Harry Potter: The Exhibition

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Hello guys, it's been a while but I've been saving this up for you! Last weekend I visited The Exhibition in Cologne and it was amazing! This exhibition is staying in one city only for a short time to then go on to the next. I got the tickets for my birthday, if you want to get yours they're at 29,95€.

When you get your ticket you also get a time at which you are allowed to go in, so it's never too crowded in there. 

In the beginning you are able to take a picture with wands in front of a green screen which is eventually replaced by a picture of Hogwarts or the Great Hall. You can pick your pic up at the very end. 

The exhibition itself starts with the Sorting. 4 people are sorted into one of the houses of Hogwarts. The witch doing the Sorting with the Sorting Hat asks you whether you already know which house suits you best. You're gonna get sorted into that house, otherwise the Hat picks a random house for you.

When the Sorting is done you're led into another room where they show scenes from the movies. Suddenly a wall disappears and reveals the Hogwarts Express and a Prefect waiting for you to guide you into the exhibition. It's really fun since you feel like an actual first-year who just got of the train. 

The exhibition consist of a few bigger rooms. It starts with artifacts from the Gryffindor common room and dormitories, the teacher's robes and some stuff from there subjects (e.g. a copy of Advanced Potion Making, Mandrakes and so on). There are also Quidditch robes, you can throw a Quaffle or look at Harry's Nimbus 2000.

In the next two rooms it's all about Hagrid. There's Buckbeak and you can walk around in Hagrid's hut! You can even sit in an oversized armchair, so funny!

Now you arrive in the Forbidden Forest with all it's amazing creatures for you to see. There are Thestrals, the Hungarian Horntail Harry has to fight in Goblet of Fire and an Acromantula to name just a few!

After that there is the "dark" section, so all about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers and other dark creatures, it's really interesting! In that area you can hear thunder and see lightning to add to the dark and threatening atmosphere.
Here's a picture of five of the seven (eight if you count Harry in) Horcruxes.  I can't remember the last one though...there's Tom Riddle's diary, Slytherin's locket, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, Hufflepuff's cup and Ravenclaw's diadem. The sixth Horcrux is Nagini. Which one am I missing? Help please!!

Then there's the Great Hall with lots of dress robes from the Yule Ball, the Triwizard Cup and candles floating around the ceiling. Basically there is everything that is somehow connected to the Great Hall in some way, e.g. Fred and George's outfits which they are wearing during the Battle of Hogwarts and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

I hope you'll have the opportunity to visit the exhibition, so interesting for every Potterhead, but also for people who aren't as obsessed as I am ;-)

Mischief Managed!

9 Years Since Goblet of Fire Film!

I solemnly swear I am up to no good!

Today nine years ago Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire first appeared on screens. The movie is really good, but as in the other movies some (in my opinion) really important scenes have been left out or have been changed.

I really don't like the scene with the Hungarian Horntail during the First Task. To make the movie more interesting and to add some action to it, the dragon frees itself from the ropes that are MAGICALLY binding it. So that's just impossible, sorry Mike Newell.

I think every HP fan would have loved the movie to last forever, since I personally can never get enough of Harry Potter. It would've been great to add some scenes and characters from the books! I miss Winky and Dobby in the 4th movie! And why is Barty Crouch Jr. using Morsmordre on the campsite and not in the woods?
All those little differences between book and movie are being noticed by fans of the series...

Here's one of my favourite scenes from Goblet of Fire, mostly because I loooooove Fred and George! What is your favourite scene? Let me know!



Mischief Managed!

Drawing: Bundimun

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Bundimun 

Bundimuns are found worldwide. Skilled at creeping under floorboards and behind skirting boards, they infest houses. The presence of a Bundimun is usually announced by a foul stench of decay. The Bundimun oozes a secretion which rots away the very foundations of the dwelling in which it is found.

The Bundimun at rest resembles a patch of greenish fungus with eyes, though when alarmed it will scuttle away on its numerous spindly legs. It feeds on dirt. Scouring charms will rid a house of an infestation of Bundimuns, though if they have been allowed to grow too large, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (Pest Sub-Division) should be contacted before the house collapses. Diluted Bundimun secretion is used in certain magical cleaning fluids.

Mischief Managed!

Marauder's Map Review

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Finally my copy of the Marauder's Map reached me! I almost literally burst with excitement when I openend the package from The Noble Collection ! The Map including the display case costs $64.95(when you order it off of Elbenwald 69,90€, they get their products from The Noble Collection though). The paper the map is made of is really thick and feels like real parchment.

0$64,95

The frame is made of wood.

Embedded in the frame are little magnets to keep the display case shut without using hinges, a very elegant solution in my opinion.

The engraved ornaments in the corners of the display are golden, I'm sorry that they look kind of yellowish in this picture. To keep the map in place there are little black elastic bands in each corner. Still when you put the map on the wall it kind of slides down because the bands aren't tight enough to hold it in place. It doesn't bother me though.

This is what the map looks like when you open it in the middle. First there is an overview over Hogwarts' grounds including the Forbidden Forest and the Whomping Willow. When opening the map further you will have 'zoomed in' on Hogwarts castle.

This is how the map unfolds, revealing the interior of the castle.

Here are some of the rooms you can find on the map, I didn't want to take photos of all of them, since that would take all the fun out of discovering them for yourself.

I could look at the map for hours, there is always something to discover on it. The map measures 15.5 x 72 inches (39 x 184 cm) when open and folds to 15.5 x 8.25  inches (39 x 21 cm).

Measures 15.5 x 72 inches open, folds to 15.5 x 8.25 inches - See more at: http://www.noblecollection.com/Item--i-PRP-HP-7888#sthash.HR5CaOVe.dpuf

When I don't use the map it looks really cool up on the wall.

Though the map and display are quite expensive I would strongly recommend it for every Potterhead! It is one of the most important items Harry owns and having the map at home makes you feel closer to the wizarding world. I love this map and surely you will when you order yours! Let me hear your opinions on it!

Mischief Managed!

Happy Halloween!

I solemnly swear, that I am up to no good! As a Halloween gift I picked to draw the Augurey, which is in my opinion an appropriate choice for Halloween, since many wizards believed its cry to be fatal to anyone who hears it.

Augurey (also known as Irish Phoenix)

The Augurey is a native bird of Britain and Ireland, though sometimes found elsewhere in northern Europe. A thin and mournful-looking bird, somewhat like a small and underfed vulture in appearance, the Augurey is greenish black. It is intensely shy, nests in bramble and thorn, eats large insects and fairies, flies only in heavy rain and otherwise remains hidden in its tear-shaped nest.

The Augurey has a distinctive low and throbbing cry, which was once believed to foretell death. Wizards avoided Augurey nests for fear of hearing that heart-rending sound, and more than one wizard is believed to have suffered a heart attack on passing a thicket and hearing an unseen Augureay wail. Patient reasearch eventually revealed, however, that the Augurey merely sings at the approach of rain. The Augurey has since enjoyed a vogue as a home weather forecaster, though many find its almost continual moaning during the winter months difficult to bear. Augurey feathers are useless as quills beacuse they repel ink.

© Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Newton Scamander, p.5, J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury

Mischief Managed!

Daniel Radcliffe = Rap God?

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Daniel Radcliffe was on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon where this happenend:

He is ridiculously good! So funny!

Mischief Managed!

Hogwarts Themed Hotel in London

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So in the Georgian House Hotel in London you can now stay at Hogwarts for as long as you like...if you have the money. Prices starting at £249 per night (including breakfast and Muggle tour) in the smaller Wizard Chamber, which sleeps three people, it can rocket up to £363 a night (including breakfast, Muggle tour and Warner Studio Tour). For two people, without the Muggle tour, it is £209.

But seriously, which die-hard Harry Potter Fan wouldn't pay for that? With staying at "Hogwarts" a dream would come true! Would you stay there? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comment section!

 

And here's a video showing the Wizard Chambers:

 

Mischief Managed!