Welcome to Else & Ilse!

Welcome, dear visitors, to Else & Ilse. We invite you to look around, leave a comment or write a message, and come back in the future.

A few months ago, we started an Instagram account where we share our 'adventures.' It started out as an account mainly for our travels and explorations, but it soon became more: we began sharing pictures and stories about everything important to us: intersectional feminism, queer rights and visibility, body positivity, and books!

Here are some individual introductions that we would use to describe each other (not conclusive):

Ilse is big-hearted (including frightening insects), emphatic, spontaneous, perfectly insane, funny, book loving, smart, adventurous, strong, open, curious, badass feminist, gorgeous, and a traveling superheroine. Else is so glad she chose to be with her!

Else is a dinosaur-loving, gorgeous Wonder Woman! She is funny, so caring, considerate, sweet with the most gorgeous smile and a life changer, because she changed Ilse's in so many positive ways.

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Happy Pride Month?

We were and are so excited for Pride Month! Although most Pride festivities are canceled this year (Cologne Pride is, for now, postponed, so we still have some hope ...), we couldn't wait for this month of visibility, of pride (not just Pride), of rainbow flags, of support, of loving each other. Then, George Floyd was brutally killed. And although we cannot imagine how it must feel to be Black or a person of color, we can't stand this injustice. We will do everything we can to stand with you. To fight with you. Pride started as a riot. And although we do not support violence, it doesn't seem likely that this injustice will end without another riot. We stand with you. We won't have queer equality if we don't have racial equality. Black lives matter. The lives of people of color matter. Remember those who died from police violence. Say their names and never forget.

Happy birthday, Else!

Today is a very special day because it is Else's birthday! For me (Ilse) this is my favorite day of the year because I love surprising Else. I wish her birthday celebration could go on for days and weeks. Just make it an Else-year. I never thought that I would meet my soulmate on tinder when I started using the app about 2 years ago. Flash forward to November 9th 2020. Else is sitting next to me while I am writing this blog text. I never thought that I would be so happy in 2020. She makes me incredibly happy. She is the most caring and most funny person in the universe and she always manages to make me smile or laugh even when I'm in a really bad mood or even when the world seems to be going down. 2020 is a very challenging year for everyone. The pandemic is affecting the mood. It sometimes depresses me a lot and I start to worry or miss things so much. And then there is Else who never fails to cheer me up and to put me in a good mood. And now, more than ever, it is so importan...

Queer Heroes and Heroines

As a bookseller, Ilse is always curious when books are published that don't serve the mainstream. Living in a world where—sadly—many children’s books still show their protagonists in stereotypical roles, we love that an increasing number of books prove that nowadays, people are thinking more outside the box. Above all, we love the trend to publish books about strong and independent girls or princesses who don't just wait for a prince to rescue them. The girls in these books are tough and ambitious and don't rely on the help of male friends (princes) to help them achieve their goals. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli, for example, illustrates the stories of important and strong women in history who became famous for achieving their goals and being opinionated. But we don't want to say that there should be books like that only for girls. There is an equally great book for younger boys called Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Diff...

Else & Ilse | LGBTIQ+ adventurers

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