Currently September

 
 Left- a day out at Wasserkunst Elbinsel Kaltehofe in Hamburg that is an island in the middle of the Elba that use to be a water treatment farm that has been turned into a wetlands

Above- the cable car over the river in Cologne going from the zoo to the botanical gardens  

Loving: Making the best of the last good sunny weather before it starts to get cold again. I have spent large amounts of time at the "Beach Bars" (in the loosest sense of a beach) basking in the warm evenings drinking Mojitos while hanging out with friends has been a fun highlight to my quite repetitive days. Hamburg is a city that in fine weather is one of the most beautiful cites in Germany so going to the parks have been a favorite outing for me and my boyfriend on the weekends.    

Anticipating: Christmas time. I have never had a cold Christmas and everyone has told me that the best thing about December is the Christmas markets. Hot mulled wine, traditional baked goods and lots of traditional wooden ornaments. I am also hoping for some snow seeing that I have never seen any but Hamburg unfortunately is not known for snowing during winter but I can always hope. I will miss not having my family around for Christmas and even though an Australian Christmas is hot it has not yet hit the hottest part of summer so being outside is the norm and everyone is always in the party mood.  

Listening to/ Reading/ Watching: I finally got round to watching season 3 of Offspring. I did watch the whole of the first season and most of the second season but being in Germany when the third came out an Australian friend of mine told me about a live streaming website to find it on I got straight into it and I love the drama and humor balance that it manages to have. During my time in Herrang (a place that you no explanation can ever capture what ti is relay like, next time I will have to go for 2 or 3 weeks) I read the book Call The Midwife in my non dancing time and became obsessed with it. While reading it I was told by an English friend of mine that it had been made into a tv series and when I got back home instantly started watching the it. I can recommend that even though it is a very good tv series to read the book, it has so much more impact on you on how these women lived and how hard it was to bring a child into the world and most of all the dickensian squalor that was still prevalent into the 50's. I have also been getting into many British tv murder series with my favorite being Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (a grandma private detective), Rosemary and Thyme (crime solving gardeners) and The Bletchley Circle (4 ex Bletchley park code crackers trying to find a murderer). 

outfit post and cooking

(sorry about the picture quality it has gone dark again and there are only lamps no over head lighting in the bedroom,grrr)

outfit - hoodie - billabong, top - witchery, jeggings - h&m kids section

The summer weather in Hamburg has officially left us and the days are starting to get cold, grey and dark again. I have started to layer up when going out instead of just throwing on a cardigan over a singlet or t shirt and having to remember to put socks on to keep my feet warm. Yesterday I went into TK Maxx to scope out there men's winter clothing for my boyfriend (he hates shopping but needs a new work jumper) I also went to look in the kids section which is on the same floor and found myself a new hoodie. It is a girls Billabong hoodie with fake sheepskin lining and a detachable fur trim on the hood. It is so warm and being a kids jumper it is not too long like I find with adults sizes (being 5'2 and a size 6 means kids clothes fit better, even better than petite specific clothing) and the best bit is it only cost €13 with the original retail price being close to €90.      

(trying out a new up-do since my hair is getting longer, now the back is already down to my shoulders again)

Some of my recent home cooked dinners:

Shallot, tomato and broccoli spicy egg scramble with rice noodles and topped with grated hard goats cheese and balsamic vinegar 

 not the best looking thing in the pan but very tasty 

 I use this method for making perfectly cooked rice noodles but I then after draining them pour over boiling water till they are warm and they come out the texture of just over al dente pasta

Corn tortillas filled with cucumber, tomato, avocado, salad leaves, grated carrot, cheese and hot Heinz baked beans

 

This may sound a little disgusting but I am not a big fan of kidney beans and on a cold night when I am not in the mood to take a long time making dinner it's hot and fills you up, plus I relay like the sauce in Heinz baked beans (I have never found a cheap version that tastes as good).

Going Veg

Over the past few weeks since coming back from my holidays I have made some changes to my diet. After living in Germany for 7 months I have started to dislike the traditional German food being very bland, too much cream sauces, everything dripping in fat and most meat being pork (a meat that is not eaten a lot in Australia) because of this I have made a conscious effort to change my diet and become vegetarian.

I do normally eat veg only dishes at least 3 times a week and was vegetarian for a time in my teen but never put a lot of effort into it. My Auntie Vera and Uncle Ted have been vegetarian for years and every time I have cooked for them at family events I have always checked labels for animal products or just made the whole meal vegetarian so I know how easy it is to make good food that is delicious. I have also been very interested in "WW2 ration diet" for years that is mostly a vegetarian diet with low animal fat intake being obsessed with WW2 history.I have always loved eating anything with spices in but unless I want to eat currywurst (tomato sauce with curry powder) I have to make it at home anyway with ingredients from the Middle Eastern or Asian supermarkets if I want any strong flavors. 

Some of the big reasons are:

- I no longer have to cook dinner for 2 people every night or eat dinner after 7pm when he gets home every night. 

- The cost of beef and lamb are extortionate and to buy it for only one person is wasteful  

- I have a yeast allergy that stops me from eating lots of bread, crackers, crisps and pre-packaged food (read the labels, you will be surprised) 

- I get bad stomach problems (IBS is what they all say) when I eat white pasta, white bread, fatty pastries (Germans love there bakeries and I live with 5 in about a 3min walking distance) 

- I don't like pork that much (never relay have ever, I once went for nearly 2 years without eating any pork product including bacon) and chicken that costs 2Euros a Kg is not the best for you

I am not going crazy and cutting out all animal products from my diet, I am still eating eggs and dairy products, but am trying to have 2 vegan meals a week and eat raw food as much as possible. I do not eat soy products and have not done so for years so (I have my reasons!!) so I do not just swap meat in recipes for tofu making cooking a very interesting experiences of forward planning to find other forms of protein and iron.

The good things about eating vegetarian:

- less processed foods that are high in fat and salt and less pre-packaged meals and sauces

- fresh, frozen and dried veggies are cheap and more nutritious and non wheat grains (polenta, couscous, quinoa, amaranth)   

- I can monitor the amount of fat that is added to my food and make them good fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts) and the amount of dairy I eat (eg. swapping cream for yogurt in recipes) 

- using alternative grains than just eating bread and pasta (eg. swapping rice noodles where I would normally use pasta)   

- finding new recipes to cook and trying veggies that I wouldn't normally eat (ether because they are not popular in Australia or my boyfriend would hate it) 

The benefits I have already found:

- feel better in general, things are "moving" better

- a lot more variety in diet and flavors  

- any problems with food can be easily identified and removed from my diet

- my skin is looking better with fewer breakouts and my moods are more even (no big PMS mood swings seen)

- much less money spent at the supermarket because of having fresh food and planing meals ahead of time

The problems/disadvantages I have found:

- going to restaurants and having a vegetarian meal normally consists of veggies dripping in mountains oil, cheese or cream (this includes salads), marked as vegetarian but made with chicken stock/containing bacon as a garnish or potatoes,potatoes,potatoes

- ate a vegetarian hot dog and had the worst food poisoning ever (nearly had to go to hospital)

- having to buy meat for my boyfriend if he decides to eat at home and always having to throw half of it out that doesn't get cooked or frozen making the freezer full of glad wrapped packs of meat  

At the moment I am not going militant vegetarian, I have had beef when I ate out with my boyfriend at a steak restaurant and kangaroo meat at a work function because I do love it, but having a little of what you like is not so bad and having lots of what is good for you is always a good thing. I hope that it all works. 

a good idea for carrying food and so cute too

recent vegetarian cooking experiments

Crust-less Veggie Quiche (capsicum, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes and zucchini)   

Mixed salad with pickled beetroot 

 

 Quick Veg Soup

frozen soup stock veg starter 

frozen veg in water to make stock

 grated carrot and pumpkin with veg stock 

Currently July

Packed and on my way to more traveling after Pohoda festival

Loving: HOLIDAYS. I am finally on my holiday from Germany and loving the over 30C heat every day. I have already spent my 3 days in Vienna and 9 days in Slovakia and am now in Budapest chilling out. I am such a hostel people kind of girl finding new friends every day and having new experiences almost hourly. Finding a little bar in 2nd District in Vienna filled with only locals listening to Brazilian music and talking german all night until being kicked out by the bar owner at 3am. Sitting on deckchairs at a beach bar in Bratislava drinking cheap Mojitos in the afternoon sun overlooking the Danube. Taking a train into the Tatras mountains seeing amazing scenery. Going on a pub crawl with 6 17-18yo guys from my dorm room and dancing like a crazy in a Budapest nightclub to dubstep and feeling like I had 6 brothers.
 
Anticipating: Going to Herrang for 7 days of crazy Lindy hop heaven. After 2 attempts of dancing in Hamburg I am ready for some serious dancing. I have already started to make my costume for the Friday night party (pirates and parrots), I'm going as a parrot and have been cutting feathers out of a dress (that doesn't relay explain it well) and will have to find a way to make some wings that are still practical enough to dance with. I am also so happy to see my friends there after being away from Australia for 4 months. I am also looking forward to spending some time in Stockholm and Copenhagen but not the amount of money it will cost.

Hating: Having to lug my bags around all the time every few days. Living out of a very small trolley duffle bag that mostly contains dance shoes and a sleeping bag. I am already finding that some of my things will have to be throw out as soon as i get to Copenhagen.


Listening to/Watching/Reading: I have been on a very limited amount of reading and watching time. I have found that I like to just listen to podcasts on long train journeys and look at the amazing scenery that is outside or talk to other travelers and make new friends. One movie that I have watched is The Decoy Bride about a celebrity wedding held on the tiny Scottish island of Hegg where the bride runs away from the press and they get a local girl to stand in so that the press doesn't know that  the bride is missing but unfortunately the decoy signs the registry with her own name and hilarity inures. I also picked up a si-fi book at my 1st hostel to read but was so boring that I have now swapped it for The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I have seen the movie and listened to the radio play but have never read the book so now I have the perfect chance.

Eating: Everything. I have tried so much local food that now I am back to salads. So much roast meat with cream and oil and pastries with sugar, sugar, sugar. I have to say my favorite has been in Slovakia having  Bryndzové pirohy ( kind of like ravioli with cheese filling) and Bryndzové halušky ( mini potato dumplings with sheep cheese sauce) but so unhealthy. I hopefully will get to eat some nice Scandinavian food soon too. One good thing is that I can eat pickled gherkins with everything without my boyfriend making the yuck face at me.  

Currently June (and May)

Me and my friend Elly who came to Hamburg for my birthday last month.

Hating: This is a new tag that I have added to this post because it has been a big reason of why I have not been blogging at all.
1st is that after 2 weeks of reasonably warm weather (25-28C) it has started to just rain every day and gone grey so that you have to take a coat/scarf/umbrella/socks with shoes just to go out to get a coffee. I have been staying inside and getting a little cabin fever from it.
2nd is that our hot water system has completely craped its self so now if I want any heat for a shower I have to go to the swimming pool and pay 6Euros to have a communal shower and bath, we are meant to have a new one installed but with going away in 2 weeks I am not holding my breath.
3rd is that my skin has gone crazy with dry patches with pimples as well and dandruff. I started seeing the dandruff about 2 months ago and taught that it could be from bleaching my hair so I dyed it a red but that made it stand out even more and the red washed out in a week so I bleached it back to a light copper colour and made a colour depositing conditioner with a copper semi-permanent colour and started with a anti dandruff shampoo. My skin is crazy, I have had to stop using all face products and just ride it out until it starts to behave its self again, so I am trying not to irritate it at all. The funny thing is that a friend of mine from Australia who also lives in Hamburg has found that the same thing has happened to her skin and hair so it may be the water that is too harsh on the skin.
4th is that after being a little laxed with my diet my food allergies have come back. I have had to stop eating wheat with yeast products at home and limit them when I am out. I am stopping eating pastries and any fat rich products including cheese and processed meat. I was going fine until we went to Munich for 4 days and by the 3rd morning I felt so bloated and had surges of nausea from eating Bayern food that I only ate fish and salad for a whole week until I felt back to normal.  

Anticipating: My holiday that has now become going to Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden and Denmark. I am well aware of  how much money it will cost but am in a serious need of some alone time to do things that I want to do and see friends from Australia so that I can be silly without caring what people think of me. I have also started to get more into my craft stuff so I am looking forward to see where that takes me.

Listening to/Watching/Reading: I have been obsessed with the tv show Criminal Minds and have been going threw all the 7 series in the past few weeks. It is a very dark tv show compared to the other cop dramas that I normally watch but I love the cast and just get so sucked into the story line. My favorite character is Dr Spencer Reed (played by Matthew Gray Gulber) because he is geeky smart but still an FBI agent with a gun. He has a cool geek chic thing going on with the converse sneakers, ray ban glasses, long messy hair and  vintage tweed slacks with cardigans or vests but with the shorter cut in season 6 and 7 he has a serious hottie thing going on. I have been listening to In our time podcasts from the BBC that is a panel of experts that discuss historical events with each having a different opinion and interpretation of the event. I find them very good to lisen too when on the train or to help me fall a sleep at night. I have also just finished the book A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes that was written as a pulp fiction novel in the 50's. It was a very good read but I relay didn't like the main character so it made getting to the end hard but because I like pulp fiction crime novels I will probably read some of his other books.

Missing: The sun and being warm but hopefully that will correct its self when I am away and I will come back to some real summer weather. I am also starting to miss working and am hoping that when I get back in August I can start some serious job searching and get back into a lab.

Travel Problem

I am going on an epic month trip next month but have cropped up with a very interesting problem. I am going to a Pohoda music festival in Slovakia during my 1st week away and then traveling around and then going to Herrang lindy exchange in my 3rd week.

The problem is this, I am having to take a tent, sleeping bag and mat to the festival for camping but for Herrang I am going to be dancing so I need more shoes and clothes due to the sweat factor, how much stuff is too much. I hate having to carry around a big suitcase just for camping stuff but looking at having to take 5-6 pairs of shoes is also not a fun thing.

I am not going to be camping at Herrang (I hope) but I will still have to lug everything around with me because I will still want to use it in the future. My suitcase is so big and bulky it is very hard to drag around (plus most of the airlines only allow me 15kg checked luggage) but I might have to buy a very cheap duffle bag with wheels to carry all my camping gear and extra lindy clothing.

 Images from tonbogirl

 Images from teen vogue

Images from cali vintage and free people 

On the plus side I have been looking at some very cool style inspiration for the festival that can be easily transformed for lindy. Thinking a 40's sporty outdoors chic style mixed with 70's boho hippy prep style. Lots of cute sunglasses, scarfs, playsuit/shorts, brights and neutrals mixed together. Both Herrang and Pohoda is a real excuse to dress as crazy as you like without people looking at you like a complete crazy.