Fuck Winter, it's time for spring

What has felt like the longest winter ever, I couldn't be happier that the sun is shining more regularly, the days are becoming longer and most importantly of all, the temperature is gradually becoming warmer. February and March have been incredibly busy months, with a lot of inspiration and opportunities. Working two jobs , as exhausting as it is, is the most fulfilling thing I could wish for regardless of the fact that I have not uttered the words "free time " in quite a while.

The slow start to spring has also brought an abundance of new friends and faces, and I am finally starting to feel like this is home. Speaking of home, ours has becoming an absolute overgrown jungle of plants and flowers celebrating our newly found freedom from winter.

Back to Berlin

After two glorious weeks back in my home country of South Africa, the time has come for me to return back "home". What an incredible experience it's been coming back here with a fresh set of eyes and a whole new perspective of the world. I met some incredible people during my time here, and also re-kindled old friendships that felt like I had seen just yesterday. I can't wait to share all the photography and video shots I took with the rest of Berlin, and further intrigue everyone about my Beautiful South Africa

Unplanned Italy

As I run all the photographic memories of this beautiful and history rich country through my head, I am tempted to leave you with nothing more than these images. Of course, I was lucky enough in that I had the best guide, and seeing the city by scooter. Apart from all the ice cream and espressos that we consumed, another one of our guilty pleasures was going around on the scooter and letting the fresh breeze from the ride cool us off. Every single street of the city has a story to tell, and I struggled to put my camera down (even taking a few sneaky shots whilst on the back of the scooter)

From Rome we took a bus to Siena  where we stayed for three days and ate like kings. It was here that I got the first few glimpses of all the rolling hills of the Tuscan region and the ever so beautiful Piazza del Campo. We road tripped to the coastal town of Santo Stefano, and swam in clear blue sea's on Giglio Island. Not a single part of our trip was planned, and  in true adventurous style much of our accommodation along the coast entailed last minute camping with all of a tent and mattress.

As we literally ate away our 'budget' and the camping got the better of us, we headed to the mountain regions of Mount Amiata and his hometown of Abbadia San Salvatore. We were treated to true Italian home cooked meals, and exploring more of what Tuscany had to offer. Most of the time I had my head stuck out of the window and my mouth wide open in awe. The entire region, and I mean absolutely all of it, is like a beautiful painting.

Brief non bullshit friendships

Nataliia and I met in a somewhat unconventional manner, although in this day and age I suppose it is all the more normal.

 

I had recently relocated to a new town, of Bergen op Zoom in The Netherlands, and because I got Thursdays  from work off, was wanting to meet up with a local for a bike ride, or perhaps a coffee in one of the cafe's. I had sent out a few simple messages on couchsurfing and awaited responses, but not thinking much of it.

 

I received an email via the website the next day from, none other than Nataliia, who is originally from the Ukraine, and was at the time living with her Dutch boyfriend in the town. She, however, was not one of the recipients I had sent a message to, but had sent talmost the same message to me, wanting to meet for a coffee, or a chat. There was something about the situation that gave me a good feeling about this, and so we met up the following Thursday. We continued to meet up every week, at the same cafe' and had grown close in the matter of a few weeks.

 

She has since then moved away from Bergen op Zoom, and is currently living her dream of seeing Paris and travelling the rest of Europe. Although our friendship was short lived by her departure, whenever a Thursday approaches, I think of her fondly...

Berlin, you son of a bitch

I mean this term in the absolute best possible way, that Berlin, you may just be the best place I have been to. There is something about this place that just does something to you. Of course the people I met and the things I did may influence this considerably, but the entirety of my time in this city consisted of a no bullshit Berlin.

No more words can really describe this place, so I will keep the rest for myself, sorry folks...

kreuzberg canal // wohnzimmer café // bauhaus archive museum // mauer park beauty in the spring// glory whole  kaffeehäuschen // lovers at a protest in front of brandenburg gate  // mauer park childishness in the spring // deep chill at adalbertbrücke // jewish museum // lichtpark // selfie time at the bauhaus archive museum // kaffee pause // portraits at  my good friends café journale

ANTWERP TAKE TWO

I managed to fit in a sneaky bike ride to Antwerp from my new town of Bergen op Zoom this past weekend. It's a mere 38 km by bike and went by somewhat quickly (it takes about 2 hours along the bike paths) . The bike ride on my journey back was a different story though. Biking against wind is not an ideal condition in my eyes and I suppose you could say I am still recovering from the trip. Regardless, I feel quite chuffed at the few photos I managed to take of Antwerp in full swing of spring

A PARISIAN NEW YEARS: CHAMPAGNE SOUP AND STICKY FLOORS

I don't like New Years. It's a pressured down day for everyone to host or attend the most jamming party that they have most likely been planning for the past 6 months. It's just dumb and I never seem to have plans, not even on the day. Its all quite a sporadic thing that wounds up with the most interesting results.

 

This year wasn't any different.

 

The celebration went something along the lines of a last minute gathering at a friend house in Paris with a whole array of different people. Two Finnish gals, Two French Canadians, one Malaysian/Australian, one South African and of course, who could forget the French. We glugged down copious amounts of champagne soup , danced to Madonna and merrily swayed in the arms of the other guests.
 

As the early hours of the morning drew near, the soles of our shoes clung to the sticky floor as we made our way to the front door and headed home...

PARIS: DAY 2

After witnessing the beauty of Sacré-Cœur and the Montmartre the previous night, I decided to view it a second time amongst the chaos that is the tourist hustle and bustle.  Taking the Metro to my destination, I sat on the steps  leading up to this magical building and stared blankly into the distance, admiring the vastness of the city that holds 12 million people. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by this thought, I moved along to view the well known square in Montmartre that houses artists drawing passer-by's faces at a somewhat small fee. As another downpour of rain fell upon the Montmartre, I entered a cosy café and indulged in a 6 Euro cappuccino whilst scribbling notes in my travel journal

The Notre Dame was next on my sporadic itinerary and happened to befriended Willy, a Bolivian fellow,  along the way. We spoke about our homeland, our current doings and our plans for Paris whilst admiring our surroundings. I told him about Lovers bridge, located at Pont de l'Archevêché, and tickled his curiosity so much that we ended up going together. Whilst twilight was setting in on Paris, a street musician played his guitar beside the canal whilst we sat and listened...