Mix it up, baby!

As anyone who has read this blog likely knows, I have a bit of a thing for graveyards. I've traced it back somewhat to my childhood in Arizona (they were one of the only places where there were trees and grass). As a teenager I was also a bit of a "light" goth, i.e. I didn't wear all the make-up and went easy on the black lace but I was into the music and wrote lots of depressing poetry (the first boy I got involved with wrote me a poem partially in his own blood which I found VERY romantic!) But the main reason for the graveyard love is that they are so beautiful here in my neighborhood, full of art deco and art nouveau ornaments and delightfully delipidated.

Still, I didn't really want to take all of my pictures for my shop in the graveyard. As someone who bores easily, it is necessary to mix it up. I made a funky necklace a while ago which I call Neukoelln Forever (rough neighborhood I lived in for a while, I wrote a blog entry about it earlier this month....) Anyway, I knew I wanted to take pictures in a more urban, gritty setting but I have no desire to actually go to Neukoelln right now because, with the baby buggy, steep stair and no elevator, the U-Bahn is too much of a pain in the ass and it takes too long to walk there (about 40 minutes)when the weather is so "wechselhaft" as it is these days: clouds and sprinkles and general crapiness.


Today, when walking toward Bergmannstrasse here in Kreuzberg with Baby Li, I ran across the playground on Solmsstrasse. Placed where a bombed building once stood that was never re-built, they went with an urban jungle graffitti art theme. Perfect for posing with my necklace. Here are some pics:








As usual, I had fun. Baby Li also found it ok, I assume since she continued peacefully sleeping. Afterwards we went together to Cafe Molinari for a delicious Italian hot chocolate. Yum! :)