Day SIXTEEN

Only a few photos today. Munich didn't leave a big impression on me, this might be because we were staying in a Airb&b place outside the city centre, therefore we didn't really talk to anyone else (apart from a very bored and uninterested phone salesman who I bought a sim card from) the whole time we were there. 

I didn't plan on talking about this, but I get quite angry when it happens to me - and I am guilty of doing it to other people - and this type of behaviour is a universal problem, so it's worth talking about; I'm talking about appearance. I found that people were noticeably nicer to me when I had makeup on. And that is not fair. 

I found that while backpacking, in general the people I approached for help were nice; moving out of my way when walking towards me on the street, explaining things to me and giving me directions, selling me products and just generally harmoniously co-inhabiting the planet with me. But on days that I didn't feel like wearing makeup, I really did feel like I was treated differently. This is a double standard and it really hurt. I would smile at someone or ask a simple question, and they would stare at me or be rather unhelpful, like the sim card guy, and I would leave the interaction a bit confused about why they were so rude... until I realised that I had no makeup on. After discovering this, I paid closer attention to when I wore makeup (but the same clothes, same backpack, same smile) I was shocked to find that people seemed a lot nicer and more helpful. 

Now I'm sure this isn't a big revelation to some, or even most, of you. Classic Gamel yarn, of course people treat you differently if you have makeup on. 

Looking back on the way I have acted, I know that I have treated people differently because of their appearance in these types of retail environment situations, and I feel really bad about this. Women shouldn't have to wear makeup 24/7! You just have to google the subject to see that a lot of people have opinions on this subject, and yet we are still presented with images of women going to bed or waking up with perfect faces of makeup. We are fooling ourselves. And this is excluding factors such as personal grooming, fashion, hairstyle, glasses vs contacts, skin colour, language and on and on and on it goes! My personal experiences on this topic are so small and inconsequential compared to what some people experience everyday - therefore surely this should be a topic we talk about more.

It's tough being a human some days.

Thanks for reading. Remember there is something in each of us that is beautiful, and the way you treat other people says a lot about who you are.

with love from my makeup-free face to yours x

Munich | BMW Welt | Day 15

 Day FIFTEEN

As the name suggests, if you don't like cars, today might be a little boring for you. For those of you who love BMW's, I apologise for my limited knowledge. Tyler might be nice enough to do some captions for ya'll :)

The Munich-based BMW show room known as BMW Welt (Bavarian Motor Works World) is located next to the BMW headquarters and the Olympic Park. A competition was held to design the building, and COOP HIMMELB(L)AU from  Vienna won the honour. A casual $200 million USD was spent from 2003 - 2007 to build it. That's a lot of bier and bratwurst. I guess when it costs to go in, and they have over 2 million guests a year, it makes its money back... Not surprisingly, in 2013 60% of visitors were Germans. hehe.

Impressive building, right? I found an easy way to amuse myself with annoying Tyler by trying to make him pose for photos... 

"Can you not, you're embarrassing me stop it!" I had great fun.

So I handed over the camera, and this was the first thing he photographed. Arty, no?

Oh, oh, I know about this one, this was one of the cars they used while filming Mission Impossible; Rogue Nation.

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next: Munich | Day 16

Antwerp | Day 14

Day FOURTEEN

The Antwerp train station is huge, and has been called the 'most beautiful railway station in the world' (Mashable 2014). It has four levels, which we found very confusing when trying to catch our train! 

Damn kiwis. 

Looking at the building you might find it hard to decide what style it's built in, and you'd be right because the central dome was designed by a different architect than the facade, and the glass and steel train shed was designed by someone different again. Although I imagine this isn't uncommon to have more than one architect work on a civic building, each of the designs are quite different. The entrance hall, where these different styles come together, is truly impressive. My photos don't really do it justice, the size alone feels very impressive when you are looking up at the dome - the four stories don't cover the hall, you can look directly up at the ceiling. 

Need more facts? Building was started in 1895 and Antwerpen-Centraal was opened in 1905.

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This is a Sunday food and small goods market we found relatively close to the train station. I didn't take many photos here, but these olives caught my eye.

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As did these flags on the City Hall, which is in the Grote Markt, or Great Market Square. When the wind was blowing it looked like the whole building was about to fly away. Must be noisy for the people working inside!

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We then went down to the river, where there were a couple of very small castles, and did generic touristy gazing off into space type activities for a while

and finished the day with some Delirium :)

with love from Antwerp

Antwerp | Modeste Bier Festival | Day 13

Day THIRTEEN

I feel as if I say this in every post - and I probably do - but I thought this city was beautiful. I'll juts say it now and get it out of the way, all of Europe is beautiful. There, now we can move on.

We stayed at the Jeugdherberg Pulcinella Hostel (or Antwerp Central Hostel if your mouth can only manage a normal level of articulation) which was in an ultra-modern simplistic building. I really liked the aesthetic, but in our room the beds were quite small and hard, and the mattress was covered in a thick industrial plastic, which made it feel like a weird cross between a dental surgery and a space brothel. 

The city itself was a big contrast from this strangely enjoyable simplicity, there are lots of nice small spares and outdoor seating. In a way I was reminded of Paris, but with the difference that sitting outside to eat might actually be a nice experience. Why are Parisians so fascinated with eating al fresco? The streets are so narrow and dirty. Maybe we were looking in the wrong areas... Anyway, Antwerp; in 1406 it was known as the most beautiful city in the world, it has the second biggest port in Europe, and it is famous for its uncut diamonds. There is also a big craft beer movement (clearly, it's Belgium) and the food is divine.

The Cathedral of Our Lady, or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, was never actually finished. I really like gothic cathedrals, there is so much architectural detail. There's a sculpture by the front door of men working on the church, and a woman was busking by pretending to be a sculpture too. She was very good. I didn't realise she was there until she blinked!

On to some amazing food and drink at The Cathedral Cafe. We thought this was a different cafe, but the over the top amount of catholic kitch was quite impressive and the food was delicious so we didn't mind! 

We then caught the tram to the Modeste Bier Festival. If you don't like crowds or confined spaces, this isn't the one for you! But if you can handle the heat, you can try some amazing local craft beer. There were some food caravans out the back too, where some fresh air and a little more space was nice. You pay for your glass and you get a book which tells you about the different beers and the background of the brewers. Then you swap your euros for tokens and get drinking

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next: Antwerp | Day 14