gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I posted this on Instagram and Tumblr yesterday, but I didn't have time to post it here. The usual silly birthday doodle for [livejournal.com profile] schwimmerin, featuring a certain guitarist from a certain band aus Berlin. :)

gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I've been so busy since I came back from my little Tuscan holiday in July that not only I didn't write anything about it, but I also didn't write my usual post-concert recap when I got back from Berlin at the end of August. But my colleague has been home on prolonged sick leave for more than two months now (she was actually already gone when I got back to the office on July 22), and I've been doing the work of 2 and a half people since then, with various official visits to take care of and the end of fiscal year looming upon us. I'm surprised at how well I've been holding up so far, but now I'm really starting to feel it.

Anyway, talking about post-concert recaps, I'll write down what I still remember (thankfully I took notes on my mobile of the things I absolutely didn't want to forget.

ExpandConcert recap under the cut )
gothikmaus: (Japan)
I feel like I should write more, but I always get lazy. Things are awfully busy at work, with official visits and poor management decisions making things worse, so I don't really want to sit down in front of a computer in the evenings. But I've been working on something non fannish lately, hopefully I'll be able to finish it.

I could write about my holidays. I spent 10 days in Sicily and had a wonderful time. It was my first time visiting Sicily and I loved every minute. The food was delicious, the monuments and historical sites beautiful and the sea was so blue and clear it looked fake. I walked so much my feet hurt every evening, but it was worth it. I visited the Western part of the island, starting in Palermo and the surrounding area, with a day trip to Agrigento to see the Greek temples, then I moved to Trapani. The week before I arrived the temperatures had been extremely high (up to 45°C) and there were some pretty bad fires, but luckily by the time I got there things had gone back to normal.

Other than that, I've been following the women volley European Championship and writing some Nick/Greg drabbles I'll probably use for the advent calendar. Yes, I know it's still August, but I'm not going to turn down inspiration just because December is still almost 4 months away.

Oh, and Die Ärzte announced a small autumn tour out of the blue a few days ago! Of course I can't take any days off in September (our worst month) and not even in early October, which is usually a kind of dead period at work, but not this year. The Saturday shows are all in very inconvenent places, so no more DÄ for me this year. But they also announced 2 concerts at Tempelhof for next year, so I guess I'm going to see them there. Those silly old men, doing everything they can to inconvenience their fans...
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I've been back for less than a week and work has been insane. Thank God I took this short trip, I hadn't realised how badly I needed a break.

Stockholm is a lovely city, and the weather was fantastic: mostly sunny, chilly but not too cold, perfect for walking around. And I walked around A LOT. The hotel was not very central, as I chose it because I wanted it to be close to the concert venue, but the area was nice, the room was big and breakfast was amazing.

And the concert. The concert! Those silly old men make every trip totally worth it. And talking about getting old, I was shocked when I read Bela turned SIXTY last year. How the **** can he still look so good!?

Anyway, a few highlights from the show:

ExpandUnder a cut, because it's long and rambly as usual. With a few pictures too. )

Priorities

Apr. 10th, 2023 06:27 pm
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I finally caved in and created a LinkedIn profile. Like it always happens with the things I put off and off and off, it ended up being not as bad as I initially thought. Now I just need to add contacts and keep my eyes open for potential opportunities.

But enough of that. Some time ago I was thinking of visiting Paris, since I've never been there. But of course the French decided to start a new revolution (and all because the Government wants to bring the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64? HAH! I'll have to work until I'm SEVENTY), so I had to change my plans. But that's not too bad, because I'm going to Stockholm to see Die Ärzte! I didn't get a ticket when the European mini-tour was announced, because I was waiting for the job announcement in our Cultural Office and I optimistically thought I had a chance, but since our HR office so graciously decided I didn't even meet the minimum requirements, I'm taking a week off and going to Sweden. There.

Flights are quite expensive, but I don't really care. Like a former colleague once said "I don't want to be the richest one in the cemetery, I'd rather use my money to enjoy life while I can".
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I finally have some time to write about my Berlin weekend. I was there the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August, and I'm so happy I got a ticket for Saturday, because the Friday show was cancelled due to bad weather! If I had had a ticket for Friday, I would have been devastated. But it was raining so much and apparently there was a lightning warning too, and being an open-air concert, the risk was just too high. Almut had a ticket for all three shows, and since she had nothing else to do on Friday, we decided to visit the DDR Museum together, which was very nice.

Oh, wait! Friday's highlight was actually spotting a lorry with Bela, Farin and Rod's faces printed on the side! XD I caught a glimpse of it while I was on the S-Bahn train from the airport into the city, so I don't know if it was a concert truck or an ad or something else entirely, but it was such a surreal moment. XD Another highlight was going to the Turkish market on the Maybachufer and getting a Gözleme. Man, I'd been craving one for ages!

ExpandMore under the cut )
gothikmaus: (Berlin)
Did I say I would not "contribute actively to the CSI fandom"? Did I? Then why am I writing a Nick/Greg fic? *groans* For the moment I just have a couple of scenes, but they kept bugging me, so I just had to write them down to get them out of my head. Let's see if I can actually get a fic out of them.

The funny thing is, I'm supposed to focus on something else at the moment, not fanfiction and not even in English, but apparently once I start writing for something, another idea suddenly materialises, after months of no inspiration at all. Classic.

I also just found out that this autumn's DÄ tour has officially been cancelled. On the one hand I'm disappointed, because I was supposed to see them in Berlin on Halloween! How cool would that be? But I'm also relieved, as I wouldn't feel comfortable going to such a crowded concert in an indoors venue, but, knowing myself, I would've had an inner conflict about whether or not to go, because I'm just dying to see them live again.

Hopefully things will be better by next summer: I'm supposed to see them live at an open-air show, which I'm much more relaxed about. And it's at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin! Just around the corner from where I lived in 2009/2010! I'm going to cry so, so much, I already know it...
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I was able to take a week off work in the end and spent a few days at the seaside. Nothing fancy, but I really needed to take a break. Today I was back in the office and things are just as crazy as usual, but it wasn't too bad. Let's see how September goes.

Last night I dreamed I was at a DÄ concert. I've been wondering if the autumn tour will be confirmed or not. On the one hand, I'd love to see them live (I'm supposed to see them in Berlin on Halloween!); on the other hand, I don't know if I'd feel comfortable going to a crowded, indoors concert. Sure, I'm vaccinated, but still... Oh, well, we'll see.
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
Well, this has been a weird birthday. I was supposed to go to a concert last night (to see The Sisters of Mercy) and had a big dinner with my cousins planned for tomorrow, but of course everything has been cancelled. But I still had cake, so I'm not complaining too much.

And, thanks to [livejournal.com profile] schwimmerin, I found out Die Ärzte have a new song! Just in time for my birthday!



I love these idiots. ♥
gothikmaus: (David Tennant 2019)
It's time for the usual end of year memes. 2019 was a pretty intense year, both on the fandom front and in "real life": I saw Die Ärzte in Milan (!!!), Good Omens gave me inspiration to write and draw (I hadn't drawn comics in ages), I finally visited Japan! I don't know what to expect in 2020, but I hope it'll be a good year as well.

But before I forget (and I was about to forget), here are the three Christmas cards I sent out this year. I went for a more cartoonish style this year and I'm quite happy with the result.

ExpandChristmas cards 2019 )

ExpandEnd of year memes 2019 )

ASDFGHJKL

Nov. 11th, 2019 09:59 pm
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
Sorry for posting twice within just a few hours, but DIE ÄRZTE ANNOUNCED THEIR TOUR DATES FOR NEXT YEAR!!!

WTF, how can I plan my life so far in advance!? Oh, well, I guess I'll just order a ticket for Berlin (if the system doesn't crash). I have a feeling the Berlin gig will be sold out in no time and they'll add another one the next day (a Saturday). I've been meaning to go back to Berlin anyway, and what better excuse than a DÄ concert?

Those three will be the death of me...
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I've just finished watching Good Omens and I'm SO glad I didn't re-read the book before watching the series, I had completely forgotten a certain twist at the end and, boy, was it good. The relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley is just so, so slashy, and the Queen songs were spot on (and slashy too).

So, yeah, I'm all fangirly about Good Omens right now (I even remembered I actually wrote a short Aziraphale/Crowley ficlet fourteen (FOURTEEN!) years ago, but then I checked the DÄ Tourtagebuch and found THIS PICTURE:

ExpandASDFGHJKL )

How am I able to function like a normal human being when I'm overwhelmed by fandoms?

Anyway, I'm not going to fall asleep any time soon, so I might as well type up my Brussels report.

- The flight went smoothly and I had a lovely view of the Alps, still covered in snow and very pretty.

- At the venue I met [livejournal.com profile] eryka_59, whom I hadn't seen in years. I was lovely meeting again, even if we kinda got lost inside.

- I ended up in the second row in front of Bela again. It wasn't as crowded as Milan (the venue was smaller), but it was still quite intense. On a couple of occasions I thought Bela was looking directly at me and smiling, but it could've been my imagination.

- Farin started talking to a woman on one of the balconies and told her "You're the most beautiful person in the world. Apart from Bela, of course."

- Laola time: Farin made it start from the balconies, then the pit should do it. Then, without being instructed, the "tribune" did it, and Farin was very impressed.

- Monsterparty! My God, I love that song. They even forgot the words, which made it even more hilarious.

- Farin asked "Did anyone here travel more than 20 Km to be here tonight?" Of course the whole venue shouted and Farin reacted like he often does: grinning and covering his eyes with his hand. Then Rod asked "Is anyone of you from here?" A few people cheered. Rod pointed around the audience and said "Remember: I love you!"

- After a girl crowdsurfed to the front, Farin shook her hand and wanted Bela to do the same with a guy who crowdsurfed right afterwards.

- Bela asking a girl who had just been lifted out of the crowd by one of their security guys: "Did you like it, with those big, strong men?" And the girl being totally oblivious what he was talking about. XD

- Rod's amazing guitar solo during one of his songs (can't remember which one).

- Somehow Bela thought Farin had said "Meow" during the "Deine Schuld" intro, so they started making (and asking the audience to make) random animal sounds. XD

- Bela saying there might be another tour and a new album in the near future!!!

- All three of them standing at Rod's mic at the end and saying "Remember: I/we love you!"

After the concert I also saw Eline (whom I had last seen in Berlin three years ago). I decided to stay to see if I could catch a glimpse of the band (I was too excited to go to sleep anyway), but no luck.

- Also, apparently a few fans rented an actual tourbus to follow the band around! That's dedication (and a bit of craziness XD).

And that was it. The next morning I had a delicious breakfast with croissant and crepes, met Almut and spent a ridiculous amount of time getting into comic shops. Who knew there are SO MANY in Brussels. But I was good and only bought two comic books about a sweet and destructive black cat called "Crapule", which I can understand even with my very limited French, and a Platform 9 and 3/4 coaster. Because I'm a nerd. Then we checked into our new hotel and explored the city centre, had chips (because what else are you gonna eat in Brussles) and headed to the Atomium and the Mini-Europe park, which we both enjoyed very much. That evening I had a delicious potato waffle with salmon, ricotta and dried fruit for dinner, and a Kriek (cherry-flavoured beer. Sounds odd, tastes fantastic.) We did some more walking and I ended the night with a Blanche. Because there are not many beers I like, and most of them seem to be from Belgium, so I wanted to take advantage of the moment.

The next morning we had breakfast and I went to the train station with Almut, then visited a few churches, as I had a few more hours to kill and I just LOVE gothic churches, then it was time to go home.

It was such a great weekend, I'm so happy I decided to go in the end. And this Saturday I'm off to Florence to see The Cure! The concert is actually on Sunday, but I've found out there's a photographic exhibition dedicated to David Bowie in Florence these days, plus Easy Cure are playing on Saturday night, so I'm not going to get bored.

And now I really ought to be going to bed, I'll never wake up in the morning...
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
It happened. It really happened. The short version is: OMFG IT WAS F***ING AMAZING!!!

The long rambling version is: WOW. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed them. I checked and the last DÄ concert I'd seen was in October 2012. Too, too long ago. The concert itself was brilliant, they're still as silly as ever and they look like they haven't aged a single day (OMG Bela is still so damn hot!) Farin even spoke a little Italian during the night. The venue was a bit bigger compared to some other venues they played during this tour and it was PACKED. 3,000 people, of which maybe 10 Italians? XD

Almut and I walked a bit around the city centre in the morning (she'd never been to Milan before) and we arrived at the venue around 3:30 PM. Cara was already there and so were about 30 or 40 people, lining up probably since the morning. We thought we might not get good places, but we ended up in the second row right in front of Bela's drumkit aaand... the girls in front of us were quite short, so it was like standing in the front row, but without being crushed against the barrier. We also got the special T-shirts for the Milan show, which you needed to buy before the concert, as they sell out very quickly. Success! A friend of mine was also there (we discovered DÄ together totally by change during a trip to Berlin years ago) and she was very impressed both by the band and the audience.

Oh, before I start rambling about the show: Almut and I were in piazza Duomo around 2:30 PM and were about to head to the venue, when I said "What, let's go to the toilet at La Rinascente!" That's a very fancy shop (think of Harrods in London) and I always use their toilets when I'm out and about in Milan, because they're free and clean. So we went and as we were walking out ROD WALKED IN AND WALKED PAST US!!! I blurted out "OH MY GOD!" and I'm quite sure he heard me, but I just couldn't help it. He was so close I could see the white hairs in his sideburns. XD He was wearing sunglasses and was actually taller than I thought. That was the most random and awesome thing.

Anyway, back to the actual concert. Random memories from the show, in no particular order:

- Farin asking the audience in Italian if there was anyone who didn't speak German (I waved my hand just to see what would happen) and then adding something like "Well, too bad for you, but we're going to be a pain in the arse, no one speaks Italian here anyway". He actually said "Rompiamo le balle", which is not only a very Italian thing to say, but quite specifically from Milan, I just about died.

- Rod snarling "Ihre Papiere sind nicht korrekt!" as they were throwing around stereotypical Italian and German phrases. XD

- Faring talking in Italian about the dinner they had the previous night, in a restaurant where Italian music was playing, and of course they know Italian musicians, he said something like "We like that singer, what's his name, and that other rapper is quite good too, and then there's this couple..." And I KNEW what he was about to say, so I started shouting "No! NOOO!" (Both Cara and I filmed that bit and you can clearly hear me, it's HILARIOUS, it's in our Instagram stories.) Of course he was talking about Albano and Romina Power and said there's a reason why they're idols and before they started playing punk, they only listened to Albano and Romina. They then proceeded to play their own deranged version of "Felicità". XD

- Bela mentioning the middle finger statue in front of Milan Stock Exchange. The next day I showed it to Cara and Ben and of course there were other DÄ fans there. XD

- Farin licking the beck of his guitar and making a disgusted face afterwards.

- Farin saying something like "Bela, ich muss dich drücken" and hugging him. Aww.

- Farin dividing the audience into four sectors and asking each part to clap one after the other.

- Farin singing a bit from "La donna è mobile"! He actually got all the text right, I was very impressed.

- Bela singing random bits of songs during the "Abschied" piano intro, I can remember "Gold" and "Woman in red", then Farin singing "Volare" and "L'italiano". XD

- This didn't happen during the concert, but look at what Rod wrote in the band's Tourtagebuch:

ExpandMilano mi amore )

As if I needed another reason to love this band. ♥

We also ended up in a few photos on the Alcatraz Facebook page and in one of them I have such a manic grin, it could rival Farin's. XD Well, that's exactly how I've felt ever since Thursday. I'm so glad I decided to go to Brussels too. It would've been great also "just" seeing the Milan show, I mean, I've had this dream of seeing them here for years, but didn't really think it would actually happened, so it was basically a dream come true. But Brussels is the last show of the tour, I'm sure they're going to be even sillier than usual.
gothikmaus: (Simon Gallup is my hero)
I finally bought train tickets and booked a hotel in Florence. I panicked a little at first because, being the queen of procrastination that I am, I waited so long that most hotels near the centre were fully booked or only had availability for one night (I'm staying for two nights). And the ones that did have available rooms had outrageous prices. I mean, I know it's Florence, but a 2-star hotel / B&B for more than € 150 per night? Come on. In the end I found a 4-star hotel that had a super deal and cost me less than some of the above-mentioned B&Bs. I even found a deal for the return train ticket, a first-class seat cost the same as an economy seat, so I grabbed it. I'm gonna travel like a lady that weekend! XD

Tomorrow evening Almut is arriving in Milan and the day after... DÄ!!! I'm so excited I can barely function!
gothikmaus: (London calling)
I wanted to write something earlier, but, as usual, I got lazy.

I was in London with my parents from 27th April to 4th May, it was my wedding anniversary present for them, as they'd never been there and mentioned they would like to visit it. We had a brilliant time, walked A LOT and even found decent weather. The focus of the trip was showing the city to my parents, of course, but I still managed to get my hands on "In between days", a photographic book on The Cure that recently came out.

ExpandA few pictures under the cut )

My mum's favourite parts was the Changing of the Guard and the afternoon tea, while my dad loved the Churchill War Rooms (as I was sure he would). I always have a great time in London and I'm happy my parents liked it too.

My next trip is going to be Brussels at the end of May. Yes, I'm going to see the last DÄ concert of the tour on top of seeing them in Milan, because hell, why not! And after that it's going to be Florence to see The Cure in June. Which I've just realised I still need to buy train tickets and book a hotel for. Oops.
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
OMG, I was going through old LJ layouts and look what I found!

ExpandBlast from the past )

With the header picture link still working and everything! This is a clear sign I must use this layout, at least until the DÄ gigs in May! XD
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I was going through an old tag and realised it's a pity I rarely update this journal these days. The social aspect was very important of course, the interaction gave me motivation to write and check LJ every day until a few years ago, but I should really make an effort, it's so good going back to things you wrote years ago and think "I had completely forgotten about that!"

For the moment I'll make a super quick recap of the last few weeks, we'll see how often I'll update after this.

- In February I went to Frankfurt for a training, which was surprisingly useful. I think I also impressed the trainers with a ton of suggestions on things to see in Berlin (they were planning to visit it after the training).

- I recently had a DÄ-related dream: I was at a concert, but the venue was weird, it had two separate rooms and I couldn't see a thing from where I was standing, but for some reason I didn't want to move. After the concert I saw some fans trying to sneak backstage and being unceremoniously thrown out, so when I went out and saw DÄ actually walk down the street, I was afraid I'd end up like that if I bothered them, but then I thought "I'll just go and thank them for the concert". Farin was actually very nice and gave me a thank-you card. My subconscious is clearly getting excited about the May concert in Milan.

- Talking about concerts, I'm veeery tempted to go to the Brussels show as well, it would be the last show of the tour. But I'm not 100% sure I can take the extra day off work, we'll see.

- And the reason why I'm not sure I can take the extra day off is because I'm already taking a week off in May to take my parents to London as an anniversary gift. They've wanted to visit it for quite some time and are really excited about it!

- Last week I went on a guided tour of Milan and the theme was legends and ghost stories. I really liked it and discovered a few things I didn't know! Like the column where the devil allegedly got his horns stuck after being kicked in the butt by St. Ambrose and the statue of a snake that was apparently forged by Moses. Plus I finally visited San Satiro, a church I must have walked past a hundred times that has an amazing perspective illusion choir painted by Bramante.

That's about it for now. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next update, but I wouldn't hold my breath...
gothikmaus: (Simon Gallup is my hero)
2019 is gonna be the year I die. First the announcement that Die Ärzte are playing in Milan (tickets go on sale tomorrow, wish me luck), then I find out The Cure are playing in Florence!

Someone wants me dead. But at least I'll die happy.

OMGOMGOMG

Sep. 8th, 2018 11:50 pm
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
I've just checked my email. The latest DÄ newsletter was there. And...

ROCK’N’ROLL ÜBERMENSCH

Im Mai 2019 wird uns die "Miles & More-Tour" in folgende Städte führen: Amsterdam, Brüssel, Ljubljana, London, Luxembourg, Mailand, Prag, Strasbourg, Warschau und Zagreb.

Oh. My. GOD!!!!! F*cking finally! I'm almost crying.
gothikmaus: (Die beste Band der Welt)
Aww yiss, I love days off in the middle of the week.

I wanted to write this yesterday, but I received a last-minute invite to dinner + '80s night, so I didn't have time: the other night I dreamt Die Ärzte were playing in my hometown. The venue was tiny, I was standing in the front row and it was GLORIOUS. I think my subconsciuos is trying to tell me something. XD

And while we're talking about fandoms, I realised the following about 2016:

- new Sherlock
- new Star Trek
- new Harry Potter (sort of)
- Cure concert

Plus:
- a potential trip to Berlin (not confirmed yet)
- a potential trip overseas (business+pleasure, not confirmed yet)

I'm gonna die! XD

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