Six Things: Enjoy Mother Nature's Icy Treatment

Hello, fellow wanderlusters!

Winter is one of my favorite seasons. Okay, you are right, I love all seasons. However, there is something so magical about winter. Imagine walking in the snow with a hot chocolate in hand...it is just so warm and inviting! 

As you may remember, back in August I wrote a post that was quite simple. In actuality, I simply listed 6 pictures of things you may want to consider. So, shall we get started with the winter version of 6 things? 

1.) Winter Fashion

Sporto Delinda Bootie: $69.95

**Yes, cozy snow-proof booties! I plan to pick up a pair to take with me to Germany.

2.) Check Out A New Blog

Classy Girls Wear Pearls

3.) A Treat For Your Taste Buds

Starbucks Gingerbread Trio: $13.96

4.) A Gift For The Special Man In Your Life

Rugby Toggle Shawl Cardigan: $99.99 

5.) A Little Arm Candy

Lauren Ralph Lauren: Signature Holiday Shopper: $168.00

***I received this Christmas present in red and absolutely adore it! 

6.) A Touching/Beautiful Documentary

First Position: $19.99

What are a few things that are on your list?

Happy Holidays!

XXOO

Books: Helping Us Survive the Holidays

Hello, fellow travelers!

During the holidays, one may find oneself in need of some entertainment or relief from a family like the Griswolds. 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Many of us find ourselves on a long flight back home or off to a vacation in a far away land. So, the question is how do we entertain ourselves? Personally, I find curling up with a good book is the best way to pass time.

Soon to be B and I!

Books Worth Reading:

• 50 Shades Trilogy: $27.75 
• FIFTY SHADES OF GREY: "When college student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating.  The unworldly Ana realizes she wants this man, and Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian’s secrets and explores her own desires."
• FIFTY SHADES DARKER: "Daunted by Christian’s dark secrets and singular tastes, Ana has broken off their relationship to start a new career. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and while Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana is forced to make the most important decision of her life."

• FIFTY SHADES FREED: "Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to turn Ana’s deepest fears into reality."
• Lolita: $10.85 (I am currently reading this one.)
• "Awe and exhiliration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation."
• A Walk in the Woods: $7.99 (I am currently reading this one as well.)
• "The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in)."
• Me Talk Pretty One Day: $10.87
• "A recent transplant to Paris, humorist David Sedaris, bestselling author of "Naked", presents a collection of his strongest work yet, including the title story about his hilarious attempt to learn French. A number one national bestseller now in paperback."
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: $35.51
• "All across America, readers are talking about Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novels, set in Sweden and featuring Lisbeth Salander—'one of the most original and memorable heroines to surface in a recent thriller' (The New York Times). The trilogy is an international sensation that will grab you and keep you 'reading with eyes wide open' (San Francisco Chronicle). '[It] is intricately plotted, lavishly detailed but written with a breakneck pace and verve' (The Independent, U.K.), but 'be warned: the trilogy is seriously addictive.' (The Guardian, U.K.)."
• Anna Karenina: $12.24 (I plan to read this on my way to Germany!)

• "Described by William Faulkner as the best novel ever written and by Fyodor Dostoevsky as “flawless,” Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness."
• "While previous versions have softened the robust, and sometimes shocking, quality of Tolstoy's writing, Pevear and Volokhonsky  have produced a translation true to his powerful voice. This authoritative edition, which received the PEN Translation Prize and was an Oprah Book Club™ selection, also includes an illuminating introduction and explanatory notes. Beautiful, vigorous, and eminently readable, this Anna Karenina will be the definitive text for fans of the film and generations to come."
• Tigers in Red Weather: $17.15 (I'm intrigued by this book and will read it soon.)

• "Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha's Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their 'real lives': Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.
  
  Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena's husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena--with their children, Daisy and Ed--try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.
  
  Brilliantly told from five points of view, with a magical elegance and suspenseful dark longing, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut novel from a writer of extraordinary insight and accomplishment."

Budget Friendly Route:

• Head to your local library to rent!
• Borrow from friends and family members who already own them.
• Go check out a used book store!
• Head to your local Salvation Army for cheap books!
• Ask Santa to bring you books for Christmas ;)

Check back soon for Christmas present ideas!

Happy reading!

Hallo, Deutschland!

Hallo, liebe Kolleginnen und Abenteurer!

The New Year is creeping closer and that means I have discovered where my next adventure will be. Within a few weeks, I will be grabbing my passport and jetsetting to my next adventure.


Drum roll please....

My next adventure with B will be in Berlin! I'm excited that I will be heading out of the country for a week after Christmas.

Berlin: A Quick Look

• Berlin is known to be founded in the 13th Century, but I have read that it may be older than researchers previously thought. 
• Berlin is NINE times bigger than Paris! 
• I have heard that Berlin is like New York City....never sleeps!
• Berlin is so big that it is divided into districts.
• Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
• Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
• Lichtenberg
• Marzahn-Hellersdorf
• Mitte
• I believe this is the district I will be staying in.
• Neukolln
• Pankow
• Reinickendorf
• Spandau
• Steglitz-Zehlendorf
• Tempelhof-Schoneberg
• Treptow-Kopenick
• Berlin is filled with so much history!
• Hitler occupied Berlin.
• There was a concentration camp located outside of the city in Sachsenhausen.
• WWII left Berlin in ruins.
• Berlin Wall ("Iron Curtain") was a barrier separating East and West Berlin.
• Existed from 1961-1990
• However, I hear that part of the Berlin Wall still exists.

Places To See:

• Funkturm Berlin
• Best views of western Berlin's landmarks, such as Charlottenburg Palace and AVUS.
• Museum Island
• Literally, just a bunch of museums that showcase coins, medals, religious iconography, and sculptures.
• Berlin Zoo
• Was restored after WWII and now houses over 14,000 animals. It is said to be one of the most impressive zoos in Europe. I'm hoping to go see Bao Bao the giant panda!
• Holocaust Memorial
• Said to be a "harrowing and truly powerful experience." 
• Brandenburg Gate
• One of the city's most recognizable landmarks that was built in 1791 and restored after WWII. Today, it symbolizes "Germany's rebirth as a unified state."

• Possible Sights

German Phrases

English	Deutsch
yes / no	ja / nein (yah/nine)
please/thanks	bitte/danke (BIT-tuh/DAHN-kuh)
You're welcome.	Bitte. (BIT-tuh)
You're welcome. (for a favor)	Gern geschehen. (ghern guh-SHAY-un)
Excuse me!	Entschuldigen Sie! (ent-SHOOL-de-gen zee)
Where's the restroom/toilet?	Wo ist die Toilette? (vo ist dee toy-LET-uh)
left / right	links / rechts (linx/rechts)
downstairs / upstairs	unten / oben (oonten/oben)
Hello!/Good day!	Guten Tag! (GOO-ten tahk)
Good-bye!	Auf Wiedersehen! (owf VEE-der-zane)
Good morning!	Guten Morgen! (GOO-ten morgen)
Good night!	Gute Nacht! (GOO-tuh nahdt)
My name is...	Ich heisse... (ich HYE-suh)
I am...	Ich bin... (ich bin)
Do you have...?	Haben Sie...? (HAH-ben zee)
a room	ein Zimmer (eye-n TSIM-air)
a rental car	ein Mietwagen (eye-n MEET-vahgen)
a bank	eine Bank (eye-nuh bahnk)
the police	die Polizei (dee po-lit-ZYE)
the train station	der Bahnhof (dare BAHN-hof)
the airport	der Flughafen (dare FLOOG-hafen)

• Or go pick up a copy of Rick Steve's German Phase Book & Dictionary: $8.95

Look back soon for my packing list for a winter climate and books worth traveling with. Oh, and come back after Christmas for a review of Berlin!

Auf Wiedersehen!