Playlist: Tunes for Week 47/52

I was lucky enough to catch Franz Ferdinand at The Metro Theatre in Sydney this past Friday. (Can I just say - what. a. band.) That and my literal non-stop aural consumption of the new Arctic Monkeys record has got me feeling a bit indie rock n roll, so no surprises where inspiration for my BANGERZ of the week has come from! Let me know what you're listening to right about now xx

1. Do You Want To / Franz Ferdinand
2. Flathead / The Fratellis
3. R U Mine? / Arctic Monkeys
4. I Always Knew / The Vaccines
5.  I Appear Missing / Queens Of The Stone Age
6. Demons / The National
7. We Exist / Arcade Fire
8. Bones / The Killers
9. Unbelievers / Vampire Weekend
10. Australia / The Shins

Leeds Festival 2013: Photoset

Hola! I'm finally rested and recuperated after five nights camping at Leeds Festival. I simply cannot fathom how the clouds over just one city can hold so much rain! The whole festival and camping field was one big mud pit - definitely not an experience I will forget in a hurry.

I caught so many incredible bands and artists over the three festival days, I would be here forever if I tried to list them all - some of my favourite acts included Eminem (because he is my king), Fall Out Boy (because they are my guilty pleasure favourite band), Disclosure and HAIM.

I had some difficulty keeping a steady camera, particularly later on in the evenings, so I don't have the most extensive photoset for you all. You'll find but a few of my festival highlights below (/sets where my phone was charged) and more on my instagram which you can find here.

I'm spending the rest of the next week in London before venturing off to Bali for some soul-searching and R&R time!

I will have another post for you within the next week, much love and light to y'all xxxx

Jagwar Ma at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Ferris Wheel at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Mud friends at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

AlunaGeorge at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013 

MØ at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

More mud at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013 

Foals at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013 

HAIM at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Pheonix at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013 

Relentless Forest Rave at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Parquet Courts at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Diplo ballin' during Major Lazer set at Leeds Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Mud puddles at Leed Festival, Leeds / August 2013

Back In Berlin - What to Eat, Drink & Do

Sunset at Brandenburg Gate, Berlin / August 2013

Just the mere thought of Berlin is intoxicating. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity of visiting this divine city two years in a row. Sydney will always be home, where I regard the dining, music, fashion and art scenes so favourably - but to me, no city I have visited quite compares to Berlin which is truly in a class of it's own. Everything about the city is so edgy, and hip(ster). It seems to be ahead of it's time in so many different aspects, Berlin sets the trend and then the rest of the world follows.
I know that fashions and tastes change, and all that I find enticing about Berlin now may bore me in a few years when another city takes it's place. But, for now, here are a few of my favourite things about the city.

EAT
Mustafas Gemüsekebap - The time I have waited in line for a kebab from Mustafas has varied in length from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Yes, three. This little street stall will change your entire perspective on kebabs. The kebab is a little unconventional - without ruining the surprise, the ingredients list includes things like feta cheese, fried vegetables and tabbouleh, but I promise you will never taste a kebab like it or this good. I recommend heading to the convenience store around the corner from the stall before you hop in line - grab a few beers to sink in the line to ease the boredom that is waiting in a three hour line. The beauty of street food! (Find a sneaky pic of a Gemüsekebap in this photoset)

DRINK
Chalet - My favourite club in Berlin (because Watergate is pretentious and expensive, and I can't bear the fear of possible rejection from Berghain more than once a weekend) runs out of a 150 year old building, located in the heart of Kreuzberg (duh!). I was initially drawn to the venue by 'all the pretty lights,' and once you go in, you don't come out. (Seriously, it's impossible to find the exit once you're a little inebriated.) The garden is amazing, complete with pond, swimming pool and lounges whilst the rest of the venue is straight up party vibe. Spread across two levels, the decor feels a little bit 1800s Alice in Wonderland saloon and you literally just get lost in the techno.

DO
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp - It has taken me three visits to Berlin to make it out to a concentration camp, but I'm so glad that I finally did. Sachsenhausen wasn't designed as an extermination camp so it wasn't huge and mainly detained political prisoners, however over 30,000 people died there. Until physically stepping foot in one of these camps, I don't think it's possible to fully grasp the full extent of what happened in those concentration camps. The media and film industries have completely desensitised us to images of violence and cruelty, but it is a completely different feeling to be standing there in a cell where prisoners of war were tortured or the barracks where prisoners slept. Sachsenhausen was a very overwhelming experience (and it's not even one of the largest or most brutal camps), visiting it made me really appreciate how lucky I am to live in Australia and so grateful that my family has not first hand experienced horrors such as these.

After 18 hours on 6 different trains, I am finally in Amsterdam. As soon as I have a chance, I will fill you in on Prague. Until then... xx