beach babe :/

Hello dear readers, I am back again after a little break from my Blogger duties. This time I want to share a few impressions from our family vacation at the Baltic Sea or Ostsee (as we Germans say). Ever since I was a child we tried to go on an annual family summer vacation together. So I was there when I was like 7, 10 or 12. The baltic sea is one of the favorite summer destinations in Germany. The weather, the beach and the climate are what is most interesting about the area.

souvenirs and postcards

miniature ships - they also had ships in a bottle

After a few years without a family vacation, we decided this year is a good year to bring back this tradition. We rented a bungalow only a few kilometers from the beach, which also had a garden with BBQ area. My nephew Fynn makes the best steaks, even though he is only 10. :) So the most important thing for us, was spending time together. As we get older, we sometimes forget to make family time a priority so I am glad that we once again did. Check out the Ostsee too if you are around the area. :)

photos © IBreakTheNews.com

The question is: Would we or would we not like to go on a comfortable journey  from London to Berlin on the legendary Orient Express? The loud and clear answer is: YES! We definitely would! :) From tomorrow on, this route really exists and will also make a quick stop at Paris along the way. Talking about a travel adventure! With prices starting from £2,210 per person for a round trip, we have to keep blogging for a while and sell some ad space before this can become reality.



As it says in the press release: 'Travelling in the original art-deco carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, evokes the glamour of the roaring 1920s. Departing London on Thursday 2 June, the 2 day, 1 night journey from London to Berlin allows guests the time to slow down, relax and enjoy the journey as the train makes its way through Northern France; traversing the German countryside and arriving in time to spend the weekend in one of Europe’s most fascinating cities.' We have to check our schedule but - sounds good!

We admire their clever videos not only since recently. Remember 'The Scientist'? Coldplay to us are the modern day Beatles and we can say this because this is our Blog and we make decisions around here.. :) Of course we are aware that they collaborate with many other talented, creative individuals to achieve these results, so we want to extend our admiration to them as well. Now please check out their latest video for the song: 'Up & Up'. 



Besides bringing us beautiful music and inspiring and thoughtful videos, what we also like about Chris Martin and co. is that they seem to be extremely down to earth and normal in conversations and interviews. They are approachable and say things we can relate to. By using this platform, we want to break the tradition of only talking about great people once they are gone. Because Coldplay are here and we would like to tell them right now just how amazing they are!

Movie recommendation alert! If you should have missed out on Zootopia so far, you should go and see it now. It is an uplifting and clever film that includes a lot of family fun. The story evolves around the ambitious, young rabbit Judy Hopps, who has always dreamed of and later worked hard on becoming a police officer. She has to overcome many critics and obstacles along the way.. Will she succeed?

For a new initiative TESCO announced that it is committed to ZERO food wastage in its stores by the end of 2017. The plan is to support 5,000 local charities and groups, instead of sending tons and tons of food to the bin. A recently published report shows, that an unbelievable 55,400 tonnes of food were allegedly thrown away at Tesco stores across the United Kingdom in 2015. 

Because I have read a similar news story a while ago in my home country, I did some research about this topic and found out that about 18 million tonnes of food produced in Germany are going to the bin yearly. How is it possible, that in 2016 this is happening? Is the world getting better, are we improving based on progress in technology and logistics or is it actually getting worse because of carelessness and ignorance? Where is the disruption app for this..

Unfortunately I can not pack it all up personally and send it to the countries where people starve and die because of hunger every single day. I just don't have the resources. But big companies would be able to do so, if they would want to use a part of their profits for a good cause. I can also not stop big corporations to drill for oil and destroy our whole planet because of the greed of a few powerful decision makers. - I am a BLOGGER! Seriously..

Leonardo DiCaprio might be able to help, though. He is a talented and rich, influential Oscar winner! :D We need more people like him!

So Tesco is taking a step in the right direction by saying - we can no longer accept this huge amount of good food going to waste. The idea is, to use a digital open platform called FareShare FoodCloud - fighting hunger, takling food waste - that allows store staff and charities to cooperate to distribute the surplus food. We say YES to this and hope other big companies will follow this positive example.

Leonardo DiCaprio with his Oscar (screenshot)

Wait - who photo shopped an Oscar statue into Leonardo DiCaprio's hand? That is what you might think if you missed the actual awards ceremony last night and all news coverage of it today. But No - it is all real! It finally happened! After 5 previous nominations and countless internet memes about his awardlessness, the academy of motion pictures has finally recognized Leo for his acting abilities in 'The Revenant'. The actor and active environmentalist also used the world's biggest platform, to speak up for an important cause that affects us all: climate change.

We have yet to see the full show and might update this article later. Well deserving Oscar winners also included: One of our absolute favorites from last year 'Ex-Machina' (Special Effects) and Best Documentary 'Amy' the very moving insight into the life of talented London soul singer Amy Winehouse - watch it if you haven't yet, it is really interesting. When it comes to fashion, we think Gwen Stefani hit the high note. Stunningly beautiful and in a splash of color by Yanina Couture. See her beautiful dress above and a full list of all Oscar winners below.

  Alexanderplatz - Berlin Zentrum

Hello dear readers and a Happy New Year 2016 to you! May you have a year full of clarity, joy and memorable moments. As you might have noticed, I took a little break from the blog but now here I am - back again. Today I want to share a little travel adventure via plane, train and even bus, with you. In December I took my annual Christmas break and went to my hometown in East Germany. As always family time is my main priority but this time there was something else on the holiday schedule too - a 3 day trip to Berlin! Let's just ignore the fact that I was living there for 1 year in 2006, because a few things have changed and I was able to re-visit the capital from the perspective of a tourist. We wanted to make full use of our time in Berlin, so we had to make sure to find a place as close to the center as possible. We found a very nice, small and inexpensive flat from which you could even see the TV tower (Fernsehturm). 

'Blumenstillleben' by Gottfried Wilhelm Völcker 
- Alte National Galerie 

Still life at the Old National Gallery on 'Museums Island'

Unsere Unterkunft - found it on AirBnB 

= pretty central and inexpensive


Der Berliner Dom - Berlin Cathedral

When we arrived in Berlin on day 1 we bought a 72-hour welcome ticket that covered all of our bus, tube and tram usage. We first went to the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the remains of the Berlin Wall. It was interesting but also quite shocking to learn more about this part of history. When we went to the city center after that, it surprised me that there were so many international shops (Starbucks, TK Maxx..)rather than anything traditional German. It could as well have been some part of London. I only realized we were in Germany when we walked over the lively Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). There, they had some Lebkuchen and Gluehwein (ginger bread and mulled wine). On day 2 it was all about BAUHAUS archive and on our final day, we visited 3 more museums. Yes REALLY!! Feeling so much wiser after that, we went back home for some well deserved family time and some good food..

Ivonne the Editor-In-Chief as fashionable as ever :)

- in front of the Brandenburger Tor (gate)

This is a genius idea. Take the superhero out of the dangerous situations, the crowded battlefields and away from the evil super villain just to put him somewhere nice, a place in nature where it is peaceful, calm and quiet. This way our hero can reflect on his own life, far away from the trouble, he can think about his future, childhood, his upcoming lunch and maybe also all of his accomplishments so far. French photographer Benoit Lapray named his project The Quest for the Absolute. 

This in itself could be the title for a new super hero action adventure - of course in 3D! Here is a part of the description behind the idea: '[Benoit] captures and freezes the moment during which the famous vigilantes are not in the action and presents them here as lonely beings who wander in nearly deserted landscapes.' There will be a Vernissage of his work in December in Paris. For more information and the option to order a limited edition print of a superhero in the wild, visit the artist's shop here.

all photos © Benoit Lapray

Should we or should we not say that we saw this huge success coming ever since listening to 'Chasing Pavements'?! Hmm.. Finally Adele's new album '25' is here! If you want to feel, and we mean really feel deep emotions - the 11 songs on this LP are the perfect soundtrack for you. Right on time for the release, the songstress took part in a prank for a BBC Special. At an audition for the best Adele impersonator, she mingled with the contestants as Jenny (The Nanny). 


With the help of a fake nose and a fake chin, as well as a toned down voice, nobody suspected what might happen next. When it was 'Jenny's' turn to sing her song, Adele's talent burst out and took center stage! Slowly but surely, the other contestants realized - this talent - this singer is the real deal and 'Jenny' was history. Well, there is only 1 Adele. Check out the funny and emotional video below. Well done! Find '25' in store now.