Berlin Birthday

After whizzing through Berlin last Summer whilst interrailing I decided it was probably my most favourite city in the World. Last month I spent my 20th Birthday there and that changed to most definitely.

Birthday's are good things at the best of times, so to spend one in my favourite city with some of my favourite humans was basically the greatest idea ever.

It was a good kind of day filled with brunching, baklava and bumbling. The baklava was owing to our first stop after a lazy brunch, as we set out to the Turkish market, diving between stalls to admire ripe, round produce and escape the drizzle.

The 'Buchstabenmuseum' was echt cool - essentially 3 rooms filled wall to ceiling with old neon signs to celebrate the art work in sign making and typography. It's only open till November so if you are around I recommend you to pop in!

Dinner outside just about made possible by the delicious bowls of Pho we devoured. A side of people watching and time to make plans of just when exactly we can just move right away to Berlin, please.

Oh yeah and don't ask about the pumpkin..

 

** photographs of me taken by my pal Edie. 

Arrival in Kathmandu & Durbar Square

After the ridiculous amounts of excitement induced by the Smith's arrival in Nepal had subsided enough for proper cognitive function to continue, one of the first places we visited was Durbar Square. Kathmandu Durbar Square is the plaza in front of what was once the royal Palace of the Kathmandu Kingdom which is reflected in the ornate and antiquated architecture that is around to feast your eyes on.

Once inside the square we headed to the Kumari Ghar, or house of the living Goddess. According to tradition, a young unmarried girl who fulfils certain requirements is chosen to live in the Kumari Ghar (there are two more of these residences in Nepal). They must stay at the house where they also receive an education, until they reach puberty when they are no longer deemed pure. You are not allowed to take pictures of the Kumari but many tourists go to try and catch a glimpse at one of her daily appearances as it is considered lucky. Despite being an interesting point of cultural difference, I found sighting the Kumari and visiting the house quite difficult - it was harrowing to see the perfectly made-up, yet emotionless face briefly rest at the court-yard window for the benefit of foreign and native onlookers, before disappearing once more from view.

We also just enjoyed spending some time just moseying around the town - it felt like stepping back in time, the motorbikes and cars almost becoming invisible in comparison to the grandeur of the old buildings and the hectic smaller shops and stalls weaved in between, with crowds of people effortlessly gracing the space between the two.

After a shave at the dodgiest looking barbers for my Dad (one of the more bizarre Smith family travelling traditions), we gratefully took some shade in a roof top café before slowly heading back, taking our time to appreciate the friendliness of the locals and the precarious and chaotic telephone wire arrangements.

India #3 [Munnar and Palolem]

This is finally the final instalment of my trip to India!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The second half of the trip was quite manic so I have chose a few moments that really stand out for me personally.

1) Staying in a remote camp in the mountains from where we explored the tea plantations and conquered an extremely arduous but rewarding jungle trek through the national park area. We stopped by at cardamom plantations and even a tribal school for some gratefully received sweet tea. However most off putting that our park ranger-come-guide bound ahead effortlessly clad in woolly jumper and flip flops!

Us and the lovely staff from the mountain camp who proved themselves as top card game competition!

2) A visit to a home-stay close to Munnar - the most wonderful family! A very welcoming place worth a visit if you're ever in town, not to mention the excellent home cooking! We also enjoyed the slower pace and cooler climate of mountain life, sloping around the bustly town and local gardens.

3) Getting blessed by an elephant in an unplanned temple visit on a stop over in Coimbatore. Unfortunately I have no pictures from inside but unexpected memories are definitely the best! All of the locals visiting the temple were not at all put off by the arrival of our four white (/slightly reddish) faces gawping at the impressive Hindu deities and beautiful expressions of faith. As we sat peacefully, taking in the scene one man even explained to me how our being there on that day was something sent by God to be thankful of! Their acceptance and kindness was truly humbling to observe.

4) And finally having a well earned rest in the serene Palolem beach huts in Goa.

Travel plan update // life at the moment

Today I have some exciting travel plans to announce on Big World Small Girl...

"Today"

Yup, in 9 days I'll be heading out to Kathmandu with the family for a weeks adventure in Nepal! It's all a bit of a mad rush around here because we only booked the flights a couple of weeks a go; we've been wanting to go for ages but it was all decided a bit spur of the moment! I am beyond excited which unfortunately isn't doing all that much good for impending coursework deadlines and looming summer exam prep... Also featuring today is an abundance of yellow flowers because its mother's day [and hey who doesn't like yellow] and some orange and mango ice tea ft. straw [because hey who doesn't like straws]...

Writing this post also reminded me that there is an instalment missing in my India write-up series - so keep your peepers peeping for that some time within the next week!!!

So that's about it, I hope you are all enjoying the sunshine, looking forward to a roast and spoiling your mums rotten because that's the best way to spend a Sunday.

Let me know what your travel or non-travel related plans are for Easter in the comments below or what your experiences of Nepal are if you've ever been there before...

Takin' it easy

Hola Amigos!

Summer continues to shine on in the beautiful sun and what a glorious Summer it has been so far! The weather has allowed for many a beach barbecue, woodland picnic and sunset drink and thus not so many a blog post (sorry!)

Summer essentials and some lovingly collected shells from this weeks camping adventure.

Firstly, today I simply wanted to take the time to say happy Holidays and congratulate everyone who last week collected their A level results! I received my AS grades and was very happy which was followed with a celebratory camping trip down to the beach with some of my lovely chums (photos to follow once they have been developed.

Secondly, after much running up and down and round and round the country I finally had the chance yesterday evening to sit down with my mum and think about all the adventures I have had...well I would've done if I wasn't so exhausted, best nights sleep in a very long and canvas-related time! Which is why I am writing to you all today to say take it easy (as the post title suggests)... it is great to travel, explore and adventure but sometimes it is important to sit, think and soak up your wonderful surroundings be it at home in the garden, in London in a beautiful park, dozing in a European holiday hotspot or jet-setting off to a wonderfully exotic location. Otherwise us travel-folk become obsessed with 'seeing' as many places as we can without really seeing and appreciating the places right under our feet and right in front of our eyes!

The Big World Small Girl map is beginning to fill up with this Summer's clutter!

That's all I have time for today as I am off to Cornwall to catch a few waves before the Autumn leaves fall upon us!

GIF Wednesday is here!..To stay?

This Wednesday I have prepared for you a little GIF inspired by my exploration in Barcelona in the spring of 2012. Here I have attempted to simulate the view of walking down one of the narrow alleys found in the winding maze of lanes making up a large part of the city. Barcelona is a wonderful place to take a weekend city break if you want to a short and sweet blast of Spanish culture. Make sure to taste the delicious food as well as see all the sights such as Gaudi's gardens and the Sagrada Familia. I hope to write a full post on Barcelona when I have more time for those of you who are interested!

Please keep the feedback coming, I am eager to know which styles of posts you do and don't like. All suggestions welcome! And let me know if you think "GIF Wednesday" should be a permanent feature for Big World Small Girl!

Much love,

ICELAND: OMAM & Reykjavik

Asides from travelling, one of my other passions is music. I own an eclectic mix of tunes but I particularly love anything with chilled and acoustic vibes. Therefore when I received the Of Monsters and Men (OMAM) album for Christmas I was delighted. The music is uplifting yet soothing and crafted with up most care. They are most famous for their single Little Talks from their debut album My head is an animal. So when I learnt that this band originate from Iceland, I took it upon myself to use this as a perfect excuse to bring music and travel together on my little blog. I actually visited the capital, Reykjavik, in the Summer of 2011 as "R&R" after an expedition in Greenland with a team from my school, and absolutely loved it. Although Iceland is quite an isolated, and at times desolate and barren country, this city is thriving, creative and colourful. The magic of Reykjavik is only further heightened by Iceland's dramatic landscape and lack of any other built up areas for miles. So without further ado, whack on some OMAM as I take you through some of my personal Reykjavik highlights ...

In the city centre; pretty signs and flags.

The colourful, toy-like houses scattered around, even in the main city centre, are certainly a sight to bring a child-like excitement into your stroll round town. At first it was so bizarre to see these houses which I so desperately want to believe are made out of Lego being used in daily life without a single hesitation or giggle.


Welcome!

Probably THE best wall I have ever seen. Especially handy for rushed commuters who may be fixing their tie on the way to the office...

I definitely recommend anyone who visits Iceland to take a boat trip of some form. Although we set of to see minke whales, I was just as satisfied admiring the plethora of dolphins and puffins we sighted on our journey. Other activities I would implore you to investigate would be visiting the local thermal beach, which is a nice way to relax and even better still, is free! For those interested, excursions to check out local geysers, volcanoes and other natural features are also available. However make sure you leave plenty of time to bumble around all the wonderfully quirky shops and cafes.

You can see the sea from almost anywhere!

A perfect way to end the day.



Even industrial ships make for a striking picture in Iceland.

We ended the trip by taking a dip in the blue lagoon - a must-do for any Iceland goer! And if being thermally heated wasn't impressive enough, the lagoon is fully outside in the dramatic rocky landscape. A much appreciated treat after a 3-week trek in Greenland!

Have you even been to Iceland? What's your favourite capital city?