sarah out and about

Easy to see why this trail is one of the most recommended in the area. Forest trails, beautiful views (no city in sight!), and lake access. Plus the first sunburn of the season :)

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway Today I went dog sledding in the arctic. Svalbard is such an incredible place, it is hard for my brain to register how amazing everything is. This was a fun, beautiful, exhausting experience that I will always remember.

A wet hike, but well worth it. Will definitely be a repeat location!

Spring!! A beautiful gem of a hike at Birch Cove. Lots of trails with some decent elevation and gorgeous lakes to relax at.

Another grey, rainy day in Halifax, so we stayed close to home and went for an easy morning walk around Witherod Lake at Long Lake Provincial Park.

Nova Scotia is full of surprises! Expected a walk along the beach and was given a rugged, wooded, rocky adventure.

Woke up to a lot of snow and sunshine. Took advantage of it by taking a thermos of coffee for a walk around Point Pleasant with Oli.

Birthday hike with Oli! A sunny, coastal surprise. Pretty perfect.

~5km (??) hike with Catherine, Elisabeth, Walker the pup, myself and Oliver.

#denmark #westcoast #ringkøbing #maryoliver

This is a photo from Botanisk Haven in Aarhus, the regular destination of my morning walks. It’s especially pretty at sunrise if there aren’t too many clouds (not so often these days)!

The sunny days are becoming much less common, so I took advantage of the gorgeous day we had yesterday to explore downtown a bit more.  Oli met me for lunch at an amazing cafe and then I walked and biked the streets, checking out cute stores and practicing my "I'm sorry, I don't speak danish" (still in english).  I can't wait to start my danish lessons.  The "house wife" that shops, and does groceries and such isn't my fav role.  The crocheting I don't mind though.  Ah well, living the dream, amirite?

A day of danish adventuring.  Marselisborg forest, a picnic on the beach, and the Aarhus waterfront.   Fun tidbit about danes - they tend to call all deer Bambi.  I.e. "We went to visit the Bambis in Marselisborg yesterday".   !!!

I'm so excited to get into the scandinavian music scene, and I've found my first danish favourite - Karl William (mange tak til http://soundofaarhus.tumblr.com !!).  I've been wanting to find a danish rapper to help me learn the language because who doesn't love a good rap-a-long.  Although I still have no idea what he's saying, I'm super into it and can't wait to ride my bike at night while jamming to these tunes.

My sickness has still not gone away, so today I hope to beat it by staying home with tea and garlic stuffed olives while wearing my new wool poncho (the best).  But if I'm honest, I'm glad to have a good excuse to stay inside today.  I am loving this city, but it's incredibly exhausting to go outside and not understand anything, not to mention navigate the old winding streets with names I can't pronounce or remember since we all know how I can get lost pretty much anywhere.  I DID successfully ride my bike downtown yesterday to meet Oli, and I consider that a great accomplishment.  Small victories.  Today I'm sharing the views from our windows, because in Denmark even a view of the building across the street is gorgeous.  Have en god dag.

I'm in Denmark!  We arrived five days ago and if it weren't for the language barrier, I would love Aarhus already.  So far I've noticed a few things are very different from any city in Canada and the one thing I can't really get over is that people don't say "sorry" or "excuse me" (or the danish equivalent) or make small talk here.  Our recent trip to IKEA was devoid of any interaction with anyone else.  I don't mean they don't come near you, I mean they squeeze between you and the shelf of plants in total silence.  It's the strangest thing for a friendly Canadian to experience and I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it.  So in the spirit of keeping up the "nice" Canadian stereotype, I intend to use "undskyld mig" (excuse me) as often as I always have.     Above are pictures of things around the apartment that I'm encountering for the first time - these are differences I find charming!