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Buenos Aires - Part 14: Over the roofs

2014-12-22T16:32:00.000+00:00

Since I have been travelling the last two weeks to Córdoba and Mendoza without my laptop, I haven't really been online and still feel the need to sort out all the pictures... that's why this week I only show you some images from Buenos Aires from above.

It's always good to have friends who have friends with a nice flat and well situated...

like right next to the polo field

watching the sun going down

perfect flat - nothing more to say^^

I love the Argentinien flag everywhere :)

soooooooo nice!!

I love cities from above, it gives you a totally different feeling (and of course view). This is basically one of the few moments when I love to be in a big city, skylines are just breathtaking!

That's why in every city I try to find the highest point and enjoy the view! You too??

- linking up with Travel Tuesday // Weekend Wanderlust // Weekend Travel Inspiration // Travel Photo Thursday // Sunday Traveler

Buenos Aires - Part 13: Jardín Jápones

2014-12-04T01:37:00.001+00:00

The other day we went to the Jardín Jápones, a beautiful litte green space in the middle of Buenos Aires. I really enjoyed the whole concept of pure nature and a bit of Japan in Latin America.

But it is mainly an attraction, hence a place to see and walk through, not so much to sit down and relax.

The day we went coinceded with a Comic/Manga event - and I know from German book fairs that those events are overcrowded with "groopies" and cosplayers. It seems that in Buenos Aires there are only a few people interested in it - the rooms with exhibition from artists and presentations were pretty empty.

Since I am not that interested in it either we thought we eat some sushi in the restaurant which exist in the park, but the prices where way over my budget...

It was definitely worth going and pay the entrance once, but I don't think I need to go there again, there are other nice green and free spaces in BA :)

I love the mix of green and in the back ground the big city!

- linking up with Travel Tuesday // Weekend Wanderlust // Weekend Travel Inspiration // Travel Photo Thursday // Sunday Traveler

Buenos Aires - Part 12: An Argentine Polo Match

2014-11-24T12:35:00.000+00:00

One point of our bucket list for Buenos Aires was to watch a polo match, since it's obviously quite a big thing.

Unfortunately we had no clue about the rules and when we went there we were mainly like "ooh horses!!!". The field they are playing on is just massive, so sometimes you cannot see much, but when they are close to where you sit, it's just really exiting and almost chaotic and dangerous how they try to hit the ball to their goal...

I would love to tell you something more about the rules and how everything works, but to be honest... I don't know!^^ The only thing I know that they change sides quite often, means in one moment they shoot the ball into one goal and then they have to shoot it into to the exact other one o.O
I also know that there are only 4 players and each has a set of horses, I belief it was 12?? And they change them regularly in the game. Most players are so cool they just jump from one horse to another! Massive! :D

Where POSH people get their drinks :D

Horses!!!

Sitting where the real fans take some actions!

It was definitely a cool experience and totally worth it. However, me as an animal lover I am not sure about the horses... Sometimes they got hit by the ball or so.

I don't think this is gonna be my next fav sport, but I am happy I watched it once!

- linking up with Travel Tuesday // Weekend Wanderlust // Weekend Travel Inspiration // Travel Photo Thursday // Sunday Traveler

Buenos Aires - Part 11: La Bomba de Tiempo

2014-11-10T17:05:00.000+00:00

La Bomba de Tiempo is probably the main reason why I started to like Buenos Aires more. At the beginning I had quite difficulties here and this percussion show showed me the more enjoyable sites of the city.
It takes place every Monday in culture center Konex and once a month they have a Bomba Fiesta on Saturdays, which basically means the whole night!
We went both of them and it was AWESOME!! I probably gonna make a regular thing out of it! It just gives you great mood and it's so much fun!

It's basically a group of percussionist playing different types of drums with an afrolatin rhythm. Everything is improvised and manages by one of the musicians with hand signs and body language, hence the music is different every show.
Furthermore they invite everytime guests, like guests and solo artists to make music together. Like I already said, it's AWESOME!!

Have you experienced a similar event when you were travelling, or in your home town? Do you like this kind of music?

- linking up with Travel Tuesday // Weekend Wanderlust // Weekend Travel Inspiration // Travel Photo Thursday // Sunday Traveler

Monthly Goals #1 - November

2014-11-03T19:31:00.000+00:00

I have decided to start again with montly goals, to keep better track of what I want to do, what I am doing and what I have done - more or less successfully :)

#1 - spend at least 2 days without internet for breakfast
we are just all so addictive to Internet and computer, I want to cut down a bit the time my eyes have to suffer in front of the screen!

#2 - translate/go through at least 1 Spanish song per week
Songs a perfect to learn a language I think and it makes so much fun to finally understand what they are singing and being able to sing along!

#3 - train grammar/vocab at least twice a week for 15-30 min
I really need to get going again with my Spanish! Have been sooo lazy -.-

#4 - cut down on chocolate
Yeah we know this problem, hehe... so here we go again!

Any similar plans this month? Are you learning a language right now as well?

- linking up with The Nectar Collective

Buenos Aires - Part 10: Festival del Bosque

2014-10-27T01:00:00.000+00:00

This weekend we went to the Festival del Bosque, a little outside from Buenos Aires in La Plata, which is the capital of the Province of Buenos Aires. It took us by bus around 1h30 to go there and already the journey was a bit of an adventure:

1) finding the right bus stop is NEVER easy!
2) for this kind of ride, don't sit close to the air conditioning - it gets way too cold and you might risk getting wet from the condensated water... I had a bit of a shower the whole journey
3) It's always difficult to know where to get off, luckily we just could walk to the festival from the final stop - the bus terminal

Since we walked directly to the park where the festival took place, we didn't see much of the city itself. but already while passing through we saw some beautiful streets.

To be honest when I first heard of this Festival I thought it has something to do with nature and I was quite enthusiastic, but then I realised it's "just" music. But we decided still to go one day, because life music is always great, right?^^

And it was a good decision, because while looking through the bands which are playing I found out Onda Vaga is there friday night. I just started listening to the band a couple of days before, but I loved it! So, perfect!

And it was really good fun! Unfortunately everyone could sing all of their songs... and even though I knew most of them, I did not know the text very well *grrr*

Don't have this some times? That you wanna sing a song but you just don't know the damn text?
But I finally started my project: one week, one song, where I want to "translate" and read the lyrics of a good Spanish song. In fact, I think I am going to make a post about my favourite Spanish songs and bands :)
Music always helps to learn a language, right?^^

- linking up with Travel Tuesday // Weekend Wanderlust // Weekend Travel Inspiration // Travel Photo Thursday // Sunday Traveler

Buenos Aires - Part 9: Jardín Botánico

2014-10-20T01:00:00.000+01:00

Last week I had a bit of a free time after midterms at Uni and my friends and I did a bit of sightseeing around Buenos Aires and I finally felt like a complete tourist in Buenos Aires, walking streets up and down, taking photos at every corner, from every nice and important building.

We started our tour in Jardín Bótanico, probably one of the most beautiful and green spaces in Buenos Aires, even though it is not that big and you will be through the park in about one hour.
But considering that you don't pay entry I think it's not a big problem, since this is one of many green spaces in this area you just can continue to another one.

that's how I like my city - green!^^

full name: Jardin Botanico Carlos Thais de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

oneof the five greenhouses in the Jardín Bótanico

The garden was declared a national monument in 1996

holds approx 5,500 species of plants, trees and shrubs

and includes as well cute cats to give your daily portion of cuddling <3

dangerous!!

monument with some famouse inventions and people, unforutnately I couldn't remember if it has a specific name...^^

This is so far my most favourite green space in Buenos Aires and I will definitely visit it again to relax :)

- linking up with Sunday Traveler

Do you have a favourite park you love to visit in your city?

Buenos Aires - Part 8: thumbs up for health care in Buenos Aires

2014-10-06T13:22:00.000+01:00

Since I am in Buenos Aires (actually only two months) I already have seen two different doctors, one dentist and one ophthalmologist and considering, that both were totally different I felt comfortable with both and actually even better than with the doctors in Germany and London.

Even though Argentina is not one of the most developed countries and it surely encounters loads of problems, health care here is actually quite good, speaking from an international point of view.

Initially I planned to get my eyes lasered in London, but due to lack of time and money I decided to postpone it and do it in Argentina – and it was a good decision.

impressive waiting hall at my ophthalmologist in Buenos Aires

1) The doctors take time for you
You just feel so much more valued here, if the doctors need an hour for you, so it may be! And they don’t care as long as they can help you somehow.
Before my eye surgery I got an email and a call from the secretary how I am doing and if I still come for the pre surgical appointment and after the eye laser surgery, my doctor even called me later that day asking how I feel. How cool is that?

2) They explain constantly everything they are doing
Sometimes in London or Germany there is the lack of communication and you are sitting there as a patient while the dentist is doing stuff in your mouth and you have no idea what is going on.
Here I even had a mirror all the time in my hand and he urged me to look what is happening and giving me advice where I should take a bit more care with my teeth.
The same with the ophthalmologist, all the high-tech stuff he has and used, he explained me for what and even showed me the results, telling me why I this matters and so on.

3) You feel comfortable
You are not just one patient out of many, you are a person with a name and a story. I like it when they remember your name without the need to look at the paper and felt even a bit surprised when they asked about a topic you had a small talk about last time, mostly those things are immediately forgotten, right? For example in London I just felt so anonymous, doesn’t matter if I went to a General Practitioner (GP) or the ophthalmologist.

4) Appearance doesn’t matter
With this I mean the building, I am volunteering in the „Hospital de Clinicas“ and OMG it looks like the house is going to break down any minute, it is actually quite funny. The dentist I went to he just had basically just one room in a simple apartment building. But who cares when all the things you need are working very well – the doctors here are pretty organized and clean, too!

Haven't seen that screen for ages! That was totally worth a picture^^

Of course there are some negative aspects, too. For example everything here has its price. Every treatment and medication (and you can get loads here!) costs money! Luckily the money for the dentist treatment I get back from my international insurance, but all the eye drops and painkillers not.

- Have you ever had a medical appointment while you travelled? Did you found it better or worse than the medical care of your home country?

- linking up with Travel Tuesday // Sunday Traveler // Weekend Wanderlust

Buenos Aires - Part 7: Feria de Mataderos

2014-09-29T15:32:00.000+01:00

Every Sunday there is the "Feria de Mataderos", basically a huge entertainment market - if that word exists.

So on the one side you have loads of market stands where you can buy basically everything you could possibly imagine and on the other side you have the more traditional part, like typical folk music and dancing (everyone can take part^^) and gaucho horse riding called "Carerra de Sortija" – the “Race of the Ring”.
That was the most fascinating and interesting part of the whole day!

It is definitely a "must visit" when you are in Buenos Aires, but it is also super crowded, but still worth it... so take care (like always) of you belongings while staring happily at the horses or dancers, hehe!

it took me some tries to catch this moment^^

everyone on the dance floor! (except me of course!^^)

I love those old cars everywhere^^

ever heard of the "The Bremen town musicians"? guess that's the Argentinien version...

la Esperanza - thanks, guess everywhere you need a bit of hope o.O

It's basically a massive area full of people, products and traditions

- linking up with Travel Tuesday and Sunday Traveler

Buenos Aires - Part 6: Reserva Ecológica

2014-09-22T01:00:00.000+01:00

One beautiful weekend we went to the Reserva Ecológica which is a huge park located at the very east of Buenos Aires right at the water side.

It's a great place to relax, run have a picnic and just be outside! Even though the way is a bit far and walking from the Subte (Tube) is a bit complicated, it is definitely a must visit!
Entry is free and open from 8am to 6pm in Winter time and 7pm Summer time :)

- linking up with Travel Tuesday- and

Buenos Aires - Part 5: Buenos Aires Market

2014-09-15T01:00:00.000+01:00

A while ago we (my flatmates and me) were visiting the "Buenos Aires Market - Feria de Alimentos Saludables", which is just 10 minutes aways from our home.

The location of the market circulates around Buenos Aires and takes place only one weekend each months and offers mainly healthy food, but as well plants, other interesting products as well as "information corners" about different topics.

To be honest it's not the biggest market, but it definitely has its charm!
I bought some REALLY good chocolate - that was my main reason to go (since is quite difficult here to find really good one!^^) and "Rock me" tea - which is a mixture of Strawberry and black tea with chocolate (yes there are real chocolate pieces in it!). Of course the smell is way better than the actual taste, but it was still worth the price!

- linking up with Travel Tuesday and Local Adventures -

Do you love to visit local markets to buy something what otherwise is difficult to find?

Buenos Aires - Part 4: Empanadas Class

2014-09-03T21:32:00.000+01:00

So one day we had a kind of "Empanadas Class" where we tried to make or made typical Argentinien Emapanads with the help of two Argentinien students - who never prepared Empanads either, that is supposed to be fun^^

We made three different typs: 1) with jamón y queso = with ham and cheese 2) con carne = with - I think - beef, peppers, onions and 3) con crema blanca y choclo = white cream (I have no idea what is inside, but it's tasty!) and cooked mais.

first one group is cut the cheese and the ham...

while the other takes care of the meat (whatever this guy is doing in the background^^)

the dough is luckily already buyable like that^^

Basically you only wet a bit the of half of the circle, then put the filling in (not too much!) then fold it over and try - however you want it^^ - to make the edges nice and that it's not opening up in the oven. Brush with egg yolk and put it in the oven until they have a nice colour... Finito! :)

fresh and hot from the oven

after hard work some of us took time to relax in this awesome chair!! I want one for myself!

I loved the ones with crema blanca and mais most! I even took two home for next day *yumyum!*
I would love to make it again, but since I am very lazy in the kitchen and don't like too much touching food (yes how weird -.-) I am not sure this will happen.
But maybe for my parents when I am visiting them again :)

Do you like Empanadas or have every made them?

Buenos Aires - Part 3: Trip to Uruguay - Montevideo

2014-08-26T13:16:00.000+01:00

After spending one day in Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay we took the bus to Montevideo. The ride took about 2,5h and was very comfortable, the standards in the bus were pretty good, the seats comfortable with enough space to have a good nap!

Again the first thing we did was looking for our Hostel. We needed to take another bus from the bus terminal to the city center, which took us about 15 or 20 minutes.

The hostel called "the Willy Fog" was a really cool place and more one of thos long-term stay hostels where the majority already lived there for a couple of weeks or even months.

Everything was super relaxed and the people working there young dudes from around the world and the buidling really has its charm.

In the evening we had the plan to eat Chovito - probably the most famous dish of Uruguay, which is basically a burger without the bread to say it in short. We found a restaurant called "La Pasiva" where we were served one plate for two... and it was massive and delicious for quite a good price!

Chivito for 2!

La Pasiva

Grappamiel - worth a try, pretty sweet with a sense of alcohol... works for me XD

The be honest, there was not really much going on in Montevideo... the reason might be that it was Sunday, but even then the city itself, meaning the architecture and the area didn't really flash us... But we kept walking around - of course - looking for nice places and spaces. Luckily there was a huge market in the center, where you can buy basically EVERYTHING! Even animals :(

A piece of Paris in Montevideo (you know the locks for the lovers and so on^^)

The part of the markets I don't like... :(

The parts of the markets I like! Those old vans are just awesome^^

The parts of the market I found quite interesting, hehe ;)

a statue for the founder of Montevideo: Bruno Mauricio de Zabala

Whoho, yeah you can find a few beautiful streets in Montevideo, too

Looking for the next Luis Suárez?^^

Spending time at the seaside is always a good and relaxing idea!

Tons of couples (young and old) relaxing with mate at the water :)

The be honest I found Montevideo quite boring, which was a bit disappointing, but actually didn't matter too much, because Colonia del Sacramento was just amazing!
We had to go back there to take the ferry, and lucky us we had tickets for the business class. Having a drink of champaign in an unbelievable comfy chair and watching a match of Barcelona... what more can you want?!?!

So to conclude: a trip to Uruguay, when you are already in Buenos Aires and so close, is definitely a must-do.
We even thinking of going there again, but next time farther north, more into the country and countryside or very east to the beach side in summer :)

Buenos Aires - Part 2: Trip to Uruguay - Colonia del Sacramento

2014-08-20T01:27:00.000+01:00

Theoretically speaking Uruguay is just around the corner of Buenos Aires, so we took the opportunity this long weekend (In BA we have a Feriado Monday) to take the ferry over the little lake!

So we went with the ferry "seacat" from Porto de Madeiro to Colonia del Sacramento, where we stayed in a hostel for a night.

At the beginning we had difficulties finding the ferry, but then we realised that it belongs to "buquebus" which is a more expensive choice! The ferry was quite luxury, felt a bit like at an airport, with a duty free shop and snack bars.
It was said to take us 60 min over there, but considering the migration process and sort everything until we could get off the boat, we need definitely 2h.

seacat ferry from the terminal

ferry from inside

last view to Buenos Aires

When we arrived it was already dark so our only mission was to find the hostel and eat somehwere nice.
The hostel was really nice, not too big, quiet calm, everything very clean and the breakfast totally ok. The restaurant "El Porton" was a recommendation by the hostel and it was a very good one! Delicious food and not too expensive.

"Hostel & Suites del Rio"

El Porton - a beautiful cozy restaurant

The next day we basically just walked around the whole city, especially the "barrio histórico". It was just beautiful! So calm and the buildings are so beautiful! I think this is one of the best cities in the world!

old cars everywhere :)

old city - contemporary arts

The colonial past?

wooden drawbridge of the City Gate

Portón de Campo – the City Gate and wooden drawbridge

Here you can get beer which is colder than the heart of your ex^^

calle de los suspiros - one of the most famous streets in Colonia

Remains of the presidential palace

Everything was so beautiful and quiet! I immediately fell in love! This is a place where I could imagine myself living happily ever after ;)

I am on a boat, everybody look at me `cos I am sailing...

I found paradise on earth!

the old lightouse

water at the end of every street you are looking at

that´s how REAL man drink their mate in Uruguay, I guess?

This was our trip to Colonia del Sacramento - I definitely recommend it! The next day we went to Montevideo, but I am gonna write an extra post about that^^

Buenos Aires - Part 1: Orientation

2014-08-12T14:02:00.001+01:00

So since Thursday night last week I am in Argentina and to be honest: I really like it!
Of course there are some things you need to get used to, but in general I feel quite good in the city.

What happend so far?
01. August 2014 - My first day of "orientación".

View from the restaurant "La Marina"

We were supposed to be there already on Thursday, but well... my flight just landed one day later^^
On my way to Uni I already met some other students and together we discovered the way to our University, which is not soooo easy. I need about 1,5h to get there, walking to the train, then from the train to the Uni.... and the train is pretty slow!!!! But well, more time to read a book or learn vocabulary...

We had a little written and oral test to see in which Spanish class we have to go. This is when I realized that I truly haven't done much for Spanish for ages...
Then we walked around the campus and the area a bit, showing us where is what and so on and so forth - it's a really cute little campus with a few students (selected, not few, as some say^^).

The international program coordinators tried from the beginning to know your face and name by heart which made you feel very comfortable immediately!
At the end of the day we had a little "mate meeting", meaning we were sitting down in the grass and drinking REAL mate with some Argentine students.

That's how you do real mate!

my conclusion: I don't like it... I don't like it at all^^ It taste like smoking a cigarillo or something, even the version with sugar did not make it better... But at least I can say I tried original mate - in Argentina :)

02. and 03. August - Merienda and Lunch
Yeah both means food... that was what basically my first weekend consited of.

On saturday we were invited to a house of one of the Argentine student - it was a massive place! Huge and beautiful and clean with the highest standards! Quite a change to the things you normal see in Buenos Aires!
So we had some typical Argentine snacks and sweets AND went up to the rooftop. Amazing!! No more words.

Sunday we didn't do much, I actually wanted to meet with an Argentine student to go to a museum, but she did not appear after waiting for an hour, so I decided to walk a bit around on my own (since I did not know the way to the museum) and then went out with some of my flatmates to have something to eat in a really cute little caffé.

04. August - Theory and Practice of the development of cultural projects
That it one of my classes, a damn long name, even more complicated to say that in Spanish^^
But it seems to be pretty interesting, learning why and how to establish cultural projects and we gonna visit some places around Buenos Aires as well, really nice. That means we might see some less mainstream places, too^^

05. August - Introduction into Psychology
I really like this class, I love psychology and find it since I can think interesting. I already had some classes in my German school as well, so I thought that might be a cool idea to take this in Spanish. The teacher is quite nice and good understandable. I always had to smile to myself when he pronounced the names of some German psychologists, though^^
A - good or bad thing - however you wanna take it: in this class we have some reading in English to do, so at least in those things I can be sure I understood all.

06. August - Argentine Contemporary History
I already quitted this class^^ It was quite ok, but I feel like when I want to know sth about History I grab a book and read on my own... sitting in class (at really inconvenient times) is just not what I came for.

By deleting this class from my schedule I am now free on friday - hooray!! And only two classes from 4pm to 7.30pm.
You really need to get used to those classes... 4h, just lecture, in the evening... wow -.-

07. August - Criminal Check
Early in the morning we went to the office regarding criminal checks to get the visa somehow later. We got some paper, needed our passport and you had to queue 3 times and at every counter they made *peeep* and you continued to the next one - to sum it up shortly.

08 - 11. August - Weekend!
I didn't do much spectecular to be honest, most of the time I worked, tried to do some homework and got lost in episodes and movies in Spanish. Only on Sunday we had a nice Asado at an awesome apartment at a friend's house. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures, exept a try of the bbq:

But you may guess how huge that was! The size of the grill was almost as big as a single bed and sooooo much meat! Lucky me I gave up trying to be a full-time vegetarian >.<

So this was my first and pretty intense week of my year abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Next weekend we have a long one and gonna visit a bit Uruguay, since it is just "around the corner"^^

5 things to think about before going abroad

2014-07-29T12:13:00.002+01:00

We all know it: I love to plan things. And in as much detail as possible. Probably because I am German (yeah we all know those stereotypes...)
So I found it quite entertaining to make a list with the most important information I try to find out about my destination before I go there. I mainly made it from the point of view considering that I will stay there for a longer time in the case of Argentina:

Talsperre Spremberg, lake close to Cottbus, Germany

1) how to get from airport to your accommodation
I considere this as one of the most important points while travelling. When you have an exact plan how to go from the airport to any place, probably first your accommodation, you feel more comfortable and relaxed. That is how it works for me. And it is as well for most places a first step to get to know the local public transport system, since I am a poor female student and never take a taxi alone, I'll always find a shuttle to the city center and from there public transport.
Considering I don't have Internet on my phone I always take a picture from the exact location where I need to go for the rest I need to walk.

2) how to get money: cash vs. card
This is, outside of Europe, a little bigger problem. When I think about Argentina, I haven't really found THE website telling me everything I want/need to know.. I guess that means I just have to try... I have three different cards available, a German credit card, Mastercard and an English visa debit. I probably just gonna try how much they charge for each card and for the beginning I am going to exchange some cash somewhere (probably the state bank should be a good choice)^^

3) clothes to pack
That is always a tricky topic... it's not that I have too much (I am really not much into shopping). But considering I only take one backpack, space is quite limited... I tried to pack quite neutral with the thought: take less with me, I can buy everything I need there and have nice souvenirs, too.

4) phone & internet
Since I am going to Argentina for a year I definitely need a sim card... and since I am already spoilt from London; if possible with internet all day long (it's just so easy to find your way around places with internet!). I probably have a closer look when I am there and ask others about there opinion. I had a short look on the internet... but not really enough time to make a decision.

5) local public transport
That is always a good adventure, especially when you are in a complete other part of the world. Since I already experienced the public transport in Brazil, I expect Argentina to be the same confusing at the beginning...
I always check if there is something equivalent to an oyster, because to be honest: it's so unbelievable convenient, every country should have it^^

have something like a check list before you travel somewhere?

5 reasons why I love my home

2014-07-25T06:47:00.000+01:00

First of all, even tough I live in London, Germany will always be my actual home... like "home-home". I grew up and most of my life I lived here. To be fair I never really liked it here until I started to be abroad for a longer time, now I start to appreciate my home. Which I guess is totally nomal!^^ But still I know, that I don't want to move back here, from where I stand right now, I can even say: never!

But I love coming back home for a couple of weeks and those are the 5 things I miss and love most here:

1. A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN

There is nothing better than waking up in your holidays in summer and just go straight into you garden and chill without the possibility for any neighbours to see what you are doing! My dad is even so awesome, that he built a fridge and plugins there, so I just can sit all day long with my laptop outside and drink a cold lemonade *yay*!!

2. FAMILY AND FRIENDS

To see you family once in a while, or a year, is just great! You didn't know how much you actually love them when you see them everyday^^ To family I count of course all our cats, I am totally a cat person and that's what I miss most when I am abroad.
Seeing friends is another thing, even though many people moved away, the four most important onces, who you can even call friends without daily contact, are still around!

3. GO BY BIKE EVERYWHERE

I really do love London's transport system, the buses are great, even though normally overcrouded, but well... you really never can get lost!
However, I would never go by bike in this city.... too much traffic and on the wrong side^^ I really can't pay so much attention... I prefer to ride through our forests, to the beach and our calm village and nearby city.

4. LAKE 10min AWAY

Yay! Next to my village we have a little lake, and it is the best place! It's calm with a nice campign site close to it and a little cafe where you can ice cream - what else do you want? Even in winter I love to go there, it is just sooo unbelievable nice there! You can even cycle around... what I did ages ago and always wanted to do again, buuuuuuut... maybe next time when I am home XD

5. BIG ROOM WITH OWN BATHROOM

You know London, small rooms for high prices and a lacking passion for maintenance work... Not here in my home. My room is three times as big as in London and I don't even pay for it! Plus I have my own bathroom... how freckin' amazing is that^^ And so much space, to be honest, one reason why this will always be my home-home is because I have so many important things here I can't take with me right now.
But I will. When I moved to a flat big enough where I will stay the next years. But probably not soon^^

Did you start to appreciate your home more when you began to travel?

Next chapter: Argentina

2014-07-17T18:09:00.000+01:00

Wow! Time flies by and I haven't done anything on my blog since... NOVEMBER!!! Damn! Not fun! But now, with the beginning of my next big adventure, I want to continue writing more frequently again.

I just really miss it to be honest and there are so many situations, taking pictures or sth that happens which makes me think: I should blog about that... but well, no time!

Until now, because I am in my holidays now and since I knew I am going to have a break... which is already like half a year ago... I promised myself to bring my blog up-to-date and write again.

So many things have happened and so many things I am going to do.

First of all I will go one year to ARGENTINA! Amazing, right? It's a part of my degree and I will spend one full year in Buenos Aires and hopefully have the chance to travel some other places, like going back to Brazil and meet some friends and somhow I really really want to go to Uruguay... I don't know why I am so fascinated by that cute little country, hehe ;)

So I still need to pack everything (I am leaving the end of July) and overall: need to find a flat... prices are quite cheap and there are many nice flats, I just hope I live with people who speak all the time Spanish^^

A really cool thing is that I will keep my job in London, that means I will do home-office overseas, roughly 20h per week and earn good pounds which I can spend in South America. I just really hope it works out, since the company and me never done such a project before. But during my holidays I am already practicing my home-office skills.

Another thing I need to do is to continue my posts about Brazil 2013, where I worked for the Conferderations Cup. Unfortunately it wasn't possible for me to participate as a volunteer in the World Cup, so I had to enjoy it as good as possible in London.... but hey we are WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! To be honest, that makes me quiet proud to be German... even though the rest of the time I am not too happy to grew up there.

close to Crystal Palace, London

I want to continue taking part in weekly wishes and my "This City" series and see whats going on in the blogging world at the moment^^

I also want to write some posts about stuff I have experienced in London, like visiting Cambridge, Brighton, Harry Potter studios and so on and so forth, those memories are already starting to fade and I want to write it down before they are all completely gone...

Bloody hell!! So much to do and write about.. the day needs more than 24h, hehe!^^

Geocaching in London

2013-11-18T01:00:00.000+00:00

Yay! Finally I managed to do the thing I always wanted to try, never mind where.
So here we are, in London, with some coordinates and a map (of course on the phone as it is usual for modern geocachers^^) and off we go!

It was actually really good fun, despite the fact that my friend and I are both quite bad with reading maps and having ideas about places and directions, but a good point was, that she grew up there (telling emotionly about her childhood and this dangerous place in London...).
We have been in Lordship park, close to Tottenham Hale (where I live) and Seven Sister, farther in the North.

Just to have a little image of where about, Letter A shows where I live right now:)

So it was really good fun to walk around an area, quite close to my home where I haven't been before and to discover some nice places and buildings...

Yes, I took a picture from a wall, because it looks so medieval^^

As we arrived at the park we were basically first quite confused about where to go, since I don't have internet on my phone and we both pretty much suck at reading maps, haha
But a good opportunity to discover the local grounds...

We walked this way about 4 times at least, because the cach was hidden somewhere there... but obviously quite good, ok, for me as the first time I had no idea how good they hide them and how exact their description is...

This is the proof of IT^^ We've found it....with the sacrify of our clean shoes - welcome to "always wet London"^^
In it were some little things, of course more useless than anything, but who cares, that's not the main point!
As well as a piece of paper and a pen to write down your name and when you've found it.
Unfortunately did we realize that we were quite bad prepared, we didn't bring anything to put it in the jar in exchange of the things we could take (fortunately my friend found some stuff in her bag - praise woman handbags^^) and another pen would have been useful, since the one in the jar didn't really work...

So we hide the jar in exactely the same place we've found it and that was basically it.
Now we need to upload the picture and make a note on the website www.geocaching.com that we've found it and that's it.

On our way back home (still a bit lost^^) we found some more interesting corners:

Oh hell yeah, a pink house -.-

So well, for the next time we know, that we have to be better prepared, will say we have to think about some little stuff to put it into the box, a pen, probably warmer clothes - especially now... and old clothes, actually shoes which can get dirty and maybe a better understanding of the place we go.. if this is somehow possible^^

So have you ever done that? Where and how was it? :)

This City #3: Rachael from Utah, USA

2013-11-11T07:14:00.001+00:00

Welcome to my second post for my new blogging series "This city - is my city"! I know the first post is already ages ago, but due to my busy timetable I had problems to keep it up... but now I try to be better an post more regular^^

This time we'll hear a bit about another city of the USA: Utah from Rachael who is writing on her blog talk2thetrees.com.

1.) Shortly about you, who are you, what do you do in your life, short mention about your blog and where do you live at the moment?

My name is Rachael. I am an artist and a blogger. I am a mixed media artist and an illustrator. I sell art, prints, and other artistic objects handmade by me. I've traveled across the United States and lived in 9 states in under 2 years! It was amazing. I recently "settled" back down in my home state of Utah. It's not my favorite state, but I'm learning to find it's beauty for the first time. I love to explore nature and go on hikes and walks. I believe nature cures just about everything. I blog over at talk2thetrees.com where I write about nature, adventures, fashion, art, puppies and kitties.

2.) Why do you live there (study, work, born there, moved there because of...)

I moved back to Utah from Memphis Tennessee after getting divorced. I moved back so I could be closer to family. My family is now 20 minutes away instead of 2000 miles away. I miss the south so much and I'm constantly reminded it of. (As I type, my favorite song "Carolina in my mind just came on!") I lived in North Carolina for about 8 months and if I could I would live in a little cottage in the woods there.. But right now I now live in a little brick cottage covered in ivy and pumpkin plants. Luckily I'm not too far from the woods either. I live about 10 minutes from the mountains and about 10 steps away from downtown. I'm so thankful I moved back to Utah because if I didn't I wouldn't have met my wonderful boyfriend and soulmate. We have plans to travel, we are just figuring out the hows.

3.) Tell us 3 to 5 aspects you love about your city

I love that I can get away from it! I love that I can drive 10 minutes in any direction and find nature of some kind. It could be mountains, the forest or a river. There is nature close by. I also like being a local at some of the smaller businesses. The coffee shop has my order memorized and the cashiers from the thrift store always gives me a good deal. I love that I live a block from Center Street, where all the cool antique stores are and the fun little restaurants reside.

4.) And of course 3 to 5 points you don't like about it

I'm not a huge fan of the people here! I live in a very very religious town. The center of the city is based off of a religious college. And sadly, with a lot of the people are very judgmental if you are not "one of them." I don't fit in here. I look different, and I act different. I get lots of strange looks and Sterling and I don't have many friends. Here, if you aren't the same religion it's almost like you are a project for everyone else. It can get pretty tiresome. Also, because of that religion gap, there are almost no coffee shops! In other states, there is a starbucks on every corner. Here, it's a church. It's not a huge problem, more funny than anything.

5.) Do you have a favourit place everybody should have visit when they come to your city? (A park, restaurant...)

Visit Cat's Cradle antiques! They have the spookiest macabre stuff including skulls and skeletons. Just walk Center Street downtown. You are sure to find something interesting.

6.) Do you have a (secret) tip about your city? (for example: never eat banana there or you get banana, too!^^)

Most places are closed on Sundays... so don't expect to have too much fun. BUT the roads are clear, so you can get from place to place with a lot of ease!

I haven't really heard much about Utha, but despite the religion fact (I am rather a believer in healing nature like Rachael than God - ok, some may not see a difference in that, haha) it seems a nice town with loads of green around!

Thanks Rachael for taking part and the very informative descriptions!! :)

*If you want to take part as well, just answer the same questions and send me a picture of you and at least on of your city, I am happy to read it and publish it here on my little lovely blog, hehe^^

Weekly Wishes #4

2013-11-04T01:00:00.000+00:00

How slow a month goes over when you have almost no money, amazing! Mh, but at least I got a job now and way less time for Uni, but who cares as long as I can pay the rent?! (sarcasm mode off!)

First, let us see how October goals worked out:

1.) Blogging once a week
my poor poor blog! I managed to make such a nice design, some readers even told me they like it (I finally as well) but now I have hardly time to do something with it -.- But with the help of a blogging schedule I want to fight against that. Blogging once a week and reading blogs before I go to bed. Sounds about manageable ;)
I definitely managed to post once a week, whereas reading other blogs not really -.- But I got an excuse: I finally found a job! So during the week I basically get up at 6.30 and come home about 8pm... awesome! But at least I get money^^

2.) Less chocolate during the week!
That's gonna be harsh! I L.O.V.E. chocolate, but no money = no chocolate, so I neeeeeeed to cut back, otherwise I spend all my last money on sweets^^
Well... didn't really work and then my parents sent me a package... with chocolate of course! Because they know like everybody else how much I love it! But I keep trying!!!

3.) Be more positive again
Especially in my situation and now after a while I tend to be quite frustrated, having bad mood all the time and starting to think very negatively about the world!
But I need to stay positive and focused! Everything is gonna be alright in the end! - Hopefully
That didn't go too bad, but my situation is now way better! But now I think I need to change it to: be more motivated again!

These are my goals for YESvember (haha, you could make a series or sth out of it^^:

1.) Read a couple of blogs - every day + link ups
Damn I really need to manage that, and do more in the blogosphere, I got the feeling my blog is getting dusty, which I definitely NOT want! So I decided to take part in some link ups, there are for example some about travel posts, I need to get more involved with that! :)

2.) Less chocolate during the week:
Yes I already had that, didn't work too well... here we go again!

3.) Do more for Spanish:
Oh my god!! I can hardly remember anything and with all the coursworks comming on at Uni this is definitely not a good thing! I need to practice more, learn vocabulary, meet spanish friends... everything! Anything we've got left (Ok, that was Will from Pirates of the Carribean^^)

If you feel motivated as well now to make some plans for next week, see more details about this link-up here:

Do you have any similar plans or wishes for the next time?

Fencing in London

2013-10-28T01:00:00.000+00:00

Thanks to Groupon I took a Beginner Fencing course the last 4 weeks here in London for just £25, normally you won't find such a course for under 60quid!!

This course was at Fighting Fit Fencing, basically a family business with really nice people :)

So I had 4 session every Monday evening from 8.30 to... more or less 10 I'd say. I think that was a good amount of time, sometimes maybe a bit too short, when you were actually just starting and then it felt as if it has already ended for that day.

This was the first picture I took on the very first day, when we needed to wait for the rest to come and the others before us to finish their training. I was pretty excited, since I always wanted to try fencing, and this was the moment^^

Here you could already see the difference between the professional ones (white) and the "other beginners" with the blue robes, exactley what we are going to wear as well :)

The first session was basically theory and some basic steps, which was though really interesting! Our "instructor" not sure how to say in English^^ Was pretty cool and fun! Ok, at the beginning I need to get used to his string english accent, but he made some fun jokes and told us some anecdotes from things that happend already during training.

After the first training my legs hurt so much!! For the right position you are having your knees bent, I am sure you all know more or less how that looks like... and since your body is not used to this, you discover totally new muscles!! Amazing^^

At the second training we already got to wear the robes.... I look really good, right?^^

The only negative point here is that the clothes are mostly quite wet from the people who used that before you... but you need to have a shower afterwards anyways! And you have to consider, at other clubs you might have to buy that stuff.... so not too bad after all, I'd say :)

So we've learned how to attack, how to defend, what is on and off target and so on. The last training day (it was just way too fast over!!!!) was a competition - how exciting!!!^^ But we were too many people, so we did it in groups of three, each person and group had 4 matches. I won 3 out of 4.... how amazing!!! I t was soooo cool!

So it was a really good experience, the only negative point is about the clothes, but normal I think, so not too bad... and maybe that we were quite many people and so the trainer coudn't really concentrate on each that much... but it's just a beginner course to see what it is about and how you like it.

I would love to continue, but not sure if I can manage with the money, the time and my ankles (I am such an "old" person^^)

Have you ever been interested in fencing?

Brazil - Part 06: Let's play a bit with salt and colours!

2013-10-21T11:28:00.000+01:00

Ooohh yeah, finally another post about Brazil, even though it feels like it is ages ago! I just don't have so much time to post about it every day.
So from time to time there will be another post from my time in Rio de Janeiro this summer as I volunteered for the Confederations Cup and adventured so many other stuff :)

So that day I went to a house of a friend from the family I stayed with, I was persuaded because her daughter is learning English, so we could practice^^ On the way there I thought, that this is quite the picture of Brazil you normally have about the rural areas from TV:

Dogs on roofs...just seen in Brazil so far ;)

So that day I was invited to a traditional religious event of Brazil which is called "Tapetes de Corpus Christi" boooya!^^ Which is a tradition from the Catholic Church in Portugal and Brazil.
This is basically a carpet made out of different materials, mixed with colours to make awesome pictures on the street in a row, mainly - of course - religious, like a picture of Jesus Christ or other symbols.

So there are groups of people, for example from the same church, thinking about a picture they put on a paper to make the tarpete onto. So here my friend is drawing the lines, which is already an adventure itself^^

So later that day, I think about 11pm probably, we went to the center of Sao Goncalo, where I stayed with my friends (see a map in this post). I don't know why so late, but normally it is that way and they make the "Tarpete" all night long until 2 or 3 am, depends on how long you need....

So there are loads of different groups, each making one of those carpets. Here everybody took salt, because there is a salt mine close and it is just the cheapest thing you get basically, obviously cheaper than sand... and easier to colour it ;)

At first I was a bit reluctant to take part... don't know why^^ Maybe I was a bit scared to do something wrong (you know my Portuguese is not the best, so is the English of most of them). But then it was really good fun! Especially when we were almost finished and you saw the result!

Stupid me I didn't took a picture of our finished master-piece of art, but as we walked around the street to look at the other ones, I found one particular awesome:

Who ever did this, has a total understanding of art and perspective and shadow and so on!!! Just gorgeous!!

So what is the reason behind that?? Didn't really get that point, but the next morning, about 9am I think??? The "main guy of the church" (you see, I am not so into that religion thing^^) is basically just walking OVER it and destroys it... awesome!
But we were just way too tired to get up so early to see that :/ Maybe next year, when I'll maybe come back^^

So this was a really interesting experience with really good fun! We should do something similar around London, but maybe without a religious sense behind it.... just for fun^^

This City #2: Jasmine from San Antonio (blogging series)

2013-10-14T17:12:00.000+01:00

Today we get to know San Antonio in Texas a bit better by Jasmine, blogging on her lovely blog Southern Cafe.

1.) Shortly about you, who are you, what do you do in your life, short mention about your blog and where do you live at the moment?

Jasmine, the girl behind Southern Café blog where you will find daily ramblings, spontaneous travel weekend trips, posts about love/the boyfriend, fashion inspiration and one too many photos of a little Yorkie named Winston that takes up a large percentage of my heart. I’m excited to share with you some lovely things about my life and my beautiful city. I work as an SEO Support/Copywriter for a local newspaper. I currently live in San Antonio, Texas.

2.) Why do you live there (study, work, born there, moved there because of...)

San Antonio is my home. I was born and raised here. I’m blessed to have my family, school, work and boyfriend all in the same city. Eventually I do want to move and explore a new city.

3.) Tell us 3 to 5 aspects you love about your city

{ONE} Fiesta. If you’re from San Antonio or have visited during the month of April, then you know we like to party. It’s my favorite time of the year.
{TWO} The beautiful Riverwalk. It’s recent expansion has just made our city even more beautiful.
{THREE} The food. It probably explains why San Antonio is considered one of the fattest cities in the US, but the food is just so delicious.
{FOUR} The margaritas. Maybe I’m being biased because it’s my city but I speak the truth. We have some of the most delicious margaritas.
{FIVE} We have the San Antonio Spurs, enough said.

4.) And of course 3 to 5 points you don't like about it

{ONE} I hate that some parts of the city are just bad but I guess every city has a bad side of town.
{TWO} I kind of wish we had a big college that made it exciting to watch football or something.
{THREE} It’s hot as (fill in the blank.) You would think that since I was born and raised here that I would be used to this Texas heat but no. I absolutely hate it.

5.) Do you have a favourit place everybody should have visit when they come to your city? (A park, restaurant...)

here are so many to choose from.
Attractions: Six Flags and Sea World.
Shopping: La Cantera Mall is a must, unless you really want to see the infamous giant cowboy boot then go to North Star Mall.
Food: Anywhere downtown or on the Riverwalk. My currently favorite is La Gloria with delicious margaritas and gorgeous view of the Riverwalk expansion. You can now find it at the San Antonio International Airport.

6.) Do you have a (secret) tip about your city? (for example: never eat banana there or you get banana, too!^^)

You can get to any side of town in just a short 20-30 minute drive. San Marcos outlets and Austin, Texas are also a short drive (45 mins to an hour). There’s also Schlitterbauhn in New Braunfels, various lakes and rivers to float, that’s a Texas must – float the river! Enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon walking through the San Antonio Missions, I think they’re absolutely beautiful. I like to attend mass at the missions because it’s just so breathtaking. Now I’m making weekend plans just talking about everything San Antonio has to offer!

Texas is definitly on my Top-10-List of places to see and thank you so much for all the information about San Antonio! I know even look more forward to go there one day!!! Hopefully during April ;)

Thanks Jasmine for taking part and the great picture!! :)

*If you want to take part as well, just answer the same questions and send me a picture of you and at least on of your city, I am happy to read it and publish it here on my little lovely blog, hehe^^

here wildlife

Buenos Aires - Part 14: Over the roofs

Buenos Aires - Part 13: Jardín Jápones

Buenos Aires - Part 12: An Argentine Polo Match

Buenos Aires - Part 11: La Bomba de Tiempo

Monthly Goals #1 - November

Buenos Aires - Part 10: Festival del Bosque

Buenos Aires - Part 9: Jardín Botánico

Buenos Aires - Part 8: *thumbs up* for health care in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires - Part 7: Feria de Mataderos

Buenos Aires - Part 6: Reserva Ecológica

Buenos Aires - Part 5: Buenos Aires Market

Buenos Aires - Part 4: Empanadas Class

Buenos Aires - Part 3: Trip to Uruguay - Montevideo

Buenos Aires - Part 2: Trip to Uruguay - Colonia del Sacramento

Buenos Aires - Part 1: Orientation

5 things to think about before going abroad

5 reasons why I love my home

Next chapter: Argentina

Geocaching in London

This City #3: Rachael from Utah, USA

Weekly Wishes #4

Top Blog Posts October + LinkUp

Fencing in London

Brazil - Part 06: Let's play a bit with salt and colours!

This City #2: Jasmine from San Antonio (blogging series)

Buenos Aires - Part 8: thumbs up for health care in Buenos Aires