Lichtenstein - A mordern spot in the middel of the antique

So this summer we went on a small road trip and while we were around, we took a quick trip to Lichtenstein.
Licktenstein is my third visit to a "microstate" in Europe. I camped in Luxembourg many years ago with my parents and really loved Luxenbourg city which was full of life and it was crazy to see all the mordern people in their fancy working clothes everywhere. I was in Andorra in 2014 when i went to guide school. We were only there for a day to shop and trying River Rafting for the first time.

Lictenstein was very different. Andorra and Luxembourg are all about cheap shopping. Lots of designer brands are a lot cheaper here than everywhere else in Europe. But that's not at all the same in Lichtenstein. Lictenstein is very expensive. I guess they have that from thier neighbor Schwitzerland which is too damn expensive as well. But the "shopping" streets in Vaduz is really empty anyway. There isn't really much. I had to remind myself that it wasn't any bigger than 160 km2 and they can't have much considering all the mountains they have as well. But it really isn't the best place for tourists. I think it's the fact that you can tell that you were there afterwards that makes people come. And well.. the stamp in your passport you can buy for 3 euros in the tourist information.

There was one thing i was interested in and it's the pretty castle on the top of a "mountain" right behind Vaduz. Schloss Vaduz is the official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein, so you can't visit it as a tourist. It's a shame now that it's one of the only tourist attractions, but i do understand if the royal family don't want anyone running around.

The picture above is taken down the "main street" in Vaduz and as you can see it's very modern, which again is very much like their neighbor Schwitzerland are. I just expected it to be a lot more old-fashion and with an "alt stadt" like you see everywhere in the surrounding countries. But they have a lot of modern art galleries and art in the streets. Their facination about modern art shows in their souvenirs as well and the princes shows that most of it has some kind of artists name on it or brand. The chain stores like H&M is no where to be seen either. So it's a place for you, if you have a very big wallet and an interest for modern art.

St. Gallen Cathedral and library

On out roadtrip around the area near the Bodensee we went to Schwitzerland for the first time. We had read that St. Gallen has a really pretty Roman Catholic Cathedral, also referred to as Abbey of Saint Gall. It was pretty easy accessible and there are a lot of different parking houses underground near the center of St. Gallen. When we got there they were builing up some kind of stage just outside the end of the Cathedral, so we couldn't get a proper picture of the it.
Luckly for us we could still get inside!

I felt bad right away because I usually always show respect before going into a Catholic Church and covering up down to my knees as I once was instructed by my grandma and i actually do own a piece of fabric that has the purpose of that, but i simply forgot it and it was 35 degree outside so i was in a small dress. Non of the people working there didn't seem to mind though but I still felt bad about it. But the inside of the Cathedral was amazing! The painting in the ceiling was my favorite. They were kind of gloomy and dramatic even though it should show the goodness of god, but the detailing was incredible.

In the area around the Cathadral is also a monastery we couldn't figure out if it was public and we could go in there. There weren't any natural front door that looked inviting anywhere, that's for sure. But on the other side of the Cathadral was one of my favorite things on this vacation; Abbey library of Saint Gall.

I didn't know much about the library but when i searched and found it on a top 10 list of the most beautiful libraries in the world i just had to see it.
Like everything else in Schwitzerland the ticket price was quite high. It's 12€ for adults but i used my ISIC student card and got a discount. A student ticket is 9€.
You get asked to leave all your belongings outside in small cabinet and you can't take pictures in there, because the blitz can make the ink fade. Therefore the pictures used here is from the internet or a scan of the postcards i got.
When you get to the entrence of the library you are asked to put on some giant slippers to protect the old wooden floors from 1767. All the books in there is protected with grids so you can't touch them but they are all beautful and leather-bound. The overall theme of the books are religion and the middle ages. Some of the books are more tham 1000 years old and a few of them is on display so you can have a little look inside them through the glass.

Though one of the first things you see is a huge globe. It's over two meters tall and really detailed. It's also the only object in the room that doesn't have an english translated sign near it, so i could see what it was. I asked a nice lady that worked there about it and she told me it was a earth and sky globe from 1600 century. It was a copy of the original though because they had the original and borrowed it to the national museum in Zürich and they forgot to give it back. The lady looked so angry while saying it. But she said the copy was much brighter in the colours, so it was easier to see all the details.

Another one that i personally found interesting was a sarcophagus and i mummy. It didn't really fit in the Rococo style of the library and it didn't fit into the theme of the books either. The lady told me it was actually just a random gift that was given to a rich family living in St. Gallen in 1800 century. They later donated it to the library. They don't really know who it is, only that she was a daughter of a priest in the Ancient egypt.

All in all, if you are a bookworm like me and loves libraries, then it's definitely worth a visit.

Neuschwanstein Castle - A childhood dream

Ever since i was little i have dreamed about seeing this castle in real life. I loved making jigsaw puzzle when i was little and one of my favorites was the one with the huge pretty castle on it. I loved it because my mom loved it too and we always made it together between christmas and new years eve. I was much older when i started to actually research the castle and found out that it was actually not that far away, because it was only in Germany.

Me back in 2004

So when my mom said that this year we would finally see something else than Rüdesheim and my dad's family in France (not that there is anything wrong with that) AND see Neuschwanstein, i didn't believe it at all. But when we finally went to the southest of Germany i could be more excited!

I know it is a very popular place to visit but i didn't know it was THAT popular. When we arrived at the parking lot it was a whole lot bigger than we expected. There were tourists everywhere in big busses and people were running around in the middle of the streets trying to find there guides and everything was a bit chaotic. The place was filled with souvenir shops and small quick stop restaurants that served fries. It wasn't really what i expected. Our GPS also told us that we could drive all the way there, but forgot to tell us that there were only private roads up to the castle. So beware of that!
It's a long walk up but there are small busses that drives you from the parking lot and all the way up there for a few euros, which we did and walked down afterwards. It's also a possbility to take a horse-drawn carriage, but i took one look at the poor horses and instantly felt bad for them. The veins on their legs were popping! It looked so painful!! One of the horses also had to be replaced while we were there because it was so exhausted.  

I found this really great page that helped you to find the best photospots for the castle. The most popular photospot is Marienbrücke; A little wodden bridge in a cleft. And i just have to tell you... I'm not afraid of heights... but F*** that bridge! There were SO many people on it that you have to squeeze yourself our onto it and the bridge is made out of very thin wood panels that sinks 5cm when you step on the middle of it. I swear, it's only a matter of time before that thing falls down!!

Marienbrücke with all the crazy tourists

Even though it was kind of a dead trap.. It was really the most beautiful view i have seen. So i got my very famous photo of the Castle even though i feared for my life while doing it. It was really worth it all and i got to see my castle!
After taking pictures of it from afar we walked to the castle. Even though it looks like it's far away we were surprised to find it (almost) around the corner. My dad gave up just looking at the view and took the bus down from Marienbrücke again.

And here comes the most important tip! If you want to see the castle from the inside, book a ticket a few days before! Or else you have to wait hours! HERE is the page for booking.
News flash!! We didn't book a ticket. So when we got to the castle at 2pm we were wondering why people were laying around and sitting everywhere in the shadows and slept. So we went to the information and asked for tickets and they said the next guided tour available was at 5.30pm and we couldn't go in there unless you were with a guide. So all the people that slept outside were the people that was waiting to get a guided tour.
So we didn't see the castle from the inside but i did get some brochures with picutres and the history behind the decoration inside inspired be old Germanic and Nordic sagas.

My own picture from Marienbrücke

The walk down from the Castle to the parking lot was very wonderful though. I can only recommend taking the walk down through the forest. It's the road the horse carriages takes as well but it's really pretty. There is more than one place to buy ice cream on the way down, which we gladly took advantage off even though we could walk in the shadow all the way down. Did i mention that there was 32 degrees that day?

One last thing that I think is worth mention is that there is a "rumor" going around that Neuschwanstein is the Castle that inspired Disney's Cinderella Castle. Maybe not from the angle on the picture i took at the bridge, but here in the end i'll throw in a picture i found online and you can judge yourself. I love the theory but sadly we can't ask Mr. Disney about it.

Graduation and my mini European road trip

Quick update!
Long time no see.
I have been very busy with my studies the last half year because it was the end of it. I can now say that i have an academy degree in service and tourism management!
The vacation this year was well deserved in my opinion and was a lot different than my summer vacations usually are.
Every summer we use to go to my dad's family in Frence and stay at a camp site on the German side of the boader, but this year we actually went to 5 different countries in just 2½ week.
Germany, Austra, Schwitzerland, Liechtenstein and France.

We visited the area near the Bodensee and camped on the german side of the lake in a city called Lindau, while driving around from there. Bodensee is a lake shared between Germany, Austria and Schwitzerland, so we didn't have to drive very far to get to another country. We actually got lost a few times and accidentally ended up in Austria.

We visited the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, St. Gallen and Rheinfall in Schwitzerland, Bregnz in Austria, took a short trip to Vaduz in Liechtenstein and did a photoshoot in Colmar in Frence. I will talk about all these things in differnt posts that will come out soon.

Of course we ended up in Rüdesheim again afterwards and stayed there for a week and justed relaxed and tried to do as little as possible which we deserved at that point! It was really awesome to have a full vacation without thinking too much about the academy stuff like last year where we had to hurry home so i could start my internship in the middle of July.

Hiking in Masca

One of the things i absolutly HAD to do while at Tenerife was hiking in Masca again. Yes, i have been there before on my biology studytrip but it was awesome and beautiful.
The problem was that my parents both have some trouble with their backs and stuff but the good thing was that my uncle and his fiancé were so ready to go because i told them how awesome the trip was. But a thing i tihnk they didn't understand was the difficulty of the trip. I told them about how you literally have to climb down at some places and teeter along cliffs only holding yourself up by a rope. It's pretty exciting!

We ordered the trip through Thomas Cook who had a cooperation partner who made these trips. I never got the name of this company and i tried to contact Thomas Cook about the name of the hiking guides but they never wrote back. Anyway, the bus came an picked us up at our hotel and i think it took an hour to get everyone from different hotels before we headed to Masca. We got divided into different groups by nationality because they had a 4-5 different guides that spoke different language. We got an Scandinavian guide who spoke spanish as well. We did expect an english speaking guide as it said on Thomas Cooks website but luckly we understood swedish all of us.
They had everything you needed for a hike. You could rent boots and shoes from the guides. Also walking sticks for only 1£. There was food in the trip and lots of water and fruit. You basically just need to wake up and get out to the bus in the morning. That's it.

Anyway the trip was beautiful like the last time. The landscape was amazing and the moutain goat was happy. It had been raining so there was a lot of water runing down the cliff so it was slippery and it was impossible not to become wet but it just made everything seem more green as well. The guide was really good at explaining things as we went on and i learned a lot of new stuff that i didn't learn or noticed from the first trip.
Like some of the palm trees (That is endemic for Canary Islands) was black because of a great fire many many years ago and the last volcanic eruptions (rather small) was not from Teide, but from "another" colcano near Masca, so the affect could be seen a few places. We also saw some kind of small pigeon up close because they were use to hikers giving them food. They were really cute! And she brought a banana so she could feed the small lizards and showed us cactus lice that is used for colouring in lipstick and things like that. Very fascinating.

And a random thing i just HAVE to metion! When we were at the end of the trip and about to hit the shore the guide stopped us to say good bye and suddently a cat appeared. We were all very confused because we just went through 8 kilometers of cliff so how did the cat end up there? People started to feed it the ham from the sandwiches the guide gave us and gave it some water as well. We found out later that it belonged to some people that owned a little house at the shore that you can also reach by boat. So they took their cats with them when they went there apparently. So they crawled around to the hikers and begging for food. In the end a boat brought us back to Los Gigantos from where they drove us home to our hotel.

The pigeon look alike bird

Look at the small people down there!

The Masca "elephant"

The mysterious cat!

The road to Masca. A very... unique experience in a big bus. 

MustCat - A catamaran trip in the Atlantic

Before we went to Tenerife we could see the list of different trips we could book. My dad has done a lot of sailing when he was young so naturally we should get ourself on a boat somehow.
We ended up booking a trip with a huge catamaran boat called MustCat. The special thing with the tourist catamaran boats is the net in the front where you can lay right over the water, while the boat is sailing.

The crew on board was really nice and jokingly. They were playing around with people and was really good at explaing the creatures around us (whales and dolphins). They spoke 3 different languages so that everyone could follow along. They served a lot of different dirnks on board and you could drink as much as you wanted. You had to stay hydrated when you are on the sea for 3 hours in that heat.
While we sailed out one of the crew members asked if we wanted to go diving when we sailed close to the cliffs. I would have said yes big time if i actually had my swimsuit with me but i  was too stupid to do that. It was only 15 euros!!! Next time i will bring my swimsuit and take advantage of the deal. Either way, the french family that had taking over the nets didn't want to lay there when we weren't sailing, so my family took it over afterward and tried to get a small sea tan.

There are few rules on board and the crew started out with repeating these rules in english, german and french. But i just have to mention this really rude french family that no one told off. The boat was for relaxing and whale watching and it was marked where on the boat you could sit, but as soon the whales showed up, the french family was everywhere... Everywhere!!! And they jump in from of people so only they could see the whales. Another rule was that children under 12 could not stay in the nets, because the holes are big and they could fall through them. These french people didn't care and send their small children out on them and you could only be 4 in the net at a time, but these french people... they didn't care and send theit children out even though there were already 4 people in the net. When we were sailing home the little girl started to kick me... all the way back... And apparently stop doesn't mean stop in french. The parents clearly didn't care. So it ruined the trip a bit and i wanted to show you some pictures but many of them is really bad and filled with french people. But i'll cut them out for you.

Almost impossible to cut the french family out of the pictures, but here is little atlantic spotted dolphin and short finned pilot whale

Teide is hiding in the clouds but there was snow on the top!

Chilling in the net 

Tenerife - Los Christianos, from quiet fishing village to tourism paradise

Last weekend i got home from a week on Tenerife, the beautiful Spanish island close to the African west coat. I have been there before in 2012 when i went to secondary school ('gymnasium' in danish) on a studytrip because my A level was biology. It's a vulcanic island and it's far from any mainland so the nature has been partly untouched for hundreds of years at some places in the heights.

We lived in Los Christianos which is an old fishing village that has grown a lot since the tourists started to come to the island. Even i could see the different from 2012 to now. A few new hotels has been build since i was there last time. The village, or you can call it a city now, has grown together with the neighbor city Las Americas which was almost only build for the purpose of the tourists. That means it's not any traditional Spanish Canaria city and it's very affected by other cultures. That's why this is the place where you go to eat, drink and party. There is activity all day and all night near the beach and in the side streets, while Los Christianos is a bit more down to earth and relaxing.
That's why i recommended my family that we went there, instead of Las Americas. I think my family was kind of thankful for that, because loud music inside or outside the hotel though you had to go kind of far to get to the beach and all the resturents and souvenirer shops. The walk down there was not a problem for me and the weather is always warm so i think it was just ading to the experince that you had to pass all the locals to get down to the harbor where the big ferries are laying. You can also rent fishing rods and go big game fishing. There is small stalls lined up from different companies that get you on a boat so you can try to catch some fish you can't catch home in the cold north.

The harbor in Los Christianos around dinner time. 

The hill/mountain that kind of splits Los Christianos and Las Americas.
Picture taken from the terrace at Hotel Los Alisios.

We stayed at hotel Los Alisios (Again for my part) and i have to say that the hotel has become so much nicer than last time i was there. Not that there was anything wrong with it before but they have modernized all rooms and made new bathrooms (without tubs though) and it all just looked really nice and actually kind of Scandinavian? Maybe there was a reason for that, because there was a whole lot of Swedes and Norwegians at the hotel and some of the staff could speak Swedish.
To our big surprise and to my dad amusment we could actually watch DR1 on there TVs in the rooms and follow the danish news. There was a lot of different channels from a lot of other different countries so you could see the news from where ever you come from. That's a nice detail.
The rooms (or call it flats) were will full kitchen so we could eat breakfast in our rooms. A few of the days we went down and ate at the restaurant at the hotel and the buffet was really nice. There was a lot to choose from even though i'm allergic to a few things.
It's a hotel i can highly recommend if you are not somehow physically disabled. The hotel is laying on a "small" hill and is quiet a walk away from the main city/tourist area.

Kitchen and dining table.

I don't have a picture of the main bedroom where my parents stayed. Only this where i stayed.
Perhaps the most comfortable hotel bed i have ever slept in. No jokes!

The new bathrooms.

What to see and do in Rüdesheim and around

After spending 8+ summers on the campsite in Rüdesheim am Rhein i'm sure i must have seen pretty much everything by now. I'm sure that many people will not agree with my choices of what to see, but have in mind, that i'm not an alcohol drinker, though the area is very famous for their weinbrand, Asbach Uralt, and their homemade wine.

1. Drosselgaße
The world famous party street in old German style. There is so many cruise ships docking in Rüdesheim only because of Drosselgaße. It is were everything happens in Rüdesheim in the evening. There are live music in all the restaurants and waiters are dresses in lederhosen and and the women looks like milkmaids with their tartan dresses.
I must warn you. The activicy on Drosselgaße is all about the cruise ships. If there is no ships, they don't do a big effort about the whole old cozy german style.

2. Bingen Rüdesheimer boat trip "Ringticket"
The area around Rhüdesheim is really wonderful is unlike anything else! So if you are the sporty type (without being too sporty really) then you can buy the "Ringticket". A ringticket is a tour you buy in the office in Oberstraße 37, very close to Drosselgaße.
Your tour starts with ride in a cable railway above the wineyards above Rüdesheim which gives you a glorious view about the city and the river with Bingen on the other side.

When you get to the top you may have noticed the big statue that kind of looks like a small version of the statue of liberty, German version of course. It is Niederwald Denkmal. A statue Kaiser Wilhelm I made in 1871 to mark the foundation of the German empire after the war. It is really beautiful and the view from up their is amazing as well!

Now the sporty part comes! There is a 5km walk though a forest. There is a longer way around in the forest, if 5km is too short for you. There are signs on the trees where you have to go, so you can basiclly not get lost in there. There is an old hunting lodge in the forest where you can get something to drink or eat, if you feel like it. You can also buy a pack of deer feed in an automat and try to handfeed the deers. They are so cute! They drool alot though.
The railway on the way down is not a cabin but a simple wooden chair with a safety equipment so you can't fall down. But if you are very afraid of heights, you may have to walk down.

You will end up the neighbor town Assmannshausen. They don't have must activity but as every small town in Germany they have a few restaurants, so if you need something to drink after your walk and the hunting lodge wasn't something for you, there is hope! In Assmannshausen you take a boat/cruise back to Rüdesheim. Fear not if it is sailing the wrong way. You will just get a longer trip, but you will end in Rüdesheim at some point. While sailing there is also a chance to get something to eat and drink!

3. Castle tour down the Rhein
This is not just in Rüdesheim, but along the Rhein.
It is not a secret, that most of the way up and down the Rhein, is as beautiful as Rüdesheim. Rüdesheim is just a town with a lot of opportunities, now that is it a lot bigger, that many of the other town along the Rhein. If you drive north from Rüdesheim (the way the rhein is running) there are alot of castles around. Some more maintained than others.
The first of them was build by the ancient Romans, back when south Germania was a part of the empire. They were used to get duty from those who transported goods by ships. There is so many castles, that i believe it must have been an very expensive way to use.
Others were build by rich people after 1000th like nobility, bishops etc.

One of my favorites is Burg Rheinstein. It is build in 1300th and is very maintaind as it was back then. It have been used to many different things though time and you can experince it all, if you visit it. Today it mostly for tourists and for weddings for people who want a oldfashion fairytale wedding. It is a part of UNESCO Cultural Heritage "Upper Middle-Rhine Valley".

You can find a list of all the castles and their history here.

Yet another summer in Rüdesheim am Rhein

After spending two weeks away from home (and stable wifi) i am now no the blog again, ready to write!

We went to Rüdesheim Am Rhein again this year, now that my parents do not have any wild imagination and don't want to drive that fare away with a caravan. I went with them because i didn't have to work and had nothing better to do.

An the other side, Rüdesheim sure is beautiful. The nature along the river Rhine is really something and hundreds of old castles is still places along the river. Many of them build by the old Romans when they owned the southern part of Germany/Germania. They used all this castles to own money from those who want to sail past with their goods that they had to sell elsewhere.

On both sides of the river there is a lot of vine fields. You can see how their small tractors are working their way up the hills. It sure must be risky working on those fields.
Every little city down along the Rhine has their own wines you can tast on the many restaurants. You can not find the wines in the Supermarkeds down there. If you look around there is small stores that specializes in local wines. There is actually also Weingärten (Vine gardens) where they only serv local wine. Not beer, no cola, no food. Only wine. They are normally owned by those who make the wine and is really charming small places.

Most of the main streets in Rüdesheim is fully conducted. Such german charm.
Everyone who comes to Rüdesheim, normally comes to experience the famous Drosselgaße. It is a very narrow street with lots of stores, german music and waiters in traditional german clothes. You can't find this amount of lederhosen and milkmaid clothes anywhere else.

I will be writing a few reviews and tips from my trip very soon.

Here is some pictures from my trip!

Rüdesheim from above the wine fileds on the hill (Bingen on the other side of the water)

Walk from the campsite to the turist city of Rüdesheim

Rüdesheimer schloss from Drosselgaße. When it rings there is a lot of turist arond because of
the small figures dancing around under the bells.

Berlin - Shopping tips

I'll admit that i am quite a shopper when im outside Denmark. I use all my money outside Denmark pretty much. And now that i have been in Berlin 4 times now, i though i could come with a few tips where to shop and what to think about, when you are in Berlin and want to spend some money.

AlexanderPlatz
My personal favorite place to be in Berlin! There is always some kind og market here. When i was there the had a huge easter market with live music in the evening. But it does attract a lot of people and sadly also a lot of gypsies who will try to convince you that they are raising money for some charity for mute or deaf people. They normally go around in groups and spreads out in a small area and holds a sign up for you to read and sign.

• Anyway my favorite clothes store Primark. It is crazy cheap and they have something for everyone! Women, men and children. But it obvious! This store is stuffed with people and it hard to get around. I went there an afternoon and gave up but when i came the day after before noon there was very few people and i could spend too many money in there. Yet again! 
• Another store worth visiting if you love technology or music is Saturn. A huge builing you cant oversee. If you can't find a speciel CD or game at home, you are sure that Saturn has it. They basiclly have all new gadget and i have bought everything from camara bags to headsets here. I normally write down a whole list of stuff i need to buy, before i'm going to Germany to find a Saturn. 
• Alexa mall is just across the road (Otto-Braun Straße) from Alexander Platz. It's a really ugly mall (sorry) and i guess a architectural experiment? But it is a great place to shop as well! If you are a little geeky as me you may visit Elbenwald when you are there. They have some great merchandise from movies and books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars etc. In this Mall they have Media Markt which is alot like Saturn.

Market at Alexanderplatz

Kurfürstendamm

Kurfürstendamm is kind of like Oxford Street in London if you have to compare with anything. It is a 3,5 km long shoppingstreet but if you are looking for something not too expensive, this is not really a place for you. It is quite a nice walk down the sidewalk and looking at the windows of the different design stores, but i can't simply afford it myself. Sure there is a few huge H&M placed on the street and an awesome old school music store CITY MUSIC there is fun to visit, but after the record store be turned around again and headed to Hard Rock Cafe which is also placed on Kurfürstendamm. But if you are at Kurfürstendamm i have a few things you could visit.

• At the end of Kurfürstendamm near Berlin ZOO there sometimes happen to be a smaller market like at AlexanderPlatz or some street artists doing something entertaining. 
• If you go along Kantstraße (from the zoo crossing) you might find a few Chinese stores. It is Berlins "Chinatown" if you can call it that. These stores are really quaint and is stuffed with everything good from the eastern culture. I think i saw an antique Egyptian store as well. But the reason i went on this long walk down Kantstraße was to find the Japanese store! It is once again one of my geeky stores where you can buy japanese cartoons "mangas" (most are in german) and japanese candy. They do as well have clothes and a really cool kawaii foto booth! I was so tempted to take some cute pictures but it's not that fun alone. 
• If you go the other was (from the zoo crossing) you end up at Tauentzienstraße. It is too a shopping street and here you find the extremly expensive but beautiful mall KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) and Lego store. If you turn down Passauer Straße next to KaDeWe there is a huge underground creative store called Idee. which is worth a visit, if you are in need of art supplies of any kind.

U-bahn on Kurfürstendam

Spandau

Spandau was an old german city that got swallowed by the big city of Berlin but it remains a quite place and not so downtown-ish as the rest of Berlin. If you take the U-bahn to Altstadt Spandau (which is still in zone B) you can go around and enjoy a bit of shopping in what seems like a normal little german city. The rivers Havel and Spree meets here so there is also a opportunity to eat near the water.

• If you take the U-bahn to the endstation (one more stop from Altstadt Spandau) to Rathaus Spandau or follows the street Carl-Schurz-Straße you are again in the big city. In front of the City Hall (Bürgeramt Rathaus Spandau) there is often a market and it is known for this market actually. 
• Not a long walk from the City Hall is the Spandau Arcaden. It was one of my favorite places because it is for normal people! (joke aside) Not all design stores and all that. It is a really pretty mall and there is touch screens that can help you to find everything in there. If you are looking for clothes you get a whole list or if you want somthing to eat, it can show you where to find it. In engelish. When i was there they had some costume play going on and a group of stormtrooper were going around. It was really awesome! And if you go there, make sure to try the icecream at Eiscafe Fantasia-del-gelato. It is fantastic!!!

Spandau Arcaden

Grocery Stores

If you want to save some money and don't want to eat out every day you can buy a lot of sandwiches and fruit-to-go in the grocery stores. They are normally not at the turist places but search and you will find. There is a page that can help you find the nearest grocery store, if you have an address of where you are, but the page is really confussing to me, but i hope it will help you anyway http://www.supermarktcheck.de/supermaerkte/berlin/1/ 

• For food you will need to find an Aldi, Lidl or Rewe ect. Personally i love Rewe the most because of their selection of non-milk products now that i am allergic and they are very kind to vegetarians as well. 
• For everyday care and sanitary stuff you should search for DM, Schlecker or Müller. They are all very cheap and has a huge selection of shampoo, parfume and what ever you need like that. There is a DM on AlexanderPlatz. 

Berlin - you most try Balzac Coffee!

If there is a thing i L-O-V-E about London, it is all the coffee places! It is a bit harder to find in Berlin (in my opinion) so when i found this place i was thrilled! 

It was across the street to the Check Point Charlie Museum so i went in there before and after my museum visit, because i just needed it. I am not a coffee drinker, but a tea drinker, so i can only take my moms word for it, but they made som great coffee and some great hot chocolate!

But what was the best, was actually the food. It was like i was back in the great London coffee shops! All the sandwiches!

But if you ever find a Balzac Coffe (which you absolutlly need) then try their mini donuts. I was in heaven and didn't wanted to share. You get 6 in a pack and i ate 4 of them... ups.. 

Anyway! The place was really old fashion and the tables looked like they were covered in old newspapers. They played music from the 60's and it was just really chill in there.

Berlin - sightseeing, guiding and IIWW

I just can't stay away! Yet again i'm home from a week in Berlin! 

It was fourth I was there so i know centrum pretty well now. This time i brought my parents like i did with London. My dad is the biggest IIWW geek ever, so i though it was THE palce for him, but he didn't knew what he wanted to see, so before the trip i did read a whole lot about the war and the different monuments, so i could guide them around and tell my dad a lot he already knew about the places, but was too lacy to suggest we should see. 
lucky for me i am a somehow experienced traveler by now, so i could show them the turist side of Berlin and a bit of the underground in between, but more about that later. Here is some nice pictures of the turist side of Berlin. 

1. Fernsehturm - The tv tower. It was build on the east side of the wall in DDR and is 368m tall. You can buy a ticket to get in the kubel 204m up the tower. But prepare yourself for a long queue! "Stau Gefahr!" I have been in it 3 times before, but this time there was 6 hours queue!! (they tell you on a screen outside) It was the german easter vacation. (around 20euro)
2. Brandenburger Tor - the gate at the end of Under Den Linden was a royal entrance to the emperor castel which once where in the other end of Under Den Linden. It was right in between the castle and the summer castle Charlottenburg which is still there. Much of it is reconstruction because of IIWW.
3. Reistag - the german parliament building. One of the last places that was invaded by the russian at IIWW. If you go up close you can see all the gunshot holes in the building. You can buy a ticket to walk in the glass kubel on top of the parliament, but again there is normaly a long queue and some days they don't let that many in, if there is something political important going in there. I have never been inside but i have heard that the only was to make sure you get in (and skip the queue) is to reserve a table in the cafe in the kubel.

4. Siegessäule - The Berlin Victory Column from from when they beated the danes in the war 1864.Not going to say that i'm thrilled about this one, but it pretty nice to look at, even though it is kind of a kick in the face for my ancestors. But now that you walked all the way out to this column, then take a walk in the huge forest Tiergarden, which it is in the middle of. There is a few squirrel in there you can feed and a lot of monuments for som authors with a lot of flowers and small lakes around. 
5. Check point Charlie - One of the few places you could go from east to west Berlin before 1989, but if you were not invited there was a big chance, that you will be shot down. There is a great museum there now and if you are going to Berlin you simply have to visit this place. There are pictures of how creative people had to be, to sneak from one side of the wall to the other and the materials they used (cars, speakers and other stuff) are there as well, with dolls inside, so you can see how they were laying in there. You can not take any pictures in the museum, so i can't show you unfortunately. (12,5euro)
6. Spree - the river that runs though Berlin. If you visit the museum island or Berliner Dom (the Berlin Cathedral), you will see these platforms with turist boats. You can buy a 1 or 3 hours trip and it is a great way to relax the feet and still see Berlin. We did this at the fifth day and it was so relaxing. But one thing! Even if it pretty hot and no wind ashore, a magic wind always appears on the water. It makes no sense but remember an extra shirt or something! 
There is two companies that fights for the turist but i find the seats in Reederei Riedel best. They har sailing every half hour. (12euro)

Next trip: Berlin!

I have finally got my mom and dad out of their cave agian and made plans for us. Last time i dragged them to London for their first ever big city experince and though they thought it was "not a vacation" and "to much walking" i convinced them to go to Berlin this spring.

My dad is very interested in second World War (and hard rock cafe *cough*) and i have a craving for traveling everywhere outside Denmark really. I have been there 3 times before, so i can show them around, like i could in London.

I haven't found out completely what we are going to do/see in Berlin yet. My mom and dad are really to calm when they travel anywhere and doesn't want to make plans until the day arrives because planing is too stressfull, Though i need to have some ideas and find out where to find them in Berlin, because we don't get to see anything if i don't do something.

Until now i only know that my dad wants to visit Check point Charlie and the Hard Rock Cafe which doesn't take 6 days.

(Old picture from 2012)

Planning a trip before you get the money

Am i the only one doing this?
I'm not rich. I don't think any in my age is, but i have sooo many travel dreams i can't get out of my head and i can't ecape them again!
I can't afford to travel at the moment, but day after day i'm looking up new places to go and what to see at these places. I have pages of likes to adventures things i want to do around the world, in case i should have the money some day.

I have page up and page down of places in Japan/Tokyo i want to go shopping and what i want to eat while im there.
I have a list of adrenaline filled things i can do when i one day will get to New Zealand. And of course i have to visit The Shire when im there!

But right now im trying to find something not so expensive and put away those big dreams. I want to go somewhere this summer but it's hard to find something cheap without ending up on a shitty hostel in the middle of a big city. (Thanks London btw! Learn from experience)
I like the idea of Rome or Dublin right now. My penpal from US i actually going to be in Italy the next half year so maybe i can visit her? I don't know yet. But i NEED to get away from Denmark somehow. And - please - somewhere i haven't been before. I know my mom and dad is going to Rüdesheim AGAIN this year and then down to the family in France. It's like.. 10 years in a row... I simply can't do that anymore if i don't go anywhere else too.

So Dublin? Or Rome?

Maybe i'll do some pros and cons later.

Christmas video from London

Im not the best photographer when it comes to things like this. I'm sorry! 
But i think you should see how pretty London is at Christmas and there is a lot of video from Winter Wonderland!

Cologne/Köln Shopping

As always i go crazy (well i think i do) when im in any big city. When im with my parents we always end up splitting up so they can go out and get a drink or something while im shopping.
Köln was awesome! There was quite a few awesome stores but i have been shopping a bit too much lately (especially clothes) so i tried to keep my purchases at a minimum.

1. I made a big deal out of not forgetting my sunglass at Majas the week before my vacation.. but guss who forgot them anyway? So i bought two new pairs because my eyes were dying.
2. I have been in 4 different Hard Rock Cafes (Berlin, Prague, London and now Cologne) but i have never bought anything in their shops for myself. So finally i got a sweatshirt which i think i will love when it get colder!
3. Tartan! Do i have to say more? Bought in France though :3
4. The cutes sucks ever *.*  i just had to buy them and i think they look cool with my Underground London platforms!

1.Yes now it's my turn to read The Fault In Our Stars. I got the english version of it and i'll get started with it as soon im done with Divergent!

2. Earrings for my Helix piercing. it's not healing so well so i can't wear them yet, but i just had to buy these!

3. Earphone splitters! instead of sharing one pair of headphones and then it sounds awful because it's stereo, then you can use this and both hear wonderful music *.*  i like these kind of brilliant inventions!!! 

4. A little scrapbook and photocorners. I just need to get started on it now. Cause i have collected quite a few thing i want to put in scrapbooks.

Monthly Favorites: July

I haven't been active on here the last month and i'm sorry about that, but most of the time i have been in Germany on vacation and in France to visit my family and that was without the holy internet.

Best experience: Even though im no much for admitting it, i really loved seeing my family in France. I only see them one time a year. Last year i didn't even see them! It was crazy to see how big my cousins are now! The oldes is suddenly taller than me! The smallest one is stille freaking adorable!!! And he kissed me on the cheek all the time and awww!!! *.* 

Favorite movie: Just to be the dane i am i have to say the fourth show from Ørkenens sønner. I saw it yesterday with my friend Camilla and it have been long time since we both saw it but we could remember pretty much every line in the whole show xD  I'm glad we were alone cause i think every other person would find it annoying 

Favorite TV-series: Viaplay just updated and now have Scrubs! I loved that series a few years back so im started to watch a episode now and then when im bored

Favorite song: 5 seconds of summer - Out of my limit 
It's so hard choosing one song out of so many! If im alone i listing to music 24/7. But my new obsession is 5 seconds of Summer soooo.

Favorite band/singer: Bowling for Soup! When im drawing i always have my computer next to me with music and Bowling for Soup's album The Great Burrito Extorion Case is almost always on repeat when im not listning to 5sos. 

Favorite youtuber: CinnamonToastKen. I don't know why but he is just great! And he have the cutest dog he named Betty Brutal. It's perfect!

Favorite youtube video: Just because of Ashtons face. 

Favorite game: A game i found a few month back in Germany called The settlers! It's so simple but i can use sooo much time on it. 

Best buy: I hope that it will be the 5sos concert tickets! I still don't know if i can go because i don't know if i have work at that time.

Favorite tea: Feel good Blueberry white icetea*.* It's summer and it's hot so the only tea i have been drinking is icetea. Well beside some "schwarzer Tee" in Germany. Only ONE restaurant we went to knew what a Cylon tea was... all the other places it was just "schwarzer Tee" .... serve some real tea god damnit... The German schwarzer tee is like Medova tea in Denmark.. it's not very good :C