Berlin Trip 2014- Day 1

If you have read my last blog post, you will know that I was preparing to go to Berlin with school! I went last Friday for 5 night and had an amazing time! From visiting the sites and hanging out with my friends it was a brilliant trip! This is what I got up to! 

Friday-Day 1

I woke up at 6:40 (that is very early for me by the way) and had a quick chat with my mum who went on and on about being safe and looking after my possession extra extra! After a quick bite of breakfast I got changed and made sure my bag was packed! My friend Marie came over as my dad was going to drop both Marie and me of. As she lugged her 19.7 stone suitcase in (yes you heard me right) we both went upstairs and sorted ourselves out. We then headed for school to arrive at 9:00. It was a great feeling knowing that everyone else was in class and we were all on our way to Berlin. Our teachers arrived and then the coach at 9:30! As we got on the coach, most parents stayed to wave goodbye to there kids but  my dad dropped me of and left seemingly happy to get rid of me! We left school and headed for Southend airport! Southend airport is tiny! It was my first time flying from there and I was pretty shocked! It was also deserted! Barely any people were there and with only a couple of check in desks, a tiny shop claiming to be a duty free, a WHsmith and a little cafe it was not the most desirable place to be with a 2 hour wait ahead of us! But I can not complain! It was clean and efficient! Really that is all you need in an airport! After selfies were taken and  food pretty much all eaten it was time to board our flight! It was an easyjet flight to Berlin Schoenefeild. We all got on the plane last and I managed to sit with two of my good friends. The flight was an hour and a half long and I read some magazines and just chilled out! When we arrived in Berlin, we collected out luggage and took a quick 5 minute walk to get the S-bahn (train) to Landsberger Allee station which took about 30-40min. Once we arrived we looked to our left and could see our hostel. The generator. Although in the past I have never stayed in a hostel, from what I had heard they are not great, but I was pleasantly surprised with our one! It was modern, clean and massive! I had visions of a dark, dirty and cramped place but it really was quite the opposite! We sat in the reception/dinning area and got handed our keys and sent to our rooms to unpack! Our room was on the fourth floor, and because everyone had ran to the two very slow lifts, a couple of others and I decided to brave the stairs! Bad idea! Lugging up our suitcases four flights of stairs was hard work but I guess we may have burnt of all the rubbish we ate on the plane.....maybe. Our room (which I was sharing with five others) had three bunk beds, six lockers to put a couple of things in and a little bathroom which was a surprise! I was not expecting a bathroom and although it was tiny (I lifted my leg up in there and hit my knee of the sink which has left a big bruise) I really appreciated having it! We settled in a bit and then headed down stairs at around 6:30 to get dinner at the hostel. It was pasta with a bolognese sauce which although the portion size was quite small was very nice! At 7:30 we all met in the reception of the hostel and headed out for the evening! I'm sure our teachers intention was to tire us out as much as possible so we would sleep that night as we walked so far that evening! While we were in Berlin the weather was excellent except the first and last day! It was poring with rain while we were walking around so we were all quite miserable! We eventually ended up in a beer garden! It would have probably been nice but the weather was so bad it was hard to enjoy! We were given an hour to hang out at the beer garden and while most people tried to buy some beer, three others and I headed out to explore  the streets of Berlin! After trying to find an ice cream place and failing, we settled for a corner shop and bought some ice cream and snacks there! The weather picked up and it stopped raining which was good! We walked back to the rest of our group at the beer garden to find out that none of them got served (haha)! Once we left we had another very long walk! We walked along a tram line which I found out later would have taken us straight back to our hostel but instead we took a lovely two hour walk! Our feet were hurting quite a lot once we got back to the hostel (to say the least)! House rules at the hostel stated that under 16's must be in room by 11:00 and by the time we got to the hostel it was about 11:30! Although we had to be in our rooms, we did not have to go to sleep which was good! That night, we all probably stayed up until about 2:00 in the morning! Probably not the best idea thinking about it now! 

Before we left school

On the plane

The beer garden

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Day 2 coming soon :)

Haul- Schuh, New Look, Primark, Superdrug and Boots

I am going to Berlin with school next week for 5 days, so obviously some serious shopping needed to be done! I was looking for a pair of converses and some summery tops/dresses as the weather is supposed to be really good when we go! I went to Westfeild Stratford City in London and although it has loads of shops which yes, you would expect to find everything you needed, it really is rather a hideous experience! The immense number of people and the stuffiness of the place makes it hard to bare! I would conciser myself a keen shopper but even I cant bear the crowds! Anyway, enough complaining, this is my first Haul so I hope you like it. As usual please comment any suggestions/feedback. I really do appreciate people reading my blog and giving any feedback!

I started of my shopping trip in Schuh and bought a pair of size 10 (yes I know I have very big feet) converses in Navy. Because of the immense size of my feet, I have to buy men's converses which is ordinarily fine as they are pretty much the same but there is less choice in colour unfortunately. But I do like the navy ones as they do go with pretty much any outfit!

Navy converses- Schuh 

£45

I then headed to New Look which you could ordinarily say is one of my favourite shops but I was very disappointed! Out of the 12 items I picked up only one top looked nice! I picked up tops, dresses and shorts but nothing seemed to sit right or look nice! Very disappointed! I did get one top though which was a Aztecs design! I like it as it is cropped slightly but not to much, it is also not tight fitting so good for the summer and warm weather! I have a feeling that this will be one of my tops that I wear non stop!  

Aztec top- New Look

£12.99

In Primark I first bought this pair of pyjamas! I am not to keen on the top but I love the little shorts, they are very cute and good old Primark, nice and cheap! 

Robot Pyjamas- Primark 

£5

I also bought Primark face wipes! You can't go wrong with these! With two packs for £1, they are a bargain! I bought the sensitive skin ones because although my skin is not to sensitive my mums is very and they just feel nicer! 

Facial Cleansing Wipes- Primark

£1 (for two)

These again are some of my essentials! I seem to always be losing hair bands so although they are not the best quality they are still very good for the price! 

Hairbands- Primark

£1

Finally I bought this lovely shirt! I really like the buttoned up front and the colour of the blue! It is slightly see through but not enough to see anything under neath! I really like this top and it was at a great price   

Shirt- Primark

£5

Next I headed to Superdrug. First of all I picked up a bottle of Shampoo and Conditioner. It was by Aussie my favourite brand! I love the smell and the way it leaves my hair! Lovely and soft! Although it is not the cheapest brand, I think the price is worth it. Also there was a deal on which was 2 for £10...Bargain!

Shampoo- superdrug

Conditioner- Superdrug

Originally £5.99 each but with deal (2 for £10) £5 each

Next, I bought some Nivea Deodorant. I bought one called Invisible for black and white and the other was called Double effect. I sweat quite badly, so finding a decent deodorant is hard (especially as I do quite a lot of sport). these both do seem to be quite good though! I am very happy with them, they smell good and seem to work well!

Nivea Deodorant Invisible- Superdrug

£2.29 (or 2 for £3)

Nivea Deodorant Double effect- superdrug

£2,29 (or 2 for £3)

I am not one for fake tan but this Dove tinted moisturiser is very good! I only get the fair to medium skin one so I don't look like an orange but it just adds a very light tint to your skin! The moisturiser is also very good! Leaves your skin smooth and soft!

Dove tinted moisuriser- Superdrug

£2.48

I needed a new mascara desperately so I bought this Rimmel London one. I am still not convinced about how good it is as it comes out slightly clumpy, but I have still not used it loads yet so will have to see.

Rimmel London Mascara Black- Superdrug

£4.99

Finally from Superdrug I got a spray from Impulse! Its called tease and i really like it! I have had it before and it smells really fresh! I am not normally keen on impulse fragrances but this one I do really like!

Impulse Tease- Superdrug

£0.98

The last shop I went into was Boots. The Boots in Westfeild is massive with lots of beauty company's based inside such as Clinique, Channel, Benefit ect. I bought a Clinique Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser which I have got before! I put it on in the mornings and before I go to bed and it works miracles! It is expensive but worth it! 

Clinique Foaming Cleanser- Boots

£17.00

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My Olympic Flashback

I am from London, East London to be precise. In 2012 one of the most magical events of probably my life took place! The London Olympics of 2012. Best of all, the action was tacking place practically on my door step! Although it was extremely hard to get tickets my family and I did get tickets to Hockey and Basketball.

The Olympic Stadium 

The Basketball arena

The Hockey Pitch

(weather wasn't great typical England)

The Olympic park (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) has only just really opened! In my local area we have a borough run cycle group, where on the first Sunday of each month one member organises a cycle ride. I have been on cycle rides from just 10 miles to 30! This Sunday, it was my dads turn to organise a ride and seeming as the park is nearly all open we decided to all go down there. What a transformation! It is stunning. The wild flowers and immaculate gardens. It is truly magical. Going back there brought so many happy memory's of my Olympic experience. The park is massive so going by bike is definitely the way to do it. Things have been taken away like the basketball arena, but many things added like amazing children playgrounds and new cafes. 

We started of our journey by visiting the velodrome. Tickets during the Olympics for cycling were sort after and although on our list of preference, we did not get them! Although I have driven past the velodrome many times, being so close made me catch my breath. The pure immensity of it is scary! It is massive! When I went inside my heart stopped! It really is amazing in there! In most of the venues, they are pretty relaxed about spectators coming in for a look. There were cyclists cycling, and from up close you could see how hard the sport really is. The sides are so steep and with no breaks it is probably quite scary! I felt the same buzz that I did during the Olympic stepping in there.

Inside the Velodrome

Outside the Velodrome

(although it does not look it, it was actually a really nice day)

Next we headed to the Copper Box. An arena used in the Olympics for handball, fencing and in the Paralympics used for Goalball. Now it is a multi-use venue which can hold loads of sports! From basketball, Handball, Netball, Volleyball, Badminton and even Gymnastics! Although we could not go into the actual venue, we could look through the glass as the arena.

  From the Outside

There was quite a lot of us

After that we went for Lunch to a lovely place called the Timber Lodge. Although it is not in the centre of all the action, it was still very busy! It sold nice freshly made baguettes, cakes and a range of hot food. Although not the cheapest place, the food was very good and the situation lovely. We sat outside as the weather was so good! As we started to gradually get further and further into the park, the busier it got! There were lots of cyclists and pedestrians of all ages!    

  

The Timber Lodge

Once we had all ate, we saddled up and headed for the aquatic centre. Getting their involved us cycling through the main part of the park which was very busy! Lots of children playing in the playgrounds and playing in the little water fountains. Again Swimming and diving were sort after events during the Olympics and were on our preferred list of events! Although I was not there during the Olympic my friends dad was not well enough to go to the swimming in the Paralympics so I was asked to go! It was amazing! Although we were up very high you could still feel the atmosphere and the buzz! Going to the pool again for the first time in two years (after a lot of work being done to it) was great! Unfortunately we could not go in as an event was tacking place! We could pay £2 each but we would not see much as we would not get to properly look around. That was a bit disappointing! 

   Outside the entrance to the pool 

Finally we went to the orbit! A red sculpture in the Olympic Park which is 114.5m high and designed by Anish Kapoor. You can actually go up it although we did not. This sculpture can be seen from miles away including from my friends balcony who lives round the corner to me!

The Orbit

(and some of our cyclists)  

I had a really good day today! It brought back so many good memory's! I cant wait to come here with my friends in the summer to chill out and have picnics! I would recommend every one to go down there and have a look! I will also be back for a swim and maybe even another cycle! You could easily spend a good day down there (especially if you include a  bit of shopping in Westfeild)! 

Olympic Park Website

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