europe – that lemon life

My week in Belgium

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing today? I hope so far you’ve had a great start of the week and a not too harsh Monday (as we all know, they can sometimes be a bit of a pain). I once again have to apologize for being away for another week. As mentioned in my previous post, my mum and I went on our yearly mother-daughter trip last week – we went to Venice and it was so freaking beautiful, holy moly – which led to me not having much time to sit in front of my laptop and write. But as far as I know, no holiday is planned for the upcoming weeks until I’m due to move back to London (I’ve finally found a new flat, yey), so prepare for a ton of content for the next weeks and months.

Today, though, I’d like to share with you my favourite pictures of the amazing week that I got to spend in Belgium with my friend Lauren (for those of you who’ve been following my blog for a while, meaning the past few months, you’ll know who she is), which was a surprise for her in its entirety. It all started on her birthday in June when her mum messaged me about wanting me to be their big surprise for Lauren, who I hadn’t seen since March, when we had all left London because of our nice friend Corona. And after a few days of messaging back and forth, we had finally found the perfect dates for my visit and a few weeks after that I got on a plane again after what felt like forever. The best part of the whole trip was definitely Lauren not suspecting a single thing. Running towards her at the airport, her waiting for her uncle and definitely not me, and seeing the utter surprise in her eyes made getting up at 4 am on three hours of sleep and having that damn mask stuck to my face for hours and hours more than worth it.

The next days were filled with laughter, happiness and one adventure after another – at one point we even spent a night in Amsterdam, but more on that later – and I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. After the dreadful weeks and months apart from each other, seeing her again was all that I could wish for and the whole week has definitely turned the summer of 2020 in a far better experience than I thought it would be.

And with that, I’m more than happy to share my favourite pictures of the whole week with you guys (except Amsterdam, because that deserves a separate post). All in all, we went to Brussels for a day, got to visit Brugge and even the seaside and I finally got to take a stroll around Lauren’s hometown. One thing I can say for sure is that Belgium is a freaking beautiful country and that having the sea so close to you is a literal gift from heaven. But just see for yourself and please enjoy.

And yeah, there you go. These are my favourite shots from my time in Belgium. I still have to pick up my latest roll of film from the store, which I also had with me in Belgium, so do stay tuned for that as well. And yeah, until then I hope you enjoy this post and the pictures. As always, I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. I wish you all a great week and, of course, thanks for reading. x

Eurovision 2017

Hola everyone.

Today I’d like to talk about something typically European. Something not everyone in this world knows about. And one of the biggest music shows in the world with 42 countries taking part – Eurovision. Or as I would call it now – why Bulgaria should have won.

The Eurovision Song Contest is an international music competition. All of the attendees sing original songs, sometimes also in their original language, so it’s basically all about that multi-culturalism. And the music, of course. But also so much more.

Actually I had to watch the show this year because it was meant to be homework. But of course I just ended up staying up until long after midnight to see who wins and then, at least this year, totally freaking out about the guy who got to the second place – Kristian Kostov from Bulgaria.

This year’s actual winner was Salvador Sobral from Portugal. While I really wished that Kris would have won, I don’t mean to say that Salvador didn’t deserve to win. His song and performance truly was special. It’s a quiet, calm ballade sung in the original language – so I actually have no idea what the song is about. As soon as he started singing the audience went completely quiet and I guess that’s one of the reason why he was a favorite from the beginning on. He’s able to create a magical, calm moment in a apart from that huge mess of colours and pop and dancing and strong, loud voices. So yeah, I get why he won.

But that doesn’t change my opinion that Kris should have won. Here’s why… Before every performance at Eurovision, you get to see a little clip of the artist who is about to take the stage. And I was sitting on the couch, my mum next to me and Kris came on and I was like “holy moly, how old is this guy?”. Actually, he’s just 17. SEVENTEEN. Can you imagine? He’s the youngest singer to ever be part of Eurovision. And that’s just crazy. So yeah, I knew he was young and I already thought that it was so cool that someone that young could be a part of this huge show.

And then he came on stage and started to sing. And I was immediately blown away. I just couldn’t believe that such an amazing, incredible and mature voice came out of such a small bean of a person. I was and still am amazed. So Kris sang his song, pretty much had me speechless afterwards and then I just hoped for him to win. Unfortunately he “only” made it to the second place, which in my opinion is pretty amazing too. And as I got informed, also the highest position Bulgaria ever got to in the history of this competition. So well done Kris.

Have you ever met or seen someone and experienced what that person is capable of doing and how much talent that person has and you just want the world to know? That’s how I’m feeling about Kris. I just really want him to become famous – the good version, of course. His voice needs to be heard all around the world, he’s just too good. And I know that he has the potential.

But it’s not just his voice. From what I’ve seen, he’s just a really good soul too. After the show was over he had an interview and he actually started crying because he was so sad that he couldn’t make his country proud and bring the trophy home. How tragic is that? He’s 17 and just at the start of his career, he shouldn’t be sad and apologizing that he got to the second place, because that’s just as amazing. And I’m 100 percent sure that he made Bulgaria proud nonetheless. It’s an incredible achievement.

Since Eurovision I’ve been following Kris on social media, mostly Instagram and I’ve become quite a fan of his Instagram stories (here’s the link to his profile: instagram.com). Most of the time he speaks Russian or Bulgarian (I think?), so I basically don’t understand one single word, but it’s still as cute. And that’s probably also a reason why I’ve become a fan. It’s not just his amazing song that I’ve been listening to 24/7, but also the aspect that I’ve never really been a fan of somebody from an eastern country. So it’s all really new to me and just so damn interesting. And extremely fascinating.

So yeah, that’s my story about Kristian Kostov, a 17-year-old guy who sang himself into my heart. I’d really really love to see him become internationally known, because he deserves it. And quoting different people and fans from the internet who just put it perfectly into words – he’s a ball of sunshine and needs to be protected at all costs.

Did any of you watch this year’s contest? What do you think? Who should have won in your opinion? I’d be really interested and happy to hear from some of you guys. And until then I hope you’re all doing well and that you enjoyed this post. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

Why I need to live in a city

Hola everyone.

You know, basically I’m from the smallest town you can imagine. We have like two supermarkets and a kindergarden and a primary school. After that we have to drive to the next small town to go to high school. So yeah, my hometown pretty small.

Actually I’ve always felt that I fitted better into a city. And while studying in Vienna and now that I’ve lived in Berlin without coming home for weeks, I just KNOW that I need to live in a city.

I notice it even more because I’m now at home and not staying in Vienna. And seriously, I can’t do anything here after 7pm, even less when I want to do something on my own. All of the shops close at 7pm and it’s dark and cold and usually I’d go to the cinema but the only one that is like close to me is so small that the current selection of movies is spectacularly lame. For real.

Do you know what I mean? When I was in Berlin I could go shopping until 9pm. And the big book and creative store, my favorite place in the city, was even open until midnight (yes, I’m serious and yes, I know, it’s freaking amazing). So whenever I was bored at night I could just take the subway and go there until it was time to go home and to bed. And of course the cinema, holy moly. So many cinemas, so many movies to watch, what a heaven.
And just overall, in such a small town life outside basically stops when it’s getting dark. And in a city that’s when it all starts. And me being someone who lives at night and sleeps over the day, that’s a perfect concept.

So yeah, I just know that I need to live in a big city. One as big as Berlin (sometimes Vienna is even a little bit too sleepy for me). But of course I’m happy that my home is at the countryside, because growing up there is just so much better than in a city. It’s relaxing, calm, you get to know all of the people in your town and it’s just so peaceful. So when the time for me has come to settle down and build a family, I want to live at the countryside. And also when I settle down for a little while in a city, it will always be one of the most important aspects for me to be able to see my family every once in a while, so I yeah, I will probably not chose something too far away.

Actually, I think London and Brighton are perfect examples for that concept. London is like the most amazing city ever. And Brighton is a charming town, a mix between city and town and when you walk away from the city center you feel like you’re in a small town again. And the sea is right next to the city, so that’s just another plus, because who doesn’t want to look out of the window and see the beach and the ocean. So yeah, London and Brighton are always floating around in my head when it comes to the future.

But guys, please tell me your opinion and if you share my thoughts or not. I mean, I know both types – friends who want to live in a city and friends who want to stay in their hometowns or just at the countryside overall. And I’m really interested in how the situation is all around the world, in your town, in your opinion. So please don’t hesitate to comment something, I’d be happy to read from you.

And yeah, that’s pretty much what’s going on in my mind right now. I hope you enjoyed this post and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Also, the two babes Tyler and Josh won a Grammy last night and I feel like a proud mum. It feels so good to see such an amazing indie band like Twenty One Pilots win over the whole world and get the well deserved credit for it.

I’m going home

Hola everyone.

Yes, it’s true. I am going home. Finally. But before you freak out, no, I’m not quitting my Berlin adventure. There’s no giving up, no matter how much I’d like to be at home and snuggle on my couch with my family and my pets until forever.

Actually I’m just flying home for two days, over the weekend. But even the two days are more than enough. I really just want to be at home. Hug my mum. Cuddle with Peaches until we both fall asleep on the couch with a nonsense movie playing on TV. Go for a walk with Molly. Laugh with my dad. Sleep in my own bed. Just basically live at home, even if it’s just for a really short period of time.

Apart from my homesickness, I’m honestly really happy here in Berlin. I finally could arrange all the technical and organizational stuff and now I can fully concentrate on all the things I want to do and see here. It was really annoying to always have something negative on my mind and now it’s finally gone.

And according to my day counter I installed on my phone, I only have 54 days left. I started at 91 and now we’re already at 54, so nearly halfway through, which is totally crazy. And christmas is just around the corner. Unbelievable.

Oh yeah, speaking of christmas. Two days ago I bought myself my very first christmas gift. From me to me. My ticket for VidCon in Amsterdam next year. I am freaking out. And now, I’m not exaggerating. I am for real going crazy. Because as probably most of you know I’m such a huge fan of Youtube and Youtuber and the lineup is already so good. I mean, Oli White, Jack Maynard, Grace Helbig. And I’m prayiiiing that Markiplier, Connor Franta, Conor (my Concon), Will and maybe even Joe and Caspar will be added to the lineup too. I need to see them, seriously. And honestly, I’d die if Pewds would be there, seriously.

Anyways, I’m really really REALLY happy that I bought the ticket and excited for all the upcoming creators that will be added to the lineup. And I couldn’t be happier to finally go home today. I can’t wait.

So yeah, that was another little update from me. I hope you liked it and please, if you want to chat, just hit me up. And until then, as always, thanks for reading. x