Tag Archives: film

Experiences Abroad, My articles / researches, Steffi Says

How To Fill The Time While You’re Traveling

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What a lot of people don’t tell you about traveling is that it isn’t all fun. Although you get to explore some incredible cities and see new things every day, there are times when you’re waiting around for a bus or sitting on a dark train through the night or trying to get over jet lag at 3AM in an uncomfortable hostel room bed, and at those times, traveling really doesn’t seem like as much fun as it’s cracked up to be! Here are some tips to help you get through the hardest and loneliest parts of traveling the world…

Start Reading

There’s nothing better than an e-reader to get you through some rough times. Download your favourite books to dive into whenever you feel a little blue – try Harry Potter or the Game of Thrones series for exciting reads that you’ll be able to dip in and out of. Not only will it provide you with something to do, but if you don’t feel like talking to anyone then reading is a surefire way to tell them that you’re busy and to back off.

FillTimeWhileTravellingImage source

 

Get A Streaming App

Streaming apps can enable you to watch movies and TV shows on your devices, whether that’s your smartphone or your tablet. Being able to watch a half-hour comedy on your tablet with your headphones on underneath your sheets as the hostel you’re staying in will help you feel a little more grounded and it’ll put you in a much better mood. ShowBox is a popular app among Android users – the latest version APK download link is here if you want to check it out. Just remember to take an extra charger so your devices don’t run out of juice too quickly.

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Plan Your Trip

One of the best things to do if you feel a little bored and down is to start planning the next phase of your trip. Even if you’re about to head home, why not start a list of the next countries that you plan to visit? If you’re feeling a little lost and you miss your friends and family at home, opening up your guidebook and deciding what attractions and cities you want to visit next will remind you why you wanted to start traveling to begin with. It’s also a good idea to start looking at your budget to make sure that you have a decent money situation – you want to make sure that you can travel in financial comfort.

FillTimeWhileTravelling2Image source

 

Make Friends

Finally, use any moments of loneliness to start making new friends. Other people traveling will be remarkably friendly and could prove to be friends for life – and even if they’re only backpacking friends, that’s okay too. Some people are perfect to have as friends for a certain part of your life before parting with goodwill towards each other. Strike up conversations with people who seem friendly but make sure that you stay on your guard and remember that if any situation makes you feel uncomfortable it’s totally okay to remove yourself from it.

Experiences Abroad, germany, My articles / researches, River Rhine, Steffi Says

Schloss Drachenburg

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Built in the 1880s, Schloss Drachenburg is a fairy tale castle. The architecture is full on romantic Gothic, with spires, the style of a medieval cathedral and a beautiful clock tower. It stands on a hill above the Rhine River, with beautiful breathtaking view of the said river.

drachen

A story from the German folklore says, that Siefried has slayed a dragon up on this very mountain, which the castle gets the name from. Drachenburg, translates to Dragon’s castle in English. The actual story of this castle is however less glamorous as it was commissioned by a rich stock broker. Funnily enough it was built in two years, yet recently a 15-year restoration was completed for 31.5 million euro.

Completed in 1884, the castle started off as a private villa, then was converted into a museum, which later on was used as an “Adolf Hitler” college for boys. To this day, you can still see holes from the US artillery fires, as they smashed the stained glass windows and facade in the last months of the war. It was at this time that the Nazi schoolboys decided to stop resisting against the americans.

The inside of the castle is full of German art and craftsmanship.

See below, some photos I took of a day well-spent in the Dragon’s castle.

Such a dreamy castle!

My articles / researches, My Life, Steffi Says

8 things to strengthen one’s relationship

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Given the last 13 years of somewhat unsuccessful relationship “experience”, I have tried to gather and combine a list of things or tips, which I think would make or help in having a satisfying and working long term relationship.

  1. Honesty; Possibly the most important thing of all. Always be honest and truthful to each other, on all things in your life, be it as a couple or individual. Honesty helps you feel more comfortable and assured on where you stand in your love affair.

  2. Be respectful – Mutual respect is important in maintaining a healthy relationship. The wishes and feelings of each other are valuable even when you disagree. Be genuine and show interest in your partner’s life and hobbies – such things can only bring you closer as a couple.

  3. Trust – This is the foundation of a happy and fulfilling relationship. It take time to build trust and can be lost in a split of a second if one feels betrayed. Examples of being trustworthy are: being reliable and following up on your promises, share what you feel and always say the truth, be a safe place for your partner, be consistent (not only when it is convenient or things are going well).

  4. Be considerate – Keep each other in the loop, ask for holdinghandssunseteach other’s advise in decision making, especially when this will affect your life together as a couple.

  5. Affection – don’t just say that you love your partner; demonstrate it. Kiss each other good morning, be passionate, hold hands in public, take pictures together – make memories… surprise each other with a romantic date or a gift.

  6. Know your Priorities – Although we all lead busy lives, we should always find time for our partners. If you don’t see this as important, perhaps you should spend some time to think about this and why you are hanging onto a relationship which you don’t feel devoted to. If we all invest as much time on our relationship as we do texting, playing games, on social media and watching TV  or films, we might actually have a meaningful relationship.

  7. Security – Show that your partner can count on you to be there in times of need; be it emotionally or physically.

  8. Be a team  – You are stronger together, as a team. Make plans, ensure you have shared goals and same purposes and views long term. Work together.

yourman

Movies, Reviews, Steffi Says

Big Hero 6; Review

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Can’t believe it took me over a year to watch Disney’s Big Hero 6, but boy am I glad that I finally invested one and a half hours into watching this. The story is about Hiro, a young boy who was very much into robots and science. He was following his brother’s steps in getting enlisted in Nerd School but tragedy hit and the movie’s plot changes into a typical revenge storyline.

bighero6

The animation itself is amazing and it is fun and exciting throughout. The plot twists were not all predictable, keeping in mind that this movie is written for younger audience… I loved how the two main characters contemplated into turning bad themselves in order to complete their superhero mission. In the end, their mission is fulfilled in the most creative way and they even make it to the news as heroes, and they called themselves Big Hero 6; They were 6 in total.

I won’t spoil the story for those of you who have not yet watched it, but I highly recommend it. Prepare some snacks, and give it a try, go on!

 

Funnies, My Life, Steffi Says

12 Things you should not assume about a Girl

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Let me share with you some basics about girls. These are based on my experiences from being a teenager until now:

  1. Our favourite colour is pink
    Why would you think something like that? Is it because all the boys like blue? Ha!
  2. We love wearing heels
    Some of us do, I suppose… But I do not see the point of wearing shoes that cause discomfort, and then complain about it all night long. The only time you’d find me in heels is in special occasions such as weddings, and trust me – I wear them because they’re mandatory and not for any other reason.
  3. We dislike watching football
    I won’t speak for all women here, but watching football is a lot of fun and a fantastic way to relax, get mad at people and enjoy eating snacks and beer. (*) See point 5.
  4. When we get dressed up is because we want to get laid
    Not really. If I dress up, I do it for myself. Sometimes I like pampering myself and look good.
  5. Beer is disgusting
    Are you kidding me? It is one of my favourite beverages, as is wine and Jagerrmeister. Also stout and ale. Yum!
  6. We love cleaning the house
    You might as well say that women “belong in the kitchen!” too. This statement might have been okay in the 70s when women stayed home and didn’t work, but in today’s society, it is absurd and I believe everyone should clean.
  7. All we want from life is to have your babies
    We have more purpose in life than having babies, like careers.. traveling, learning. Having babies and a family, is nowadays just one of the options and/or possibilities for a girl. And why can’t we obtain more than one? 🙂
  8. We are not into video games
    Some of us enjoy gaming as one of our pastimes or a way to exercise. It might not be our life, but we can definitely be up to play some games with you.
  9. We are not good in math
    Or science… Right. When I was at school studying IT and Software Development, the guys believed that I would fail because this is a male’s world. But here I am, two diplomas and a degree later, and with tons of IT experience. Again… the world has changed.
  10. We only love watching chick flicks
    What if this is true? Does this make us weak? NO! 
  11. We can’t make our own decisions
    Let’s hope for our sake that this applies for all women: We are mature and sensible enough to make our own decisions. We are not stubborn, and if you are important to us, we listen to your ideas, and we factor them in our decision process.
  12. When we are nice, it doesn’t mean we are flirting
    If this were true, I’d be one of the biggest flirts in the world. I’d like to think of myself as a good person, for those who deserve it. So I am nice, I am helpful, I am patient. But please, in no way shall you mistake this to me being flirty. Thank you.

never-assume

Movies, Reviews, Steffi Says

Pixels The Movie – Review

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After spending weeks debating whether I should watch Pixels the movie, I decided to give it a go. May I just say that it was the best decision I made today? ;P

Joking aside, this movie is not only hilarious, creative and fun to watch, but it made me reminisce my childhood.. The 80’s games… the gaming arcades… I used to spend hours playing pac-man and hating on the ghosts chasing it. What about Donkey Kong? I think it was the first game I played with the character Mario, and like the tradition goes, he is always up to rescuing pixilated women or princesses, in this case Pauline.

pixels

Other video game characters and games which contributed in the movie are Galaga, Frogger, Tetris, Paperboy and Ceintipede among many more. Low and behold, Toru Iwatani; the creator of Pac-Man is also part of the movie. This is how awesome and geeky it is!!

Actors such as Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad makes this movie even more watchable. These actors are well known in the comedy genre, and with that pinch of nostalgia and nerdy vibe, it is just the cherry on the cake.

Have a look at the trailer:

Let me know your thoughts if you actually watched this 🙂

My articles / researches, My Life, Other Reviews, People worth Remembering, Reviews, Steffi Says

Tribute to Christopher Lee

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I do not go ape-shit crazy over every famous legend, that passes away… But, Christopher Lee deserves a mention.

christopher leeWho is Christopher Lee?
– He is one of a kind.
– He was born in 1922, in England and has died due to heart failure at the age of 93.
– He has been given credit for 281 acting jobs (movies and series).
– Out of all these films around 90% of the time he acted as a villain.
– He participated during World War II, where he served his country in the Royal Air Force and in British Intelligence.
– He is a very tall man; 1.96m.
– One of his movies is still to be released next year.

What is he mostly known for?
– Christopher Lee, is Saruman in Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit.
– Christopher Lee has portrayed three different characters in the Sherlock Holmes Series: Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft – Holmes and Sir Henry Baskerville.
– Christopher Lee has been Dracula several times.
– Christopher Lee is the voice of Count Dooku in Star Wars.
– Christopher Lee is also a singer and he has released his last mini-album at the age of 92.

Memories I will treasure forever:

From the Hobbit: The Battle of 5 Armies
Saruman: “Leave Sauron to me”



Christopher Lee singing “My Way”. Elvis’ cover version turned into heavy metal

Movies, Reviews, Steffi Says

The Loft (Movie Review & Quotes)

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Yesterday I decided to have a relaxing evening after going out two nights in a row and spending the day in Valletta. I have made bruschetta for the first time which turned out delicious… (I will be making it again!)

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One glass of wine later, I decided to watch a movie which I’ve been wanting to watch for a while. It goes by the name of ‘The Loft’ and it’s considered to be in the thriller genre. Although I was not disappointed by this movie itself, I must say that I was not amused either. The story was quite original, in the sense that five married guys bought a penthouse to take all their mistresses and fuck buddies there, rather than getting caught or seen in hotel rooms. The only agreement they had between each other is that they’d tell the rest when they are occupying the apartment. 5 keys; one per each guy, and one dead body later…. The twist in the plot was quite interesting, but after seeing so many movies of this genre, it was quite obvious that the most perverted one out of the suspects has done it. And so was the case.

What left an impact on me was a quote from this very movie:

“The people you love, are the only ones who can hurt you.”

How true is that?

How easier would life be if we never get hurt?

But, how worthwhile would it be, in the expense of never feeling love and all its emotions ever again?

Movies, musi, People worth Remembering, Reviews, Steffi Says

Kurt Cobain – ‘Montage of Heck’ – The Documentary

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Kurt Cobain has left us just over 20 years ago, and still he is a musician which is to this day talked about and not at all forgotten.

The singer’s anger, frustration and depression was very well documented, cobainand it is finally time for it to be made public in a documentary. This will capture his life on the road and success with Nirvana, his his life as a family man as well as his beautiful daughter who was just two when he passed away. It will contain several unseen home movies as well as more of Kurt’s art whilst growing up.

There’s also a rumour about about the fact that  the soundtrack of ‘Kurt Cobain – Montage of Heck’  is actually an unreleased acoustic song by yours truly.

Have a look at the trailer below:

Courtney Love has cooperated during this montage and his daughter, Frances Bean is one of the executive producers for the film. This documentary has already aired on Sundance Festival and been reviewed as the best film in the festival by Entertainment Weekly. It is expected to be aired on HBO on May 4th.

I can’t wait for this… Can you?

Advice, Steffi Says

Steffi Advice #4 – 50 Shades of Office Inappropriateness

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Dear Steffi,50

I work with another 8 women and we all have read the Fifty Shades of Grey and expressed interest in the book and the movie. Few days before the movie was released in the local cinema, we received an email from our manager inviting us for lunch, drinks and then to watch the movie together. I felt it was weird and that the movie is not work-friendly. Because our manager gets defensive we all decided not to bring this out to him and simply go to the event altogether. How can I explain to him that he crossed a line without creating a chaos in the office?

Shady

—————–—————–

Dear Shady,

Although it is lovely and appreciated to have colleagues which you are friends with, I would think this is awkward especially since the only male figure who attended was your manager. I would not feel comfortable watching this movie with my boss, imagining what he is thinking while watching it, and seeing your reactions to the movie; even if you were taking the piss at the movie, like I did with my group of friends! I guess, if I were in that situation I would have tried to agree with the rest of the colleagues, so together we could decline the offer since it was not an appropriate outing for work. It would have been one step forward towards showing your boundaries and hopefully one step closer for your boss to learn his limits.

Much Love XXX