Tag: nature

A Holiday at Home

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. And a new Monday. And with that a new week. I hope that you had a lovely weekend and that you’re looking forward to this week. I’m sorry for not posting anything last week, but I’ve got a good excuse – at least partly. Last week, my parents and I went on a little holiday trip to Styria – about a two-hour drive away from us – for their birthday, so I didn’t really have enough time to post on here. But on a positive note, I finally have time today to share all the beautiful snaps with you that I took during the trip, so let’s get right into it. I hope you enjoy them.

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The first stunning place we drove to was what we call here “der grüne See”, which basically translates to the green lake. I know, we Austrians are a very creative folk. But actually, it’s a very fitting name as the lake really is green. Basically, the lake is surrounded by the most amazing, super fake looking mountains, which are usually covered in snow in the winter. But once that ice melts, it naturally flows down the mountains into the lake, which until then is completely dried up and just a huge trough in the landscape. So the whole lake consists of melted glacial ice, which is completely clear, and the flora and fauna that consist in it, which give it its green colour as soon as the sunlight hits the water. Honestly, it’s definitely one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited and I’m not surprised that it was once voted the most beautiful spot in the whole of Austria.

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The second location we visited – one that came with a lot more exhaustion and time consumption – was the “Bärenschützklamm”, which I have no idea what that translates to. Basically, a “Klamm” is a gorge in the middle of one or two mountains, filled with trees, waterfalls, lakes, and anything else you could dream of. About 100 years ago, the Grazer Alpenclub made the gorge accessible with suspended ladders, which has become one of the most beautiful, thrilling, and most well-known hiking trails since then. Overall, the trail consists of 164 ladders and I think about 4000 steps and from beginning to the end takes about 90 minutes to go through. I’m not going to lie, it was definitely one of most exhausting hikes I’ve ever been on, but also one of the most beautiful because once you reach the “Klamm”, there’s literally nothing else but nature. I mean, once you’re in there, you don’t even have reception anymore, so it really feels like you’re turning off the rest of the world and going to a place that has never seen anything industrial. Even the ladders are made from wood. I truly truly truly loved it and regardless of how done I was after it, I’d totally do it again.

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There you go my lovelies, those are the two highlights of our holiday trip. To put it short, I really really really loved everything we saw and did during the trip and if there’s one good thing to come out of this whole quarantine, “you’re not supposed to leave the country”-thing, then it’s definitely getting reunited with my own home country and being reminded of how truly beautiful it is. In the past, I never really got to appreciate its beauty, so I’m glad I do now.

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Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics just as much as me. If you’re ever in Austria or even live here, I’d highly recommend visiting both of these amazing sights. They truly are worth the drive. Also, if you do go there, don’t forget to take your cameras with you, because if you’ve ever needed them, it will be there. And until then I once again hope you enjoyed this post. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And I wish you all a lovely week and, of course, thanks for reading. x

Look what quarantine made me do

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. How are you all doing, my lovelies? All doing good? I hope you all had a lovely week and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. Today, I thought it would be nice to share another few short stories of and insights on life during quarantine. Thankfully, that horrific time has come to an end here at home in Austria a long time ago (should be over a month now), but whenever I slow down and reflect on those strange one and a half months of lockdowns, anonymity, unfamiliarity and distance, I notice that I was a different person before compared to who I am now. But let me explain.

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To put it short, I did some things during quarantine and during the past three months that I probably would have never ever done if life was still normal. If I was still in London, if gigs were still happening and if our local cinema wasn’t singularly playing dumb, boring movies. Humans are a very adaptive and creative species, which I noticed by my own actions. Even my mum was surprised by most of the stuff I did. That’s how strange I was acting. And I know this must sound super dubious and weird, but actually it’s anything but, as most of the things I did happened in the kitchen. Not strange, but very very delicious.

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I mean, as probably everyone stuck at home, I’ve been cooking a lot. And that’s saying a lot too, as I usually already cook about twice or even three times per week. But because of quarantine and because I needed to find a way to let my creative spirit run free and do something I’ve never done before and something that would keep me engaged and interested, I’ve been cooking even more. I just needed a bit of a challenge. Also, somehow I finally got to make and cook all the stuff I had been planning on for years, so that’s quite cool too.

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My very first project was stinging nettle spinach. You’re probably thinking ‘what the hell is that’. Well, it’s that interesting green plant you can usually find on roadsides and in the woods in late spring. Oh, and the ‘fun’ part, once you touch it it stings like hell. You probably know what I mean by now. Here in Austria it’s pretty common to go into the woods and harvest some of it to cook with it – make spinach, tea, soup, whatever. And when I was still very young, I remember my mum once made me pureed spinach from nettles and I’ve been wanting to recreate that ever since. And thanks to quarantine, I finally got the chance. The stuff you do when you’ve reached another level of boredom. But actually, it was pretty cool to make and tasted amazing as well. I highly recommend it – here’s a recipe for you to try.

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And speaking of staying local and being one with nature – the next thing I made was elderflower syrup, another long-planned project of mine. The amazing thing is, when we bought the property for our house, this big patch of land, it already included a few trees and a huge elderflower bush. So the syrup I made wasn’t just homemade but also homegrown. And yes, I’m pretty proud of that. Anyway, the process of making the syrup was super fun as well and oh my god the taste. It tastes so freaking good. I mean, I usually like building myself up and being my own biggest fan, but this time literally everyone I had try the syrup agreed that it is absolutely stunning. And with some frozen berries and a few mint leafs it makes for the perfect summer drink. You should definitely try it – here’s a recipe.

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To stay with the summery theme, the last thing I recently made is perfect for anyone who loves frozen yoghurt and fruit, but doesn’t have a frozen yoghurt place in town (like me) – a yoghurt bark. Inspired by the amazing Jenna Joseph (thanks Jenna), I made the probably easiest icecream on earth. It really is just spreading out greek yoghurt and mixing and topping it with literally anything you like – chocolate, fruit, nuts, anything. There are no limits whatsoever. And once it’s frozen and you can break it all apart and enjoy it in the sun, it’s just the best thing ever – here’s a recipe for you.

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And last but not least, the quarantine has also given my green thumb an intense push. I mean, I’ve always had a green thumb – my room is literally filled with plants, I currently own 17 – but before the quarantine, it was limited to indoor plants. But all of a sudden I’ve been helping my mum with the garden, repotting plants, checking on them on a daily basis. I think that’s actually what surprised my mum the most. And the cherry on top of all of this is definitely that I recently planted my very own lemon trees. I know, lemons and me, what a coincidence (ha). But, seriously, they are just the cutest and I call them my lemon babies and have been looking after them all day and all night. I know that the journey together with them will be a long one and that it’ll take years for them to grow tall and strong, but that’s what I’m here for. Also, I think they’re just so beautiful and elegant once they’re bigger, so it’s definitely worth the wait. They’ll hopefully be with me my whole life. For any of you who would like to plant their own lemon tree, here’s how.

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And with that, we’ve already reached the end of today’s post and the stories of all the stuff I did during quarantine and the past three months. Overall, I think that quarantine was one of the hardest periods of time I and most people had to go through, but looking at what good came out of it, I’d say that it didn’t just have bad sides, but some positive ones as well. Speaking of that, I’d absolutely love to hear about all the cool you stuff did during quarantine to keep yourself busy – even if it’s creating the most beautiful island on Animal Crossing (I envy you) – so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and opinions down below. And apart from that I hope reading about my stories brought you a bit of inspiration and happiness. And yeah, as always, I wish you all a lovely weekend and thanks for reading. x

What day is it?

Hola everyone.

How are we all doing today? Getting through the quarantine okay? I’m gonna guess you’re all as fed up with all that #stayathome and people telling you to be happy and just read a book or something and shoving their sourdough bread in your faces. As for me, I’m so irritated, I think if someone tells me to try that relaxing yoga fitness lovey-dovey Ayurveda session one more time, I’m gonna freak out. But hey, people are bored and they are all probably as frustrated as I am, so I’m gonna let it pass. Just don’t show me your bread anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love bread, probably more than I should. But no, stop, please.

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So that’s Instagram in a nutshell right now – bread and yoga and books and people telling each other to stay at home. Not the best days that platform has seen, I know. But there’s also this one small corner left of people sharing real moments from their real lives and that’s what I love. I love seeing those crappy pictures taken with their iPhones. I love seeing photographs of dogs and cats sprawled across feet on couches, dinners on plates and flower bouquets lighting up the rooms. Because that’s what life looks like right now. And it’s just a strong reminder that, at basis level, now that we’re all stuck at home, there is only so much that parts and differentiates us. Of course today would be different if I lived in a villa at the beach or had tons of money to spend on stuff online (like the Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing on top), but at the end of the day, that’s all there is. They still watch the same shows, read the same books and only get to leave their houses for those small moments every day. We’re all the same. We’re literally all in this together (*instant HSM flashbacks*).

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And because I love those snapshots from current basic normal life so much, I thought it would be nice to share some moments from my life right now too. In short, most days have consisted of me sleeping in late – as always -, going for walks with my parents and Molly, cuddling with Peaches in bed, doing some uni work, watching TV or YouTube and then reading my book before bed. On a more interesting note, I’ve been cooking a lot for my family and myself – I even made my first pickles yesterday, with chard stems -, I have taken up drawing again and of course I’m always tending to the little jungle in my room. I recently bought two new plant friends, who seem to be super happy with their new home and are quite literally thriving. And another positive thing to come out of this shitty quarantine is my parents and me being forced to find new trails to walk on every day, which has led us to (re)discovering our home and the surrounding lands. We literally got lost in the woods yesterday. I didn’t even know that we had those woods. I do now.

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So, now you know what I’ve been doing. Time for you to actually see. I chose my favourite pics from the past month of my camera roll, all taken with my iPhone, and I hope you like them – for all see down below. As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to talk or just to share your opinion. Also, I’d love to see what you’ve been doing this past month, so please feel free to share your favourite moments on here. And until then, I wish you all a great week and hope that you’re doing well. I’m sending you all the tightest of hugs and, of course, thanks for reading. x

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A walk through London

Hola everyone.

What a scary, uncertain place the world has become, huh? I can only imagine how some of you must be feeling right now, but I hope that you’re doing good, given the circumstances. I’m currently back home in Austria and waiting for this weird apocalyptic sci-fi movie that we’re currently stuck in to finally start rolling down its credits so I can leave the cinema.

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I’m going to be honest, before I got here, there was this point where I was debating whether I should stay in London or go home, but I decided that if shit was really going to go down, I’d rather be at home with my family. But I’m not going to lie, I really miss London and its normality of life. I mean, who knows what the situation is going to be like in a few days’ time, but for now I have to say I really enjoyed the stability this probably very mental and kinda dangerous dealing with this virus gave me. I’m just hoping everything will be back to normal again in a few weeks (hopefully even days), so I can go see my friends and celebrate my birthday. Maybe even go on that holiday to the south of France we booked before everything went downhill. And, naturally, so we can all continue with our usual lives and people can start feeling better again. I feel like we had to reach a point where we all had to fight for something together (besides the survival of our planet) and I think that time has come now.

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All I can say out of my current situation is that if you are planning on staying at home for a while, nothing is more important than your mental and physical health. I mean, that’s always the case, but especially now. I’m trying my best to keep away from any dramatic news to not make myself feel anxious and to just keep focusing on the bright side. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my parents and my pets, texting my friends, going for walks, but also taking some time for myself, because me-time is just as important as the time you spend with other people. So, look after yourself and your loved ones, do some exercise, cook something delicious and watch that movie you’ve been wanting to watch for weeks. Now’s the time. And please please please don’t give in to the panic. And – I feel a bit weird saying this, but I think it’s important – don’t go and buy more than you need. Toilet paper won’t keep you healthy, so just buy what you need. We’re in this together, so let’s make it the easiest it can be, yeah?

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In the light of current events, I’ve made it my mission to spread happiness and love and a bit of sun and that’s exactly what I want to do today. Before I flew home, I spent one of my last days in London with my friend Lauren. Surprisingly, it had been a beautiful, warm, spring-ish kind of day, so we decided to make the most of it and go for a walk. In the end, it turned out to be more than just a short walk and more like a stroll through a quarter of the city – over twelve kilometers in total – and I can’t even describe how glad I am that we did this. Walking along the canal, through Camden and Little Venice, and seeing all these new places while the sun kept lighting up our faces felt like a holiday trip. I absolutely loved it. And as it was such a nice day, I had decided to take my camera with me and the pictures I took are what I wanted to share with you today.

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Most of them depict the beautiful nature we came across during our walk, some buildings are in there as well and of course the overall theme is just the immense beauty of London. What a dream. Please enjoy.

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And yeah, that’s it. Please don’t forget to share your thoughts down below and if you feel like talking, I’m here. Before all of this started to go downhill, I was actually planning on taking a break from blogging during the time I’m home, but now that I will have a lot more free time, I’ll try my best to keep the blog updated. I know we’re all collectively struggling right now, so I’m sure you’ll understand. Also, I know this is a difficult time, but I’m convinced that we can fight this together. Again, please look after yourself and everybody around you and let’s just try to get through this as one. We can do it. Please stay safe everyone and I wish you all a lovely week. Thanks for reading. x

Let’s go on a hike

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing? I hope so far your Monday has been fantastic and that you had a great weekend. I for my part am doing amazing, especially now that the weather has been so nice the past days. I can’t really tell why, but it feels like summer just started a few days ago, although I’ve been at home for over a month now. But I don’t mind, not at all.

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For today’s post, as I thought it’s Monday and we’re all probably in a chill mood, I’d start this week off with a nice, easy post about the hike I went on with my parents and Molly a few weeks ago, which was so so so nice. You guys know that I’m from the countryside, which is why I’ve always been drawn to the city. Big clouds of people. Busy streets. High buildings, scraping the sky. And new chances and adventures waiting around every corner. At last, that’s kind of also why I want to move to London. Not just because I love the city itself, but also because it’s a really cool city. It’s busy and crazy and beautiful.

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But even though I may be a “country-girl-gone-city-girl”, I can’t help but completely fall in love with the countryside and the mountains and long hikes and clear skies when I go on trips like this one. And this hike specifically was an absolute dream come true that made me daydream about a life on the countryside, far off any real civilisation, where the only sounds you can hear are the bees buzzing and the cows walking around with their bells. I mean, that’s what I call peaceful. Obviously, I would go crazy after about a week, because I would simply be bored out of my mind, but that’s again just another reason why I love hiking trips like this one. They make me appreciate my country and where I come from. They make me love my home.

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Thus, I’m so happy that I get to share these pictures I took during the hike with you. As always, I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do and please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And, of course, I wish you all a lovely week and thanks for reading. x

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At the seaside

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing today? I hope so far you’ve had an amazing Friday and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. I, for my part, have been enjoying my time at home the past two weeks and am currently mentally preparing myself for Ed’s show next week. My friend and I want to try and get front row, so the plan is to get to the venue as early as possible and basically stay there the whole day, which is something I’ve never done before. But we’ll try our best. We’re coming for you, Ed.

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Besides that, I’m currently also processing the past months I got to spend in Brighton and London, which is partly what I want to do with this post right here as well. I’ve been going through all the pictures on my phone and I just couldn’t help myself but choose my favourites. And now, obviously, I can’t help but have to share them with you. You guys know how much in love I am with photography and as I haven’t done a photography post in a while now, I thought it was time to change that.

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Some of you might already know most of the pictures if you’ve been following my blog for a while now, but I’m sure there’ll be a few surprises in there as well. All of them were either taken on my phone or my Sony camera, but I do really love all of them equally. I just love looking at pictures and sharing them with the world so much. Photography is art. Nobody can tell me otherwise.

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As always, I hope you enjoy the pictures and please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. I’d love to hear what you think. And, of course, I wish you all a nice weekend and thanks for reading. x

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