one night only in berlin

yorkshire-based band *one night only* will make my day tomorrow, when they perform life at berlin’s and coca cola’s *festival of happiness* at the brandenburg gate – i’ll be there and i’ll be damned if i am not happy

berlin, it’s been too long

au revoir, i’ll be in berlin for now

überlin

i’ve always liked R.E.M. and this song really, really makes me feel like strolling through one of my favourite cities, have coffee at some lovely little cafe and enjoy the sunshine

london – again!

okay, maybe i am addicted to that expensive, fast-paced, crazy town by the thames because even though it is not my favourite place in the world, i seem to be going there quite a lot – this time it will be a crazy, two-day trip, basically to visit a friend, go shopping and buy theatre tickets – but also, to just get away – a return-trip to london via plane is cheaper than a single train ticket to berlin – this is totally freaking me out, but there we go – all forces are calling me to return to jolly england and have a good time, drinking tea, eating biscuits and shopping for tights and *finally* hunter wellies of my own

it will be a blast! and a beautiful, long overdue adventure with a great friend!

why don’t we pack up our bags and go an adventures more often?

desigual

moms are the best – thank you to mine for this gorgeous desigual designer dress, which i could never afford and which i will love and wear to pieces

back from sheep land

i’ve been back for a week now and life already feels pretty much the same it was – this proves my point exactly – one needs to get out for good every once in a while in order not to give in to the craziness that is everyday live – it’s not that i don’t like my friends or don’t enjoy getting drunk and dancing through a night or rush around doing things, it is just very stressful and not at all to be compared to the quiet country life i led in sweet, dear yorkshire, where the most exciting thing to happen was the smell of chocolate and the finding of a baby field vole in a stack of hay – well, off to berlin i am for now – again just rushing from place to place, never stopping, never thinking twice and imagining to be having the time of my life, when all i really want to do is to get back on the moors, open a b&b and have a large herd of sheep surrounding the house, where i sit reading by the roaring fire on cold winter nights

haworth

i’ll be here for the weekend – living it up in haworth in this victorian mansion

captian cook, sheep, no dracula and the highest point of the north yorkshire moors

that’s what i call a successful and lovely day out – whitby and the north yorkshire moors

food adventures #8

best hot chocolate not from a pack, but freshly made – you get a jug of steamed-up milk and a bowl of cream and a bowl of your choice of dark, milk or white belgian chocolate to stir in yourself – where? at la place verte in york

b&b hunting and the incredible maze of british public transport

bed & breakfast – a british institution – but finding the perfect one in the perfect place is not quite  as simple as imagined – i want to go to the yorkshire dales for a couple of nights, so i tried finding the perfect place first – having finally settled on aysgarth, i am now in the process of securing lodgins – it seems impossible, just as well as public transportation in this country is a nightmare  – it’s perfect, once you’re on the right bus or train, but finding the right one, choosing the perfect rate, locating it’s destinated place of departure is very confusing indeed – i keep on cross-referencing with several timetables in paper and on the internet – and yet, i still made a serious miss-booking just this morning – i’ll be leaving haworth around lunch time, get to york in the early afternoon to catch a train to thirsk – but the cheapes off-peak one doesn’t leave till later that night – bah, could have spent more time in haworth and saved £ 5, instead get to hurry out of haworth and linger some more in york or spend more money – tough decision – but enough for today – 2 hours of this and my head’s a mess and i keep on thinking in circles:

‘what if i catch the 9:22 out of york, that’ll get me to malton, but no, then i’ll just have missed the 10:34 on to pickering. the next one isn’t till 11:56. is malton nice? and then i won’t get to pickering until 15:43 and by that time i’ll not be able to catch a train that day. but the 6:24 will get me to pickering directly, then i’ll just have to wait for 4 hours for the train. hm, is pickering nice? oh, damn, that bus is only listed on the internet, not on the bus guide. what does that mean? i won’t get there at all?’

i am sure there’s a way and people get to pickering in time, it’s just nothing that can be looked up anywhere – one of these things, british people just know – and i am equally sure, i’ll eventually find my way – it’s just very discomforting to plan for hours and then have the feeling of having achieved nothing of great value, just a mis-booked train ticket, which cannot be exchanged without paying wbout double the amount you paid for the ticket in the first place

and here’s to all the bed & breakfasts in the world – may you prosper and keep on confusing people

chocolate city

york used to be a major chocolate producing city – rowntree and terry chocolate factories have been responsible for some of the greatest chocolate and sweet inventions ever – kit kat, aero, polo, fruit pastilles, and quality street have all been invented in york!!!

unfortunately …

Strict hygiene rules mean that it is impossible to allow visitors into York’s chocolate factories. But the end product is readily available.

i would have loved nothing more than to go frolicking in the chocolate factory and if johnny depp came my way … i wouldn’t mind

instead i went on a chocolate shopping spree and found some 4 for 3 £ juice as well – what a day – now i am on a chocolate induced high and very happy indeed – i firmly believe chocolate high will induce chocolate-covered, johnny depp-filled dreams

wheldrake ings

this is were i spent my day – only in less pristine conditions – cutting twigs, lopping of over-hanging branches and taking out stray willow saplings – it was rainy, it was wet, it was dirty and it was fun

landed safely

arrived in york after an exhausting day of traveling – getting up at 4 am is definitely not my favourite activity – i’ve settled into my room in alison’s house quite nicely – alison is a lovely landlady and her dog sadie seems to have approved of my at first sight – she’s a black lab and came from a family of dogs, who were cared for by james herriot himself, if that isn’t cool, i don’t know what is – today i’ll settle in and sleep some more and tomorrow i’ll go explore lovely york and check in with the wildlife trust people

yorkshire calling

kittens!

two weeks old – and ever so adorable

california dreamin’

i miss it so much – just now i’d give anything for even only a week-long vacation to sweet california – a jamba juice, a chipotle burrito and a sunset at the beach would make me very happy indeed

roadtrip!

cambridge

very spontaneous day trip – instead of sunday mass at westminster abbey, i found myself boarding a train to cambridge with a french girl, a romanian guy and my austrian-californian friend this morning – despite the cold weather and my nose cold it was a beautiful day – and now i really want to finish my phd in style – cambridge style preferably

peter pan in kensington gardens

to do while in london:

1. shop – books, clothes, christmas presents
2. visit lady jane grey at the national gallery
3. portobello road market
4. go to westminster abbey for sunday services
5. harrods @ night
6. british museum – can’t believe i’ve never been there
7. bear in the square
8. find that damn peter pan statue in kensington gardens, which has eluded me before – all i ever found was the ugly guy on the horse

london

christmas shopping in london – here i come – i love cheap ryanair flights – o my, booked without luggage again, just carry-on – ah well, it’s winter, i’ll just bundle up and wear a whole lot of layers – it’ll be fantastic – hope it snows