A trip to Berlin (1) Going from Hermannplatz to Kottbusser Tor

LaWendula on the move…Yesterday I visited my hometown Berlin. It was windy, wet and grey, no good weather for photos. I decided to take a trip on the U1, the line 1, a famous highline that runs thru Kreuzberg. There is a song about the stations of the U1. But first I am at the station „Hermannplatz“, which was once called the most dangerous station in Berlin. It’s not true. In fact it’s quite harmless. This kind of swimming hall architecture many Berlin underground stations have, it’s kind of nice, I think. A vintage feeling. To get to line 1, first I have to drive to „Möckernbrücke“, it really is a bridge over the Landwehrkanal. Swimmingpool feelin‘ again! I change trains and get high. ;) Line 1 is a high line most of the times. I take the train to “Warschauerstrasse” which is the end of line 1. The windows of the trains are covered with little Brandenburg Gates to keep folks from “scratching”. The little boy kept talking about the Spreewald, a forest area in the south of Berlin. Getting of at „Kottbusser Tor“, I am in the middle of the real Kreuzberg, the famous SO36, where I lived as a child. It’s grey, dreary, colourful, noisy and never seems to change. Is someone getting a photo taken? No, just using the photo booth as a small hideaway for drinking his daily dose of spirit. My little photo eye is always searching for art in small corners, where no-one’s expecting it. The most ugly building in Kreuzberg and not even the pink paint will do. This is a bookstore I like. I have found many a bargain inside. There is also a gallery in the backyard. The actual exhibition is called “in other words” and is about translations. I loved that and listened to the foreign sounds for a while. To be continued…

Happy to say, I am at it again

Happy to say, that my collage flow has come back and I am delighted with doing my daily journal work. I also worked on a stamp. Due to a lack of the right carving tools, I had to do this with a kitchen knife :( It's far away from perfection, but totally Lawendula-Style. Birdies on stamps (and in art in general) are always welcome!

Top of the world

Spring is here! Blue sky, a strong sun and garden work. And Svea with her sun glasses on top of “the world”, ok, not the world, but the roof.




At school Svea has worked on this:

I really had to laugh about the guy with the tire-hairdo! Wow!

It’s the time for back ache and planning what to plant.

And of course for reading outside. Always the best thing to do!

My all time fav: Victoria Alexander’s “One”.


Ready for another challenge? A vegetable quiche. I bet you will love this, even if you are not a vegetarian.

Teig/batter:
250 g Dinkelmehl/Spelt flour
100g Butter
1 Ei/egg
2 EL Wasser/tbsp water
1 TL Salz/tsp salt
Alles vermengen und gut durchkneten, dann ½ h an einem kühlen Ort ruhen lassen
Combine everything, knead well and then let rest for ½ hour at a cool place

Füllung/filling:
1 mittelgroße Süßkartoffel/ middle sized sweet potatoe
1 Stange Porree/ 1 stem of leek
1 Stange Sellerie/ 1 stem of celery
1 kleinen Fenchel/ small fennel
1 Paprikaschote/ sweet pepper
Klein schneiden und in Olivenöl 5 Min. andünsten, gut würzen mit den üblichen Lieblingsgewürzen.
Cut into small pieces and fry in a pan with a bit olive oil for 5 minutes, taste with your usual favorite herbs

Soße/sauce:
150 ml Milch/milk
50 ml Sahne/whipping cream
2 Eier/egga
3 Knofizehen (gepreßt)/cloves of garlic (mashed)
1 TL Kräutersalz/tsp herb salt
60 g Parmesan (gerieben)/parmesan cheece (grated)
3 EL Schafskäse (zerbröselt)/ sheep cheese (crumbled)
Gut durchrühren. Stir well.

Den Teig ausrollen und auf eine klassische Kuchenform (siehe Bild) legen, gut andrücken und im vorgeheizten Ofen bei 200° 20 Minuten backen.
Die Füllung auf den fertigen Teigboden geben und gut verteilen, dann mit der Soße übergießen, zurück in den Ofen und nochmal 25 Min. backen.
Die Kalorienzahl nicht beachten und schlemmen.
Roll out the batter and give it into a classic tart pan (see picture), press down well and let it bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes (200°C).
Take it out again, add the filling and the sauce and put it back into the over for another 25 minutes.
Don’t mind the calories and enjoy!

I feel like making a cake...

Hi it's me again. Greetings from my kitchen!

Do you remember this old B'52's-Song?

-Hey, you know what I'd really like to do?
-Say wha'?
-I feel like makin' a cake
-Ooh wah! what kind of cake do you want?
-Ooh, how about an angel cake?
-Umm, some cinnamon?
-Yeah, sure
-Sugar?
-Yeah, uh huh, I swear
-You got a pan the right size?
-A pan?
-It says in this cookbook it takes a long time to rise

So I too felt like making a cake.
I've made this one twice now and it's easy and lush (is lush the right word when it comes to cakes?) and not too sweet.
I used a recipe by Heidi Swanson, but hers was a plum cake. But I wanted an apple cake and it worked out fine. The thing is, you can use half spelt and half wheat flour here. If you want it to be 100% spelt flour, I think you have to add a bit more baking powder, because it then will get not so compact. But I'm not too sure about that.

You need:
310 g flour (half spelt/half wheat)
70 g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
(Mix it all in a bowl)
355 ml buttermilk
the zest of 3 lemons (grated)
2 eggs
60 g melted butter (let it cool down a bit)
(add all this in a seperate bowl and stir well, then add the buttermilk mix to the flour mix and stir well again)
Put the batter in a round tart pan, peel and slice 2-3 apples and put it on top of the batter. Add almond slices if you want.
Put the whole thing in an oven at 210°C, preheated it will take 20-25 minutes.
This one is great with whipped cream, but also without.

PS It gets better every day (best on the third day), if it will last that long.

I am still doing my collages. And this one is something I like very much.

But I also have done a few more pages.



Art often is a kind of self experience, as kids show us when they are exploring art.

This is Svea, three years old, painting her face.

The cranes are back

Always a great sign: The cranes are flying back north. We have missed their loud calling.




As spring is here now, I tried to make ice cream and it worked out fine! Even without an ice machine.

I used a slightly moderated recipe from Matthew Evans "The real food companion".
If you want to try it, you won't regret, I think.
You need:
300 ml whipping cream
3 eggs (seperated)
60 g treacle
50 g maple syrup
1 pinch of salt

Whisk the cream til soft peaks form. Mix the treacle and the egg yolks til well combined. Add it to the cream and stir well. Whisk the egg whites til soft peaks form, add the maple syrup and the salt. Slowly add the egg white to the cream and stir well.
Put into a container and into the freezer. After about an hour, take it out again and stir well. Put it back for another 3-4 hours. Enjoy! :)

What else was I doing during the last days?
Making art of course. Nothing special, but my ever continuing journal journey.


More kitchen and cooking stuff of course, like spelt buns...

Or colourful smoothies...


Looking back on times we had cats. (We have lost so many cats over the years now, that I really can't stand having one anymore, but of course I miss it, especially in spring, when the hayloft used to be filled with kittens.)


Have a great time, everyone!