I started writing music in 2008, and finally in 2020, I released my first album “Every Kind of Emotion”. Many of the songs on the album are songs I wrote very early, such as Feel Me or Marry The Misery.
The Album starts with a story of a lady who wants to change her life completely, she is full of energy and dedication, but her current partner is not as enthusiastic in“Close”. This song was actually written during my first trip to Scandinavia and was originally meant as a duet. I like the comfy vibes in this song. She then crosses red lines of her, doing things she would never imagine doing, resulting in the angry song “Either Way”, saying that he is actually nothing without her. This song was written in only 2 days in 2020.
Feel Me was originally meant to mock traditional 90s love songs, using very corny lyrics. In the context of the album, it is a more serious song, the couple is giving their love one last chance. This song was written in 2011. The instrumental is extremely stripped down. Black Roses is one of my favorite songs. It has so much positive energy, but at the same time, it is also melancholic. The lady meets a new person and wonders what would happen if they got together. She is not really ready to move on from her old life yet. The title is inspired by The Rasmus – Ten Black Roses.
Nightfall is also one of the newer songs. It is my longest song, it starts very quietly and progressively becomes bigger. The lady feels completely lost in her life and is desperate for a romantic partner to save her from her loneliness.
Stop The Clock can be interpreted in two ways. Primarily, it is about humanity neglecting climate change, but in the context of the album, the lady reached the bottom of loneliness and lost all faith in humanity since her attempts to change her life and getting a new partner failed. This song was written in 2020 within a day. By mistake, I never saved the project and I had to do my best to redo the song from memory on the next day, haha..
The melody in the verse of Blue Lights is one of the first I have ever written. The song itself is inspired by early 90’s Björk songs. The song is about addiction and how the world has become more anonymous, leading to loneliness, which our protagonist is experiencing.
I wrote “A Maniac Without Your Love” in 2013 after one of my friends told me that his girlfriend had committed suicide. It is not easy finding the right words and supporting your friends during hard times like these. While the lyrics are quite sad, the instrumental sounds quite happy. It’s also the only song to feature a distorted electric guitar. The lady notices she is not alone in her struggles.
I always wonder why “Marry The Misery” is the song most people like the most. It is also one of the older songs, probably from 2012 or 2013. Maybe there was a bit of an inspiration by Milow’s Ayo Technology (you can’t really hear that anymore in the final song). I always struggled to write a chorus for this one, but another song I wrote in 2016 called Queens had the perfect melody for Marry The Misery. This song is written from the perspective of a friend of the protagonist, urging her to not give up.
The album had to end on a positive note, but the song also had to be a slower one. “Alone Together” is also a very old song, probably from 2011 or 2012, originally inspired by the band HIM. The lady reminisces about her time with her partner and wonders what their future will look like.
Spain is one of my favorite countries to travel to (no German ever said that, trust me).
It began in 2005 when I travelled to Mallorca with my mother, we just stayed there for a week and enjoyed the sun. I don’t remember a lot of this trip, because well, I was only 10 years old. I remember watching a holiday rep doing his thing every evening and walking around the beach and the hotel, buying Pokéballs and other Pokémon stuff.
In 2017, I went to Barcelona to see the Formula 1 testing days. We only stayed a few days, so there was not that much time to explore the city. Still, we were able to see the glorious colorful city from above, see the stunning Sagrada Familia, visit the beautiful beaches in the evening and stroll through the lively city. It’s definitely a city that has everything and you see lots of young people and lots of people smiling! It was also fun driving around with a small Fiat 500, enjoying the Spanish breeze and sun with open windows.
I went back to Barcelona for 2 days a couple of years later and it didn’t change much. I took the bus from the airport, which was quite easy and relatively cheap (around 7€) and then basically did the same tour again, but on foot. On the next day, I had more time than expected due to a delayed flight and decided to walk the whole way from Sagrada Familia to El Prat Airport. I decided to pass through Montjuic, a beautiful place which demands a bit of your stamina, but the view was worth it!
When I was passing through the industrial quarter, I remember people just coming up to me and talk to me about stuff, like in Brazil for instance. That’s one of the reasons why I love Spain so much!
Then, we started traveling to Tenerife in 2021 and it’s such an interesting place. You’re relatively far away from the European mainland and the culture is diverse. The native population is assimilated into the general population, but you can see lots of influences in the shops, the way houses are built and the way people talk.
Most of the people in restaurants, at least the once in touristy areas, will speak English to you even if you speak Spanish. Unless your Spanish is accent-free, most will probably answer in English. There are many tourists from Great Britain, Germany and Italy, among other parts of Europe.
Once you leave the populated areas and go towards smaller cities, people don’t speak much English anymore and you will get an experience that’s quite different from the typical one. People will welcome you with open arms, talk about any subject, show their pride of their heritage, but also talk about issues.
We were thinking of moving to the Canary Islands a couple of times, but it is even difficult for the people on the islands to survive there. The wages are extremely low and many people are lucky to find a place to rent. That also counts for places like Barcelona, where some people are forced to move due to high rent prices. Many digital nomads move to Spain and have quite a high income which drives rent prices up. Some people have told me that they can only live there because they live with their family or they inherited a house or apartment.
Anyway, on a more positive note, the beaches are wonderful and probably one of my favorite beaches I have seen so far. The light breeze of the Canary Islands (which can turn into strong winds, be aware!) on a sunny day, being surrounded by beautiful mountains and having so much space is absolutely nice. When you are just lying down in the sand, you feel human. You feel like you don’t need any more than you have in that moment. This is why I love going back there. The water is not that cold and it is perfect for some surfing or kite surfing.
Driving there is nice as well, especially on less populated islands. There was quite a hairy situation last time when I stayed behind a slow car and a truck for a long time on a country road and when I finally overtook, the truck decided to overtake as well and I had two wheels on the grass at 100kph.
We also did a trip to the Costa del Sol, which is also a lovely place in Spain. We stayed in Benalmádena close to Málaga and had a car. Málaga is quite big and historical, the beach front is very large and beautiful, as is the city. The food there is quite good as well! My favorite part of the city is the downtown and all the orange trees in the city, the mood is just perfect and exactly my vibe! It’s just a bit too large for me, but that’s why there are so many beautiful villages around it.
We saw some of them on our way to Sevilla, where the main place (Plaza de España) was unfortunately closed that day, but we saw the Setas de Sevilla and the rest of it of course. Sevilla felt a bit narrower and more chaotic, but it’s surely a beautiful city worth visiting. The people and the vibe in Málaga are naturally a bit more chill though.
We also decided to go to Gibraltar. Before traveling to Málaga, I hadn’t even realized that it was so close (around 90 minutes by car). We went to Tarifa before that to eat some Tapas and to enjoy the beach. That was probably the most beautiful beach in mainland Europe I ever saw, so large and beautiful. And you could see Africa on the other side! Maybe it’s worth going back there for a beach holiday one day.
Gibraltar always used to be one of these places I saw on my globe as a kid and wondered what it’s like living there. Well, first of all, it’s interesting getting into it. We decided to park the car outside and walked in. They checked our passports since it’s basically British territory (no stamp though) and then we went to a supermarket which had lots of British stuff. Then, we had to wait before the runway as we had to let the airplanes pass. They opened the gate and we walked over the runway, the cars which decided to enter Gibraltar drove over the runway. Such a surreal and cool experience! Walking through the town, you see so much British stuff like the typical road signs, restaurants, buildings and so on. But there is also a lot of Spanish influence and most people there speak both languages fluently. Definitely worth visiting if you have a car and enough time in Costa del Sol.
Oh, and on the last day before returning the car, some guy just crashed in our rear when I was stationary at a red light. I didn’t really know what to do since that was my first accident with a rental car. So the guy told me to give my rental car company his licence plate number and then basically drove away. I had to wait a couple of weeks, but I got my deposit back in the end without involving the police.
Before I forget, we also visited the North of Spain very briefly when we visited Porto. I believe it was Vigo or a town close to it, it was a nice old town where we enjoyed some good food and saw the sunset. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. The culture over there seems to be quite distinct from the rest of the respective countries.
Places visited:
Costa del Sol (Málaga, Benalmádena, Tarifa, Nerja) Sevilla Barcelona Mallorca Vigo Canary Islands
The first country on my list is one of the most historic in the world.
A country full of history. Castles, war memorials, large cities, mountains, forests come to mind. And also… where I was born!
near Rüdesheim, Germany
Born in the north of Germany, naturally, Germany is the first country I ever visited. Makes sense, right?
I used to live near the Danish border a long time ago. In my mid-twenties, I spent a couple of years in Hesse, but I lived a big part of my life in North Rhine-Westphalia, close to steel factories and surrounded by rather soulless buildings. It isn’t exactly postcard material. Still, I was lucky enough to always have beautiful forests and lakes nearby, places that offered an escape whenever I needed one – whether to clear my head, meet friends, or simply think about life for a while.
It’s interesting how quickly the atmosphere can change. Just a few kilometers away, the scenery can feel darker and more industrial, almost heavy. These contrasts kinda shaped how I see places, not just for their beauty, but for their mood.
One of the most known places in Germany, the Romantic Road. I went there in 2019
Traveling
Over the years, I have visited every single state in Germany, all 16 of them. Not that I’m particularly proud of it; it just happened naturally. There was enough time and opportunities. Germany isn’t the largest country, after all. In theory, you could probably cross off all the states in a matter of days. But actually experiencing them, getting a feel for their landscapes, dialects, and subtle differences, takes much longer.
The north is definitely worth visiting, especially the islands like Sylt and Föhr. There’s something special about the North Sea wind, the beaches, the Wattenmeer, and the calm rhythm of the tides. Life feels a bit more exposed there, shaped by weather and water.
That being said, I believe the south has the most to offer in terms of scenery. The mountains in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are stunning, particularly in summer when the days are long and the landscapes are alive with green meadows and clear blue skies. The closer you get to the Alps, the more impressive it becomes. The air feels different, fresher, lighter, and you naturally slow down a bit.
Cities like Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Hamburg are all worth visiting. Each of them has its own personality: Berlin is creative and raw, Cologne open and friendly, Frankfurt international and fast-paced, Hamburg elegant in its own quiet way. Still, none of them will necessarily take your breath away at first sight. They grow on you instead. That’s how I would describe Germany, actually.
Germany is a car-centric country with amazing museums
A road trip through the south, however, might do exactly that. Long drives through small villages, lakes reflecting mountain peaks, unexpected viewpoints you didn’t plan for.. and that’s where Germany quietly shines. It’s not always loud or spectacular, but it’s steady, diverse, and full of small moments that stay with you.
Visited: All 16 states / Bundesländer
My favorite building in Germany, the Cologne Cathedral. Visited many times.Northern Germany, feels almost scandinavian.
Food
Some of my favorite restaurants with vegan options in Germany:
60 Seconds to Napoli (various) – hands down, best vegan pizza in Germany!
Asia Vegan Chay (Bottrop) – really good Asian food, I love the vegan duck
Bibimcup (Düsseldorf) – amazing Korean food, the Kim bap is amazing!
Vincent Vegan (Hamburg) – one of the best burgers I have ever eaten
Lavash Döner (Hannover) – the best Kebab/Döner I have eaten in Germany!
