May has been a very exciting month for me. It started on the Faroe Islands and ended in Russia with many great adventures along the way. Usually, May is a very busy exam month for me, but this year I had nothing to worry about as I’ve postponed my BA thesis till August, so I had a pretty chill month!
My last weeks in the Faroe Islands
I had been living on the tiny island of Nólsoy since April 1st, writing my BA thesis and enjoying some quiet weeks. During my last two weeks, I continued with the writing, while also enjoying a few adventures.
I went hiking to Borđan and attempted to camp there but failed due to stupidly not bringing a sleeping bag, so I had to hike back to Nólsoy village in the middle of the night on two overstrained legs… I went to Toftir to visit the Bahá’í community, and spent two days with them and two scots who were also visiting. I went out with my new friend Randi and some of her friends on Nólsoy. I visited the cafés on the island and the tiny museum, and attended a church service in the village church. I explored the northeast side of Nólsoy at sunset. I went to Vestmanna to visit my Faroese family again and take their funny dog Alex for a walk. And on my last day, my friend Poul Magni came to Nólsoy to spend some quality time with me, before driving me to the airport the next day.
It had been a wonderful time in the Faroes, I had enjoyed island life, seen a lot, made many new friends and almost completed my thesis.
Back to Denmark
On May 13th, I travelled back to Denmark to see my family in East Jutland for a bit, but first made a stop in Copenhagen as I had to apply for my Russian visa and have a meeting with my thesis supervisor. 1,5 days later, I was finally in East Jutland with my family and adorable kitty, Holly. I miss them all dearly when I’m travelling, so it’s lovely to be able to see them once in a while!
I stayed home for a week, finishing up my thesis (well, almost), enjoying my time with my family, celebrating Holly’s 10th birthday, visiting two friends in Aarhus and getting my last vaccine for Russia.
Then I was off to Copenhagen again to pick up my express visa and depart to Russia. Because of my busy travel schedule, I had to apply for an express visa, which only just made it in time! I was in Copenhagen for four days and stayed with my friends Solveig and Mikkel, who are very kind to let me stay with them when I’m in Copenhagen. We spent some lovely days together and celebrated Mikkel’s birthday with his whole family at his parent’s place.
A day trip to Ven, Sweden
During my time in Copenhagen, my friend Mads and I took a day trip to the small Swedish island of Ven in between Sweden and Denmark in the Öresund Strait. Mads and I both enjoy exploring Danish islands, and while we went to the Danish island of Nekselø last year, this year it was time for a Swedish island!
We spent the day walking the Skåneleden trail around the entire island, exploring the four quaint villages, discovering astronomer Tycho Brahe’s observatories and spotting wildlife and alpacas.
Off to Russia
On May 28th, I set off to Stepnoye in rural Russia, where I’m working for five weeks on an archaeological excavation with three Americans and three other Danes. The trip to Stepnoye was long and tiring, especially because we flew at midnight from Copenhagen and had a three-hour layover in Moscow and then a four hour drive to Stepnoye after arriving in Chelyabinsk Airport. Thankfully, we had the following day off before starting work, because we didn’t have a vehicle to get us to the excavation site. It was really nice to have the day off since we were all tired, and then we could get to know Stepnoye a bit before starting work.
The last two days of May were our first days of work, where we dug stratigraphic profiles in a Late Bronze Age midden. It was hard work because of the long hours (8-17), the heat and the many bugs trying to eat us, but it’s a great learning experience and it’s always a lot of fun digging in a midden, where there are usually plenty of artifacts!
Destinations visited in May 2019
- Nólsoy, Streymoy, Eysturoy and Vágar, Faroe Islands
- Copenhagen, Hov, Hørning, Aarhus and Hvidovre, Denmark
- Ven, Sweden
- Plast, Stepnoye and Chernorechye, Russia
Highlights
- Enjoying a slow-paced life on Nólsoy
- Celebrating my cat Holly’s 10th birthday (where did the years go!!??)
- Being gifted a Neolithic flint axe from Mikkel’s father at Mikkel’s birthday celebration!!!
- Hiking Skåneleden on Ven with Mads
- Finally arriving in beautiful Stepnoye
- Getting back into archaeological field work!
Challenges
- Being too cold to camp without my sleeping bag at Borđan, so I had to hike home in the night on two overstrained legs… It took 4,25 hours instead of the usual 2,5 hours and I got home at 4.15 AM………
- Getting my Russian visa was a real pain. There are so many details that have to be perfect, and so many documents to provide. And despite paying for an express visa, I wasn’t sure if it would make it on time, but thankfully – and luckily – it did.
Most popular post
- Popular hikes restricted: Examining overtourism on the Faroe Islands – I’ve never gotten such a good response to a post before! This subject was definitely something that many people found relevant!
The other posts
- My April 2019: BA thesis on the Faroe Islands – everything that I got up to last month in the Faroes!
- Little bridge over the gorge: Discovering Ásmundarstakkur on Suðuroy – A beautiful spot on the southernmost Faroese island
- Hiking in the night: A camping misadventure at Borðan – A fun post to write about a not-so-fun experience
- Suðuroy’s wild west coast: Finding the Eggjarnar cliffs – Another amazing spot on Suðuroy!
- The sunshine island: 18 places to discover on Bornholm – An extensive guide to Denmark’s most diverse island.
- Suðuroy’s Café Mormor oozes with history and charm – About a lovely local café on Suðuroy!
- Six weeks on Nólsoy: Writing my BA thesis on a tiny Faroese island – All about my time on Nólsoy
- My travel plans for the summer of 2019 – What I’ll be up to this summer!
- Welcome to Stepnoye: Five weeks await on the Eurasian forest steppe – My first post from the steppe!
- My May 2019: From the Faroe Islands to Russia – Posting this very post on the last day of May!
Most popular Instagram picture
A selfie from a very challenging but adventurous hiking trip on Nólsoy!
Coming up in June 2019
Much more of Russia! I’m excavating the site until July 2nd, so all of June will be spent in Stepnoye. So basically I’ll be spending most of June in a hole, but hopefully we’ll also have time to explore the surrounding areas!
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