My February 2018: Macedonia and a new semester

Another month has gone by, and what an eventful one it has been!

A quick weekend trip to Macedonia

I started the month off in Macedonia on a short weekend trip before real life kicked in again at uni. I was only there for 1,5 days, which definitely wasn’t anywhere near enough, but I actually got to see quite a bit. The tickets were cheap, so I just thought why not! I flew from Malmö, but unfortunately I had misunderstood Wizz Air’s check in policy, which cost me 355 SEK before the trip had even started… ooops.

I arrived in Skopje, the tiny capital of Macedonia, early in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day exploring the beautiful city with SO MANY STATUES, a fortress and a great bazaar, before having a quiet evening at the hostel where I was the only guest. It was just what I needed! My trip to Macedonia started just two days after my trip to Azerbaijan ended, so I was very exhausted and really needed the peace and quiet!

The second and last day was spent mostly on a bus to and from Ohrid, a stunning city by Lake Ohrid, located 3,5 hours away from Skopje. Ohrid is one of those dreamy Balkan summer getaway places, but I had none of that when I was there. Instead, I got loads of rain and wind all day! Still, it was a great day, and I can easily understand why it’s such a tourist magnet during the summer months!

The night was spent in the airport in Skopje, as I had a 6 AM flight the next morning (and I’m cheap).

a new semester begins

On February 5th, it was time to get serious again, as the new semester – my fourth semester – had started. I’ve spent most of the month biking between uni to attend courses and study, my workplace Bonnier Publications and my new workplace, the National Museum of Denmark, where I had my first two shifts this month!

Being back at uni actually feels great. It feels as though I’ve found a new passion for archaeology, although it was never actually gone, just on hold. I’d been missing my life as a full-time traveller so much the past year, that I felt like I was neglecting archaeology, which is my dream course after all. My grades have been good and I’ve attended all classes, except from when I’ve been travelling, but I didn’t feel like I was giving it my all.

But thanks to one very passionate teacher, who made me believe in myself again, I now feel more ready than ever to conquer the world of archaeology and find my own path in the academic world.

Early in the month, I actually sent in an application for the University of Greenland (as well as two universities in Norway)! I’m hoping to go there next semester to study anthropology courses!

Life in Copenhagen

As well as enjoying life at uni more, I’ve also been enjoying Copenhagen more as a whole. I bike everywhere and get to see a lot of the city in just one day. Despite being hectic and not really my dream place to live (anymore), it’s actually quite a beautiful city.

February has been extremely cold in the city, but the skies have been blue almost every day! The weather was especially beautiful on February 13th, a day that left the whole nation in sorrow. Prince Henrik – or King Henrik, as I prefer to call him -, the husband of our Queen, died on that beautiful day.

I spent most of February in Copenhagen, and when I was not studying or working, I hung out with friends (and a cat) and watched the Danish Eurovision. I love Eurovision as it’s the only thing that can gather all of Europe for one night of peace and entertainment.

I actually liked the song that Denmark is sending to the Eurovision finals, but now it’s far too overplayed (happens every year), and I’m not a fan of the viking theme – BUT I love it because I feel sure it’s going to give Denmark a victory!

Most of my Thursday evenings were spent quizzing with other archaeologists at a pub (and we even won once!). I also finally got to see my friend Solveig again after THREE MONTHS!! We went to a party with her boyfriend Mikkel and his friends from the Indo-European studies and it was great fun – it was especially good to hang out and laugh with Solveig again!

Going home to Eastern Jutland

In the middle of all the studying and partying, I also made time to go back home to Eastern Jutland for a weekend to visit my family. My aunt Inge and I had planned to go to Moesgård Museum together, which is my favourite museum in the world. It’s so well thought out and I especially love the new Stone Age exhibition. I’ve seen it three times in under a year, but I’ll never get fed up with it!

Oh, and you should’ve seen my face when I spotted the ornamented paddles from the Ertebølle Culture! I wrote a paper about them last month and now I’m more fascinated than I’ve ever been in anything else!

The Sunday was spent at home in Hov, the town that I grew up in and call home. I spent the day walking my cat, playing games with my mum and grandmother and scanning the local beach for flint tools from a settlement dated to the Ertebølle Culture (yes, this culture is my favourite archaeological culture, if you hadn’t guessed it already!).

A new adventure begins in Zagreb, Croatia

At the end of the month, my mum came over to Copenhagen, and together, we flew to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Zagreb was a huge surprise that was way more beautiful than I was led to believe by the internet! But Zagreb or even Croatia wasn’t our main destination – Slovenia was. But I will leave that one for next months’ post, as the adventures there started on March 1st!

Destinations visited in February 2018

• Copenhagen, Hov, Aarhus and Geelskov, Denmark
• Skopje and Ohrid, Macedonia
• Zagreb, Croatia

Highlights

• Being happy about being back at uni!
• Sending in the application for Greenland’s University – let’s hope and pray!
• Spending time with my family in Jutland.
• The day at Moesgaard Museum! It was wonderful to spend some quality time with my aunt and see the ornamented paddles from the Ertebølle Culture (definitely my favourite archaeological artefacts ever!).
• Seeing Solveig again after more than two months!!
• Falling in love with Zagreb (and its cat café).

Challenges

• Not realizing that I had to check in online for my WizzAir flight from Malmö to Skopje… I honestly thought it was only Ryanair that had stupid rules like that. Oh well, that silly mistake cost me 355 SEK.
• The cold… My GOD, February has been so extremely cold! Siberian weather, please go home.

Most popular post

• That one time I had a rabies scare – People always seem to like posts about my travel disasters, haha.

The other posts

• My January 2018: Exams and the former USSR – All about what I was up to last month!
• 21 hours in Moscow – Read about how much I fell in love with Moscow and (hopefully) understand why!
• A taste of Caucasus: My journey through Azerbaijan – Introducing an undiscovered corner of the Earth!
• Baku, the modernized capital of Azerbaijan – My thoughts on the modern oasis, built up as a false image of the country.
• Sheki and Kish: Days up north in the Greater Caucasus Mountains – I had some pretty great adventures in the wintery north part of Azerbaijan!
• Gobustan National Park: Ancient petroglyphs and erupting mud volcanos – If you need an excuse to visit Azerbaijan, read this post!
• In Azerbaijan, a mountain burns on after thousands of years – A story about a visit to a mountain that burns eternally.

Most popular Instagram picture

Nothing beats a picture of Moscow’s famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral!

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Et opslag delt af Mel (@north.trotter)

Coming up in March 2018

My mum and I are currently in Slovenia, a trip that started on March 1st! We’ll be spending four days in this beautiful country and plan on exploring Ljubljana and some of Slovenia’s beautiful lakes and caves.

In between studying and working, I hope to take a trip to Jutland again in March to spend time with my family and find some new Ertebølle settlements!

At the end of the month, I’ll be flying to my favourite country, the Faroe Islands, for my 8th visit! I’ve been invited to spend Easter with my friend Andras and his family! I can’t wait to see the country and my lovely friends and “families” there!