop looking for a new apartment as I finally found a cozy place! Can't wait to tell you more about it! But I can say that I am in love with my future garden and can't wait to move in and make it feel like home. 

CONSEQUENTLY, I have one day to myself that gives me time to organize my life here in Düsseldorf. Thinking about my new roles that I have to fulfill, new routines I want to establish (or old ones that I want to maintain), try new products that I always wanted to try, shop around to find new key items for my professional and leisure wardrobe and obviously to find the new favorite "go-to" café/tea shop, boutique, tennis court, running route and and and... 

Oh, it is going to be so cozy. And guess what! I just purchased my first cereal from www.mymuesli.com ! It is (hopefully) going to be so delicious! I only heard good things about it so far and I absolutely love the idea that I will be able to create my very own cereal! 

See you tomorrow! 

xx Taty

Düsseldorf in the sun...

About a week and a half ago I moved to Düsseldorf for starting my career in the fashion world and as you may have read in prior posts: I love it! However, it is still tough every now and then to realize that I left my old life including boyfriend, puppy, friends and even silly things like the local wine shop that you liked, or the random people that you greet on the street on a regular basis. Without a new home (I am still house hunting) and my friends around me, everything seemed a little sad. Have I turned into one of those people that I made fun of one time? *pff* "Why go home to your boyfriend if you could have fun and go to museums, shops, cafés etc., here, in that new city!" That's probably what I would have said a little while ago, when I was still in my cozy environment called home. Well, all of the sudden exactly that (going home) sounds so much more tempting than anything else in the world. Even if I only get to watch DVD's and eat crappy Pizza on a Saturday night, I would be the happiest girl. 

BUT, don't get me wrong and look at the pictures :) I already found a couple of spots in Düsseldorf that are promising and could very well be my future favorite spots. 

All I wanted to say is that although sometimes a person looks real goal oriented and leaves everything behind to start something new, it doesn't mean that they don't cry one night or miss their "old life". Luckily, I just booked my ride back home for the weekend. And I can't wait!!! 

A pink day...

Yesterday was a very pink day. Not only did I have a very successful day at work (it already feels like I am part of the team and that I never want to leave my lovely colleagues!), but also some time to enjoy the beautiful weather. It is kind of obvious that I miss walking my dog and therefore still walk around the new city as if she would be by my side. Luckily I got the new phone to talk to my boyfriend and friends along the way. I can't believe that it's only 4 days that I live here now. This weekend I seriously need to find a couple more favorite spots in Düsseldorf. 

The little shop that makes their own Eclairs, macaroons and tiny cakes (Patisserie L'Eclair on Münsterstraße 6 - here is the fb link) and the right bank of the Rhine (also called Rheinufer) were definitely the highlights of the day! And to fight my flu an innocent smoothie a day is mandatory :)

Weekend here I come! It has been a great start into the work life so far! 

Can't wait to start my first trip back to Bamberg to see my loved ones!