Top Ten Things to do in Berlin

Seeing as I spent four months in Berlin, I thought it was only fair that I write a blog post about my 'must see' and 'must do' activities in this amazing city. Some of them are fairly obvious and 'touristy' but if it's your first time in Berlin, you just have to do it. There may be technically more than 10 things on here but that just shows that Berlin really does have something for everyone.

1. Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor) and the Reichstag (German Parliament)

A trip to the Reichstag has to be booked in advance but it's amazing to see where the German conferences are held. The Brandenburg Gate is probably the most touristy spot in Berlin but it's great for photos and it was even a popular place to watch the Euro matches a few weeks ago. 

The Berlin Diaries #2 - Berlin Zoo, KaDeWe and Flower Markets

I've officially been living in Berlin for a whole month - how time flies! I've had so much fun so far and I thought I'd recap the past three weeks in another Berlin Diaries post. If you haven't read the first one - here's a link. I was really lucky to have my boyfriend stay with me for a week over Easter so I had an excuse to go exploring and take a few photos. I tried to pack in lots of activities but unfortunately we were a bit limited due to my work schedule, bank holidays and unpredictable weather. Despite the struggles, the three best things we did were the Berlin zoo, a trip to the KaDeWe and a local farmer's market.     

The Berlin Zoo is absolutely huge and hosts every animal from polar bears to kangaroos. The entry price was reasonable at 15 Euro for students which also included the aquarium. The day we picked to go ended up being quite dark and rainy but we made the most of it and luckily many of the animals were inside. I'm really impressed with the photos I stole from my boyfriend and I would recommend it if you have a few hours to spare in Berlin. My highlight was probably the nocturnal zone where you can see animals such as aardvark, desert foxes and bats. Take a look at the photos below.

10 things I wish I'd known before starting a Year Abroad

I'm definitely guilty of being one of those people that loves a '5 things bloggers don't tell you' or a '20 daily thoughts of a student' kind of post so I thought I'd write my own version about things I wish I'd known before starting my year abroad in Germany. This might be useful for someone preparing for their own year abroad, it might be relatable for my friends who are also on their year abroad or it might just be downright amusing. I'm not sure yet. If you're interested in my year abroad journey so far, you might like to read The Berlin Diaries #1, Goodbye Gottingen: Year Abroad Week Twenty-One or Year Abroad Week One: Girl in Gottingen. 

The Berlin Diaries #1

Goodbye Göttingen: Year Abroad Week Twenty-One

Hallo Hamburg

For the past three years I've been in Germany during February for my university's annual 'tour'. In 2014 it was Munich, in 2015 it was Berlin and this year it was Hamburg. I can't quite explain the magic of 'tour' but it's a trip that always bonds the group, creates endless memories and it's even how I got to know my boyfriend. He actually organised the trip this year and I'm lucky that Hamburg isn't too far from where I'm currently living in Germany. Four hours on a free regional train later and I was stepping off at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof with a crammed suitcase, ready for four days of exploring the city. 

Leopards in Leipzig

 

Chocolate in Cologne

Flying visit to the French Riviera - Nice & Cannes

Before I jet off to Germany next month, my boyfriend and I went on a little city break to the Côte D'Azur last week. On the first day, we arrived in Nice after a painfully early flight but still managed to capture some gorgeous photos, climb to the top of a castle - with a waterfall! - and eventually check into our hotel. We stayed at the Beau Rivage Hotel which I would thoroughly recommend for its location, great staff and lovely rooms. It's also very close to Massena square which is full of restaurants, bars and shops.

On day two we headed to Cannes for celebrity-spotting and macaroon-sampling. Unfortunately we didn't see any famous people as they were probably at the Yacht exhibition that was taking place / on their Yachts / busy doing famous people things. We did have some macaroons though and they were truly heaven. Once back in Nice, we quickly got ready for dinner and had a lovely meal at a restaurant called Le Siecle. 

On our final day we hit the Promenade de Anglais and luckily my boyfriend is a fellow shopping fan and doesn't mind being taken to Sephora, Mac, Zara and naturally, L'Occitane. Afterwards we decided to take a cyclo tour around the beach front and backstreets which is a great way to explore the city without the hassle of walking! 

I hope you enjoyed this travel post! There will be many more to come once I start my year abroad in Germany!

xxx

Venice Lookbook

After the success of my Rome Lookbook back in April, I'm excited to share my Venice Lookbook today after a gorgeous two weeks holidaying with my family. Combining my love of fashion with some beautiful Italian backdrops has been a dream and I hope you like some of the looks I've put together. I'm considering putting together a blog post about my time in Venice, Verona and the Italian ski resort Cortina so if this is something you'd enjoy reading, feel free to leave a comment or tweet me at @modernaudreyh. 

#1 

Miss Selfridge Dress

A classic Venice backdrop on one of the many bridges over the Grand Canal, here I'm wearing a Miss Selfridge jacquard boycon dress which is also featured in my Post-Exam Fashion Haul. This dress is one of the comfiest items of clothing I own and stylish enough for any summer getaway - it's a win-win. 

#2

I confess I'm not actually in Venice here, it's Verona. More specifically, I'm at the Verona opera house which is reminiscent of the Colloseum structure-wise but not quite as big. I'll include more photos of this in a future post but I'd thoroughly recommend a visit. The top and skirt are both Zara (part of my Rome Haul) and my bag is a new addition from a cute Italian chain called DANNI. 

#3

Topshop White Shorts

Topshop Black Drape Front Blouse

Always a monochrome fan, I'm obsessed by this shirt and shorts combo and it looks fab with a tan. Add a simple necklace, wedges and you have yourself a classic summer drinks look. Snap up these beauties while they're still in stock!

#4

You might recognize this pretty H&M slogan T-Shirt from my Rome Lookbook but here I've swapped my black Joni jeans for my blue scalloped shorts from Topshop to add a fresh summer feel. 

#5

River Island Logo T-shirt

Pretty sweet view of the mountains, am I right? I'll be posting about our visit to Cortina and the Dolomite mountains very soon. Getting back to the fashion side of things, I chose to wear a graphic River Island tee (which is now in the sale - go, go) and some simple striped denim shorts. 

#6

Finally this nude pink Topshop dress with corset-style detailing on the sides is my favourite summer outfit to make a fashion statement. The skater-style shape is flattering, ladylike and easy to wear. All you need is a simple black bag to complete the Audrey-esque ensemble. 

I hope you enjoyed my lookbook, it was so much fun to make. To keep up to date with all my posts, my bloglovin link is here - The Modern Audrey. I also recently found out I hit 500 followers so thank you very much!

Have you ever been to Venice or is it on your travel wish-list?  

xxx

The Modern Audrey takes London

As a Northerner, London has always seemed like a faraway magical place to me. Bright lights, fast traffic, the city never sleeps. At University I found that the large majority of my close friends were lucky enough to live in London or just outside it and this pained me. Imagining, having all of those shops, theatres and restaurants on your doorstep - it just seemed unfair. Having only been to London twice before in my life, I jumped at the chance to go there for a weekend with my boyfriend as an early birthday celebration.

On the first day we decided to have a shopping day, focusing on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Covent Garden. Although I didn't end up buying anything (I'm ok, don't worry), the highlight was visiting the beautiful French bakery Laduree which every fashion blogger and their cat seems to have been to - and Instagrammed!

Day two was certainly more jam-packed as we managed to fit in the National Gallery, a quick cake-stop, sampling of Bubble Tea and then London's Sea Life. The aquarium exceeded all expectations as it was truly amazing to see sharks, sting rays, huge turtles, sea horses, cat fish, penguins and many more. My favourite moment was touching a star fish which definitely made me feel very mermaid-esque; just call me Ariel.

After our Sea Life adventure it was time to grab something to eat and after a little online research we found a fantastic modern Spanish tapas bar in Soho called Barrafina. Winning the London Evening Standard restaurant award recently, it certainly lived up to its reputation. We sampled everything from chorizo omelettes, battered squid to scallops. I may have overdone it with the photos at the time (we were at the height of sophistication so this required multiple Instagram snaps) but here are just a few I took on the evening.

And that concludes my little London mini break away! It was great to explore the city and collect some nice memories ahead of summer. I'm sure I'll be back at some point over the next month or so - he's already started planning the itinerary for the next trip! The top of my list is the National Portrait Gallery as a certain Miss Hepburn is being featured in an exhibition over summer. Watch this space.. 

What's your favourite thing to do in London?

xxx

Rome Lookbook

Following my Rome haul, I'm happy to be posting my Rome lookbook today as it cheers me up to look at holiday photos! I've included a small selection of the outfits I wore on the 5 day city break with my family this Easter which I'll be posting about in more detail very soon. If you've read my blog before you'll recognize a few of the pieces I've been wearing from my Spring Wardrobe Update and my Rome Haul. I thought it would be interesting to see them styled together as well as with other clothing items as I love reading other bloggers' lookbooks.  

My first outfit is very smart-casual, a River Island boxy top and my classic Joni black jeans. This shot was taken in a beautiful courtyard within the Vatican museum, I'll be sharing some of my photos of the Pope's breathtaking art collection in an upcoming post. My bag (appearing frequently) is United Colours of Benetton and my sunglasses are from New Look last year. 

Heading out for dinner, I'm in a Zara ensemble which you may have seen in my Rome haul post. I couldn't wait to wear this gorgeous monochrome flowy top and it looked great with the pink Zara skirt I'd handily brought with me. Add some embellished slippers from Accessorize and a New Look clutch and I was ready to go. The photo was taken outside the Basillica Maria. 

As you might guess, these two outfit photos were taken at the one and only Colosseum. My sister ended up buying a selfie stick and we had lots of fun trying to get the best angle! My French inspired top is H&M, as is the necklace. 

This time outside the Altare della Patria monument, I'm wearing my new lemon yellow Zara skirt, River Island top and black leggings. I wish I could have worn my new ballerina flats but Rome requires a great deal of walking so comfy black boots are a must! 

For the final night, I wore my lace sea-green Topshop dress which you can see in my Berlin Haul post. I love wearing it with my Oasis blazer as the colours complement each other well. 

What do you think of my first lookbook? Have you any suggestions for future posts?

xxx