Berlin Purchases

Hello!

I didn't actually buy that much when I was in Berlin, even though a lot of things were really cheap considering that Germany is in the Euro; compared to Paris everything is cheap! I mean, we went out for lunch and my bowl of pasta was 4 euros 50 cents, and my friend's pasta was 7 euros. Ridiculous.

Anyway; we travelled by coach, meaning a ferry, meaning shopping. A lot of cosmetics were 20% U.K RRP, so I was a bit naughty.

 

Clinique 7 day scrub cream; Clinique dramatically different moisturising gel; 

O.P.I. Stranger Tides nail polish (Pirates of the Carribean collection)

Before I went to Berlin, I had a 'foundation fitting' (what even is that) at Clinique and she recommended the scrub to me (the centre of my face gets dry and flaky) and seeing as it was £14.45 I just couldn't say no! Same with the gel, I had a skin match done a few weeks ago (skin type 3 if anyone cares) but couldn't justify spending £29 on a bloody moisturiser. I paid £24 for this on the ferry - which is still expensive to me but Clinique works really well for my skin and this bottle is HUGE.

I first saw this nail polish collection on Emma's blog and fell in love with them all, so when I saw this in the SALE box I went a bit crazy. Even on the ferry O.P.I polishes were over £9(!!) which is a stupid price, but this polish was £6.30, which is cheaper than Revlon polishes (I think) so, yes, I went there. When I showed it to Lydia, she grimaced and said 'that is swamp green'; it isn't swamp green.

On our first full day we went on a walking tour, and then had the evening to ourselves. My friend and I went shopping on our way to see a film at the festival. We called into a little Chinese shop which sold everything from notebooks, to furniture, to tea sets. We must have been in there for well over half an hour. I bought a couple of things:

 

 This box was 35 euros (so the equivalent of about £30?) and I fell in love instantly. I adore the fact it has compartments; it is made up of two stackable boxes and a lid. The boxes are pretty deep and I have managed to empty my entire skincare products into it; which were previously in a pretty big box (I don't own a lot of skincare stuff but the way I stored it took up a load of space). This is beautiful and something I know I will keep for years.

I also bought this glasses case; actually Lydia forced me to buy this glasses case because she wanted to burn my other (ugly) Specsavers case. The best part about this is the fact it was TWO EUROS. So about £1.75 ish. It is gorgeous and a complete bargain.

When we visited Tacheles, there were artists selling prints of their works, and there was also a small little jewellery room. These are the last things I bought in Berlin (promise I don't have more money than sense).

Art work by Roman Kroke

I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about art whatsoever, but as soon as I walked into the room and saw these prints I knew I was going to buy something. The prints are illustrations inspired by the writings of a woman's diaries up until she died in Auschwitz. There corresponding quotations were displayed on the wall, alongside annotations made by the artist, but obviously I wasn't allowed to take photos. The artist was really lovely and friendly and explained the art to us; he also took our email addresses to send us the quotations in a PDF which is pretty brilliant, in my opinion. (He also said he should employ me, because I found his pen and he is always losing things.) It was amazing. I'm going to frame them at some point, they are brilliant. At 3 for 10 euros I bought 6. 

Ring: 20 euros

(Apologies for the minging nails)

I almost didn't buy this ring, as I thought that it was pretty expensive and would never pay that much for a ring at home. I'm pretty sure this isn't silver, so I'm going to paint it with clear nail varnish. However, I have tiny fingers - this fits perfectly (seriously have the hands of a 5 year old), and have never seen a ring like this. I just love the way it looks.

I am really pleased with everything so far, but am now on a serious spending ban as I'm going to Thailand for 6 weeks in the summer.

Right now my stomach is rumbling, so I'm going to eat, paint my nails and stick my head in my revision notes.

Thanks for reading x

Weekend in Berlin!

Hello! (WARNING: mega-long post, sorry)
I finally arrived home in Manchester from Berlin at 8.30pm (we were supposed to arrive at 11am, but I'll explain all that). The weekend was amazing, Berlin is truly a beautiful city, covered in art and culture. It is (apparently) a similar size to Paris but with about a third of the population, so it seems almost empty of people, there isn't the sense of stress you can get with other big cities because there aren't really many crowds. At this time of year it is freezing, literally -7 degrees during the day, so any 'fashion' went straight out of the window.

The journey down was awful, due to horrible weather down South, but the ferry crossing was calm and I bought a few goodies on the ferry (another post coming). The company organising our trip severely underestimated the time it takes to get from Manchester to Berlin; their estimate was 17 hours, when it really took about 23, so we missed out on an entire day in the city. However, on Friday evening we went out as a group for a meal.

The snow; Courgette stuff with cheese, and a tomato sauce. Pretty sure there was a bit of risotto in there too

On the Saturday we had a walking tour of the city, and saw some of the city's favourite landmarksthe Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag Building, some Second World War Memorials for the murdered homosexuals and the murdered Jews of Europe and some remains of the Berlin Wall. The Memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe was designed by Peter Eisenman and is made of 2,711 concrete blocks. The number of blocks has no significance, allowing each person to draw their own conclusions. It was haunting to say the least.

The Memorial for the murdered Homosexuals which plays a video of gay couples in Berlin; the Memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe, which also has a museum.

Remains of the Berlin Wall; Checkpoint Charlie

There was so much to see; one of the highlights of the weekend for me was Tacheles. Tacheles is a squat that was taken over by artists and is covered in graffiti. Some artists were exhibitioning their art work, which was amazing.

In the evening, Lydia and I went to see a film at the festival. It was a documentary called Soldier/Citizen, which was about a programme that exists in Israel where soldiers who have completed their National Service can complete their High School Diploma. There was a Q&A session with the director, which was a bit lame as she didn't really answer any questions.

On the second day, we had the entire day to ourselves. We went to see the East Side Gallery, which is parts of the Berlin Wall which have been painted, and to a flea market.

    

                     One section of the East Side Gallery; A stall dedicated to clocks at the flea market 

I took a million photos, whilst we were there, and would love to go back again. Soon.

Outside of the Hostel; A mural of Amy Winehouse (RIP)

       

Outside the shopping centre at Potsdamer Platz; On the ferry home

The journey home was the worst part of the trip; the water pipe burst on the coach home, meaning no lighting or heating so it was -6 degrees all the way through Germany, Holland and Belgium. We had to change coaches after the ferry, which was warm and had working lights!

It took about 28 hours in total to get back to Manchester, but even that couldn't ruin the trip. Berlin is like no other city, it really was a perfect weekend.

Hope you enjoyed reading, congrats if you made it to the end!

Berlin Film Festival 2012

Hello!
I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to the Berlin Film Festival this year with the Film Society at my university. We leave Thursday evening and arrive back at Monday lunchtime. I thought I'd show you what I am taking with me in my handbag. We're travelling by coach, so obviously I can't be carrying a load of junk with me (my bag usually rivals Mary Poppins').

Purse, Camera (Samsung MV800), Passport/Insurance Documents/Health Insurance Card, Deodorant
Pencil Case, Notepad, Glasses, Kindle, Phone
Travel Make-Up, Face Wipes, Keys, Water


I'll also be taking some sandwiches and my toothbrush and toothpaste in my bag too, for once we get on the ferry.
I have a lecture and seminar before we leave to catch the coach, hence the notebook and pencil case. I'm a bit of an organisation freak, having made lists of everything (in sections). My housemate thinks I'm mad.

On a side note - I went to the Clinique counter in Harvey Nichols today (I use the 3-Step System) to have a 'foundation fitting'. I'm not one for getting my make-up done, but the lady was really nice and helpful. She shade-matched me and applied it for me, as well as putting blusher on for me. She wasn't even miffed when I left without buying anything, and asked for samples instead. Very pleased.


Just a mention about the Kindle;

I bought this once my student loan came through in January; I honestly never thought I'd buy one, being a book devotee, but it has been a brilliant investment. I'm bringing it to Germany with me so I can get some research and reading done for a project I have just started. You can download PDFs onto Kindles, and can highlight and make notes on sections of text. It is ridiculously useful and makes me want to read. I doubt the novelty will wear off anytime soon.

I plan on taking plenty of photos whilst I'm in Berlin, having never been before, so expect a post about my trip once I get back!