In autumn 2019, fashion stylist Manuel Miltner relocated to Dublin with his partner Lukas Flade, leaving their apartment and friends behind in Berlin (where Lukas co-owned Moritz Bar with his brother). It would be only a matter of months before they would be confined to their home like the rest of the citizens of Ireland as the global health virus took hold. It’s been a strange start to this new chapter in their lives—here they reflect on life under lockdown in their adopted home city. Follow Manuel’s work at @manuelmiltner

Manuel: “My daily routine at the moment goes like this; get up (later than usual), have a healthy breakfast or lunch—depending on when I wake up, try to work on my new hobby or with clients, cook dinner and most evenings watch a movie before getting to bed.”

Lukas: "After I wake up and have my coffee I take a little walk as my ‘fake commute’ before I open my laptop and log onto the remote desktop. During work, I try to talk to my colleagues on Skype because I miss those water-cooler moments in the office kitchen that you don’t have when you work from home.

After work, I take another walk or do some yoga or exercises. I’ve also been meeting a friend from work for socially distanced walks (inside the 2km radius). Luckily, we moved right before the lockdown; before we were living in a shared house that could have been claustrophobic while quarantining. Now we have a lot of space and a big kitchen table that allows us both to work and have enough space."

Manuel: "We are both able to work from home at the moment which is quite nice. Funnily enough, it works pretty well and we haven’t bumped heads too often. We just notice that the fridge is empty sooner than normal."

Lukas: "There are definitely a lot of distractions at home, mainly snack-related. However, I feel like I can get a lot more work done because I can structure my day much more freely."

Manuel: "Our kitchen is well stocked but we do not hoard too much—just what we can use for three or four days. We still try to shop as normally as we can. I am trying a carb-free diet again, which is working pretty well so far but it means I need healthier products and to cook more often. The only thing we are scared of running out of is Coke Zero—it's pretty heavy to carry home from the supermarket."

Lukas: "It definitely feels like you have to go grocery shopping every other day. It was a bit of a change, in the beginning, to get used to the fact that you weren’t able to buy certain things. Now we just buy what’s in stock and get creative with the ingredients. I’ve learned that you can basically turn anything into a smoothie."

Manuel: "I miss social contact the most and also the ability to see our family abroad in Germany—also the freedom to go out and feel carefree. We stay in touch with family and friends through social media, WhatsApp, or phone/FaceTime calls. That's as good as it gets right now and better than not staying in contact—after all, social distancing is key in fighting this crisis.

We have a strong relationship and try to lift each other up when one of us is down. A small gesture like making a coffee, something to eat while the other one is working, or spending the evening in front of the fireplace watching a movie or series does help a lot. 

Going out for a walk from time to time to escape the house for a bit and get a clear view again helps us to stay positive. Even grocery shopping can be exciting these days. Lukas also meditates, which is great."

Lukas: "I’m staying positive by using the time we have now to read all the books I’ve wanted to read in recent years and by brainstorming some new business ideas. My best self-care tip is to get dressed up every once in a while, sit down for a nice dinner and pretend you’re in a restaurant. I’ve also been trying out a lot of Jane Fonda-style workout videos on YouTube."

Manuel: "I have started repairing designer handbags and I'm getting to love it more and more with each item that gets repaired.

I doubt that the crisis will be over soon; it seems like the virus will still be with us for a long time. When it's over, I want to be more careful being with others, appreciate my health more and try not to fall back into old habits.

It would be nice to visit family again. We dream of travelling but hope to do it more consciously than before. We also plan to travel around Ireland in the camper van we used to move all of our stuff from Germany when we came to Dublin.

For the time being, we're planning on keeping our distance from others, helping people when it's safe to do so and we're going to try smiling at other people more. Smiles are one of the reasons we came to Dublin—they can lift up spirits in this time of crisis."