Berlin

I realise it has been a while since I have updated this. I didn't even manage to finish off posting my New York posts. However, since then I have been on two mini trips. One of these is Berlin. Which I literally have just returned home from.
This trip was a little out of the blue, if you have read any of my past posts, one in particular actually you will have noticed one of my LONG LIST of resolutions was to a visit a new place every month. For the month of February, this was Berlin. I have never stepped foot in Germany despite it being an hours plane ride away. Blame the fact I have asian parents who don't understand the idea of travel and foreign languages, wishing instead to stick to their asian countries and familiar faces instead.

I chose to travel to Berlin alone for various reasons.
1. Timing, people don't have enough time to go and do stupid stuff like travel with me!
2. Travelling alone is freedom, as a people pleaser I will try to please my companion. Without a companion I only have myself to satisfy.
3. I'm no longer a bloody child, I can do things myself, I enjoy my own company and it helps me reflect on my thoughts, feelings and current state.

Anyways, the first thing I did was attempt to find my way to the U, having not done my research I didn't realise I needed to actually get into Berlin City until I find the U's. Luckily for me, I used my EU telephone plan to use 3G to search for an actual way to get to my hotel and the city. The train system at first seemed quite intimidating, the locations were not clearly signposted, however I did manage to find myself getting to Zoological Gartens! What I found, buy a 48 or 72 hour welcome card and it offers you travel in A B and C zones, basically all the major zones and then some. Platform 6 will take you to Zoological Gartens, which leads you to the U and any major destination you were possibly looking for.

Unsurprisingly I did end up at the zoo, for a total of 4 hours, it is HUMONGOUS. The architecture of the buildings for all the little and big animals are incredible too. Definitely one of the best zoo's I have been too, the weather also helped, sunshine makes any place better! Along the way I made a few animal friends.

From the zoo I made my way to my hotel in Wittenberg-platz, opposite the major department store Kadewe. Definitely a place for the elite of Berlin, cavier and beautiful shoes, bags, clothes and humans. The so called "buffet" was kind of strange, I guess it was an array of food, but no sign of eat as much as you like, just a place to pick your own food. 12 euros on a plate of food.. that was cold.. not a foodie's dream, but I did persuade myself to spend another 6 euros on a plate of strawberries and cream for dessert.

 

After several hours eating and looking at the MASSIVE department store, I took to my hotel and got ready for bed and a new day. I made my way to Zoological Garten to meet with the tour group "Insider Tours" with an awesome tour guide Barnaby, who happens to have attended the same University as me, set up the open mic nights in the infamous East Slope bar, and studied politics for several years there. He was enthusiastic, friendly and you could tell was incredibly in love with city. His knowledge of the political and historical past is extraordinary and he puts funny twists on his story telling. You'll have to go to find out just how hilarious and informative it is!

Taking us on the "Famous Tour" we were directed to well known locations, such as Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's bunker, War Memorial for the Jewish Community. All in all it was productive.

After me and my new made friend Peter made our way to the outskirts of the city and had a large plate of kebab. Very German, I know. After stuffing our faces, I believe we were both likely to end up in a food coma so we parted ways. Unbeknownst to either of us, I would end up in Kadewe again, looking to have a break by myself, have a beer or a glass of wine. I ended up attempting to order in German, and ended up with a bottle of Rose. I attempted to finish a 0.2l glass, and guess what... I was already slightly tipsy. I enlisted the help of my new friend Peter, who I thoroughly appreciate for drinking at least 0.5l of it and not wasting my 15 euros!

By now, it was almost 8pm and I really wanted my bed, so again I said my final farewell to Peter, who is currently exploring the rest of Europe. And that kind of ends my adventures in Berlin, aside from the boring chilling in my hotel room, doing work I have been avoiding, breakfast and travelling home the following morning.

I didn't think I would like Berlin as much as I did, but actually being in the city makes the history come alive for me, and it made it pretty awesome.

Blogtober #21

Blogtober #21: Dream Vacation

Maldives!

Just look at those magical beaches, it looks secluded enough that you could have a peaceful time, and yet touristy enough that you would be welcomed politely. 

Seeing as it is apparently due to be a destination that is no more due to global warming, this would be a dream to go to and relax. 

Normally I am not really a sun, sea and sand person, but actually when a place is as beautiful as this, it doesn't matter what is there or who. 

Can we just take a moment to admire how beautiful this is?

I mean, who wouldn't want to go here?

To be right next to the sea whilst you are sleeping, listening to the sounds of the waves with the open sea breeze as you sleep.

Blogtober #7

Blogtober #7 Best/Worst Vacation:

Best Vacation:

 I would say my best vacation was the one I had last year, lengthy but not too long. 3 weeks I was with my family and also visiting friends. So it was a little of everything. It just made me very nostalgic and actually came at the perfect time. I needed some time away from England after a whirlwind year of changes and heading into my 2nd year of University I needed to just refresh my outlook on life. It was an amazing vacation, although I have been to Hong Kong plenty this was just a little extra special. I had time to reflect on myself and hang out with my family and friends as well as visiting all the places in Hong Kong that I had never seen before. It was fun and a nice little break.

It is always better when you are with your family and not having to pay for food too!

Worst Vacation:

This has got to be Venice. This was actually in the very same year. 2013. You are probably thinking I am crazy for not having a good experience here, however there were countless reasons. 

1. The weather, it was January so it was freezing cold (this however has its drawbacks as well as its benefits, we were told during the summer the canal gets super stinky!)

2. Personal problems, I just came to Venice with the wrong person, it would have been the right person at a different stage in our life but in that moment we were not the same as we had been before. Sometimes you can be with someone who you loved so much trying everything you can to rekindle it, but actually everything is not enough.

3. The food was just not my kind of food. As a foodie I love anything meaty, a protein type of girl, not carbs all the time. 

So overall, I don't think vacations can ever be so bad unless you are with the wrong person/people, so choose wisely who you spend your getaway relaxing time with. 

Marrakech

Early morning journeys to the airport are always difficult. They become even more difficult as you grow up, a tired yawning me driving to Gatwick airport was not a pleasant me I must admit. Having speeded along the motorway to get to our destination in the cold darkness we had finally arrived. aT 6:25am, all checked in and ready for our journey our stomachs began to growl. Leading us to EAT! Our stomachs were ready!

 Jessica ordered a BLT sandwich, typical sandwich lover. We shared a tub of fruit and I ordered a high protein salad. This salad was delicious, maybe it was my grumbling stomach falling in love too easily, but the ham and peas in this salad was just a great combination. 

Arriving at the destination we were hit by humidity, but not great enough to suffocate us. (Can anything compare to the humidity that smacks you in the face in HK or Greece?) Arriving at the airport we were not instantly greeted by our taxi driver, this made us panic like two fishes lost at sea. After a while our driver arrived, what was surprising was their use of french through out Marrakech. Almost everybody spoke French, which was a major disadvantage to us, but an enriching experience. 

Being transported into the countryside expressed views like the one above. The little hills across Marrakech were so beautiful, the vast deserted land just made everything so peaceful. Even more amazing was riding across these plains and going up the hills, like the one in the picture below. Seriously incredible and so peaceful. 

Our tour guides for this trip were incredible, extremely friendly (as we found everybody there was) Just so enjoyable to be around and so helpful. 

Now on to the food part! This mixed grill I can't say was the best I've ever tasted. Can be compared to the Wetherspoons mixed grill, which is probably saying something in itself. (However, who am I to judge? I love a good ol' Wetherspoons with my Uni friends). The layout makes it look so much more delicious and incredibly fresh though. 

 This little countryside retreat run by a lovely woman named Francoise made staying here just wonderful. (Despite the sunburn and gnat bites which just seemed to accumulate over the period of 3 days). The constant gardening of this lovely retreat really brings results. 

 On the left of this panoramic image you can see the little tables, in the evening this was a wonderful place to watch the sunset, have dinner. (Which came out as quite costly, although a three course meal was better value at 180MD, compared to one course at 130MD.) Every evening they set out candle lights and rose petals over these tables for couples and families to enjoy. This is a beautiful location to sit if you don't mind being eaten alive by gnats, being disturbed by peacocks during your evening meal, and most importantly if you don't suffer from hay fever.) 

Our first evening romantic meal, well if you don't have a boyfriend why not substitute with your sister, it is definitely the best alternative! Spaghetti bolognese on our first night probably was not the most adventurous, but hey this massive, I mean MASSIVE bowl definitely filled us up till the morning!

Heading into Marrakech the next morning was wonderful. Dropped out outside a famous square, (which I wish I knew the name of) and all the endless souks (markets) surrounding. The souks sell a lot of things, from jewellery to bags, to food, to traditional moroccan clothing. An incredible place, however people do not enjoy having their photo taken. (We made sure to buy something from this man before we took any pictures, seeing his disappointing glare at other tourists taking his photo wasn't part of our to-do-list)

Not the cheapest snack you could buy in Morocco, however the only traditional one we stumbled across and a lovely lay out. This must have taken him a while. 

Tricked into getting henna tattoo's after buying a leather bag in the souks. This was definitely the most expensive "product" we bought in Morocco. Supposedly lasting 2 weeks for 300MD for the both of us. Although very pretty it definitely isn't worth it's price, and one week on it is almost entirely gone. Just little specks on brown left on my fingers (which just look like dirty hands). 

Can I mention how amazing moroccan chips are? They are much much better than the fries and fat chips they sell in McDonalds and Fish and Chips shops here! A little grilled chicken on the side was the perfect accompaniment, and it seems if you love bread Marrakech is the perfect place to be! Literally with every meal they serve bread, no matter what you order! 

Moving on to the evening meal, this was the best thing that entered my mouth in Morocco, this portion isn't even a mammoth portion! (The next day at our trip on quad bikes and having lunch in a little village they offered the same dish but an EVEN BIGGER PORTION. The delight in my face was obvious to the guides who saw my love for cous cous, well actually I almost shouted it as I screamed COUS COUS.) Made with carrots, courgettes, squash, cous cous and beans this was the perfect ending to the day!

After quad biking all day through the mountains and plains, we came back to the hotel to indulge in this! After a 6 hour day on quad bikes this was definitely needed, especially due to my sister being a massive klutz and falling into a ditch in the hills. Leading into a whole other story of pain and Moroccan hospitals.