H.W.Chen Life blog: Living in Berlin x interview 016: A tea shop and a talented owner.

Regina，德國人，來自科隆，搬來柏林已經27年了，目前自己有一間自己的店，前面的店面賣茶葉，以及品茶，後面的空間則作為按摩床療程的工作室。

Regina comes from Cologne, Germany and she has lived in Berlin for 27 years. Now she has a massage space and a tea shop in Kreuzberg.

為什麼搬來柏林？

Why did you move to Berlin?

結束我的的專業彩妝師學習課程以後，我來柏林拜訪我的哥哥，然後就愛上柏林，於是我就搬來這裡，在這裡開始工作。一開始在各個劇院裡面工作，後來就進入了電影工業。

After finishing my study to become a makeup artist, I visited my brother in Berlin, and then I fell in love with Berlin, so I moved here, and found a job here. At first I worked in theater, then I started to work in the film industry.

喜歡柏林嗎？

Do you like Berlin?

當然啦，我深愛這個城市，這是一個充滿幻想，充滿挑戰的城市，不停的變動，而且非常敏感的一個城市。我現在住在Kreuzberg，我很喜歡這裡，還很年輕，很多可能性的一個區塊。

Of course, I love this city; it’s a city full of imagination, fantasy and challenges. It is a flexible, changeable and sensitive city. I like Kreuzberg, where I live now; it is still young and has many possibilities.

有什麼可以推薦給我們的柏林景點媽？

Do you have any tips for Berlin?

我的興趣是拉小提琴並且我也參與交響樂團，但是目的並不是大家為了某一個表演而練習，重要的是過程，大家一起練習、彼此互相幫忙，成長的過程，像這樣的團體你在柏林可以找到。我也有去上跳舞課，Latein，那也是一個非常有趣的活動。

For hobbies, I play violin in an orchestra, but the purpose to join is not for any performance in the end, but to play together, enjoying the process. We help each other to be better; you can find many of this kind of group here. I also go to Latin dance class. It’s also a very interesting activity.

還有就是Tip Berlin這本雜誌，我非常熱愛音樂、熱愛藝術，當年他就像是我的聖經一樣，裡面有非常多的藝文活動。不過現在因為科技的進步，所以所有的資訊都可以從網路上找到了。

Besides, Tip Berlin was my bibles for life, because I love music and art so much, and you can find many art activities inside. But thanks to the technology, all the information can be found in Internet.

為什麼會人生轉變這麼大？

What happened? What led you to change your life journey?

我從事美妝工作大概20年左右，後來因為身體不適，然後因為這個按摩床的療程，非常神奇而且有效的，我的身體狀況就好轉了，而電影工業的壓力實在是太大，所以我想，是時候轉換跑道了，於是我開始進行這個按摩床的事業，大概已經七年左右的時間了，那也因為我在提供按摩床的服務的時候，都會提供一些餅乾和茶，漸漸的，我開始思考，什麼樣的店可以和我的按摩床作結合，於是，我開始經營茶的事業，除了賣茶葉，這裡也有提供茶/咖啡和茶點（都是自己烤的蛋糕和餅乾！）。不過說真的，在柏林要有自己的店非常的容易，我很快的就找到這個地點，而申請執照更是兩個小時內就完成了！

I worked as a makeup artist for 20 years, and then due to some problem with my health, I found treatment by this massage amazing and efficient. My health became better again, but the pressure from working in the film industry is unbelievably heavy, so I thought, it’s time for me to do something different. Therefore I started to build my own massage space, and till now it has been about 7 years. When I worked in my massage space, I always supplied tea and snacks as well. Then, I started to think, what else can I supply and what matches with the massage space? So, a tea shop is the next shop I opened. Besides selling good quality tea, I offer tea, coffee, and cakes as well (all handmade). It’s very easy to have a shop in Berlin; I found this place very fast and the process for applying for a license is done within 2 hours.

那你一直都住在柏林，沒想過去其他的城市嗎？

It seems you have always lived in Berlin, do you ever think about living in another city?

其實在我從事前面那一份工作的時候，我當然有非常多的機會可以去其他城市生活，但是我太熱愛柏林了。

Of course there were many chances for me to live in other cities when I still worked in the film industry, but I love Berlin too much.

經營茶行這個工作，客戶群都是怎樣的啊？因為這裡大部份的人應該都是喝咖啡吧。

Who are your customers? I thought that most Germans drink coffee.

我大部份的客人都說英文，用德文溝通的客人其實不多，不過我覺得喝茶會是未來的一個趨勢，而且茶是非常健康的一種飲料。

Most of my customers speak English, only a few are German, but I think tea will become popular in the future, and it is very healthy.

換算起來你在柏林圍牆倒塌之前就已經來到柏林了，那時候跟現在的差異應該很大吧？

You came to Berlin when the wall is still in Berlin, what’s the difference between now and then?

非常的大，那個時候的柏林，到處都是沒有先生的老太太，整個城市非常的孤獨，非常的空，後來柏林圍牆拆掉了以後，整個柏林開始有了不一樣的生命，非常的多元且多彩，而且還不停的在變化中。

Huge, the Berlin at that time was full of old women without husbands, and the city was extremely lonely and empty. After the wall came down, Berlin started a different life, very colorful and evolving, and it still changes.

我覺得你是一個非常有目標、而且有自己想法的人，請問你可以小小透露下一個目標嗎？

I find you are a thoughtful and ambitious person, can you tell us your next goal?

我是一個非常喜歡接受挑戰而且獨立的人，我會一直給自己設定新的目標，但是那並不是像我有一個什麼計劃，而是我憑著我的直覺，順著那個感覺去走，所以下一個階段我還不能告訴你囉！I’m someone who loves challenges and independent. I keep giving myself new targets for life, but it is not like I have a plan to do something. Instead, I follow my intuition and my feelings, so I can’t tell you what my next stage is yet!

哈哈，那最後一個問題，你有什麼小建議可以抵抗冬天即將到來的憂鬱嗎？

Haha, then, the last question, what’s your advice for fighting winter depression?

天黑得很早，所以當然就是在家烤蛋糕烤餅乾的季節囉！

The day are short, the night are long, it means, it’s time to stay home and bake cakes and cookies!