My March 2019: A trip to Ukraine

March has been a nice and relaxing month with a bit of travelling, a whole lot of thesis writing and some quality time with family and friends. It was also the month where I became an aunt for the first time – meaning that it became my favourite month ever!

A week exploring Ukraine

On March 2nd, my mum and I flew off to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, for our annual mother/daughter trip. We spent a week in the country, exploring all the pretty churches, castles and parks in Kyiv, and going on two day trips. One of them went to Chernobyl, a place I’d always wanted to see with my own eyes. I found it very sad, yet interesting to visit the abandoned villages and the infamous nuclear reactor. The other day trip went to the National Nature Park located in the outskirts of Kyiv, which we walked through to get to the Pirogovo Open Air Museum, the highlight of the week for me!

All in all, we had a great trip to Kyiv, which gave us a good first taste of Ukraine.

At home in East Jutland

The next three weeks were spent at home with my family in East Jutland. I spent most of the days writing on my BA thesis, but also found time to see some of my friends, take my beloved kittie for walks in the garden, go for bike rides in the countryside, celebrate my dad’s aunt’s 85th birthday, celebrate Ayyám-i-Há with the local Bahá’í community and go to an amazing concert with Faroese Eivør, my favourite singer!

It was wonderful being home for such a long time, although I got easily distracted from my writing, so it wasn’t the best option in terms of studying. But I think I needed to spend that time with my family after I’d been gone for so many months!

The birth of Ellie – becoming an aunt

My favourite day of the month (and year!) was March 17th. My older brother’s wife gave birth to the dearest little girl called Ellie, and we all fell completely in love with her. She is just the perfect little being. I’m very excited for this new role as an aunt, and I can’t wait for when she’s old enough to travel with me!

I also met my cousin’s newborn boy, Tore, for the first time in March. Both babies are such darlings, and I’m sure they’re going to grow up as great friends!

Back to the Stone Age on Djursland

On March 22nd to 23rd, I travelled across Djursland on the hunt for remnants of the Stone Age with 31 other archaeologists and archaeology students. It was a trip that I’d arranged together with our guide Søren and lecturer Peter. We visited three amazing museums, saw dolmens and passage graves from the Neolithic, explored kitchen middens from the Late Mesolithic and so much more. It was a great trip with some wonderful people, and I really hope we can do something similar next year. Last year, we did a similar trip to North Jutland, so I’m hoping it can become a tradition!

The Sort Sol phenomenon in North Germany

On my last day at home, my parents, grandmother and I headed to Ribe, where we were going on a tour to experience the Sort Sol (“black sun”) phenomenon, where thousands of migrational starlings gather at sunset and form huge formations in the sky right before they decide on a location to roost for the night.

First, we spent a few hours walking around sunny Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark and also one of the coziest. Unfortunately, the clear blue sky turned into a thick mist just before the tour started, so we didn’t have the best viewing opportunities for the birds, but we were lucky to still experience the phenomenon, despite having to go into North Germany to see it!

Off on the next adventure

On the morning of March 31st, I said goodbye to my family and headed towards Copenhagen. There, I stayed one night with my friends Solveig, Mikkel and Selma and spent a few hours at uni to gather the last literature needed for my BA thesis. The next day, on April 1st, I flew off to the Faroe Islands.

Destinations visited in March 2019

• Hov, Odder, Aarhus, Djursland, Randers, Ribe and Copenhagen, Denmark
• Kyiv, Chernobyl and Pripyat, Ukraine
• Somewhere in Northwest Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Highlights

• Exploring Chernobyl and its ghost towns
• Discovering Pescherk Lavra in Kyiv
• Exploring the beautiful Pirogovo Open-Air Museum!
• Hearing Eivør live for the second time!
• Becoming an aunt for the first time to little Ellie <3
• Nerding out on the Stone Age on the trip around Djursland
• Experiencing the Sort Sol phenomenon for the first time

Challenges

• The misty weather on the day of our Sort Sol viewing – how I long to see the phenomenon in clear weather!

Most popular post

• My February 2019: From Nuuk to Iceland, Denmark and Scotland – Last month was a busy month with lots of exciting travels!

The other posts

• Post-Greenland: Life after my semester abroad – All about what I’m getting up to after my exchange semester in Nuuk
• Amongst lochs, mountains and coos: Into the Scottish Highlands – About a FREE one-day tour of the highlands!
• 14 places to discover in Kyiv, the city of golden domes – A mini-guide to the golden capital of Ukraine
• Back to my childhood at Portobello Beach – One day at a Scottish beach took me back to my childhood holidays in Great Yarmouth

Most popular Instagram picture

This picture that my mum took of me near the Motherland Monument in Kyiv got the most love in March!

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Et opslag delt af Mel (@north.trotter)

Coming up in April 2019

I’m in the Faroe Islands! I’m going to stay here all throughout April and until mid-May, as I’ve found a room in a cozy house on the tiny island of Nólsoy, where I can finish writing my BA thesis in quiet surroundings.

BUT I’m also going to do some exploring while I’m here, and I’m going to spend some time with my friends here – and for Easter, Solveig and Mikkel are visiting me, so that’s sure to be a great time!