IGNANT Hashtag - Colour Coding

iGNANT are a multidisciplinary online magazine that feature art, design, travel and architecture in the most tasteful way possible, they also just happen to be " Berlin Based" as well. I recently started  following them on Instagram due to their content brightening up my feed every so often, when I came across something they title as their weekly Hashtag projects. Iv never quite been one to enter Instagram competitions, but this one really got me inspired. Withing minutes of reading the brief, I grabbed my camera and went scouring the streets of Berlin , looking at each color that passed me by in a more artistic and "color coded" way. I must admit, I became quite obsessed after a day or two and even had my boyfriend submit some of my images on his account, needless to say neither of us won or were 1 of the 10 of the featured submissions.

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.

An eager beaver and beach burn

 After all the rain we had been experiencing the past couple of days (seriously, three days non stop), I leapt at the opportunity to visit the beach on seeing the weather report read anything other than rain.

 

The train from Bergen op Zoom to Vlissingen is about a hour away, and a leisurely stroll to the beach town's boulevard from the station. There was a nice cool breeze blowing,  cooling the day of. This however concealed the fact that it was actually sweltering hot, and as I lay on the beach ( thinking I'm getting a sweet tan), I was in fact being scorched.

 

However,my body's reddened (or lobster like)  appearance didn't last very long. Overnight I managed to become tanned once again after a whole year of missing out on summer and it's safe to say I am no longer a pasty European.

 

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

START SPREADING THE NEWS

So with all the drama and hype everyone usually places on getting around New York City, I managed to easily navigate my way from Newark airport, to the front door of my sister’s apartment in Lower Manhattan.  Having taken numerous means of transport in Paris, Barcelona, Holland, and Belgium over the past 7 months, New York was but a mere piece of cake.

After a long sleepless flight and a 4 hour Opera show at the MET the previous night, my day only began by 11 (as all my days seem to go whilst travelling it seems). I casually took the respective metro lines (have I mentioned how much I love the Metro?) to where I had to be and admired the greatness that the Metropolitan Art Museum and The Guggenheim had to offer. I braved the ridiculous minus degree weather (and my equally ridiculous down feather coat) to stroll through Central Park and purchase a famous New York City hotdog to somewhat warm myself up.

My Friday morning got off to a better early morning start and a full day ahead, although in all honesty, much of the day's itinerary had only been thought out that morning. I reminisced at the 9/11 memorial, gawked at the Statue of Liberty, and suited up in Wall Street (whilst getting lost somewhere in between). For the most part, I really wasn’t that hungry or even peckish, but I simply couldn’t resist trying all the American candy I had heard and seen so much of. Twizzlers were by far the most disgusting, with a taste and texture similar to that of soap and Tootsie roll visually resembling something along the likes of..er poop. Hershey's Candy Bars and Reese’s peanut cups were by far the tastiest of the lot.

After much debate about where we would be spending our Friday evening, we opted for the cosy bar around the corner from the apartment. The whole thing felt very New York as we had to wait outside on the sidewalk for a table whilst passer-by's complained. Like something out of Sex and the City!

The Saturday morning miraculously presented us the warmest weather since I had arrived,  and we made full advantage of it by using our Citi-Bike passes to head to Brooklyn Bridge. It really is like something out the movies, all the people jogging, walking, biking and pushing strollers. Everything except seeing two lovers meeting halfway across the bridge. Our mornings adventure was followed by watching a real Knicks basketball game at Madison Square Gardens. We munched on popcorn and kept our eyes peeled for any celebrities seated in the front row.