Hello everyone
November seems like it will never end! I'm writing this while eating breakfast, through my balcony door I can see tiny snow flakes swirling down, melting when they hit the ground. November can be hard on me, the transition form the golden autumn to the grey winter isn't easy. I wanted to share with you some photos from this November and tell you about some things I discovered this month and a couple of things that sparked major joy for me.
November started with a short trip to Lake Constance, as those of you who follow me on instagram
have seen. That place is a balm for my soul, expansive and serene.
This time I got to see a stormy side of the lake. My phone was almost
ripped from my hand while taking the second photo.
I also got to see the pumpkin festival in Nonnenhorn, on the shores of Lake Constance. The entire beautiful tow was decorated with thousands of the most beautifully carved pumpkins, jazz played in all of the cafes, and everyone from the region was out there enjoying the music and the pumpkins.
Finally we plundered the little self-service booth that sell delicious local apples.
Finally we plundered the little self-service booth that sell delicious local apples.
If you have the time, try making candied ginger. It makes a great stress-busting tea for travelling (just add hot water!), but I also like to chew on the pieces during the winter. The round thing is a candied lemon peel, also delicious. The by-product is a ginger syrup which can be added to Asian food or winter teas.
This tea from Greece was gifted to me by a friend, it is delicious steeped in hot water for 15 minutes.
I had to rebuy a baking tin after losing yet another one. I bought this one because its so pretty and also because the cake can be transported in it. Turns out it makes a great cookie tin for Christmas, I love surprise multitaskers!
I swallowed the book Leaving Mother Lake is just a few days. The description of the author's childhood in The Country Of Daughters -- a truly matriarchal society in the mountains in China is incredibly fascinating. The descriptions of how a society run by women functioned, and how the family was basically the women and their sisters, what the role of the men was and how truly independent the women were in terms of sexuality is so engrossing that I find myself still thinking to it. The book follows the author's childhood at Lugu Lake, from where she runs away to try to pursue a musical career in China.
After
the lake, Berlin felt oppressive, hectic and grey; however we still
managed to see a couple of cool things. For cold days the tropical
gardens in the Botanical Garden are a serene hideaway. The Game Science
Center has a bunch of cool things to do but the best was the Virtual
reality headset. If you ever have the chance to try one, absolutely go
for it. I found the real-world recordings mind-blowing -- one moment I
was sitting on a boat in Thailand, then in a Mongolian Yurt -- it felt
almost completely real.
One
of the most amazing places to eat in Berlin on a Saturday is the Thai
park. Women and men cook the most amazing Thai food on improvised
kitchens on the grass. In November it was all very small, but still
there was more variety of amazing (and cheap!) food than we could eat in
the entire day. Next to the park is a flea market, with quite an
interesting clothes section -- women from eastern Europe sell beautiful
cashmere pieces for reasonable prices. We also got an adorable moose cap
made of Alpaca wool from a stand called Guckmalwiesüß, for 12€ -- quite a steal, considering how much alpaca yarn costs. Another place in Berlin I really want to recommend for fans of beautiful office supplies is the Grüne Papeterie in the Oranienstr 19.
And the Kiloweise. where the clothes are sorted by colour, and then also by style -- boho, americana, athleisure, 20s, 50s, animal print, etc. I also discovered a store with the Berlin brand Chapati which makes the most amazing pieces from Merino wool, unfortunately I had to limit myself to window-shopping this time.
From
Berlin I picked up this little reusable coffee cup for just 4 euros at
the Holzmarkt. Which is a magical place, especially in the summer or
during the Christmas time.
Thrifting for handmade pottery was a success! If, like me, you love handmade bowls and plates, flea markets and thrift stores are absolutely the best places you can find beautiful treasures for cheap.
