2016

Hello! :)

The year is coming to an end, time to get sentimental. After moving from Spain back home and especially after I graduated - yes, that's right, I finished my undergrad!! - I didn't really find the time for my blog. That made me really sad, so I'm absolutely positive to restart it in 2017! I am so ready for the new year and everything I'm going to experience. I plan to upload a blog post every other week and I also have a monthly YouTube series in mind, so stay tuned. I am really optimistic 2017 is going to be a fantastic year! I will finish my postgrad and start to work full time, I am excited!!

I prepared two lists for you representing my year 2016. The first one is the reading list I already promised you one year ago!!!

January:

Los hombres que no amaban a las mujeres - Stieg Larsson (The girl with the dragon tattoo)

February:

Love you more ( A Detective D D Warren novel ) - Lisa Gardner

Catch me ( A Detective D D Warren novel ) - Lisa Gardner

March:

If I stay - Gayle Forman

Lovesong - Gayle Forman

Afterwards - Rosamund Lupton

April:

Post Mortem "Tränen aus Blut" - Mark Roderick

May: 

Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult

Like a charm - Karin Slaughter

June:

Frontera - Jordi Sierra i Fabra

A place called freedom - Ken Follett

July:

World without end - Ken Follert

August:

The Survivors Club - Lisa Gardner

September:

The Big Dipper - Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir

The Other Daughter - Lisa Gardner

October:

Summer at Little Lava: A Season at the Edge of the World - Charles Fergus

November:

The Soldier's Wife - Joanna Trollope

December:

Sensenmann - Claudia Puhlfürst

Did you read any of these? How did you find them? Are you wanting to read any of these and need me to go into detail for some in particular? Please tell me! And I already have such a high pile of books I want to read in 2017. I don't think the pile is ever going to get smaller. It is just growing and growing and growing... There are just too many good reads out there. I'm definitely planning to give Anna Karenina another go and I also have a few audio books I want to listen to. What's your opinion on audio books? Can you recommend any?

Here is a short overview of what I did and accomplished and experienced throughout the year:

January:

I was living in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain at the time, doing my semester abroad in International Tourism Management.

February:

I finished my stay in Spain and came back home to Cologne, Germany, to continue my studies.

March:

I had my final exams and successfully finished my last semester at university, with only my Bachelor Thesis / dissertation ahead of me.

April:

I turned 22.

May:

I wrote my Bachelor Thesis about the German perception of England as a destination with the research question "To what extent does the German perception of England reduce it to London, stereotypes and prejudices?".

June:

My godson got baptised.

July:

I spent my summer at home figuring out what to do next, and where.

August:

I graduated.

September:

I flew to Spain to watch my friend getting married.

October:

I moved to Essex, England to do my Master in Translation and Literature.

November:

I met many amazing new people, became part of the Writing Society, LGBT&friends and the Catholic Community, started a Russian course and played a lot of Badminton and Squash.

December:

I spent my Christmas holidays back home with my family.

It was a very eventful year and I am really happy. I am in a good place to move on and start the next year, pursuing my goals.

What are your plans for 2017?

I wish you all a happy new year and a good fresh start!

Lots of love

Jen

Mauritius

Aloha!

Are you enjoying the summer so far? Sunshine, beach, adventure, holidays...?
No? Then let me introduce you to an awesome destination! Yes? Let me tell you anyways! ;)

MAURITIUS:

Mauritius is a paradisiac insular state in the Indian Ocean made up of several islands, with its capital city Port Luis on the biggest island called Mauritius. Other islands include Rodrigues, Cardagos-Carajos and Agalega. Mauritius is surrounded by  the world's third largest coral reef, creating the perfect landscape for butterflies, palm trees and mangrove forests. The islands are perfect for diving or boat excursions, often whales can be seen. The islands host many nature reserves with exotic, endemic and almost extinct animals and plants. Some of the islands are of vulcanic origin. More than 150km of white sandy beaches and lagoons make Mauritius a dream destination! The island has a tropical climate with the average day temperatures not falling below 20 degrees Celsius in WINTER (which is from June till September by the way).

Tell Me Travels organise summer holidays in Mauritius for young travellers. They offer two packages: The Explorer Tour & The Comfort Tour. Both will leave you with 2 weeks full of fun, making friends and new experiences, enjoying the summer of your life! They include transportation (excl. the flight), accommodation and food as well as an itinerary full of happiness! Beach bonfires, catamaran rides, sacred temples, snorkeling, kayaking, bustling markets, foam parties.... And of course you can also book extra activities such as scuba diving, sky diving, spa sessions and so much more! Sounds like a great summer? Then find out which package is perfect for you!

The Explorer Tour:

Bonfires, speedboat, lagoons, feeding monkeys, waterfall, beach bbq, glass bottom boat ride, snorkelling, swimming... this sounds like a lot of amazing activities to you? This is just what's happening in the first three days! Be ready for more adventures every day, such as a catamaran ride, hiking, a tasting at the Rhum factory, volunteering, spotting flying fish. I would say Mauritius can offer almost everything the adventurous young traveller can dream of.

And oh, did I mention? YOU CAN SWIM WITH DOLPHINS!!!

The Comfort Tour:

The Comfort Tour offers the same highlights as The Explorer Tour minus the rather sporty activities such as hiking. Instead you can enjoy spa sessions and a trip to a traditional market. With both tours you get days to rest. Or, if relaxing isn't really your thing, there are loads of extra activities you could do, like for example renting a scooter or go-karting.

Ready to visit Mauritius? Then contact me or comment below and you get a 5% discount when booking with Tell Me Travels.

Hope to hear from you.

 

Love you. Bye.

Jen 

I'm back!

Hey folks,

sorry for the long delay. I know it's been over a month without a new post. I went through a few things, there have been some changes, and I just didn't feel like blogging. But I am back now! I won't be going to Nepal next month, so I'm sorry to disappoint those of you who were looking forward to my travel vlog from Nepal. But I am doing my best to provide you with awesome alternative topics! Before I took my little break from blogging I prepared some travel tips in Germany for you. I didn't finish it, because I didn't really enjoy it. And that is the main point of my blog. So here is the unfinished blogpost about travel destinations in Germany. Maybe at some point I will show you a full version of it. Once again, I'm really sorry for the delay and this crappy post. Hang on, next time I have a fantastic post about an awesome destination for summer 2016!

Travel destinations in Germany

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and located in the North-East. Population wise it is the second biggest city in the European Union. It is located on the banks of the rivers Spree and Havel and is composed of several forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes. Berlin has a lot of monuments and history to offer with the Berlin Wall that divided the city into East and West after WWII, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The capital city is famous for its TV Tower and the Alex (Alexanderplatz), the Brandenburg Gate with the prestigious avenue Unter den Linden, Berlin International Film Festival, the Reichstag building, Hackescher Markt, and the museum island. It is the third most visited city destination in Europe, popular for its charm and culture, its diversity, vivacity and trendsetting atmosphere as well as its nightlife. There is also a Madame Tussauds in Berlin. For a complete list of sights and monuments in Berlin check out this link: http://www.berlin.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/a-bis-z/

Here are a few photos of my trip to Berlin two years ago: 

Brandenburg Gate

 

 Reichstag building

 

Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe

Concert Hall

 

 French Dome

 

Bubbles at Gendarmenmarkt

Checkpoint Charlie

TV Tower

Berlin Victory Column

If you want to see some more impressions of Berlin check out the video I made after visiting the ITB in March this year.

Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, one of the 16 states of Germany. It is most famous for its Oktoberfest, beer and traditional clothing such as the Dirndl and Lederhosen. But Munich has a lot more to offer. It is located in the very south of Germany, near the Alps, and on clear days you can have a picturesque mountain panorama. Munich is an alpha-world city and has worldwide the 4th best quality of living. In terms of sightseeing you have the Munich Frauenkirche, the Nymphenburg Palace, the BMW Headquarters shaped like a four-cylinder, the New Town Hall at the Marienplatz,....

View from the church "Alter Peter" onto Viktualienmarkt and Marienplatz

Botanical Gardens

Castle

"Schloss Nymphenburg"

Bavarian Parliament

 Stachus

Prinzregenten

Theatre

(The Nutcracker)

To be continued...

So, this was the unfinished version of travel destinations in Germany. What happened this past month? I finished and handed in my Bachelor Thesis, my boyfriend and I broke up, I cancelled my trip to Nepal, and Brexit. So how does this affect my future? I am not sure yet. It will definitely affect it, I just don't know how. I am still planning on moving to the UK. I expanded my search from a job in Glasgow or Manchester to jobs and masters in the entire United Kingdom. So whish me luck!

I will see you next time when I am introducing Mauritius as a destination to you!

See you soon

Love you

Jen

Ayurveda

Namaste!

How are you? I am great! And I want you to be great, too! You know I am trying to find my inner balance and live healthy and full of energy and use and enjoy the day to its fullest. Carpe diem. So I have read a lot about Ayurveda and today I want to share this with you. Give you my opinion on it and suggest how to start including it in your day, if you're not able to completely change your life.
Ayurveda regards your body, mind and soul in unity. From physics we know that the energy level in a system is always constant, the energy form can be changed, but energy can never be created or used up. Even when we feel a loss of energy, our level of potential energy is still the same, we just momentarily lost access to it.
Vision + Focus = Energy!
In order not to lose focus it is important that we don't grieve the past, don't worry about the future. We need to appreciate the moment right now. Live now. When we are focused on the moment right now, our body, mind and soul are in unity with the universe, we have the Flow to happiness. Those of you who personally know me have heard me complain about TV and media and smartphones and people constantly using their phone, almost like an addiction. Don't get me wrong. Hell, I'm far from perfect. I get sucked into series, I am on the internet and social media, I even write a blog. But that doesn't change that I truly hate the era we live in, where little children watch TV to be quiet while eating, where kids have gameboys and ipads and what do I know... Where we are constantly under the influence of media. People are not able to spend time with their own thoughts. They can't sit on public transport or wait for the doctor or even listen to one complete lecture at university without checking their phone. It is an addiction. And I totally understand its appeal. But it is not good for us. This media overflow is the cause for illnesses such as ADS or hyperactivity. But how do we change that? Do we even want to change it? I know I have really strong opinions on this, not watching telly at all, only series on DVD on my laptop. I complain a lot about this era, this society, this phenomenon, whatever you wanna call it, but even I have my weak spots. Series, social media, my blog. And even if I were stronger and abandoned all of it, how would that ever work? How would I get the important information for uni that is only shared via email and facebook? How would I search and apply for jobs? How would I write my dissertation? But wait, I am drifting a little bit off topic. My point is, in order to focus on the moment and ourselves we need to reduce this media overflow and concentrate on the moment right now, on ourselves and our thoughts. Yoga is a good method to regain access to our energy. With its mixture of exertion and relaxation it teaches us to calm down, stop living under constant pressure, prevent us from burnout and maintain our health. I had wanted to do Yoga for years, but I was too shy to go to a class, thinking the people there already know each other, already know what to do, are more flexible, better prepared... That was a big misconception. Perfectionism is something we Westerners constantly aim for. But the point of Yoga is not to thrive at it or to impress the others. It is to relax our nerves, concentrate on our thoughts, focus on the moment and feel happiness and joy. So what if you "fail" at some of the Asanas (physical exercises)? Does that make you a failure? No, it makes you human.
If you want to learn more about Ayurveda, about stress, anxiety, insecurity and preventing burnout, I can really recommend the books written by Balvinder Sidhu. And in good time I am going to share what I have learned so far with you again. But always remember to do what is best for you and your body!

See you soon

Love you

Jen

The everyday life (of a tourist)

Hi there!

I had a motivating and informative blog post about Ayurveda and inner balance planned, and you are still gonna get it, next time, but for today I changed my mind. Turned out we only had a short preview of summer and now I rather feel like filming a video inside and lighting some candles. Inside is really all I've been for the last couple of days. I haven't really left the house in a week since I have a lot to do for my dissertation. But just to make things clear: I am not working and writing on that 24/7, but if you add procrastination it pretty much adds up to that. Hey, that reminds me:

Thank you to everybody who helped me with my dissertation and filled out my survey!!! I am currently reading all your interesting answers. And I can't decide yet if I'm happier with the really long and detailed answers that are going to take me forever to evaluate by people who really meant to do me well, or the short I-cannot-be-bothered answers. Thank you to all kinds of answers! :)
And now, let's watch a video about my everyday life (as a "tourist").

I hope you enjoyed my little not so touristy video and I can already give you a preview of the next couple of weeks. We're gonna talk about Ayurveda, inner balance, happiness, travel destinations in Germany, a touchy topic, the second quarter of the year, the job market, some differences between Germany and the UK, and a lot more...

See you next week

Love you

Jen