confession #000027

... or, the reckoning

now that i have somewhat come back to my senses after a much needed sleep and morning lie-in, after a late night flight from berlin back to krakow, i am fulfilling my two promises: (a) that of getting back to  my diet regime and (b) that of writing a bit more about my trip. 

so, starting with (a), this morning was back to a calorie-counted breakfast of crackerbreads, low-fat cottage cheese and soy-based sausage slices.  the latter might not sound very appetizing, but for vegetarians who were not brought up as such and who do reminisce about the tastes of ham, mortadella and salami, these are a very good - and tasty - substitute, with the advantage of being very low in calories.  luckily in poland there is this brand which produces them and i've recently discovered a health food shop close to the flat which supplies them so i've no excuse!  i do hope to manage through the day with this resumed stamina as i've a whole truck-load of cup-cakes to bake for a party tonight.  lord give me strength to resist the party food and alcohol!

looking back at my stay in berlin over the past couple of days, i confess that by the end of it, i was dead tired and just wanted to get home.  it's not that i don't like berlin. far from it.  but since i had only a few hours to spare, i hadn't planned any sight seeing of any sort and just strolled up and down friedrichstrasse ad nauseum.  yes, i did get nauseous at one point just aimlessly looking at clothes and trying them on.  i never thought it could happen but it did.  i'll admit that by my standards, i may have over-shopped, but it was mostly little things so hopefully i didn't blow my budget (i still have to do my calculations on that ...).  friedrichstrasse is excellent for shopping primarily because of its two main department stores - quartier 206 and galeries lafayette - which stock mostly designer and high-end brands.  to complement these department stores, there's about 3 h&m stores as i had mentioned, as well as brands such as esprit, gerry weber, massimo dutti and zara which may be more affordable for us common mortals.  there is also a cos store, which, admittedly, as a brand, i had never paid much attention to.  i ventured in and fell in love with their minimalist, easy style.  since one of my staple looks is a buttoned-up shirt peeking from underneath jumpers / sweaters / dresses, i couldn't stop myself from buying a scallop collared mock-shirt.  i could immediately envisage it worn with most of my outfits and accessorized with one of the statement necklaces i have.  

to give myself a little break from shopping, i walked up to checkpoint charlie which is one of the main landmarks in berlin's topography, and history.  there are still remains of the berlin wall in this area, and i actually came across a very strong open air exhibition consisting of murals on remnants of the wall.  these depicted the world's dictators, including muammar ghaddafi and kim jong-il, who, albeit deceased, their negative legacy is still very much present.  the exhibition is the type of art that i enjoy - art with a purpose, with a message to impart, art which triggers that uncomfortable emotion which shocks you out of the inertia of mundanity. the title of the exhibition itself - more walls to tear down - was very fitting.  this exhibition alone, made my stay complete. 

as you might have noticed, i've once again changed the look of the blog to a cleaner, fresher one, with a hit of neon which is something i'm obsessing about at the moment (more on that on another day!).  i hope you like it! but now, i'm afraid i have to get going with my baking or there won't be any cup-cakes for tonight's party.  

getting bored waiting for my flight to berlin

art, art everywhere ... even in the food presentation

nice and snowy berlin

a little treat for myself - macaron day at galeries lafayette did not help!

just 'some' of the haul

upper east side berlin, like walking on a gossip girl set (well, not quite!) 

gorgeous building on friedrichstrasse 

another gorgeous building, quite different from the one above, but which shows the melting pot of cultures and architectural styles this city can flaunt

murals on berlin wall remnants

such an evocative mural exhibition

keeping cosy at starbucks

not a landmark, but surely a sight synonymous to the city

studded collar and statement necklace - more is more

2 great days which resulted in my mind brimming with ideas.  my colleagues will kill me. 

victoria beckham dress at quartier 206 - the stuff of my dreams

this guy has style - neon lime socks popping out of a very preppy look