a weekend with my parents

Brussels. my parents visiting was exactly what i needed. i still don't feel at home here, i still feel extremely lost and lonely and i really needed someone to explore this city with and fall a little more in love with it again. it worked. we randomly found a café with good beers and the cutest cat and went for a long Art Nouveau-walk through Etterbeek. so lovely.

falling in love with this city is so hard

Brussels. i've been here over a month now and still don't know anyone, still walk around the streets alone and still feel a bit scary (because let's face it, Brusseleirs aren't the nicest and non-touchy people). anyhow, there's two things i like a lot:

1. Café Zebra, with the most colorful chairs outside and free lollipops inside
2. the little Invader mosaics, that are spread over the city. i try to find as many as possible.

(and university is pretty good, too.)

bonjour de Bruxelles!

Brussels. i live here now, in the capital of Europa and in a city with more than one million inhabitants. what i learned so far:

- the houses here aren't just ugly and grey, they often are quite pretty too
- Manneken Pis really gets dressed up
- people get crazy when they actually see Manneken Pis (and accept he's a bit smaller than expected)
- you get the best view over the city from Parking 58's rooftop.

23

it's my birthday today! my mom baked the best fig cake, the sun is out and i'll celebrate with friends in the garden.

wooden houses and the sea

i've finally been a good Dutchie and visited the famous Volendam (and even took the boat to pretty Marken!).

when in Prague

- join the New Europe Tours for a never too expensive, but fun, city walking tour
- stay at the pretty Artharmony hostel
- search for the John Lennon Wall, because it's not only touristy, but also quite pretty
- dance your ass off in the strangest club you'll ever go to (i guess), Cross Club
- eat the best best best (no guessing here!) vegetarian food at Lehká Hlava, which besides has a starry ceiling
- look at the pretty view from Vyšehrad
- and go visit stationery haven, called Papelote.

Vyšehrad

Prague. this city is so pretty in many ways and places, but i think the view from Vyšehrad is my favorite. you can easily get there by taking the metro and i think it's just pretty impressive that you're so close to the houses and basically can look straight down into people's daily life. (you can even look into some of the houses!)

ahoj! from Praha

Prague. after years of dreaming i made it to the Czech capital, together with 6 friends from all over Europe. it's such a nice city to be together again. to eat cheap meals, drink cheap beers, laugh too loud and look at pretty sunsets and architecture.

an Amsterdam afternoon

Amsterdam. i met up with lovely Elisse for her first trip to "the big capital" and i think that i've been a good guide, although i don't really know my way either. some of the things we did:

- visit the FOAM photography museum
- cuddle with all the cute cats that basically are everywhere
- eat froyo in the shade, next to the canal
- buy postcards one of the best postcard shops i know about, Art Unlimited (in front of Hard Rock Café)
- take Wok to Walk to the Vondelpark for dinner.

be sure to have some flowers in your house

i took these from our garden, they smell so good.

8 hours on a train for a picnic

i haven't regret it a single second. we made the best food, the weather was good and the people lovely.

ice cream and orange fever

i finally developed my fisheye film: last year i ate ice cream in the park and this year the streets are all orange, thanks to the upcoming european championships in soccer. it's pretty cool how excited we all get, i think.

being a tourist in my own capital

Amsterdam. we're not the bestest of friends, so i figured i'd bring my camera and look for the pretty things while i was there the other day. it went quite well, i'd say. i'm even looking (a bit) forward to go back later this summer.

au revoir, Annecy!

i am home now. it was a little hard saying goodbye to all the people and the mountains, but luckily the train ride was breathtaking (especially between Geneva and Bern) and luckily there are more than enough lovely memories to remember.

we were on a boat

Annecy. now that we're soon leaving this place, we figured we'd actually get on (and in!) the lake. le lac d'Annecy actually is a mountain lake which means it was SUPER cold, but so refreshing in this 30+ degree weather. oh, i'll miss the lake.

a mountain day

Chamonix. we escaped the city for a bit and went to this mountain village called Chamonix, where you find one of the highest peaks of the Mont Blanc. the lift to get up there was way overpriced, but OH MY GOD THAT VIEW. so worth it.

when in Annecy

- look at the pretty (pastel colored) houses
- eat a Menu Pic-Nic and ice cream from Glacier Perrière
- visit Bazar sans Frontières, which is the biggest, prettiest and awesomest second hand store i've ever been
- buy postcards at Home d'Antan (also the prettiest i've ever seen)
- walk around (for hours) and find all the cute hidden places
- hang out at the lake.

le menu Pic-Nic: bagels and cupcakes

Annecy. today after class, we didn't go straight home to do homework (ha), but went to the lake instead. and with us, we brought Bagels & Cupcakes' Menu Pic-Nic: a bagel, a cold drink, a hot drink, a cupcake and a bag of chips for €12,50. SO GOOD. i really hope places at home also start having picnic menus as it's one of the coziest things i've heard of.