July, a summer in Berlin…

Hello, welcome to this sort of diary, where I’ll be sharing my thoughts. Here, I’ll let you step into the daily life that provides the backdrop to my artistic work.

 

July has been an eventful month, during which a significant portion of my energy was devoted to family, and I can say it was time well spent, invested in the most meaningful way.

 

On the first of July, my beloved niece, Morena, landed at Berlin Airport. She’s now nineteen years old. She came to stay with us for almost a month to attend an intensive English course. Having a family member from Italy here in Berlin was a beautiful experience. We did so many things together, and I rediscovered the tourist side of Berlin.

 

We visited Lake Schlachtensee, the cinema at Potsdamer Platz, the Zoo, went swimming, explored downtown, attended a couple of street parades, visited markets, and saw the Klimt exhibition at the Alte Nationalgalerie. By the way, standing in front of Klimt’s original paintings, witnessing the tangible texture of brushstrokes in person, left a deeper impression on me than I had expected.

 

We also ventured into the Berlin Dungeon, which was a super fun experience, though at times quite disturbing. Especially when we were led into a narrow, dark elevator, traversed through dim corridors, and particularly when an actress portrayed a demon-possessed witch magnificently!

 

Throughout all of this, the children spent a bit more time with their father. Still, there were many tender moments with them, enjoying breakfasts prepared by Morena, pancakes as the base, watching cartoons together on the bed, unlimited tickles and kisses.

 

With Morena, we also spent some peaceful moments at home, especially in the evening after putting the kids to sleep. We watched the reality show “Temptation Island” on the couch—because trash TV is a must in the summer; otherwise, what kind of summer would it be?

 

During the week, while Morena was at her English course, the children were at daycare, and Robert was at the office, I worked on the commissioned drawings that were on my agenda. These are the final two drawings of “The Inner Child” collection, which you can see here.

 

I also put a lot of effort into my website and completed a portrait of a little girl named Serena. This was also a commissioned piece.

 

By the way, July was also a memorable month also because we finally finished renovating the kitchen. So, step by step, we’re arranging our apartment in Kreuzberg-Tempelhof to make it even more practical and comfortable (although there’s still much to be done).

 

Throughout the month, I was mostly absent from social media. It was time for me to carve out a space entirely my own, something completely private, dedicated to my loved ones.

 

Morena left on the 26th of July, and my children’s daycare closed for the summer break on the 22nd. Therefore, I dedicated the last days of the month almost entirely to the children.

 

We made pizza and many other dishes, both edible and made of Play-Doh and magnetic sand. we played outdoors a lot. I invited at our place their little friends over and cooked spaghetti for everyone. I also received a lot of support from Robert, who took a few days off work to give me a chance to rest.

 

The daycare is closed until mid-August, so I’ll still have some time to spend with the children before I return to working on my projects regularly.

 

This is the first year we decided to spend the summer in Berlin. And I have to admit, this isn’t summer. It’s a lovely time, yes, but it’s not summer for me. Not just because it rains almost every day, but also because in the city (especially in a metropolis like Berlin), summer is hardly noticeable. When I scroll through Instagram and see beach photos, it’s like I’m looking at something from another world, another dimension, and usually, I let out a sigh, a tinge of nostalgia. Because, you know, us expats often live hand in hand with this bittersweet emotion called nostalgia.