Boots

I just sumbled upon the PERFECT boots in the H&M sale.

They are exactly the kind of boots I wanted and sadly enough they only go 'till size 40. So my size 41 feet won't fit into them. SUCK.  (Btw, they were from the Girl With The Drago Tattoo collection)

I googled a bit on leather boots and although those are quite okay I can't find a pair as perfect as the above.

Anyone know a store where they sell boots like this?

Books I like, books I love: Divergent

Do you know that empty feeling you can have after you finished a book you really liked? If you're lucky the book is one of a series and you can run to the library to get the second part. But what if you have finished the whole series? After I had finished reading the The Hunger Games trilogy I had that sad feeling and the best way to get over it is find another great series to read. That isn't as easy as it sounds though. Since I'm not the kind of girl for whom a simple love-triangle is enough the YAL-genre often disappoints me (anyone tried the Hush Hush series? Man those sucked!). I want to read a good story too. So it took a while till I found a new series that I'm psyched about.  Now that I've found it I would like to share it with you guys (whoever you are): It's the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth.

Divergent #1 - Insurgent #2- Detergent #3 (joke of the author)

Since I'm too lazy to write a summary myself I'll just give you the one Veronica Roth posted on her own blog:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is.

Of course the books has its flaws: Veronica Roth is not an amazing writer; her sentences are very short and plain and especially in the beginning this annoyed me a bit. Still, I liked it very much. I stayed up till 1.30 a.m. to finish the book. I didn't want to put it away and go to sleep. This only happens when I really like a book. I wish I could start reading Insurgent right now, but the library doesn't have it yet. Sad panda.

Places to Visit #1

I'm back. Back to blogging I mean. I've been back from my trip to Nepal (awesome) and India (meh) since about three months now. Today I was making holiday plans and Facebook spamming one of my friends with all of the cool places I still wanted to visit. I've decided to give my friend some rest and post the newest addition to my I Freaking NEED to go there! - list here. 

The Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland. The pictures will explain it all.

It's not a natural spring. If you want to read what it is exactly then go here.

Admission is 35 - 40 euros, depending on when you visit. 

I think I'll have to move to Berlin

To Kreuzberg to be precise. That was the neigbourhood where the festival took place, it's supposed to be kind of the alternative, hip neighbourhood. I really liked it there. My mom told me that when she visited Berlin for the last time (in the 80s or 90s probably) there were still lots of squatters (used a dictionary, hope this is the right word) there. 

Must-make picture when in Berlin.

I was so tired from my night in the Eurolines bus that the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. And it was really hot that day. The hat provided some shadow.

A really extensive exposition about the rise and fall of the Nazi regime. I didn't make it to the end though. It was simply to hot out in the sun.

Had to make this picture for my friend who is a huge chili pepper fan.

Friday night we found this street musician. He was quite good an covered some Jamie Cullum songs (instant love of course!) so we watched hime for about two hours together with some strangers and drank cider. It was still a warm evening. Great night.

Harry Potter lego. How awesome is that? 

Awesome!

There were so many demonstrations in Berlin! Didn't get what they were for. Lots of police though.

The famous words: "Ich bin ein Berliner"

So funny! Found this in the Stasi museum. This man sent in his disguises for approvel. Is it me or are they really bad?

Kreuzberg <3

Pretty huh?

I love it how there is always something going on in Berlin :)

Double the trouble

Is it me or do Charlie/Ivy (Kaylee DeFer) from Gossip Girl and Rachel (Danneel Harris) from One Tree Hill look a lot alike? Look at those noses! Jeez, I already thought I recognized Charlie from somewhere.

By the way: What did you think of the Gossip Girl season finale?

I found it kind of weak. Making someone pregnant again? Sounds like the writers are having a serious lack of inspiration...

Seasons of love

I saw Rent the other day. What a wonderful song this is. 

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure

A year in the life?

How about love?

How about love?

How about love? Measure in love

Seasons of love. Seasons of love.

My indietracks top five.

Yes another post about Indietracks and it won't be the last one either. I'm sorry, I can't help it, but it just was such a great place to be! All five bands were really, really great, but here we go: my personal top five.

5. Withered Hand

When? Sunday July 31st, 2011.

Where? Outdoor stage.

Withered Hand 

Withered Hands is a Scottish singer-songwriter, still he performed with a band which included drums, cello, banjo and guitar (which he played himself), surprisingly enough no-one was playing bass in this band (except for one song), but I guess the cello kind of took over the function of the bass. When the singer talked it was in a high-pitched voice which sounded a bit pinched, but when he sung it didn't bother me at all. The music he makes is a kind of folk, very soothing and relaxing to listen too. But when the drums kicked in in some songs it became more danceable and sometimes reminded me a bit of Mumford & Sons. Anyway, I bought the Good News cd (and got it signed. Even by the banjo player who only was in the band for the day (didn't know that, oops)) so needless to say I liked it!

4. Edwyn Collins

When? Saturday July 30th, 2011

Where? A completely filled Indoor Stage

Edwyn Collins kind of was the "big name" who was performing at Indietracks. Still, I hadn't heard of him, but I guess he was kind of before my time since his big hit "Girl Like You" was in 1994 when I was only two years old. The man is kind of old now and in 2005 he had a stroke so he limps a bit, but there sure is nothing wrong with his voice! It really is too bad that most people only know Girl Like You because he has many more great songs which are very danceable too! I really enjoyed the performance and may I add that the guitarist on the left wasn't bad to look at either? ;)

3. The Hidden Cameras

When? Saturday July 30th, 2011

Where? A little acoustic performance at the outdoor stage and the real thing later that evening at the indoor stage.

At their second performance the lead singer dressed-up a bit more

Our friendly neighbour had told us that he was really looking forward to The Hidden Cameras who were supposed to the heighlight of the day. However when they wanted to start their performance at 19:40 at the outdoor stage there were some problems with the electricity. So they improvised a few songs acoustically. It was so great! A lot of people had gone away already, but with the about twohundred people that were left we stood close to the stage to hear the singer, the guitar, the cello, the flute, the drummer who had found maracas and the bassist who was singing the harmonies while the keybord player was filming the whole happening with his iPhone. It was magical. (Here's a Video)

Later that everning they got a second chance at the  Indoor Stage with working electrics. Great great great performance! They were so energetic! Teaching weird little dances to the audience and jumping around.

So.Much.Fun.

To be honest though I did like the acoustic version of their music better. And it's not music I will listen to at home, too much "pa pa pa pa" (if you have listened to them you'll get what I mean). But that doesn't take away the fact that it's a great live band and if I will ever get the chance to see them again (preferebly in Holland) I'll definitely go!

2. Herman Dune

When? Sunday July 31st, 2011

Where? Outdoor Stage.

*pictures will follow* 

Not much too say. Nice indiepop. Great performance. Danced a lot. Bought a t-shirt (even though that meant that we didn't have enough money to take the bus the next day. That says something huh? About the band I mean, not about the irresponsible way I handle money).

1. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names

When? Friday July 29th, 2011

Where? Outdoor Stage.

Actually Herman Dune and Suburban Kids With Biblical Names could be the other way around as well. But I had to put one on top. The performance started with the singer forgetting the lyrics to the first song three times in a row, I'm still not sure whether that was an act or not. But after that the performance was one big energetic flow of cool music with nice synthesizer melodies (not unlike Two Door Cinema Club), the blonde girl should stick to playing those melodies though, because the harmonies she sung weren't always on key... I forgot about my blisters and danced for the whole set. Now that's a good performance.  (I didn't make any videos myself, but here's one. The sound's a bit crappy)