Maven moved but we did not come far: from Adalbertstraße 4 to 9! Hello Muscle Temple, thanks for having us! (Yes, the new studio also has yellow-orangy window frames. You’ve got to stick to your principles!)

You don’t always have to choose the sunny South to get a rewarding break from Berlin’s November rain. Last weekend I went to Helsinki and once more the city and its friendly inhabitants took me by storm. You get the Scandinavian feel but combined with an Eastern twist. The city’s architecture varies from cozy wooden suburbs to monumental soviet style buildings. Helsinki also offers great shopping with loads of design, both new and vintage (check out the Design District), unfortunately it was All Saints’ Day so we ended up with window shopping only. It is very convenient that most of Helsinki’s sights and places of interest are within walking distance, so we continued to the Kiasma museum to see an exhibition with the works of Damien Hirst and his British contemporaries. But to be honest, the thing I almost miss most when I leave Helsinki is the dark rye bread. You really should try this and other traditional Finnish food at Sea Horse, a snug restaurant with original wooden interior and wall paintings from the 1930s. Go for the real classics like crispy fried Baltic herrings or Scandinavian hash.
Hyvää ruokahalua/Enjoy your meal!

As our hairdresser moved to London we took the occasion to follow her and get a haircut at Radio Hair Salon plus some inspiration. It was a great trip, apart from meeting our friends, highlights were staying nearly a day in Tate Modern, afternoon tea at the National Portrait Gallery, Fish and chips at Rock and Sole Plaice. A visit at Fortnum & Mason was a must, not just for high quality tea & marmelade shopping but for enjoying their beautiful packaging.