paris × london – places + things 🌝

We always try to escape from the war zone that is Berlin around New Year’s Eve to a country where fireworks are either not being sold, (are preferably illegal), or people have enough sense to not set their money on fire and turn their city into a rubbish dump in the process. We went to Paris this time, spent NYE there and then travelled to London. Both cities aren’t new to us. When I’m already familiar with a city, I don’t feel pressured to do the whole sightseeing marathon, and instead just wander around, spend hours in bookstores or reading in cafés, saunter, be une flaneuse. Also, after Christmas and around NYE especially, I don’t have the energy to be a hyperactive-keen-to-see-new-places kind of tourist. So, here are just a few (of my favourite or new to me) places we went to and some things I bought there. A travel scrapbook, if you will.

winter skincare favourites 🧴❄️

Long time no see. 🌝 I didn’t feel very inspired in the past few weeks and thought I’d give myself some time off blogging around Christmas and New Year and dive back in with something light and lovely in January. Like skincare. 💆🏻‍♀️ 🧴

We spent NYE and my birthday in Paris and London and although it wasn’t significantly colder there than in Berlin, my skin was SO DRY to a point where my face actually hurt. Maybe it was the water, the airplane aircon, or the dry air in hotels, museums, shops – I don’t know. In any case, my skin was feeling rough and these products helped me a lot. ✨

grief, loss, and christmas (traditions) ⭐️🌲

It’s going to be the first Christmas without my mum this year. I haven’t celebrated at homehome for the past two years, but my mum as well as the rest of my family have nevertheless always been a part of my Christmas. Not as much of the holiday itself, but of the feeling Christmas gives me – beginning in late November all throughout January.

I grew up with very many Christmas traditions – a lot of them I liked, some of them I didn’t or simply grew out of. Not because I grew up necessarily, but because I changed over the years – as we all do.

three berlin book stores – an incomplete list 📖 📚

I’ve been writing this blogpost in my head for months and never got to a point where I felt it was ready to actually type it up. I’ve wanted it to be a “complete” guide to Berlin’s (2nd hand English) book shops, but when you’re researching something and try to compile a comprehensive list, you’ll never be able to get it done.

fruity tea loaf ☕️✨🍂

Am I ever not missing the UK? Maybe when I’m actually in the UK. But since this isn’t the case at the moment, I am baking something that reminds me of our time in Lancaster a few weeks ago. We stayed at a dreamy little one-room-cottage that was attached to out host’s main house and amidst their beautiful English countryside style garden. As a little welcome gesture our host had put out a few slices of fruity ginger tea cake for us (plus tea of course and a pint of milk – btw: we always feel bad when we don’t end up using the milk because we get oat/soy milk instead, sorry.) Anyway, this tea cake. It was so good.

breakfast + museum #datewithmyself 🚲🍂

I’ve never found it particularly difficult to be alone or to spend time with myself. Quite the contrary. It’s more of an effort for me to “be social”. Alone time on the other hand feels natural and revitalising as well as relaxing at the same time. I cherish my alone time, however, when you’re so comfortable with being on your own – staying in and reading all day can become a bit of a pattern. That’s why I’m taking myself out on “dates” on a regular basis. It also allows me to be social without actually being social … if that makes sense. That’s what I’m all about basically. 🐞