PHOTO POST: weekend in vilnius

It's the last post for the year of 2012 and both Felix and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas (if you have celebrated on the 24th of December) and a happy upcoming New Year!

As I only celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January, a short notice weekend trip to Vilnius in Lithuania was planned. Such a cute little city which most of all fulfilled my longing for snow, as here in Austria there was no sign of it. Though there's a weird phenomenon I discovered about this city - it's much more spectacular at night than during day time!! Maybe all those gorgeous Christmas decorations are to be blamed :)

Hope you're enjoying the holidays and the winter break! We wish you a fabulous New Year's celebration tonight!! Felix is currently in the US, in New York to be exact, and I'm heading over to Hungary to celebrate in Budapest. So make sure to check back in a while & read all about our adventures ;)

 the only way to survive the Lithuanian cold - with cozy scarves and Russian style hats :) 

 icy & snowy streets up to the Gates of Dawn

 warming up during a sightseeing break at the "La Cave" café

 ♪ ♫ "snow is falling, all around me..." ♫ ♪

 Cathedral -Basilica of St. Stanislaus & St. Ladislaus

 typical Orthodox churches all around - the Church of St. Peter & St. Paul

 the most amazing entrance to a pub!!! & yes I am a huge fan of London ^^

 the Town Hall square at night 

MOVIE REVIEW: "Anna Karenina"

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Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, Hanna… Joe Wright is one of my favorite directors right now. Not only is his choice of actors always exquisite, his movies also shine with the best cinematography you can get. In his new project, once again with muse Keira Knightley who has finally seemed to have specialized in tragic time period roles only, he has a try at Leo Tolstoi’s famous adultery novel “Anna Karenina”.

As almost all of the scenes in the whole movies take place on a stage, making you feel like the theater audience with special backstage insights, the movie is given a special feeling to it right from the beginning. This technique works fantastically, even though I was skeptical while watching the trailer. The whole scenery in general looks absolutely fabulous, every scene works for itself. On that score, the movie is a masterpiece. The cast delivers very solid performances, although I feel that no one really stood out, however, maybe that was the screenplay’s fault.

That leads me to the weakness of the film, which is the plot itself. I have rarely seen such a heavy movie in my life with such few light moments so that the few light moments, especially in the end, are almost too appreciated. Blame Tolstoi, I’m sure the novel has exactly the same tonality! Maybe the screenplay should have been loosened up a bit and not centered on 3 persons only in order to take away some of the drooping moments.

All in all, however, a movie made with so much love for adequacy and detail, a cast stunning to look at and the fascinating beginning and end, a magical movie that dares to give you something different in terms of setting events in scene, despite being a mass release!

 

PHOTO POST: last goodbyes

Even though it's already the beginning of December, here on entertainment scrapbook, we like to do things differently ;) So instead of showing you pictures of snowy winter wonderlands, we have decided to say our last goodbyes to autumn 2012 with this post.
Hopefully you'll be able to feel the mood of these shots, where we wanted to capture such fun and carefree moments. The location being an old train station, a bit outside of Vienna, was a little dream come true for itself, as we have always wanted to take photos there. And combined with spending the time with good friends and lots and lots of laughter, the day couldn't have been more perfect.
On this note, a farewell to golden November and a hello to silvery and frosty December.

ALBUM REVIEW: "Coexist" by The xx

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My favorite bands keep failing to make their second albums better than their debut ones. (see: Passion Pit, Mew...) Why is that. I admire the xx. Their first album is one of my favorite ones in the history of Felixen's favorite albums! Almost every song of their debut album tells a story for me such as "Islands", "Synchronized", "VCR" and "Night Time".

This time things're looking different. The debut single "Angels" took me by storm. Loved it from the first listening on and couldn't wait for the album. But OH no :( What a disappointment. Yes, I love the style and sound. It's awesomely atmospheric again but where's the recognition value? "Reunion" and "Swept Away" are amazing but the rest of the songs kind of get lost in a minimal monotone sound that the xx have obviously chosen for their new outing.

Of course, with every listening the songs get better but "Coexist" does kind of sound like a 1-hour-song. As I am 100% loyal to the xx, though, I have downloaded the album and am listening to it and when it suits the mood it's perfect.

However: I want another First Album by them. Let's make the third album better than the first AND the second one, okay?! Please.

PHOTO POST: insta memories {3}

Instagram post number 3 - an overview over what has been happening in November. When you get busier & busier in daily life, instagram is such a welcome distraction. It also is perfect to remember certain little moments in life & capture them with photos. A little recommendation - if you're in Vienna - the current exhibitions at the Albertina and the MUMOK are simply amazing!!! Definitely worth a visit ;)
Looking forward to all the Christkindlmarkets (christmas markets) in December all around the city, which will hopefully brighten up the gloomy weather! :)

a weekend trip to budapest // opera building on a sightseeing walk through the city

dan flavin - "lights" exhibition // rainy days - view out of a tram in the evening

foggy view from the balcony at home // november full of rain

university trip to the AUA (austrian airlines ) headquartes at the airport // winter installations at the MQ (museumsquartier) - "urban eskimos"

visiting the new "go'ramien" at "the mall" (landstraße vienna) - sushi yumminess!! // cozy evenings at home with popcorn & new gossip girl series

evenings spent studying at the university library // deserted university halls late in the evening

starting a new book - "anna karenina" in its original russian version // going back to my darker natural hair colour

PHOTO POST: golden autumn

Even though Felix and I haven't taken these photos such a long time ago, they almost seem like a distant memory right now. The gorgeous weather was used for a walk around the castle Schönbrunn - golden coloured leaves all around and the sun shining - wish autumn could have stayed that friendly a bit longer.
Now all that has been replaced by cloudy gloominess, so we can't wait until the christmasy-mood finally sets in and brightens up Vienna a bit. With lots of university work to do, the best has to be made out of this weather as well. Cuddling up at home with tea and cookies or visiting some museums and art exhibitions is what we've been up to lately :)