Sunday Thoughts

This weekend has gone by faster than you can say "Thank God it's Friday" (unless you use the acronym.maybe.). It's been such a whirlwind, my emotions have gone on more than a couple of rollercoasters and I found it extremely difficult to calm down, relax and just be.

This is never particularily easy for me but the past few days, my heart has been beaing even faster than usual, my mind overflowing with a whole mess of entangled thoughts, hopes and worries.

If I said I didn't know what was gling on, I'd be lying. While there weren't a lot of stressful activities scheduled, some unexpected things happened and it felt as though I didn't havethe time to sit down for a moment to make sense of the chaos in my mind. Reading the book "The Highly Sensitive Person"  has made me conscious of the effects that changes of any kind and the all too common go-go-go way of living have on my physical and mental well-being.

Hell, I get stressed out by not knowing what I'll be having for breakfast the next day, so saying that I'm a lover of fixed routines whould be quite an understatement.

And I've realised that on those days where I follow a grounding morning ritual, incorporating warm lemom-ginger water, yoga, meditation and a long breakfast, my mind simply feels more clear. A calm, quiet mind makes all the difference but is something i cannot always achieve. Though I have found certain things that help clear my head, there ar e days where I'm just running around like a frightened chicken - followed by nights during which I toss and turn in my bed, fall asleep only to wake up again after 30 minutes, mornings where I am wide awake by 5 am, excited and nervous about the day ahead without feeling rested.

I can distinctively remember the last good, long night of aleep I got, the last morming where I woke up only once, at a reasonable time and got up immediatly because I felt ready to start my day. There are few nights like that but as long as they exist, I can hold onto them.They give me hope when I'm lying in bed at 2 am on a weeknight, unable to turn of my thoughts and steady my racing heartbeat.

Yesterday, I read a blogpost on how your affirmations, the things you tell yourself over and over again, ultimately create your reality , how nothing will ever actually change unless you change your thought. It got me thinking, could I really unconsciously be causing my own sleep issues? Was the reason why I often can't sleep that, at the very core of my being, I believe that that's just the way it is and is supposed to be?

My first impulse was to be angry and annoyed at the blogger, how could he suggest that I was the cause for my own struggles? How on earth was I supposed to think and truly believe that I would get a good night of sleep when there where literally hundreds of nights in my past to prove otherwise?

 But then, as I continued to reflect on it, I realised that maybe, he was right and that this could potentially turn out to be quite amazing. After years of believing that my bad sleep patterns where just as unchangeable a part of me as the colour of my eyes, something I simply had to cope with, there was this new possibility that the tool to end my struggles was somewhere inside of me, I just had to learn how tu use it.

Of cours it sounds incredibly simple to "just change your thoughts", when it's most definitely everything but easy. But still, I'll try. If there is even the slightest chance that through this, I'll be able to sleep soundly for days, maybe weeks at a time sometime in the future, then it is worth it. It may seem easier, more comfortable, to remain in this state of constant fear of the next sleepless night, after all it's what I've known for more years than I dare to count. But I am done with letting fear rule my life, I want to take control instead of letting my circumstances control me.

Please do read the article in question (Habit#5) , I would love to hear your thoughts!

Life Lessons & Banana Bread

After closing the front door behind me, I headed straight for the kitchen. Almost completely black and therefore perfectly ripe they were just waiting to be mashed and transformed into something delicious: 5 mini bananas I'd bought for this exact purpose a few days earlier.
So i turned on my oven and got started. Liquids and bananas into the blender, dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix it together, let it rest, pour it into a loaf tin. Some flaked coconut on top - done.
All there was left to do was wait while the unmistakeable smell of banana bread slowly filled my kitchen. It's the kind of smell you want to have in a bottle to sniff on when you're feeling down, the smell that hugs you the way a fluffy blanket and hot chocolate does. It's also the kind of smell that makes cleaning up your kitchen a whole lot easier.

The 60 minutes felt much longer than that and I practically jumped up from my couch when the timer finally went off. A toothpick came out clean and I couldn't hold my excitement over how gorgeous the bread looked. Warm, gooey, slightly caramelized banana slices and toasted coconut flakes on top really do make all the difference when it comes to the aesthetics of banana bread.

A quarter of an hour later I decided it was time to take the loaf out of its baking tin and cut myself a slice. I noticed the bottom part of the bread was unusually moist and suddenly, I didn't feel as confident about the outcome of my little baking adventure anymore. The first cut confirmed my doubts: the inside of the bread was still extremely wet and gooey and the texture reminded me of scrambled eggs. I turned the oven back on, put the failed loaf back into the tin and the oven, hoping that 20 more minutes would maybe make it right. Experience said otherwise, the texture was nothing like a banana bread should be and I knew nothing would be able to solve that but I couldn't simply give up on this loaf.
I ended up leaving it in the oven for another 40 minutes and then went to bed with the tiny bit of hope that the bread would be less moist once it had dried. It wasn't.

When I first took that bread out of the oven, I was so thrilled. I couldn't wait for it to be cool enough for me to enjoy a slice, something I'd been dreaming of for over 4 days. I'd bought the bananas, endured the torture of not being able to eat them, reread the recipe I was going to use about 25 times. On my last day of work, I wasn't planning to go out and celebrate, no, I was looking forward to going home to bake. And I love the act of baking by itself more than I'd like to admit but in the end, it still is more about the result than the process. It is the (literal) piece of cake at the end of the road that makes me spend hours in the kitchen measuring out flour, melting chocolate and kneading dough.

So yes, i was disappointed about the way this bread tuned out (or rather, didn't turn out). My first reaction was self-blame ("you must have misread the recipe"), then blaming others ("this recipe simply doesn't work") followed by regret ("why didn't I use the recipe I always do"). However, none of these reactions change the fact that things didn't work out the way I'd wanted them to.

If I had used my usual go-to recipe, I would have wondered whether a different one might have tasted better cause that's the way I am. I adore trying out new recipes and I have to embrace the fact that sometimes, this leads to failure. However, failure simultaneously means progress, learning how not to do something. It also means having to learn to accept that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, how excited you are or how much you want things to work out, they don't. And that's not the end of the world.

p.s. I used this recipe by the way and even though it didn't work for me, maybe it will for some of you. Let me know if it does.

Meat Nostalgia

One morning last week, while waiting for customers to turn up, I found myself in a conversation circling around delicious meat dishes. It was not long before my lunch break and I was literally counting the minutes when one of my coworkers started talking about the Currywurst she'd had the day before. I immediately started reminiscing the times when we'd eaten these sausages in Cologne which then led me to danish Hot Dogs and Austrian "Winer Schnitzel". We were all happily chatting away on the delicious world of meat when one of the girl's I'm working with stated the obvious : "You do realize that you're raving about meat right?"

I don't remember exactly what i responded but i do know that it only became clear to me in that moment that I had practically vowed to never eat those dishes I love again. This got me wondering, would I really be able to go through with completely cutting meat from my diet?

The more I thought about it, I noticed that all of the foods i found so difficult to let go of were linked to very distinct places and events and simultaneously evoked positive memories. 

I will always remember the skiing holidays when my dad refused to cut my Schnitzel for me so I would learn to do it myself and I still had one every single day, no matter how much I struggled with eating it (not my father's brightest educational moment by the way).

Our family holidays in Denmark would definitely not have been the same without the Hot Dog lunches at the beach and every single visit to Cologne ends at that same "Currywurst" stand, where my stepfather finally gets his sausage. I don't even want to imagine what Christmas is going to be like for me next year, when I won't be eating one of the only meat dishes I enjoy purely for the taste and texture of the meat: stuffed turkey. 

However, I believe that the greatness of these foods is most probably at least partially a product of my brain and influenced by Nostalgia. If someone would be offering me a Wiener Schnitzel at this precise moment, I wouldn't even contemplate eating it for a second. During the skiing holidays in Austria though? Entirely different question.
Some meals will always remind me of certain places and bring up memories, as well as connect me to the people I shared these moments with. While the food wasn't the most important thing in that moment, thinking about what you had for dinner that night often sparks a firework of positive memories surrounding that meal.

Even though I am almost 100 percent sure I will never crave meat in a way that would make me throw away the principles I believe in now, I cannot say the same for the dishes which have a certain sentimental value to me. Whether I am going to manage to refuse having a serving of turkey at christmas this year, I don't know, simply because I am not sure if I really want to forbid myself the pleasure.

Not having faced any such challenges so far, following a vegetarian diet has come quite easy to me and I still believe that it is the right thing to do, for me at least. I am only at the very beginning at this journey though and I haven't decided yet on how I am going to handle certain situations.

What is your opinion on this matter, do you think it's ok to have meat at certain special occasions simply because it is a tradition?

Vegetarian Update #1

Well, hello there.

So much for "blogging more often" or even the simple "weekly update" I'd promised (it's been a little over a week since my last post).

I could give you a long list of excuses now as of why I have not had the time to blog, but honestly, i've just really been enjoying my summer. Working at the bakery is much more fun than I'd expected it to be, turns out simply being around cake (and eating it, too) is a pretty good happiness booster for me, just as spending time surrounded by friends and good food in the evenings certainly has had its positive effects. Which brings us to the subject of this post: my experiences as a vegetarian so far. There are a few things I've noticed and I thought I'd share them with you!

1. People's reactions

I was extremely surprised by the way people reacted to me telling them I wasn't going to be eating meat anymore. While almost all of them were quite shocked at first, when I explained my reasoning to them most just shrugged and accepted my decision. While I did notice some of my friends don't really think much of vegetarianism in general, not a single person so far has tried to convince me to change my opinion. Some were even quite interested in the facts that influenced my lifestyle choice.

One phrase I heard a lot was " But how can you live without (insert favourite meat dish)?" to which I simply responded that I'd never liked meat that much or ever craved a burger in the way that other people might. 

In a nutshell, I'd expected to have to justify myself much more than I did and the reactions I got were overwhelmingly positive.

2. Food options

While I've never been much of a pure meat eater, completely cutting it from my diet made it obvious how much meat I really was consuming without even noticing it was there, out of sheer convenience. Whether it be the bacon in a quiche lorraine or the odd ham and cheese sandwich, even though I'd almost never choose a dish because of the meat, I really wasn't following a vegetarian diet in any way. Many dishes I was eating before taste just as good without the meat (in my opinion) but people still put it in there. However, most of the time, it is fairly easy to simply ommit it or choose a different option. Finding something to eat has not been difficult at all and deliberately choosing not to consume any meat has made me try dishes I otherwise wouldn't have picked. Which brings me to...

3. Eating out.

I really thought going to a restaurant would be quite a challenge but the exact opposite was the case. Usually, I'd study the menu for ages, overwhelmed by the amount of choices. Crossing out any dishes which include meat makes the decision-taking process much faster and smoother - to the delight of those used to my struggles when it comes to choosing what to eat. I also feel as though I am unconsciously making healthier choices, with vegetable-centered dishes replacing creamy pasta. During the past week, I've fallen in love with food I otherwise would have never tried and a whole world of delicious, fresh and colorful food I never knew was there has opened up.

4. Cooking

Due to the fact that I am working at the moment, I haven't experimented very much with my cooking since going vegetarian but there are literally hundreds of foods I want to try, recipes I want to cook and alternatives to usually meat-centered dishes which I am determined to find. Before last week, I'd never given tofu a second glance whereas now, I find myself more and more intrigued by the possibilities it creates. One thing I was quite worried about was how this was going to affect people enjoying the food I cook for them. After yesterday's lunch though, which consisted of a creamy, avocado based pasta sauce with soba noodles, I don't think this is going to be a real problem. Everyone thorougly enjoyed it, even my dad who is one of the biggest meat-eaters I know. Also, I've realized that my food choices don't have to influence the way the people around me eat. We are having people over for dinner tonight for chicken gyros and falafels - so I simply won't be eating any chicken.

There are many more things which I could talk about right now, but I don't want this post to be too long so I'll simply leave it at that. So far, I don't see myself going back to the way I was eating before( just over a week ago, such a long time right?). Not only do I feel better from a physical point of view but I am more calm knowing that my food choices don't counterdict my ethical beliefs anymore.

I hope you found this post at least the slightest bit interesting and I'll try to be more consistent with my blogging.

Going Vegetarian

The question of whether or not I should be consuming meat has been present at the back of my mind since I could understand the meaning of the word vegetarianism.
Every time i found myself in a conversation either with a vegetarian or simply about the topic, the same cycle of thoughts would be going through my head : 

"Well, I don't actually like meat that much, why don't I just stop eating it?
 But there's meat in so many things, and it would be so exhausting to always have to ask for something different to what everybody else is having. 
I do like animals, but in all honesty, I don't really care what that steak looked like before it got to my plate. 
If I don't feel passionately about these animals, why should I make my life so much harder through cutting meat out of my diet?
Maybe it would be more ethically correct to be a vegetarian but if I don't think about it any further, i can go on with my life as before.
I don't even eat that much meat anyways so where's the problem?"

The I'd push the issue aside and go on with my day, reassuring myself with the though that, if everybody was living this way, how wrong could it be?

“Not responding is a response - we are equally responsible for what we don't do.” - Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals

Extremely "wrong", as it turns out (although "harmful" would probably be a more appropriate word here). As Jonathan Safran Foer states in his book Eating Animals, by mindlessly consuming what everyone else around you is, presumably "doing nothing", you are already doing something. You are making a choice on a day to day basis to support an industry that is not only responsible for the suffering of millions of animals but also for the destruction and pollution of our world. This book really opened my eyes on exactly how badly a large percentage of farm animals are treated before and while they're killed and this knowledge made me wonder whether I could still support my own decision of consuming meat, even if it was only on a twice-weekly basis.

The thing is, I don't feel about the deaths of these animals the same way as most vegetarians (or at least those I know) do. I don't feel pity for them for having to die, and I can still eat the piece of pork on my plate, knowing that it once belonged to an animal just as (or more) playful and intelligent as your typical family dog. If I didn't feel this way, I probably would have been a vegetarian for a very long time. 

However, I am extremely passionate about every living being deserving a free and happy life. This might seem contradictory to what I just said, because how good of a life can an animal have if its mere purpose is to be consumed by humans? To me, if a pig was allowed to run around in the mud, was fed an appropriate diet and given shelter and medical assistance as necessary before being killed at a "reasonable" age, then I can eat the meat it offers without even a hint of a bad conscience. How I was ever able to believe that the scenario I have just described would even come close to reality,  I don't understand.

After finishing Eating Animals (bursting into tears on more than one occasion because of the sheer cruelty inflicted on the animals), I knew I would at least have to try to change my eating habits in a way that aligns with what I believe to be right. So I started by writing down the dishes including meat I thought I wouldn't want to live without. Turns out, I don't actually eat the majority of these foods because of the taste or texture of the meat(or seafood for that matter). Would I miss the chicken in my curry or the beef in Chili con Carne? Sure not. 

Yes, I do love smoked salmon, having mussels in the south of France and the stuffed turkey at christmas (which is probably the one to be avoided at all cost). However, except for the mussels, there is no way for me to ensure these animals were killed in a humane way, especially when eating out. And this, for now, means that I won't be eating them.

I set myself a period of 3 weeks (21 days is supposed to be the amount of time it takes to create a new habit) during which I will not be consumming meat at all and I'll see where to go from there. As of now, I am thinking about going 90% vegetarian or more afterwards (leaving room for my beloved mussels and the occasional organic burger), but it all depends on how I feel during and after the next 20 days. One thing i know for sure though is that I won't be having a cheap curry or Spaghetti Carbonara anytime soon.

I would love to write more on my "journey" on here if any of you are interested in hearing about it. Maybe a weekly update would be something you would like to read?I would sure love to have some feedback, whether you're a devoted meat-eater or a vegetarian yourself.

As always, I hope you enioyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!

"How To Be Happy"

We all have those days where the world just seems to be turning against you: your bus is late, your boss yells at you for no reason and they mix up your order at your favourite restaurant.

Today was one of those days for me. I got up at 6 am because I had forgotten that school wouldn't start until 9 today and my feet were already soaking wet before I even got to my first class as I was wearing tom's (which are not shoes you want to be wearing in the rain). Combined with the fact that I was absolutely exhausted, this amounted to me wanting to simply go back to bed and stay there all day long.

I completely let these factors I had absolutely no influence on ruin my day; definitely not one of my proudest moments.

This video was exactly what I needed, a reminder that I am the only one responsible for my own Happiness. It is sometimes so easy to dwell on the negative, instead of focussing on all the positive things that are constantly present all around us. Patricia has been one of my favourite youtubers for over two years and I think this video of hers is another prime example for what a truly admirable, positive and inspirational person she is. I am definitely going to try to incorporate her tips into my daily life more and I believe they can be helpful to almost anyone. So, if you have a few minutes on your hands, please make sure to check it out!

A Summer Breakfast: Carrot Cake Overnight Oats & Maple Ice Coffee

I thought I'd do something a little different today and show you how to make one of my favourite breakfasts for summer (or any time really), as well as a super easy "recipe" for some delicious homemade iced coffee. This breakfast takes close to no time in the morning as you prepare most of it the night before, so its perfect for those rushed weekday mornings. Even the preparation is pretty quick so there really is no reason to stick with your boring old buttered toast when you can have something so delicious and nutritious with the same amount of effort. So here are my new obsession, carrot cake overnight oats and some maple iced coffee!

While i love my porridge all year round, when temperatures start to drop i mostly crave something fresh in the mornings. This is where overnight oats come in perfectly, they have about the same texture as your usual porridge without the heat! All you have to do is mix your oats with some milk or water (although i really prefer milk for overnight oats) and whatever other ingredients you want to add the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight(hence the name), and in the morning, you've got your oats ready to be devoured. I even think preparing oats this way can give them

more flavour than when you cook them on the stove, as the milk soaks up a bit of everything you put in there.

It might sound a bit crazy to put carrots into your oats at first (after all, they are a vegetable) but believe me on this one, it's incredibly good! So good in fact that i've had it for three breakfasts in a row this week. It kind of tastes like a healthy carrot cake dough and i find myself savouring every single spoonful of it, so I really hope you enjoy it too!

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats (vegan and gluten free)

Ingredients:

some kind of jar to store it in

1/3 cup gluten free oats (or regular if you're not gluten intolerant)

1/2 cup milk (i used unsweetened almond milk)

1/4 cup pineapple

1/2 medium carrot, grated

1/2 tablespoon flax seed (or chia seed if you like the texture)

1-2 dates, chopped

1 dried fig, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

optional:

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

a few drops rum extract

Method:

First of all, blend up the pineapple and milk in your jar by using a hand mixer (you can of course do this in your blender as well).

Then simply add your oats, flax seed, grated carrot, dates, dried fruit, cinnamon and any additional flavours to the jar and mix it all up with a spoon or by simply shaking the jar. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours or overnight.

When you're ready to eat, leave it as it is or top it with whatever you like. Fresh fruit  such as strawberries and banana, nut butter, granola and coconut flakes are my personal favourites!

The next "recipe" probably doesn't even deserve to be called that. It really is super  quick and easy and if you leave the coconut whipped cream aside, it takes close to no time at all to make while still being really tasty. I find that most of the time, the easiest recipes are the best ones!

 

Maple Iced Coffee (with coconut whipped cream)

Ingredients:

for the coffee:

~1/2 cup of freshly brewed or refrigirated coffee

enough ice to fill your glass at least halfway

as much milk as you like (i used oat milk)

1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it to be)

(optional) for the coconut whipped cream:

a can if full-fat coconut milk

1-2 teaspoons maple syrup

Method:

for the coffee:

First of all, brew your coffee whichever way you like, i used my nespresso machine for this. Fill a tall glass of water with ice cubes, then simply pour the coffee over the top. Add milk and maple syrup to your liking and for a bit of a treat, top it with some coconut whipped cream. Enjoy!

coconut whipped cream:

 

Take your can of coconut milk out of the refrigirator after you left it there overnight. This step really is crucial so don't try to rush it.

Open up your can at the bottom so the coconut water just flows out and you're left with a more solid residue, the coconut cream (you can use the water for smoothies and such). Then simply beat it with a hand mixer until you get the  texture of whipped cream and add a bit of sweetener if you like. I find this much easier with non-organic coconut milk as the residue isn't quite as solid but you'll just have to beat the other onr a bit longer. Top your iced coffee with a tablespoon or two of your whipped cream and store leftovers in the fridge. This tastes delicious on basically everything: berries, crumbles(berry crumbles?), yogurt,...you name it!

I really hope you like this type of posts as i had so much fun creating it! I'd love to hear if any of you try out yhese recipes:)

Madrid

During the easter holidays i not only went to Vienna with my mother but also visited my older stepsister in Madrid with my father's side of the family. She is doing an erasmus year abroad there at the moment and was really excited to show us around the city.

When stepping off the plane we were greeted by the warm spain air and i could not have been happier. The weather got better and better with each day, it honestly felt like summer. We spend 4 amazing days there, relaxed and full of laughter. What better than to explore such a beautiful city with the people you love, especially when the sun is shinning?

I absolutely fell in love with Madrid, it is incredibly vibrant, the people are friendly and the architecture is just gorgeous. Everything seems to be following a different clock there, slower and therefore less stressful. This feeling is only intensified by the fact that spanish people have lunch and dinner much later than we generally do, the shops are therefore open for longer (10 pm!) and you will still find people on the streets at 1 in the morning wherever you go.

Having someone with us who already knew the city was a blessing, no walking around planlessly or wasting time visiting places that, eventually, weren't worth it. It was great not really having to worry about planing much for the day ahead as we usually just did a "cultural" activity in the mornings and then strolled around the city for the rest of the day. 

For food there were two places which really stayed in my mind even days after we went there, Lateral and the Mercado San Miguel. After a slightly disappointing tapas dinner the first night we managed to get a table at Lateral the following day for lunch and the food was just heavenly. We ordered all sorts of different tapas but the avocado tartare with salmon and the grilled goat cheese salad were simply divine. However, all of their tapas were delicious and even the ice cream my dad had there a few days later seemed to have been really good.

Also tapas but in a slightly different setting is what you can get at the Mercados San Miguel. The market is situated right in the centre of the city, inside a metal "builduing". They have every type of food your heart could ever desire: from fresh juice to meat in all shapes and forms, pasta and traditional spanish cuisine as well as a huge selection of sweet pastries and dessert. Most things are sold in small portions, so it is a bit like eating tapas, just with much more variety. I had the most delicious mozarella toast there, as well as some kind of baby fish which looks and is eaten like pasta. The amount of choices can be a bit overwhelming and it can get quite crowded, but the quality of the food is so worth it!

Overall we had an amazing time and i'd love to visit this incredible city again as soon as possible.

Vienna

My mum and i had been planning to go to Vienna together for over two years now but somehow, something always got in the way. As we're not going on summer holidays together this year because it was too difficult to find a week where we'd all be free, we decided to take a 5 day trip to Vienna instead. 

Something about this city has just always drawn me to it, i love how long of a history it has (plenty old buildings to admire!), Austrians are some of the friendliest people i've met (in general) and i swoon just thinking about austrian food; Kaiserschmarren, Wiener Schnitzel, Apfelstrudel,...

People definitely aren't exaggerating when they say that Vienna is like an open-air museum, the buildings are just too gorgeous to be true and i honestly couldn't find a single "ugly" street.

We went to all of the touristy sights such as Schönbrunn palace, the Spanish Riding School and the Hundertwasser house but also went to a few museums which aren't quite as popular. 

I particularly loved the Hundertwasser house it is just so different to any other house i've seen before. It looks as if it was straight out of a fairy tale, trees are growing on the roof, not a single line is completely straight and there are mosaics incorporated everywhere. The people in the small cafe where you can watch a movie about the house were so incredibly friendly and seemed to be living in a whole different world. I love how dreamy and carefree the whole house looks and that the apartments aren't expensive at all and are only rented to people who don't earn too much money.

They have this thing where you can rent a bike for only 1€/hour and there are drop-off spots almost everywhere across the city, so when the weather was nice on tuesday we drove along the Ringstraße with our bikes. There are bicycle paths all across the city so it is very easy to get around that way, i would definitely recommend renting a bike if you visit. You see so much more of the city that way and it is perfect to go to the Danube Island, which we did on the last day we were there. That was probably my favourite day, we had breakfast at noon, drove around for a bit and got a Würstl (sausage) for lunch. Then we still had a few hours left before we had to leave so we just strolled around the Mariahilferstraße, which is probably the longest shopping street i've ever seen, it is huge! We also had some of the best ice cream i've ever tasted at Eis Greissler, and i am not an ice cream lover at all.

In general, the food was a definite standout for me, i honestly didn't have a single bad meal while we were in Vienna. The breakfast at the hotel was ok but other than that, everything was crazy delicious.

Even the sushi my mum and i had on sunday night when no other place was open and we were starving was pretty good and by the look of the restaurant, i was seriously scared i'd get food poisoning.

Food

Neni am Naschmarkt

You can see my meal at Neni on the 4th picture, it was sooo delicious, the hummus was super creamy and the falafels tasted amazing. Their pita bread was really tasty too and don't miss the homemade ice tea. We went back there for breakfast on friday which was pretty good as well, but nothing compared to their lunch and dinner menu.

Heindl's Palatschinkenpfandl

If you're looking for a good Kaiserschmarren, go to Heindl's Palatschinkenpfandl. We went there twice, just because it is so good, the best Kaiserschmarrn i've eaten in my life, and i've probably tried it at every restaurant on skiing holidays. They are technically known for their Palatschinken, the austrian term for crêpes, which they offer with what seems like a hundred different fillings, both savory and sweet. We tried some of those on our first visit nut while they were really good, the Kaiserschmarrn was the highlight for us and i can't have two crêpes and a Kaiserschmarren, that's just too much.

Zweitbester

We only went to this restaurant because there weren't any tables available at Neni but i'm so glad we did. The athmosphere is really relaxed as it is both a bar and a restaurant at the same time, the waitress was incredibly friendly and answered to all of our questions and the food was out of this world delicious. You can watch the chef prepare your plate which he did with such devotion, it was admirable. I had a rubarb and rocket salad with pear and grilled goat cheese, the flavours were really different and interesting and played perfectly together. For desert i had their sticky date pudding with caramelized bananas.so.delicious. The cake melted in your mouth and the bananas were the perfect addition to make the dish a little different. My brother had their creme brulée which was huuge, honestly, and it seemed to be quite delicious too. Overall a definite winner in my books.

Cupcakes Wien

We discovered this shop by accident as i had to go to the bathroom so we went into the MUMOK (museum of modern art) and had to walk past this little cafe where they serve -as if the name didn't tell- cupcakes. They looked just too pretty to pass by so my brother and i both got one. I had the blueberry-chocolate one which was really yummy. The frosting was very fruity and not too heavy as it was made out of cream cheese instead of buttercream and the cake was moist and rich, with bursting blueberries all through it. They have two other shops in Vienna too but this is probably the one where you're most likely to walk past as it's right in the Museumsquartier.

Bitzinger Würstelstand

It really is a must to have a sausage at one of the numerous sausage stands while in Vienna, so finally, on the last day we did just that. The Bitzinger is one of the oldest and most popular ones and as it is right next to the Albertina museum, it is right in the centre of town. I wasn't all too excited about our lunch plans that day (there are many many things i prefer to eat than sausages) but i was positively surprised. I ordered the Bosna which is just a regular sausage in one of their huge bread rolls, topped with mustard, cilantro, onions and curry powder. The cilantro was just perfect on there and i'd very much recommend you try this slightly more unusual sausage if you get the chance too.

These were definitely my highlights in terms of food places but as i've already said, everything i ate in Vienna was really good. I didn't even get to all of the restaurants and bakeries i wanted to try so i guess i'll have to go back some day.

Vienna is such a relaxed, beautiful city and i can imagine it to be even better during the summer when you can just lay around in one of the numerous parks, enjoying the sun and perhaps some of that delicious ice cream. While it can't compete with the love i have for Berlin and Melbourne, Vienna definitely holds a place in my heart.

Things i loved: March

I knew it had to happen one day: i crashed on my scooter. Thinking back to it now i honestly don't know why i decided not to take my usual route but i didn't, and i paid for it. Thankfully, there was no one driving on the other side of the road when i realised the turn was much sharper than i'd expected. The open wounds on my foot and knee are making it quite impossible to walk normally so for now, i'm stuck with crutches. Can't blame anyone but myself for it though and as it's just skin and flesh, it'll all be fine again in a few weeks time - except for some scars reminding me to drive more carefully.

I wanted to show you some clothes i got in an outfit post but my leg doesn't fit into anything other than leggings and tights at the moment so instead, i am going to talk about a few things i really enjoyed during the month of march. It feels crazy to me that the second term of the school year is already over - time really does fly by. March has been great, the weather's finally getting a bit warmer and i found the time to read and write more again, as well as spend more time outside with my friends. It is officially spring now, my favourite season of them all!

While berries aren't actually i season where i live yet, the ones you can get at the supermarket finally have some taste to them again. I know i probably shouldn't be eating them yet and buy more local produce but they're just so perfect with oatmeal or yoghurt in the morning! I'll be in absolute food heaven when strawberries and raspberries are in season here.

Benefit They're real! mascara

My mum got this for me a month or two ago and back then i didn't like it that much. I don't know why, but somehow my lashes just clumped together whenever i used this mascara. When i tried it again this month i absolutely fell in love with it: it gives volume and length at the same time without making your lashes look unnatural. I find that you do have to be careful not to put on too much of it, but applied correctly it really gives that false lash effect.

Clinique moisture surge tinted moisturizer in shade 03

I have quite a love-hate relationship with this product. When i was in Australia, this was far too oily for me with the humidity so i stopped using it and it has been sitting at the back of my makeup drawer since then. Recently, i've been getting quite a few dry patches on my skin, which my Chanel Vitalumière Aqua clings to like crazy. So i decided to give this a new try and remembered why i used to love it so much. The shade i have is a tad too dark for me and honestly doesn't match my undertones but seeing as it is so sheer i find it blends in very nicely anyways. This gives me a tiny bit of colour which i don't mind at all, evens out my skin tone to a degree i can work with and - most importantly - doesn't accentuate any dryness without being too greasy. I quite like the more radiant finish this gives me and while i do have to set it with a powder for it to last, it doesn't settle into any fine lines or fade in a weird way. If you want something that's going to stay put all day and give medium too full coverage, this probably isn't for you but if you prefer a sheerer finish and have combination to normal skin, this is quite a nice "foundation". I wouldn't say it is my favourite base ever but for now it works, and i'm glad i didn't have to go out and buy a whole new product.

Zara scarf

This scarf is another item i'd completely forgotten i loved so much. I found it at the back of my closet when i did some spring cleaning and have worn it almost every day since. It adds a nice pop of colour to my otherwise mostly neutral outfits and just brightens my day. The material is very light and flowy which i think is perfect for spring. Also it doesn't have that weird length where it's too short to wrap around your neck twice, but too long if you only wrap it around once - which i find to be a real problem with most scarves. I guess that means i don't have any real problems, if i worry about scarf lengths.

Ahh Game of Thrones. I watched the first season on dvd in less than a week, sometimes watching two or more episodes in one day. Then, of course i wanted to watch the second season but the streams online always took ages to load and i am not a patient person at all - so i didn't watch it at all. You probably can't count it as a march favourite as i only managed to sit down and wait for the first episode to load two days ago but i'm so obsessed i just had to put it in here. This might just be my favourite tv-show ever, after Gossip Girl. I was a bit skeptical whether i'd like the whole middle age thing, however, after one episode, i was hooked. You get attached to the main characters so easily and as there are so many different stories happening parallel to each other, it never gets boring. Seriously, if you watch one tv show this spring, let it be Game of Thrones.

Undeniably, Me

I've been reading Elizabeth's blog for a bit over a month now and i honestly haven't found a post of hers i didn't enjoy. She writes a number of miscellaneous topics, covering fashion, beauty, food and just general life things. Her way of writing is so bubbly and charming, you can't help but not like her (or at least i think so). She is one of those bloggers where I want to read her posts, no matter if what they're about appeals to me or not, just because i love her way of writing. Please make sure to check her out!

I do have on last favourite this month: the sun! It is amazing to actually feel the warmth of the sun rays on your skin instead of just knowing it's somewhere behind the clouds. Not only is it much nicer to not be freezing when you step outside but people are also much more positive and downright happy when winter finally seems to have passed. Let's hope it stays this way for a little longer!

random

Just a few pictures i took this afternoon when i should have been studying but really didn't feel like doing so.

I got this sweater in Australia last year and i freaking love it. It really is the perfect throw-over for the beach, as you can see your bikini through the cutout in the back, and it's very loose so you won't get too warm but the long-ish arms still cover you up.

Remember how i said that my converse survived the summer in quite good condition? Well that has changed since i wore them to a party last weekend -  but the used look is in right?

Hope you're all having a good week, hopefully with a bit more free time than i have.

On: Running

My attitude towards running has changed quite a bit over the past year. You could say i made a 180 degree turn : from loathing to love.

Last summer, i couldn't even run for twenty minutes at a more-than-slow pace, whereas now, i'll go for 40 minute runs and i don't have the speed of a turtle anymore. Which i am pretty damn proud of, seeing as i always used to think i could never be a runner. So even though i still don't consider myself to be one, at least now i don't start complaining as if the world was going to end if we have to run for more than 5 minutes.

The biggest difference though is the way i think about running. Yes it is a type of exercise and i certainly do it partly to stay fit, but it does so much more than that. Whenever i feel stuck in a circle of thoughts, running helps me clear my mind as i simply cannot think anymore (or not as much). Everything seems so much clearer when i'm running, it's as if my brain just shuts out the less important things so i can concentrate on what really matters. Running kind of puts things back into perspective for me, and really relieves me when i'm feeling stressed. Which seems to be like, all the time.

No matter how down i might have felt before, i always return from a run with more energy and motivation (which doesn't really make sense as you're basically getting rid of energy but whatever). I get my best ideas while running (and in the shower - anybody else feel that way?) and as i'm so motivated i also actually go through with them.

I' just realized again what a positive effect running can have on me today. The past few weeks i didn't go for runs as often as before, and it showed. So when i almost freaked out trying to study for a pretty important biology test coming on tomorrow, i just put on my Nike's and went for a run. For the first time since what,October, i could feel the sun on my skin. Only about 100 metres away from my house a grin started to creep on my face, which then turned into a smile - people driving by probably though i was some sort of a maniac, but i quite simply didn't care. It felt as if all the worries and stress that had build up over the last two weeks just slid of more and more with every step i made. It became clear to me that there was no need to worry about that biology test as i already knew almost everything i needed to know to take it, that i didn't have to stress about eating healthier or working out more, cause hey, i'm fine just the way i am. Once i got back, my mood had lifted enormously and i felt so much more confident than i has in the morning.

Running makes me feel free, relaxed and confident about myself, and honestly if it's good for me physically too, why skip it. I'm certainly not trying to "run away" from my problems and stress, it just makes me more capable to cope with any issues i'm having. And when school gets as stressful as it is at the moment, i really need something to keep the balance

Wishlist

Wishlist by lisaconzem 

Recently, i've found myself thinking more and more about spring clothes - which is not very fitting, seeing that i'm living for Serfaus to go skiing tomorrow. But the weather has simply been so awful for the last week or so that i can't help but dream of the sunny days that will hopefully come soon enough. Seriously guys, this rain is making me depressed. It's just been pouring and pouring, you'd think there'd be no rain left by now!

I've always loved the Boyfriend jeans look, however i was too afraid i wouldn't be able to pull it of to actually buy a pair. Also, the ones i've tried on never really seemed to fight right,mostly they just hung off me like a sack - not very flattering. I am determined though to find a pair this year - and to actually wear it. Wearing the same old super-skinny jeans day in day is getting kinda boring so i'm trying to be a bit more experimental in the pants department this spring. we'll see how that goes.

Chucks. What can i say, they're probably my favourite shoes ever and i basically live in them during the spring and summer time. My white pair from last year is still looking surprisingly good so i'm thinking of getting coloured low-top ones for a bit of a change. And how gorgeous is that pinky-coral shade.

One thing i'm seriously looking forward to is not having to wear my super thick coat anymore. While i do love my Zara coat to pieces, i can't wait to wear my leather jacket again - or simply just a sweatshirt like the one on the picture. I know, i know, it's only february- but a girl can dream right?

Another thing i can't wait to wear more of again are colourful clothes. I know i could be wearing colours at the moment but during the fall and especially the winter i find myself gravitating more towards dark, warm colours that make me feel all cozy. Light, flowy tops and bright accessories just scream spring to me!

I've fallen in love with this Staring at Stars dress from urbanoutfitters, and i might just get it as it's on sale right now even if i'll probably only be able to wear it in like 4 months time.

What are your favourite spring clothing items?

This will probably be the last post for a week as i'm going snowboarding with my family. Skiing holidays are like my favourite holidays of the year so i'm super excited!

still i'd rather be working for something than praying for the rain

I stayed home sick today as i was feeling really weak this morning and my coughing was even worse than yesterday. As i already felt much better by noon, i had the time to play around a bit with my new lens - the two selfies are the result. I can't wait to take pictures of someone else with it as it is a bit difficult to adjust the manual focus on myself as well as think about the aperture.

The book you can see on the third picture is my Q&A 5-year-journal. Basically there's 365 pages with a question for each day, which you should then answer every day for 5 years. This far i've been quite good at doing so and haven't skipped a single day - i really hope i follow through with it as it would be so interesting to see how my answers change over the course of a few years.

Not only do i love the concept, it's also just so pretty to look at! If you're interested, you can get it at amazon.

I honestly don't know what i would be doing without my kindle. Since i got it 2 years ago i've been reading much more than before as it cuts out the step of having to either wait for your book to arrive or go to an actual store and buy one. It also makes english books far more easily accessible to me, seeing that most book stores near me don't really carry that many. While i still love the way an actual book feels and smells (yes i am one of those book-smell-lovers), the size of the kindle simply makes it easier to carry around and actually read in - no weird turning around in your bed trying to find a comfortable position to read a 500-page book.

Currently i'm reading (or rather i've just started) 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey. It is supposed to be a manual for performing better in your personal and professional life.

 So far i absolutely love it and i can clearly see why it is such a bestseller. I rarely read books that are non-fictional or at least tell a story but this one already has me sucked in. I might give you a short review once (or if) i've finished it.

Basically i just wanted to show you a few thing i'm really liking at the moment - this song is one of my absolute favourites. It's one of those songs that i listen to on repeat for a while, forget about it but somehow i keep coming back to it and every single time i realize once again how amazing it actually is.

We Don't Eat - James Vincent McMorrow

(Higher Love is also pretty great)

#makeitcount

Somehow, i haven't been feeling quite like myself lately. I feel like the days have just been passing by, and while i got everything done that i had to, what i forgot to do along the way is to just LIVE.

It's incredibly easy to get stuck in a rut where you get up every morning, go to school or work, come home, tick of your list of to-do's for the day - and go to sleep to do the same the next day. Which might be fine for some people, however it just leaves me feeling tense and unmotivated as my days are lacking "purpose" to me.

The worst part though, is that I didn't even notice. I truly believed that I was doing quite alright, much better than the weeks before anyways. And yes, I was less stressed in the way that i wasn't under too much pressure, but i wasn't "happy" either. I've been drifting from one day to the other, avoiding to do anything I was actually passionate about. Because being passionate means caring, putting everything you have into something - with the risk that it might not work out.

Out of fear of failing, i simply stopped trying.

It wasn't until yesterday that this struck me - and it struck me hard. In dance class, i got so damn frustrated simply because I didn't succeed in doing my pirouettes, and all of a sudden, all the feelings i'd been suppressing for weeks just came out. I just couldn't stop crying, and i didn't even really know what i was crying about. This is when it became clear to me that in fact, I hadn't been doing "better". I'd been suppressing all the negative feelings inside of me, as a huge knot in my stomach - and now that knot had come untied.

What i've realized is that i don't want to live this way. I want to embrace my feelings, good or bad, and most importantly, i want to DO something.

This video has truly inspired and motivated me to do so, so please, if you found the time to read this blogpost, go watch it!

make it count.