I write this mostly to process the intensity of the first few days that I arrived in this city for the first time. It has been unmatched in terms of intensity and scale. It helps me to know that I won’t forget it and become an undefinded haze of experiences now that it is written down.

01/05/2025
I arrived in Berlin on “Tag der Arbeit”. With my heavy suitcase I first made my way to my appartement. It is a beautiful and spacious place with large windows on the 8th floor. I have not lived this luxuriously in a long time. Then I went out and walked for a long time trough all the chaos and crowd filled streets of 1st of may partygoers. It was very interesting and overwhelming. By chance Lynn was also in Berlin, so i met up with her and another friend. We hung out for a bit before me and Lynn ate indian together and walked around a lot more. When arriving home she was fast asleep while I organized my stuff. Strange to have somebody sleeping in ‘your bed’ when you yourself have never slept in it.

02/05/2025
Woke up and started looking for a bike online. When Lynn woke up we went for a walk, had a coffee in a nice place and went to the supermarket and bought a lot of stuff for the apt. It was nice spending the morning together, but after lunch I was zoning out quite hard and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Lynn left to join up with the other friend and I started making my way trough my neighbourhood alone, visiting off spaces that were all open because of some ‘gallery weekend’ that was going on. While doing so I met some nice people were interested and kind. Jasmina in particular, she sent me an email with her website. https://jasminescu.com/. That evening Lilla -a friend I made in Vares summerschool in August- invited me to an opening of Aktionshaus. It was quite far but I went and entered a magical space full of smoke and edible sculptures while having a crazy view over Berlin. I had not seen Lilla for almost a year and it was so fun to meet her again. Crazily enough there was someone else I had not seen for almost a year that was randomly standing on the terrace there. Alyona, whom I met at Ratti in Como last year. Back then she introduced herself in a very hardcore way and together with Leyre we went swimming one of those days. I was so suprised to meet her. Later Laura-Maria -Also from Vares- showed up aswell. In the end I spent all evening talking to people I knew. Me and Lilla ended up biking home after dancing to a dub set a bit and it was a cute moment.

03/05/2025
Saturday morning I took care of a bike subscription. Once that was done I biked around a bit, and cooked a nice meal. By the time that was done it was already pretty late but I headed into the city to see more of the gallery/off space weekend. I went to the busier part of the city and wanted to see cyprien gaillard in Spruth magers but the GIANT line of people on the sidewalk deterred me. I will never get in line like that to see someones work or buy something. I ended up at KW institute for contemporary art. There I saw an incredible show by Matt Copson, as well as a beautiful sound work on the top floor. I met up with Lynn and Tobias again there before leaving to have a coffee. There I said goodbye to them and biked to an opening that Jasmina invited me to the day before. It was such a strange event in a small room with too many people. I was not so comfortable but stayed for the performance and reading that would take place. Those were also strange but quite nice. Afterwards I got to talking with a few young ppl (like me) and despite it being a little awkard they were super nice and invited me to hang out longer after leaving so I hung out with them and met more of their friends. it was quite nice actually. After going home I felt an immense need for mindfulness however. So overwhelmed by the sheer activity of the city and the effort I had been doing to partake in it as well as feeling the need to work on the project I came here for. I meditated very deeply and began to write all evening long. I found peace in a way that I have not found it for a long time. I really love the emptiness of my appartment. Since arriving I have also completely stopped watching youtube videos, listening to podcasts and I rarely listen to music. It is really a different quality of life and thought.

04/05/2025
Woke up, cleaned a bit, did a proper workout, showered and started working in earnest. Reading a paper about the discipline of ‘microhistory’. It was so fucking nice to read again, and read things that are intellectually stimulating. It immediately gave me so much to reflect upon in regards of my own project. This kind of stimulation is making me enjoy being alone even more. All of a sudden, Marlie -mastercooridnator at Kask- called me to have a chat. A really nice suprise. We had a good conversation for a while, she recommended me some places and I sent he some Flemish songs. I ate and then I started updating my blog about the days in Kassel. Revisiting this is also giving me more peace of mind. Then I made a video I consider beautiful. I had planned to meet up w Laura-Maria and Lilla for a dinner at her house. I decided to stop by the Kotti Space before ( Where I met Jasmina ) to say hi. Checked a nice gallery on the way (daad gallerie) and arrived there as they were preparing food for a dinner. I helped set it up for a bit and we had a very cute little dinner with some random adults and kids. Also there I met some nice people who invited me for a picknick ♥. I left to go to my second dinner, which was also quite cosy and nice. With Lilla and Laura-Maria we biked to ‘villa neukoln’ where a concert of their friends was happening. It was a truly beautiful concert in a beautiful place. After the concert I met some of those friends and it turns out there was a girl there, Lea from Munich that I had met two weeks ago in Brussels. When I was hanging out with Ilinca. Another such strange coincidence, meeting each other hundreds of kilometers appart. it was really funny and wholesome. I chilled for some longer with them at the cafe and biked home, reflected and wrote about the text I had read in the morning and then went to sleep.