VLOG | weekend in Mallorca

A few weeks ago two friends and I spontaneously booked a trip to Mallorca with the intention to try deep sea climbing. While I'm not the strongest climber (I've plateaued 😞) I'm always up for a little adventure!

Daniel and Pablo left almost a week before me to fit in as many climbs as possible and I joined the last 3 days. One would think, after hearing so many stories about how wonderful Mallorca is, we'd be basking in the sun in 22 degree temperatures but sadly it was mostly grey skies and a bit of rain here and there the whole weekend.

Also tip, if you ever were to go to places like Spain, Itlay, or Portugal in the autumn months, bring warm clothes for the apartments! They're build to stay cool during the summer but goddamn, we were freezing our butts off in the evening.

We still had a lot of fun though. The landscape there was something I've never seen nor experienced before. There was a lot of hiking to make up for the lack of climbing (for me at least) and we even managed to brave the cold waters and go for a quick swim the second day at Cala Santanyí. 

If we were to go again next year I'm going to try to train a little bit more before the trip. We're also considering bringing our bikes along to cycle around the island. Now that'd be an amazing trip.

VLOG | milan, verona, venice, lago di garda

I also created an accompanying video for the Italy trip. It's the longest I've ever made and creating travel vlogs were one of the main reasons I started dabbling in video editing in the first place. I really enjoyed making this one and it would be a nice slice of memory to look back on in the future.

TRAVEL | italy with adam

After a long year of uncertainty I finally felt safe enough to venture out of Germany again for a bit of travel. Luckily Itlay was one of the earlier countries in the EU that have opened up their borders for tourism again. Adam and I, after experiencing some light cabin fever and suffering through horrible spring allergies decided to jump the gun and just book ourselves a ticket to Italy for a week. We decided we'd also work remotely there as to not be too tempted to eat outside amongst the crowd as much. 

Overall, the first trip out was a massive success. It was also our first trip as a couple and that's always a bit of a rite of passage. We managed to find a stellar airbnb in the heart of Verona, where we stayed for the week. We also got to travel to Venice for a day-trip, which was especially special since tourism was only limited to European residents. It was a bit surreal to see Venice so empty and sleepy. I don't think any other visit will ever feel the same. I feel extremely lucky/privileged to be able to experience something like this.

One of nights we bought a handful of antipasti dishes from the nearby grocery shops

and had a feast of our own at home. I made a salad and we paired it with a cold octopus
salad, grilled squid, and other misc. dishes.

Adam found a foccaia spot not to far from our airbnb. The quatro fromaggi

was to die for. We ended up coming back a few more times to try some other
focaccias with different toppings. The bread was perfectly fluffy, crispy, and
greasy, definitely not something you'd want to be eating every day.

VLOG | to gubin and back

Last week I took the week off from work for a nice 10 day holiday. While we re still in the middle of the pandemic that made choices for holiday destinations extremely limited. We were basically stuck in Germany and even then there were new lockdown measures added every day. In the end we decided not to leave Berlin and instead take a cycling day trip out to the edges of Brandenburg instead. We started at Frankfurt Oder and started cycling south towards Gubin, a city that sits right on the Polish and German border.

I tried my best to document as well as I could. This vlogging thing is pretty difficult and kind of intrusive to be honest, since I have to consider how to film and when it's the best time to whip out my phone for some footage. It definitely takes you out of the moment for a bit and can stress out the person being filmed, but I'm trying to get better at that. To be as low key as possible as well as making feel comfortable when the camera's on them are skills I still need to hone. But at the end of the day, the whole thing pays off because I have so many nice visuals to remind me of this special little trip. Hope to create a lot more when it's warm enough again to be outside.

As for the trip, in the end we managed to cycle close to 122km. The longest cycle trip I’ve ever done in one go (for Adam as well). Our legs felt like jelly towards on the train ride back but there was a definite air of accomplishment. Been talking to some friends about doing a cycling trip to Prague later this year. Hope it all works out!

 

TRAVEL | sächsische schweiz

This year I've found a lot of joy in doing sports. I've started exercising seriously last summer but sort of begrudgingly. Before that going to the gym was the bane of my existence, I never understood why people would choose to spend their precious after work time stuck in a sweaty gym. Turns out, I've just never found the right sports for me. This year I decided to branch out and try some new activities.

Earlier this year, I went through a painful breakup. As it turns out, I am one of those people who kind of get lost in their relationships. So when the inevitable finally happened, I felt as if I lost a part of my identity -- as most people who've experienced breakups know. Hardest thing in the world was to learn to pick myself up and stand on my own two feet again. I distracted myself by meeting new people, invest in strengthening my friendships, and finding things that I enjoy doing -- for me.

This past Easter a few friends and I planned a trip to Sächsische Schweiz for a 2-day hiking trip. I had been there two years ago, and it's always held a very dear place in my heart for many reasons. I wanted to share that experience with my friends and it really was one of the highlights of the year. We climbed some rocks, sunbathed at the mountain's peak, walked through some meadows, ate a bunch of snacks. It was wonderful and just the doctor ordered.

The beginnings of hike #1 on the German side. This one was managable since
the trail was clear. We weren't so lucky on the next day whilst in the Czech side.
We got ourselves extremely lost and had to race against the clock to get to our
town before sunset. Luckily we were able to catch the last bus back.



One of our many pit-stops. Lots of granola, avocados, peanut butter sandwiches,
and trail mix were consumed that day.





We're planning on going somewhere new next year. We're thinking about Croatia, hmm..

TRAVEL | postcards from paris

Paris in late summer and early fall is the best, the summer crowds have gone and the temperature is nice and cool. This was my first time in Paris with Roman and I've always wanted to show him around one of my favourite cities.

I found a tiny airbnb near Strasbourg - Saint-Denis. After staying in Montmartre on my last few visits to Paris I've always wanted to try staying in the 10th arrondissement. We also hit a lucky break as our place was only a 3 minute walk away from what is hands-down the { best breakfast spot } ever. Their lines are known to stretch all the way down the street so we really benefited from living right around the corner (we were 2nd in line on a Monday morning).

I also loved that we were within walking distance from Canal Saint-Martin. It's perfect place to sit under the sun.

I think in the four days we walked a total of almost 30km and cycled just as many. As Roman is a big cycler, we rarely visit a city without renting a bike. Paris by far as one of the worst bike sharing we've ever encountered though, nor is it the easiliest way to get around. Driving through Île de la Cité was an absolute nightmare I wouldn't recommend it.

I also visited a another friend from SCAD while I was in town. She moved to Paris from Hong Kong not long before I left left as well. It was nice to catch up over some coffee and beers.

--

After every trip to Paris I tell myself that maybe its time to put it aside so I can spend my savings traveling to places I haven't been before. But once I get home I immediately start planning for my next trip there. Looking to go in the Spring, and next time I'm going to bring a better lens :P