According to wikipedia "Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. (..) There are many reasons why people might choose to emigrate. Some are for reasons of religious, political or economic freedom or escape. Others have personal reasons such as marriage. Some people living in rich nations with cold climates choose to move to warmer climates when they retire." Well, neither of these reasons apply to me, but nevertheless I decided to move from Germany to England where it always rains and the men are not really classified as the most attractive ones in the whole wide world. When you have lived in a foreign country before, you might know how different, awkward, funny and difficult your daily life can become. Here are some highlights of my life in London Town.
I have been planning on writing about British humour for a while now, but didn't really know where to start, because
it's such an important part of British behaviour. When it comes to
humour, you have to keep in mind the Brits don't just tell a joke, they
are full of wit. It's part of their mentality. It's particularly hard to get the British
humour when you come from a country where people (stereotypically) have
no sense of humour at all. In situations where we Germans rather remain
silent, English people usually crack a joke, because they feel
uncomfortable and have to compensate that by joking about it. Therefore,
British humour tends to break taboos. Here is an example from Mock
the Week:
"So, I saw the Saddam being executed. It
made me think... is there
nothing on the internet I won't masturbate to?" Another difference is that while
in Germany slapstick humour is very popular, the funny side of British
humour lies in puns. For example: "I was arrested at the airport. Just
because I was
greeting my cousin Jack! All that I said was 'Hi Jack', but very loud."
British comedians are omnipresent. When you turn on the TV, in
every second entertainment show you have a comedian either as host or
guest. British comedians such as Stephen Fry write also serious columns
in newspapers, discuss political issues on TV and are also outside of TV
politically involved.
On contrary, British politicians behave
as if they wanted to be comedians. Just have a look at these scenes from the House of Commons:
I'm still experiencing difficulties when it comes to British humour, so please don't be offended if you are British and I don't laugh about your jokes.
Even more than New York, London is the theatre capital of the world. London's legendary West End Theatre scene is the finest in the world and with Shakespeare's Globe and the National Theatre at South Bank, these are the first addresses when it comes to theatre. But there are many more delicatessen. For example, in the "summer" months you should pay a visit to the Scoop at More London, close to Tower Bridge. It is an outdoor sunken amphitheatre with seating for 800 people. It hosts a variety of free events - from free theatre over free music to free films. I watched "The Trojan Horse" there last weekend and it was great. It's part of the magnificent Oresteia trilogy. If you want you can stay and also watch "Agamemnon" and "Orestes" - all in one night and for free.
For more information, visit: http://www.morelondon.com/ As I mentioned, though, The Scoop at More London only exists throughout the "summer" months, and I discovered another pop-up arts venue this week: Marylebone Gardens. It's the old BBC London headquarters at Marylebone High Street which has become a hangout spot and workplace for artists until the building is redeveloped. Drop in during the day or evening and you'll find an indoor pleasure garden oasis with a bar and astroturf, plus a big screen which will sport highlights during the Olympics:
There are also lots of performances which you shouldn't miss. I enjoyed, for instance, songs about corporate social responsibility and nude beaches in NY, as well as poems about online dating. So, check out their website : http://www.marylebone-gardens.co.uk/week3.php
Yesterday, I went to a bookshop to buy a book about London and stumbled upon "The Little Book of Tube Etiquette" by Laura King. Without question, I had to read a bit in it. I have already learned not to stare at people on the tube, but there are many more unwritten rules. For example: Don't eat. Don't drink (except water). Don't make conversation with the person opposite, even if he/ she is a friend. Don't show affection. Don't laugh out loud.....
Uiuiui, I remember nights where I have broken all these rules:
I am sure each of us living in London knows a funny or annoying tube story (which might include pole-dancing girls). I particularly admire girls who put their make-up on in the morning. How do they do that when it's so bumpy? And it's always funny when you notice people reading in your free newspaper. Laura King suggests you move the newspaper slowly towards them as if you wanted to make it easier for them to read it. I might actually buy her book next time, just to learn "how to get a seat".
Last weekend I attended Zoo Lates. Every Friday night in June and July, London Zooopens its doors after hours for a night out with a difference. The main difference was that there were not only animals inside the enclosures, but also outside:
Some of them even escaped and strayed around Camden Town:
That really made me wonder about the English and their obsession with fancy dresses. I remember when I moved here a year ago I thought fancy dress equals a glamorous outfit, but learned very fast I misinterpreted that. English people like to dress up whenever possible: Halloween, Christmas, Hen/ Stag Parties, theme parties - even for the upcoming Olympics you can get a fancy dress here http://www.fancydress.com/costumes/
The only question is why? A German friend of mine argued the other day it's because they don't have Carnival. In Germany, we have several weeks where you can dress up in a different costume for every single Carnival's party. We even call it the 5th season and people go wild. Maybe that's why we wear normal clothes for the remaining 4 seasons and I'm surprised about the English fondness for fancy dresses.
The Eurovision Songcontest or ESC is a HUGE deal in Germany. Not so much in the UK, though. Maybe it's because we have cool representatives like Roman Lob:
and the UK has er nice gentleman like Engelbert Humperdinck singing for them?
This year I watched the spectacle with an American friend who had never seen the Concours Eurovision de la Chanson before. So I had to explain how the annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) works. Did you know for example that it takes place every year since 1956? And that Celine Dion won the contest for Switzerland in 1988? Yes, it has a long and interesting history.
My favourite part is the presentation of votes (my American friend didn't enjoy that part quite as much). After the interval act is over, when all the points have been
calculated, the hosts of the show call upon each voting country
in turn to invite them to announce the results of their vote. It takes forever and is also accompanied but the usual "Thanks so much for the great show tonight!". But that's also the part when unexpected things happen, for example the Finnish jury representative was dressed as a monster (?) this year, or Anke Engelke, the German jury representative, criticised the political regime in Azerbaijan by saying: "Tonight, nobody could vote for their own country, but it is good to
be able to vote and it is good to have a choice. Good luck on your
journey, Azerbaijan! Europe is watching you!" DANKE, ANKE!
Germany has always been very passionate about the Eurovision Songcontest and one man in particular. Stefan Raab wrote the music for the German entry in 1998, Guildo Horn's "Guildo hat Euch lieb!", and represented Germany in 2000 with "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da?".
In 2004, he created a spin-off to cast the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest on his
show. He called it "SSDSGPS" (Stefan sucht den
Super-Grand-Prix-Star, Stefan seeks the super Grand-Prix star, mocking Deutschland sucht den Superstar - DSDS, the German version of Pop Idol).
In 2005, Stefan came up with the
"Bundesvision Song Contest". The contest featured representatives from each of
the 16 German states (Bundesländer) and stipulated that their song had
to be (at least partly) in German.
In 2010, he searched for the German representative with the show "Unser Star für Oslo" and found Lena Meyer-Landrut who ended up winning the Eurovision Songcontest in 2010:
I think the ESC is very popular in Germany, because Stefan Raab transformed it from an old-fashioned show only our parents would watch to a fresh, exciting, cool must-see event. Maybe that's possible in the UK too?
Another factor that made the ESC more attractive to a younger audience is the interaction with your European friends via facebook and twitter. Apart from sporting events, that's the only TV show everybody in Europe can watch at the same time and talk about it in real-time. So, I'm already looking forward to the next one in Sweden!
I have already learned that girls wear less the further up North you get. For example, in Newcastle they never wear tights in the winter and only tiny dresses.
In Essex, however, it's all about fake! Fake tan, fake eyelashes, fake hair, fake nails and some other fake body parts too. If you wanna see some great examples, just watch "The Only Way is Essex":
Thanks to TOWIE I know now about Vajazzles and fake tan, but this week I have learned about a trend in Liverpool: The Scouse Brow!
The Scouse Brows are tattooed eyebrows. They are not in normal eyebrow shape, though, but huge big fat
jet-black caterpillars on top of the girls' eyes. They are favoured by WAGs (footballer's wives) and reality TV stars like Katie Price. There was even a TV show called "Desperate Scousewives". Brilliant!
When it comes to London, there is a difference between East London where young people look basically like the hipsters in Berlin, West London where you shouldn't forget your ballet flats and Chanel bag, and Central London where you should make sure that you wear ridiculously high heels no matter where you are:
The first "summery" Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining. The thermometer shows 15°C. The perfect day in London Town for the first BBQ of the year:
We were a little short of men (had some very experienced Aussies amongst us though), because in general I would say the art of barbecuing is a male domain worldwide. The woman prepares the food, but the man is the barbecue mastermind. At least for Germany, Australia and Canada I can confirm that.
A barbecue has always an event-feeling attached to it or have you ever barbecued all by yourself? No, you invite family members and friends and for hours you sit together and eat, drink and talk. In Bavaria preferably in your backyard, in Berlin in a jam-packed park. Often there is also music involved as well as a football/ frisbee/ volleyball.
The same applies for BBQs in the United Kingdom. But with lots of immigrants from barbecue-championing countries such as Australia and with regards to their not greatest reputation when it comes to food, the Brits are a bit insecure in terms of barbecuing. But luckily, you can join the British Barbecue Society http://bbbqs.com/content/ now which has been set up "to provide a place for BBQ enthusiasts in the UK
to share their knowledge, learn from their peers and spread the word
that BBQ is more than burnt bangers and botulism burgers".
In this spirit, I would like to finish this by quoting Albert Einstein: Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The
important thing is not to stop barbecuing.
So, what do you do on a rainy, cold Sunday afternoon end of April, when it's supposed to be spring? All your European friends enjoy some sunshine and you don't even wanna go outside? Go to a museum!
I have been to a lot of museums lately: National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, British Museum, V&A, Natural History Museum, Science Museum...
The absolutely fabulous thing about London's museums is that they are
free of charge and since there are 240 museums to choose from and they
frequently change their exhibitions, it never gets boring.
My Top 3 are the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Modern and the V&A.
The V&A is described as the world's greatest museum of art and design. I love its Performance and Theatre section. They copied Kylie Minogue's dressroom, you can see one of Mick Jagger's stage outfits, and the best part, you can dress up yourself:
The Tate Modern is just THE place to be. Wikipedia says "it is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7
million visitors per year" which is very impressive. The MoMA in NYC by comparison had "only" 3 million last year. The Tate Modern even hosted the Universal Records Brit Awards 2012 after party.
The National Portrait Gallery is not that hip, but I like that it combines century-old paintings with comtemporary photography. On each floor you find pictures of a different generation of the royal family. I like particularly the Late Shift every Thursday and Friday until 21.00 where you can enjoy a wide range of events including tours, talks, live music, DJs,
films, art workshops, lectures, philosophy salons and drop-in drawing
sessions while having a cocktail.
One of the museums I still wanna check out is the Cartoon Museum for British cartoons, caricatures, comic strips and animation in Camden. It has a library of over 5,000 books and
4,000 comics relating to the subject. Also, the Design Museum in Southwark that covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and
architectural design. And the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret which is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. Gross? Interesting? Well, worth a visit...
I was celebrating Record Store Day yesterday right off Brick Lane at Rough Trade East. Some of you might know the other stores in Notting Hill and Covent Garden or some of you might knowthe Rough Trade Label that represents artists like Arcade Fire, The Libertines, The Smiths, and Belle & Sebastian.
If you go to the Record Store Day website http://www.recordstoreday.com, you can read lots of quotes by lots of great artists, such as Jack White, Tom Waits, Norah Jones, and Paul McCartney, regarding Record Store Day. Here are two quotes that express what I was experiencing yesterday:
“My local independent record shop (Honest Jons) is a library, where
you can go to listen to music, learn about it, exchange ideas about it
and be inspired by it. I think independent record shops will outlive the
music industry as we know it because long term their value to people is
far greater, because even in our era of file-sharing and blogs, you
cant replace the actual look on someone’s face when they are playing
something they really rate and think you should listen to it too. It’s
special.” - Damon Albarn (Blur, The Gorillaz, etc.)
“Record stores have a magic about them that’s totally unique. They
are a place where you can come across music and culture that you’re not
open to in any other way, often by accident. I love that hands-on
experience of browsing and buying music, and so I wish the Record Store
Day every success “ - James Morrison
I have to admit I don't own a record player and I mostly get introduced to new artists and songs by friends and my favourite radio station: http://www.fritz.de/ that also promotes a lot of unsigned artists. But I very much liked the atmosphere at Rough Trade East. They have a Café and a "snug area" with sofas and desks. So, it's a great place to spend a rainy afternoon and just listen to amazing songs and discover new artists. I think Record Stores are all about discovery, diversity and passion. As Store Director Stephen Godfroy says: "You've got to create an environment
where people want to spend time. It's got to be complementary to modern
lifestyles, distinctive and competitive on pricing and have confidence
in recommending exciting new products and not rely on chart product." If you are interested in exploring, check their website: http://www.roughtrade.com/
But the best thing about Record Store Day was of course that we saw Little Boots and Keane playing live on a small stage a couple of metres away from us. Amazing!!
If you don't live in the UK, you might not have heard of Little Boots yet, but you should definitely check out her website: http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk
I really liked her new song "Every Night I say a Prayer".
Well, and what can I say about Keane? Spectacular! If you have a chance to see them live, do it! That's their website: http://www.keanemusic.com/
I have lived in Berlin for several years and Berlin has a very vibrant street art scene, too. Especially in the hip neighbourhoods such as Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain you can see a lot of great urban art. I personally enjoyed the chalk slogans on Berlin's streets, such as:
And of course the East Side Gallery which is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin wall that has been covered by approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world and is the largest open air gallery in the world:
And even though Berlin has a long history of street art, I would argue that especially since Banksy became a worldwide icon London is the hub of street art. In particular Brick Lane and Camden Town are famous for its graffitis:
There are even tours that take you to the best pieces. Have a look at: http://streetartlondon.co.uk/tours/ and book your East London street art tour. Street art in London is incredibly dynamic and changes every day as older
pieces get painted over by other artists or get removed by the Council. That means these tours are always fresh and these guys always know
where the latest street art is to be found.
If you wanna watch a great movie about street art, watch Banksy's "Exit through the gift shop" - the world's first street art disaster movie. I watched this very ironic documentary at the Berlinale Film Festival and laughed A LOT.
