Off to London!

So, off to London! We are traveling light since Ryanair has got so incredible strict hand luggage rules. No even a hand bag allowed in addition to the main hand luggage! ...And of course, I have to save some space if I happen to find something cool.

My backpack is like always, a work in process.

About Eurovision Song Contest

...Not really, haha. But in a way though.

This year there was in both German and Finnish qualifications for Eurovision Song Contest one good band taking part. These both are great upcoming bands and kind of local to me. They both are even better live so you should go and see them if you ever have the possibility.

La Brass Banda comes from our hoods here in Bayern and they combine traditional Bavarian rhythms and instruments to punk-ska-rock music. In German Eurovision Song Contest qualifications the band got the most votes from the people but the jury doomed them with only one point.

La Brass Banda gets you going for sure!

LA BRASS BANDA - NACKERT 

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Last Panda comes from my hometown in Finland and the band members actually include my brother in the base. They combine modern pop sound to skate punk and have always a great live energy. Last Panda also made their way to the finals in the Finnish Eurovision Song Contest qualifications.

Last Panda has the right balance between attitude and fun.

LAST PANDA - SATURDAY FOREVER 

Never ending winter

Is this winter never going to end?? Today it is snowing again and it looks more Christmassy outside than at Christmas (at X-mas we had + 20 degrees). But now it's like in Finland. ...Sooo depressing. And it is exactly the too long winter that we are trying to escape.

I remember the first year here in Munich that we drank beer on a terrace and had open window picnic at home in February already. We opened the both big windows, put the sofa in front of the window, listened Bob Marley and enjoyed the sun in shorts. Oh well, not this year!

This is a normal sight from our Helsinki home's
balcony during the Easter...

...But it shouldn't be like this here in Munich.

London calling!

London is my ultimate favorite city in the world. I still remember the WOW-effect when I stepped out for the first time from the Camden town underground station. That was summer 1997 and I got a hot summer breeze on my face and gold shivers through my body as I was right a way blown away with the cool atmosphere. I had turned seventeen that spring and it was the most amazing sight I had ever seen, and it still has the same effect on me.

Anyway, now we'll have a quick visit in London during the Easter holidays as we'll meet a couple of our Finnish friends there. I am planning to hang out Saturday in Camden and Sunday at the Spitalfield markets. I don't think I'll have so much time for searching new materials for the RokRokInc. jewelries though. ...Maybe I'll concentrate on finding something small for myself...

Getting ready for the trip to London
with my RokRokInc. earrings.

Midnightbazar, Reithalle 23.3.

For a change I was last evening at the Midnightbazar night market in the Reithalle, Munchen. The Midnightbazar is a nice night market: the place is big and the clientele consists a lot of hipsters and trendy people. They sell beer, refreshments, some drinks and snacks and have a DJ playing music. An advantage is that they have a good lightning there so you can really see what you are buying.

Still somehow I prefer the competitor Nachtkonsum specially as a seller and maybe also as a customer. Though as a seller, a big plus for Midnightbazar is that they mark the places for sellers beforehand so that you don't need to wait in line early to secure a spot.

I met my lovely customers from the last night market and
they had on everything that they bought from me! It really
makes me happy when I see people wearing my stuff.
And girls: thanks again for the delicious muffins!

Here my other reviews of flea markets in Munich:

Diakonia Kaufhaus
Nachtkonsum Zündapphalle

Nachtkonsum Tonhalle

Midnightbazar Postpalast

Mädelsmarkt

Andrea's B-day present

My friend has birthday party today and of course I'll give self-made presents. These are a bit late for this winter but the coldness will get us soon again. So, earlier she asked for leg warmers so here they are with matching Backgammon piece earrings. ...Or actually these are ankle warmers.

I know they are simple but I am a simple gal that likes to keep everything simple. And besides, the yarn (from Finnish Novita) has pretty sequins so I figured the warmers themselves don't need anything special.

Ankle warmers keep the snow away from low boots.

Golden animal brooches

Some time ago one customer of mine asked for golden animal brooches. So here they are. I hope she'll stop by at my table soon so I can show that I finally fulfilled her request.

Golden animal brooches on my customers request.

CRAFTING TIPS FOR GOLDEN ANIMAL BROOCHES

1. I used the rim spray paint. It seems it's really hard to find a paint that really sticks. So far, the rim paint with little sparkles in it has been the best. If anyone has better knowledge on this one, please share your secrets with me!
2. The paint sticks better to a softer plastic. Though some soft plastics can not take the paint. You'll notice that if the surface gets weird and the paint won't get dry.
3. From the other side of the animal I sanded the place for the brooch flat with the grindstone tool of my Dremel. The grindstone tool is meant for metal materials but works well with plastic as well.

Zillertal Arena

Downhill skiing for the first time for a loooong time. I think it was maybe around 1993 when I joined my family for the last time for a skiing trip in the northern Finland. Since then I've tried snowboarding here and there but since it was like once in two years I never really learned it well enough. So, this time I had to take the skis in order to keep up with the boys.

Weirdly enough, it wasn't so bad with the skis. I could even maybe go again. Hmmm, does this mean I lost some of my being against winter sports? ...Damned...

Starting the day and skiing with a beer.

Zillertal Arena was a very good place to ski. The slopes are versatile and in general not too steep. They have some action places and enough slopes for several days. It was also easy to find a cabin restaurant and toilets but food was nothing to praise. As far as we had time to experience, Kreuzwiesenalmhütte had the best menu and good coffee.

The topmost point we visited.

We were six together and we stayed over night at the Zell am Ziller in a place called Ferienwohnungen Egger. I can recommend this accommodation as well. There were three double rooms, two bathrooms, two balconies, kitchen, dining room and a lobby. The owner was very nice and the place really in a good shape and all.

Ferienwohnungen Egger was not a visual delight and not for crazy partying but a pleasant stay.

Sledging at Tegernsee

We started our winter sports weekend with 6,5 kilometer sledge ride at the Wallberg, Tegernsee. And I can highly recommend it, was fun!

Ready to start the race.

Wallberg is a hill near to Tegernsee. One ride up the hill with a cabin costs 10 euros and in my opinion one ride is enough. You can rent the sledges from there for 5 euros, you just need an ID to leave as a deposit.

We went there on Friday around noon and the good thing was that the place was almost empty. During the weekend it is almost not worth it because the place gets packed and it's not sure that you can get a rental sledge even after an hours queuing.

The first stretch of the ride is definitely the best so remember to take everything out of it since in the end it gets too gradual. And of course, some Glühwein on the way from the mountain cabin!

I think I was loosing again but luckily I am
a VERY good looser and so VERY got used to it.

Winter jacket

I am no not a sports person and totally not a winter person. And if it is possible, even less of a winter sports person. But, this weekend we'll go downhill skiing with our guests from Finland. My boyfriends both big brothers will come with a couple of friends of theirs and we'll head up to Zillertal, Austria for a quick skiing trip.

I found my winter sports clothing from Finland like over eight years ago from sales and I wore them since then like five times maybe. It was always my intention to pimp them a little but I never did because it seemed kind of pointless if I was never really using them. Now finally, I started the project. I just attached some badges that I happened to have and pyramid studs from and old belt. I know, it's kind of too "classic" but the look will get more interesting with time when I find more stuff for it.

Remember that you can not attach glue in badges by ironing
onto a synthetic material. ...Haha, I remember from my youth
one boy who had tried to iron a flight jacket and of course
there was a burned picture of an iron in the back.

NOTICE: The badge in the left arm is the original version from my RokRokInc. logo. It was made by a tattoo artist Max for our DIY punk rock festival in Kemi, Finland.

Midnight sun

Many here in Munich have asked about the midnight sun in Finland during the summer. So yes, it is true and from this video you can get an idea how it is. It kind of gets dim for a couple of hours but the sun stays over the horizon through the night. And then about at five o'clock the sun starts to shine again. Awhh...really waiting for the summer to begin!

MIDNIGHT SUN IN FINLAND

Punkland 2

Since I got started last week, I could now introduce the second slice of Finnish punk. These bands represent a bit different tradition as the bands in my previous post Punkland. And these bands sing in English. They all give strong performances so you should definitely go see them if they ever happen to tour in your city. You can find the bands also in Spotify if you first want to get to know their albums.

ANAL THUNDER
Anal Thunder started as a joke and they first built the songs around getting drunk. For example the classic Drink Myself To Death brings me always to a happy mood. One of my favorites from the band is Song About Getting Smashed that has maybe a hint of psychobilly touch in it.
Also in Facebook

WASTED
Wasted is a hardcore punk band that has more involved lyrics. "Armed with my voice - Fueled by my anger" - they say. I recommend the the songs The Prisoner and Fuel. The band has some similarities with the next band, I Walk The Line, and no wonder as they share some band members as well.
Also in Facebook

I WALK THE LINE
I Walk The Line (IWTL) plays gloomy and melodic punk with melancholic singing. My favorites are Dead Seeds and Just Like The Rest from the album Desolation Street. Check out the videos When I'm Gone and Black Wave.
Also in Facebook

Business cards

...I know I am in a deep s**t with my "business cards" because I make also them by hand. So, here I am again in a need to write a hundred times my contact info in a piece of cardboard. It is quite a lot of work, and in the end, most of them will end up in the trash the next day, haha. I know I could order cards somewhere and they would even look much better but I like to keep my DIY touch also in the cards. Maybe handwritten texts would give at least somebody the push to check out my pages. ...I truly hope so!

Punkland

In Finland there is this Finnish rap wave going on but there are now also a couple of current punk acts that have transgressed the limit of the music media. Take a look.

PERTTI KURIKAN NIMIPÄIVÄT
Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurkikka's Name Day) is a group formed by four Finnish punks with developmental disabilities. Their album released 2012 is called "Six cups of coffee and one coke". They really have their hearts in the project. Respect!

What I really love in their music is also the lyrics (which you can find on their website). The lyrics are in Finnish but use the Google Translator to understand. For Example, the song Pyhäpäivä (Sunday that is called in Finnish "Holyday") goes like this:

HOLYDAY
It was Sunday
I went to church
I got some coffee
I took a crap

KOVASIKAJUTTU (free translation: big fucking deal) is a short documentary that tells about their gig trip to Germany. Totally worth watching.

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PÄÄ KII
Pää Kii (Shut Up) is a punk group that also represents well the Finnish ramopunk tradition. The band is praised from both critics and the underground audience. They will perform next summer also at the Roskilde festival. Pää Kii sings in Finnish but as the band also asks, why should it matter? Other bands sing in foreign languages in Finland. Why not the other way round?

You can find the album "Pää Kii" in Spotify for Example. I like all their songs but a good examples are Paskahousun Paluu and Ees Jotain Positiivista.

Shoot Shoot

Just to cheer up the Wednesday!

Tonhalle 2.3.

So again, like almost every second Saturday I was at the Nachtkonsum night flea market in Tonhalle. It was a bit quieter than usually but luckily I had some regulars and a Finnish Marja-Maija to visit my stand and cheer up my evening. By the way, Marja-Maija will join my stand on April to sell her own cool recycling creations. How cool is that!

Marja-Maija wore my tassel earrings on Saturday.

RokRokInc. Tassel earrings 

Here my reviews of flea markets in Munich:

Diakonia Kaufhaus
Nachtkonsum Zündapphalle 
Nachtkonsum Tonhalle

Midnightbazar Postpalast

Midnightbazar Reithalle

Mädelsmarkt