Places I really want to visit. {Random Thursday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Lin, Em and I have another interesting topic for you guys. Thanks for reading. 

There are so many places around the world that I would love to see. I guess I would travel almost anywhere....but here are my Top 5 places that I would love to travel to as soon as possible.

1. Christmas Island.

source

I want to see the red crab migration.

2. Iceland.

source

I want to visit all the places I have read about in my crime novels and get inspired to write my own book. 

3. Ireland.

source

I want to drink a beer in a pub and become friends with lots of sheep. 

4. India.

source

I want to eat lots and lots of Indian food and learn more about the culture. 

5. Norway. 

source

I want to spend some time in a little cabin next to a fjord. 

Also on my list: Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, San Francisco, South Africa, Cuba, Estonia, Greenland, Honduras, Argentina, Fiji, Australia....

What places do you want to visit? 

Five Things. A snail parade, impressive travels and horrifying advertisement.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Friday! I hope you will all have a weekend full of happiness! Please check out my friend Celeste's Five Things as well.

1. These fantastic snail pictures are absolutely beautiful. It gives me joy to look at them. That is why I always pick up snails from the street and bring them to a save place.

source

2. This story of a guy who traveled to all the countries in the world. Without using a plane. 


3. This stupid pizza chain wants to promote their "rabbit pizza" by covering a billboard with hundreds of dead rabbits. What is wrong with this world?

source

4. I really need a house where I have lots of space for all the books and book shelves I adore. I would add this one to my collection.

source

5. My plan for the weekend is to make some vegan peanut butter chocolate chips cookies. What are your plans?

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Random Thursday. Worst travel experience.

Hallo meine Lieben,

welcome to another Random Thursday and thanks for reading and participating! I hope you are having a fantastic week!

I have to say that one of my worst travel experiences is connected to one of the best vacations I ever had....if that makes any sense. 

David and I decided to go for a road trip to Colorado and Utah. We drove all the way from Ohio and things were fine the first 1,5 days. The evening of the second day I started to feel really bad but I thought it would be better the next day and there is no reason to worry. 

I climbed an arch. Surprisingly,  I did not fell down. 

I spent a pretty painful night in a hotel room but was positive that I would wake up feeling fine. At that point I did not know what was wrong yet.

The next morning I woke up feeling even worse than the day before but I did not want to say anything since I did not want to ruin the vacation. Plus it was my birthday. 

We got ready to drive to our next destination and I felt so miserable in the car....still pretending that things are fine. 

We wanted to camp the following night and David was excited to do some hiking and see some fantastic places. When we arrived at the camp site I felt as miserable as never before but I thought that I had to be brave and fight against the pain so I helped setting up the tent and collecting fire wood. I could barely walk but as I said, I did not want to admit that anything was wrong. It was our first real vacation together and I wanted it to be memorable.

I already had a feeling of what was wrong because I had these problems before...but I think I wanted to suppress the thoughts of it because that would definitely ruin the vacation. 

I tried to look completely healthy. Sunglasses help.

But yeah, the next day I woke up even worse and I was not able to deny it anymore. I admitted how bad I felt...I guess it was obvious. But I did not admit how terrible I really felt. David had planned a hiking trip for that day but there was no way I could participate. But I told him he has to go anyway and I would stay there and read. I am sure that was really disappointing for him (and I am sure he thought that I was a pussy but as I said, I never felt so bad I my entire life and that means something because I already had some really nasty and painful stuff). I wanted to be brave...to not ruin the trip. I did not think about ruining my health at that point. Which was probably stupid...

But yeah, when David came back in the evening I knew that I needed some help. I knew that something was wrong with my kidneys again. But I did not say anything about it. In case you don't know, I have a stupid kidney disease so I have problems with my kidneys all the time. Infections, kidney stones and so on. 

So we went to a pharmacy and I tried to explain my problems to the pharmacist without saying anything about my kidneys (stupid, I know). He thought I have altitude sickness and some other diseases I did not have. He told me to see a doctor but as I said, I did not want to go to not ruin the vacation.

So I got all kinds of stuff you don't need a prescription for. Herbal teas, cranberry pills and so on. I also bought a thermometer....I took my temperature and was shocked to see what it was more than 104 degrees but did not admit it. 

I have to admit that it was kind of relieving to have to crawl trough tiny holes since it gave me a reason to spend some time on the ground which made me feel better. 

So yeah, I still don't know how I managed to survive this vacation but I went to all the places we wanted to see...even when I had to sit down every 100 meters and it took forever to get to places. I stayed in the hotel rooms when David went for an adventure that I could not take part in....I refused to go to a doctor and I just thought that I have to be brave. I even went rafting. I just had to sit there and try not to fell into the water.

As I said, I have never felt so sick in my whole life. But I made it. Is it stupid to feel proud? I guess it is. It was definitely stupid not to admit how bad I feel. I risked my health. 

(If kidney infection is not treated promptly, there is a risk of serious complications, including kidney damage and blood poisoning (sepsis). It is usually treated with antibiotics. In many cases, patients with kidney infection are hospitalized. Found here.)

I mean, I know my health problems. 

When we got back from vacation I finally went to see a doctor and of course, I had a really nasty kidney infection. If you ever had a kidney infection that you know how that feels. If not, I read on the internet that people describe it as the worst pain they ever felt. I agree. And I had a whole in my eye once. 

So yeah, I finally got treatment and it took me a while to recover but gladly I did.

I know that I will never be so stupid again and will run to the doctor as soon as I experience that pain again. 

But yeah, the vacation was fantastic because I saw some awesome places I had never seen before. But I do admit that it would have been even better without the nasty kidney infection.

How can you get sick at such a fantastic place?

(And a recent one: the stupid Parisian woman who decided to crash into my car definitely helped me to have another bad travel experience. You can read about it here.)

So now tell me....what was your worst travel experience?

Five Things. Remembering the good old days.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Sunday! I hope you are all having a fun and relaxed weekend. I am still feeling a little blah but I am hoping to be back to normal soon. 
Please check out my friend Celeste's post as well, this time she even shared Ten Things.

I have been looking through all my all pictures lately...you know, my laptop almost died lately so I am pretty happy that I got to save them all. So I decided to take you on a trip through time and share some of my favorite pictures with you.

I love this one because you can clearly see that we had lots of fun plus because I always look like a douche in all the pictures we take. There is rarely a picture which I can take seriously but I made peace with the fact that I always look a little weird in our pictures. This one was taken during a canal ride in Amsterdam in 2011. You can see the the parking garage only for bikes in the background. 

This picture was taken in Canyonlands National Park in Utah during our road trip from Ohio to Colorado and Utah. I have never seen such an impressive environment and I enjoyed every minute of it. Maybe except the fact that I got a kidney infection and had a 104 degrees fever halfway through the vacation. And that I almost died while white water rafting (water is pretty much the scariest thing in the world.).

This picture was taken after one of the first concerts we went to together. I think during my second trip to America. I like the picture so much because you can clearly see that we had a great time at the concert. And that is why it makes me so happy to look at the picture. 

Another picture in which I look like an idiot but I still like it a lot because it was taken during my first trip to America and it reminds me of the great time we had together. I know that we took hundreds of picture together because we just did not want to leave each other and fly back. This picture is also on my wall in a huge golden frame. 

You can clearly see that we are not that great at taking selfies but we tried to capture us and the impressive fountain at the Forums Shops at Ceasar Palace in Las Vegas. And we failed. Still love the picture because the trip was just so fantastic and I hope to visit Vegas again at some point. This picture was taken in 2013 by the way. 

Bonus picture - five are not enough.

Okay, I had to add this one because it was taken on our wedding day and I think it is pretty obvious that we are kind of happy with each other. Probably one of my favorite pictures ever. David's sister took it and she really is a great photographer and good at capturing the most important moments. 

Hope your week will be fantastic!

What Paris taught me.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are having a fantastic Sunday. I got my laptop back and I am surprised that it actually works again. I already made plans to buy a new MacBook but I guess I can save that money at the moment. Phew! What a relief! So now I can finally work on the posts about Paris and the other trips David and I took. 

Today I want to start by sharing some of the lessons I learned while I was in Paris. 

source

Lesson #1.

It is NOT a good idea to drive to Paris by car. Take a bus, a plan, a train. Whatever. Just not a car. You will regret it. Trust me.

Lesson #2. 

Parisian drivers are a nightmare. They don't look left or right. They honk all the time. They don't care if they scratch your car when they try to park. They leave a roundabout from the inner lane. 

Lesson #3.

Parisian drivers don't care when they crash into your car as long as nobody starts to bleed. Because "it's just metal.", "insurance will pay for it." and "you are still alive."

Lesson #4.

Nobody at the English speaking police emergency hotline speaks English.

Lesson #5. 

Parisian police does not care about a car crash as long as nobody is injured. 

Lesson #6. 

I lose most of my French speaking skills when I have a car accident. I can speak enough French to buy the cheapest Metro tickets available. 

Lesson #7. 

It is not much fun to drive through Paris when you just had an accident and your GPS stopped working. 

Lesson #8.

It's not that easy to find your hotel in Paris without a GPS. 

Lesson #9.

It makes you feel better to yell at the guy at the emergency hotline of your rental car company when he starts to bitch around. 

Lesson #10.

Paris is not the most vegan-friendly city in the world. 

Lesson #11. 

There are way too many people taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower. 

Lesson #12. 

You have to wait in line for at least 3 hours when you want to see the bones of 6 million people. And then you will wonder why you don't see any hands or feet, just skulls and upper arm bones. 

Lesson #13. 

You will feel very relieved when you come home after a Paris trip and did not have another accident.

Lesson #14.

Paris is still a beautiful and fascinating city...even when you have a car accident and are totally angry and pretend to hate the city. 


Have you ever been to Paris? 
Happy Sunday!

Five Things. A bunny, a travel show and a vegan milk shake.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! Please check out my friend Celeste's Five Things as well. I am really sorry for my lack of posting and commenting recently. I am trying to catch up but things are a bit busy and I barely find the time for blogging right now. But things will get better, I promise!

1. This bunny.

source

No words. It is just so adorable that I had to share this print. I love bunnies. 

2. This quote.

source

Agreed. We have to speak out for those who don't have a voice. 

3. This deliciousness. 

source

I can't help myself and my sweet tooth right now. I am pretty sure I am gaining some weight but I am craving anything sweet. And this vegan smores milk shake looks worth gaining some weight. 

4. This show. 

source

There is a new season of "Extreme Frontiers" and this time they travel through the United States. I love all kinds of travel shows but I have to say that Charley Boorman is by far my favorite traveler ever. David and I have watched all his other travel shows (some of them together with Ewan McGregor) and we can't wait to watch this one too. 

5. This necklace.

source

It is from an Etsy shop called crobinsondesign. I love to hug trees so I guess this would be the perfect necklace for me. The shop offers lots of other cute jewelry, I especially love the animal shaped ones. 

Hope you are having a fantastic Sunday and your week will be wonderful! Thanks for reading!

The one with the medical emergency and the vegan meal.

Hallo meine Lieben,

as I have told you in my last post, I am in Germany right now. The flight over there wasn't as smooth as expected. Well, I guess it never is. 

source

When I checked in for the flight I was happy to see that the seat next to me still seemed to be empty. So I was hoping  for a nice flight where nobody goes on my nerves. I am never really lucky with my seat neighbors...one time I had a veeeery talkative guy sitting next to me who told me his whole life story. Plus his sister's life story. And his aunt's life story. It was a long flight. He also showed me on a map every place in America he has ever traveled to. All I wanted is to read my book or watch a movie. No chance. 

When I entered the plane I had to realize that it was packed and that I probably wasn't very lucky...and of course...I had a whole Austrian family around me. Fortunately they seemed very nice although I had my problems understanding their weird dialect. And after explaining the father how an iPad works the people around me remained pretty quiet for the rest of the flight. 

After a hour I heard somebody asking for oxygen and the flight attendants started to run around in the plane. A couple of minutes later the pilot asked if there is a doctor on board. Things got a little crazy but after half an hour it seemed like the situation is fine. 

An hour later the pilot told us that he had to turn around and fly back to America because of a medical emergency. I guess the person was still having problems with oxygen. So yeah, we were on our way to Boston which was the closest airport. Yay. All I wanted is to have something to eat because it was already 7 pm and I hadn't eaten much the whole day. So when we landed in Boston I wasn't sure if we were even able to continue flying again or if we had to spend the night in Boston - which I really wanted to avoid. 

After a while the pilot talked to us again and told us that the medical emergency had left the plane -hopefully in good shape- and that we would be able to take off as soon as the plane was refueled and all the security checks were finished. He told us that this would take 25 minutes which I never believed. So after 70 minutes we were able to continue our flight to Germany. Yay. 

I was really happy that I packed some snacks for the flight (which I recommend to every vegetarian or vegan because you never know what food you get on a plane). So I ate some nuts while I was waiting for my dinner. 

At 9:45 pm the flight attendants started serving the dinner and I was curious to see if I would really get a vegan meal. Sometimes the vegan meals are a little suspicious so you have to be careful.

This is what I got. Please excuse the crappy quality of the picture.

The main dish was a chick pea curry with rice and broccoli and carrots and the flight attendant assured me that it really was vegan. It was actually pretty good which surprised me because a lot of meals on planes are really tasteless. Sure it is not comparable to a home-cooked meal but you can't have everything.

It came with a mixed salad (tomatoes and green salad), balsamic vinegar ( I did not know if it was vegan, some types of vinegar aren't so I ate the salad with salt and pepper), a bread roll (Wasn't sure about that one either) and some melon. 

All in all, it was a satisfying meal and I wasn't starving anymore. 

After long hours of flying and everybody else in the plane except of me and the pilot being asleep, the flight attendants started serving breakfast.

Luckily I wasn't very hungry and still had a Clif Bar in my bag because my breakfast was not vegan at all. I got a strawberry yogurt, a butter croissant, marmalade and an orange juice. I guess the marmalade was vegan but I did not want to eat pure marmalade so I gave my breakfast to the hungry seat neighbor. 

An hour later we all landed safely in Düsseldorf, Germany. After I had to wait one hour for my bag - I thought it got lost again. Things like that happen to me - I was able to finally leave the airport. 

I hate flying. 

How about you? Do you enjoy long flights? Do you like the food?

Have a lovely Monday!

Ten On Tuesday. Chocolate truffle, books and stinky fruits.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Tuesday! I hope you are all having a wonderful week. 

Number 1.

I received this wonderful moisturiser in the mail yesterday and I am so in love with it (Thanks, again, MuLondon!). The smell reminds me of my childhood which is really awesome. Plus it makes my skin feel so soft.  It's the Organic White Chocolate Truffle - Face Moisturiser by the way. I will use it for a couple of days and then tell you some more about it. 

Number 2.

I got this book today and I can't wait to start reading it because it looks like so much fun. 

source

Number 3.

I wonder if I am the only one who reads several books at a time. Right now I am reading 5 books. I am so impatient that I can't wait to start a new one before I have finished the last one.

Number 4.

I would like to find out how a durian tastes. I know that lots of people say it smells like something rotten but I am still curious. I have heard it's forbidden to eat them in public places like the subway because of the bad smell. 

source

Number 5. 

I love to discover new things to eat. I know my selection is not that huge because I eat vegan and hate onions but I still try to find new things to eat all the time. 

Number 6.

Another great product I discovered is the SPF 18 Daily Facial Lotion by Beauty Without Cruelty. Thanks again to my wonderful friend Martha! I would not have discovered it without you! You rock! <3 The product is vegan and cruelty free and I am glad that it protects my face from the getting a sunburn!

source

Number 7.

My nose is constantly running since yesterday and I have no idea why.

Number 8. 

I have seen a travel documentary about Iceland yesterday and now I want to travel there even more. The country is so incredibly beautiful! Although I have to say that they have some pretty weird food over there. I definitely don't want to eat blood pudding, rotten shark meat or puffins!

source

Number 9.

I am totally in love with Instagram right now. It's so much fun. If you don't follow me yet, my you can find me here. My username is katrin_locc

Number 10.

I really need to catch up with some blog reading tonight. I am way behind. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Random Thursday. Beaches, rustic, cabins or cities?

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's Thursday already which is not only the birthday of my mother-in-law but also time for another Random Thursday post.

And here's the topic.

I love traveling as you probably know. And I am pretty much open to anything but I have to admit that I have never been on a classic beach vacation. I don't know why. Not that I don't want to, it just never happened. I guess I am more the "explorer" kind of person. So when I travel to a place then I want to see as much as possible and not just spend the time at the beach. 

I am not sure that traveler type I am exactly. I love to discover new cities but I also want to see the area around. I want to meet the local people, eat some local food, see the nature, go to all the museums, see the touristy spots, try all the restaurants, buy some souvenirs, see all the shops they have....
I want to see it all. Which is why I always buy tons of traveling books before my vacation to make sure that I don't miss anything. 

On top of my traveling bucket list right now are Ireland, Iceland, Christmas Island, India, Norway....oh, and many many more. 

I guess now I should share some impressions of my recent travels with you....

In Bruges, 2011

Canyonlands National Park, Utah, 2011

Venice, 2010

Las Vegas, 2013

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, 2011

I had to crawl through this tiny hole in a cliff dwelling. I enjoyed it a lot, even with a kidney infection. 

Zaleski State Park, Ohio, 2011

That is how you look after a 3 day backpacking trip and no shower. 

What kind of traveler are you? What is your favorite vacation spot? What's your dream vacation? 

Random Thursday. 5 things on my bucket list.

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's Thursday again. Time is flying by. It means that it is time to link up with these great girls. 

It's also time to talk a little bit about this topic.

Well, I have to say that my bucket list is so long that I probably need 5 more lives to do all the things I want to do. But let's start with these. 

1. traveling

source

There are so many places I want to see, I guess I would travel pretty much anywhere but on top of my list are Iceland, Ireland, Christmas Island, Norway and India. So yeah, hopefully I can travel to at least one of these places in the near future.

2. write a crime novel.

source

I love to read them so it would be awesome to write my own crime novel. I have so many ideas and I really need to sit down and start writing...Why can't my day have 34 hours?

3. ride in a hot air balloon. 

source

I think I have mentioned that before at least 37 times. I really really want to do this someday. The sooner the better. 

4. Adopt more animals. 

source

I really want to be able to offer lots of animals a home, not just cats, dogs and bunnies. Also chicken, donkeys, cows and pigs. So I need the time, space and money to do this. I want to run my own animal sanctuary. 

5. Bake more. 

source

I love baking. I am just not very good at it. And I don't take the time to become a very good baker. So this is definitely on my bucket list.

What's on your bucket list?

Have a lovely Thursday!