Flexypenguin is on the road again. The Berlin edition.

Posted on May 17, 2012 by flexypenguin

I’m excited… a proper trip again! It’s been, euhm, about 3 months since I last left the country but that is majorly long for me. Like I mentioned on here before I am a nomad at heart really.
Berlin also has a special meaning to me. As some of you know in a former life I planned to move to Berlin and open up an elektro music/art space with my at the time DJ boyfriend and some friends. Haha sounds ever so realistic now, but it was an amazing dream at the time. Needless to say it never really materialised though.

What I’m planning on doing? Mainly soaking up the atmosphere, vintage shopping, elektro clubbing, meeting some locals and.. just going with the flow. On Tuesday I’m starting my new job so this is all about really relaxing before the big day…

I came across a really cool guide on the net as well which has some amazing tips: http://unlike.net/berlin
How cool is this “unconvenience store” in a double decker bus: http://www.kjosk.com/
or this cat loving bar/concert/art space in a former soap factory… http://www.katerholzig.de/My my… I think I’m quite gonna like this city. See you all when I get back!!
Kel
x

Jumping in the deep end…

Posted on May 16, 2012 by flexypenguin

I simply love this quote I read in the book “Enchanted Love” by Marianne Williamson today:

” Sometimes it is a sign of mastery to change major life circumstances after thinking about it for only fifteen minutes, and a sign of weakness to do anything else.
And that is because we know what we know, and that we are not willing to go foggy in our lives anymore and pretend that we do not. We are not willing to hide behind the illusions of the world, the bourgeois conventions of a society which honors rules before love. We intend to go forward. We intend to take the leap of faith. We intend to grasp our love to our chest and never, ever, ever let go.”

How inspiring is this? Marianne is talking about matters of the heart here but it is a general rule I try to follow in life… Not to get lost in endless circular thinking but to act on that gut instinct. And guts it does take. Most of the time I am to afraid to do so, sometimes it gets me into trouble but generally when I really act on it without holding back… it brings me the most amazing circumstances, people who touch my soul and leaves me with unforgetable memories.

I hope I will be brave enough in the days, months and years to come and will not go “foggy” too often. Regret is a word I honestly would love to remove out of my vocabulary… and I just know this is the way how to… for me. :-)

Love, Kelly

ps: Here are some snapshots of where those “gut feelings” I acted on took me… They all mean a lot to me.

- two weeks after graduating I moved to London with no place to live, no job, 1000eur in my bankaccount and unsure about my relationship. It was a life defining moment. Here’s just one of my many “homes” in London that will always be in my heart.
- Sometimes you just need to book a last minute plane ticket at work on a friday evening and make your way to the airport. That’s what I did and because of it I now have an amazing older brother in my life.

- I followed my heart unconditionally once and although people got hurt, it was a very unconventional decision at the time and it eventually led to my heart being broken… I’ll never regret it. This is me at one of my happiest moments.

- At some point I quit my job, got all my savings together and travelled to Asia by myself. I changed me in a way that still amazes me today. This is just one of my unforgetable moments… (quadbiking in the Cambodian countryside)

Let’s take a closer look: Shay Sapir

Posted on May 16, 2012 by flexypenguin

In my last post there were a lot of amazing pictures but the one in the Tel Aviv section really stood out for me. It’s by local Shay Sapir and taking a look at his portfolio I am in complete awe. There’s not much I can tell you about him as… well there is not much I found. But in this case I don’t feel it is needed either. His pictures simply say it all.

I urge you to go and have a look, man is this guy talented.

The links : His portfolio // Shay @ Flickr // Shay @ 500 px

Not all those who wander are lost…

Posted on May 14, 2012 by flexypenguin

My friend Kristof gave me the idea for this post over the weekend as we had a chat about our future travel plans.

And eventhough I am comfortably settling in in Belgium as we speak, I’ll always be a nomad at heart, so musing over my next holidays is still a favorite pastime…

Here is my very colourful top-10-must-see-or-experience-list to get you dreaming as well… I’m hoping I’ll be able to tick the places of the list during the next 5 to 10 years. Quite a challenge… but I’m up for it.

10. Australian contrasts: Ayers Rock & Surfers Paradise (the latter because the name is simply what my dreams are made of…)