Europe Trip: Part 6 - Salzburg

Day 10 - 11

The trip to Salzburg was only one day and a half. It was pretty short but fun. We had dropped by Wachau prior to this and took a train that only took us approximately 3 hours from Wachau to Salzburg.

The first place we visited was Mount Untersburg. My my, that was a good experience. Mount Untersburg is the massif of Berchtesgaden Alps. This Alps cut across Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. Mount Untersbaurg is only 16km away from Salzburg city center and can be reachable by bus which runs every 15 minutes during weekdays. Cable car service is provided and it will take you all the way up to Mount Untersburg.   

Mount Untersburg from afar. 

Up up we went in the cable car. Don't you feel Salzburg is so beautiful? So much greenery. 

Look how high we were. Look at the houses down there, they looked like matchsticks boxes. Roads were like the size of ropes. 

Those white patches were snow. We initially thought that were rocks until we got closer. 

Look, how thick the snow had accumulated. 

Lying on snow!!!

I was so excited as it was my first time seeing snow and holding it. Wee~~~

To my surprise, the temperature was bearable. I am afraid of cold but I was only wearing a sweater and jacket, even with the wind, it was so much better than London. As for the snow, I couldn't really figure it out. Why there was snow around but the temperature was not that cold? Anyone good in geography could help me on this? =) 

This mountain just stretched further and further. All the way to.. erm.. not too sure where it is heading to.. =p

It was time to go down as it was going to rain. Look, how close we were to the clouds. 

We went to the old town area after visiting Mount Unternsburg. 

Visited Mozart's birthplace (the one with yellow color) at the old town area. The music prodigy was born in this building on 1756.  

Didn't take much photos inside as a lot of areas were not allowed to snap photos. What I would like to share is the piano. This is how the piano looked like centuries back. Yes, the color of the keys were just the opposite from the piano that we had nowadays. I was like "oh" when I saw it. I downloaded this photo from wikipedia for a better understanding.We were not allowed to take photo on the one that remained in Mozart's house. Well, they looked kind of similar. 

Photo from Wikipedia

So that was pretty much what we did back in Salzburg. There were so much places that we didn't manage to visit since we only have one and a half day. Kind of wasted. 

Before I end this blog, I'll like to share a little extra information on the hostel that we lived in - YoHo International Youth Hostel. This hostel was pretty spacious and clean. I considered this as one of the nice ones that we stayed throughout the trip. The concept was pretty nice. It was like a university hostel with dorm rooms and common bathrooms. Everything was very clean and nicely organized. Each of us have a big locker in the dorm room to keep our valuable stuffs and they had a few compartments in the common bathrooms for privacy. They had a cafeteria at the ground floor, laundry area and cooking area at the basement. The cafeteria will turn to a lounge at night for those who would like to hang out. They have everything under one roof. 

View from our room. The street was pretty quiet. It was not even 9.00pm. 

Some humor from the hostel. Don't worry, this won't happen. They have the bathrooms separated for gens and ladies. 

Took a photo at the entrance before we left on the next day. 

Wait wait, did I share that we didn't cook or buy drinking water when we visited Salzburg? Well, we didn't need to do that as the water is safe to drink straight from the tap in Austria. Really, we literally drank tap water and we were all good, no upset stomach. =)

Alright, I will end here this round. Till then until the next travel blog from me. There are still other places we went during our Europe trip. Stay tune. 

Previous post: 

Europe Trip: Part 1 - Paris

Europe Trip: Part 2 - London

Europe Trip: Part 3 - Budapest 

Europe Trip: Part 4 - Bratislava

Europe Trip: Part 5 - Vienna

A Perfect Match for My Skin Care Regime for Night: Hydrationist Moisture Barrier Fortifier from Estee Lauder + Daisy White from Burt's Bees

My combination skin is acne prone and I got to be frank that I have open pores issue. I had also accepted the fact that open pores issue is difficult to get rid after reading a few articles. Open pores could only reduce its size and will not totally recover. I've been using different products hoping that it could help to refine the pore size but the condition never improve until I met these duos. They had managed so shed some light on me - Hydrationist Moisture Barrier Fortifier from Estee Lauder and Daisy White from Burt's Bees. 

Let us start with Hydrationist Moisture Barrier Fortifier from Estee Lauder. This serum is from the Hydrationist rage of Estee Lauder that is suitable for all skin type. It is so light weight and it is easily absorbed by the skin. Applied it after cleansing and toner and it feels so hydrating. The skin absorb the serum quickly and I never felt greasiness on my skin every time I've applied. It keeps my skin hydrated every night. I even apply it during evening before I had my make up on for wedding dinners or other occasions. Applying a slightly thicker layer of this serum is sufficient enough to keep my skin hydrated and the make up will normally stays on the whole night without feeling cakey.  

After the Hydrationist, I'll follow with Daisy White from Burt's Bees. As the rest of Burt's Bees products, this moisturizer is organic and paraben free. I've been switching different brands for my night moisturizer previously and the last one was a nightmare. It had bring me so much break out problems. There will be new acne every week either at my nose area or chin area. My skin condition was never that bad before. What made me considered about Burt's Bees is because of it's organic concept. I wanted to get something really mild and get rid of the break out issues and lucky enough, Burt's Bees really help me. I was really happy that the break out problem stops, literally stops! How amazing! I never had any acne on my face for weeks, not even a tiny little one! On top of that, my face looks fairer and brighter. Yeah!!

With these duos together, my skin condition really improves. I mean, a lot. My open pores didn't look so prominent which I believe the pores size had been refined. The improvement on the hydration level of my skin had improved the skin resilience at the same time. When the skin resilience improved, it refined open pores. I've tried using these two products separately, say, only using either the Hydrationist or Burt's Bees alone and the result was not as good as using both products together. So, I just figured it out that Hydrationist Moisture Barrier Fortifier from Estee Lauder + Daisy White from Burt's Bee is a Perfect Match for my skin.

OPI - Chocolate Moose

This week I would like to introduce this neutral color from OPI - Chocolate Moose. As its name, this nail polish looks like hot chocolate, brown in color that is neither too dark nor light. As its name, it could be everyone's favourite, so welly made that could satisfied majorities taste buds. I've tried this color on my friends with different skin tones and everyone could just pull it off easily. Doesn't this sound amazing as it is difficult to get a nail polish that is suitable for various skin tones? 

The formula of this nail polish is so amazing that it is so smooth in application. It is non-streaky at all even during the first layer of application. It appears evenly and the drying time is pretty fast. I never bother to apply the second layer if it is not for the color full opacity. Over here, I've applied 1 layer of OPI Natural Base, 2 coats of nail polish to reach its full opacity and 1 layer of the trustworthy Seche Vite Top Coat. The nail polish itself is pretty glossy and long lasting but the top coat had helped to bring it to another level. 

I would recommend this color if you are looking for something different and yet not too sure which color to go for. Reason being is that this color is so neutral that it suits most of the skin tones and the formula is so amazing. So, worrying of getting the wrong color tone that doesn't suits your skin color and difficulties during application are unlikely to happen. Furthermore, the color appears to be lady like, fun, and conservative at the same. I would say it's one of a kind, don't you think so? 

    

Europe Trip: Part 5 - Vienna

Blogging about Vienna is kind of.. err... challenging cause I can't really remember the landmarks and I had been procrastinating on this for weeks. =p. It's not that Vienna is boring or less fun, it's just me that can't recall the details. =p And, the worst part is, I lost my jacket there =(. Anyone who found it, please please take good care of it. It's a nice jacket. 

Day 9 - 10

The 1st place we visited in Vienna was the Schonbrunn Palace. We were lucky enough that a lady gave us some tips when we were in the subway. She told us that using the side entrance was so much fun than the main entrance. Reason - nice view. So, we decided to give it a try and true enough, it was wow. Trees were trimmed in different shapes, planted neatly in rows, perfectly designed landscapes, and etc. Everything was just fresh and nice, so much greenery.  

What time was it? 5.15pm? 

Schonbrunn Palace at the back. 

Opposite the palace was the Gloriette, the Neptune Fountain, and the Great Pattere.  

It was late evening when we left. 

We had done lots of walking the next day. Pretty much walking by the streets and visiting from one tourist spot to another. We had visited Belvedere Palace (it was where I lost my jacket =( ) but the photos didn't turn out nice enough so I decided not to post it here =p. So, just sharing some photos that we took while we were walking by the streets. 

Found Beethoven and snapped a photo with him. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral. 

Inside St. Stephen's Cathedral. Grandeur, isn't it? They had hung different colors of glass papers at the windows and this was what it turned out to be. The whole cathedral was so colorful with the reflection of the glass papers. 

That was it, my trip in Vienna. We actually wanted to visit the Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof in Austrian) as well but unfortunately, we were late when we reached the entrance. The place was closed by 5.00pm. The Central Cemetery is the resting place of several famous musicians such as Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, and Schubert. It was kind of wasted, we were so close. We managed to snapped photos at the entrance though. Condolence prize? =p 

Alright, that's all for this round. Hope that I wont procrastinate again for my next travel blog. My Europe Trip haven't finished yet. More to come and stay tuned. 

Previous post: 

Europe Trip: Part 1 - Paris

Europe Trip: Part 2 - London 

Europe Trip: Part 3 - Budapest

Europe Trip: Part 4 - Bratislava  

Essie - Midnight Cami

It's fun when weekend comes - manicure time! This week, I would like to introduce this cool color from Essie in Midnight Cami.  As its name, this color from Essie is a deep navy blue that is as dark as the midnight sky. It is so close to black color and yet have the blueish tone in it. Black and blue at the same time, just like sapphire. 

As you can see from the bottle, there are some really tiny indigo colored micro shimmer. On the nails, the micro shimmer is barely visible but it had lead to a duo-chrome effect that is so cool. It is not as harsh as gold or silver chrome nail polish but just have the correct metallic glow in it. To me, it is just 1 thin line within rockstar and elegance for this color, depending on what kind of outfit you are wearing. 

The formula is really good and the pigmentation is so rich. 1 coat is enough to apply evenly on the nails with full opacity. I am normally a 2 coats person but I had only used 1 coat here. I had applied 2 coats of OPI Natural Base Coat, only 1 coat of nail polish and 1 coat of my favourite Seche Vite Top Coat. Yes, the numbers of coat just switched. Instead of applying 1 coat of base coat and 2 coats of nail polish, I had done it other way round. Reason being is that this color stains a lot and it's difficult to remove. I applied extra coats of base coat by hoping to reduce stain on the nails. I would say this is the only drawback of this nail polish.

All in all, I really like this Midnight Cami from Essie. Cool color with cool effect. I just wish it doesn't stain that much so that I could apply it more frequent. But, come to think of it, I could actually keep this color longer with me and had it available with me for a longer time, right? Lol, self consoling =p. Alright, that's it for this round, chaos.