The last month of the year was quite representative of the entire year for me – Lots of travels, interesting destinations and fun adventures. But I also had some down time at home, which was much needed!
Wonderful days at home
I haven’t spent nearly enough days at home in 2019, so I was really happy to spend the first seven days of the month at home with my family after getting back from our Christmas market trip to Kiel. Apart from a trip to Moesgaard Museum to see the new Pompeji and Herculaneum exhibition, I spent most of the time relaxing with my family, writing my two last uni papers and preparing for an upcoming presentation at uni. I also finally got a new camera as my trusted Sony a58 got a system error that couldn’t be fixed – a nice early birthday present from my parents and grandmother!
The end of an era
Eight days into December, I travelled to Copenhagen to give a presentation on my internship in Tasiilaq. I’d handed in my final paper a few days earlier, so this presentation was the last part of my exam for the last course on my Bachelor’s.
3,5 years have gone by since I took the move to Copenhagen to study Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Copenhagen. I’ve spent two semesters in Greenland and one semester writing my thesis all over the world. It has been amazing, tough, joyful, interesting, tiring, all of the emotions actually. And to see the end of it was actually really strange. I’d been quite sick of studying ever since I handed in my thesis in August, not because I don’t love archaeology, I could just feel that I needed a break. I’ve got it now, I’m free – at least until I decide to do my Master’s!
I went to Copenhagen a day early so I could see my friends Solveig and Mikkel again before they move to Bergen this month (new place to visit them – yay!). We had been invited to a Christmas event with Solveigs family in Birkerød – a cozy and fun day with lots of snacks and a wonderful walk in Birkerød’s beautiful forests.
In the holy city of Jerusalem
I flew to Israel the morning after my presentation – a nice direct flight to Tel Aviv. I immediately hopped on a train to Jerusalem, where my explorations of the country began. I spent five blissful days in Jerusalem, a city that completely blew me away. I explored the four quarters of the Old City, experienced the holiest places in Judaism and Christianity and the third holiest place in Islam, explored the beautiful neighbourhood of Yemin Moshe, fed and cuddled with countless street cats, walked up the Mount of Olives with a wonderful friend who I met this summer, met a new friend while feeding cats and many other new friends at the hostel, got invited up to a rooftop of the world’s most hospitable family with the most incredible view of the Old City, ate more hummus than humanly possible, explored Mount Zion and the City of David with a friend from the hostel, crashed two bar mitzvas, enjoyed a shabbat meal with a Jewish family and explored an Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem.
I didn’t know much about Judaism before coming to Jerusalem, so I feel incredibly blessed to have befriended a Jewish guy who told me about the Faith and took me to the shabbat dinner.
I left Jerusalem knowing that I need more. It’s just one of those places that I HAVE to return to.
A tour to Masada, En Gedi and the Dead Sea
During my time in Jerusalem, I took a half-day tour out of the city to experience three incredible places in Israel. Carolina from the hostel joined me on the trip that started at 3 AM for a sunrise hike up to Masada, an ancient fortification located on top of a 400 m high mountain. We watched the sun rise over the Dead Sea from the mountain and explored the fortress, before continuing to our next destination; En Gedi Nature Reserve. There, we spotted several adorable desert goats and hiked to a waterfall.
Our last stop on the tour was the one that everyone was most excited about. The Dead Sea! Finally, I got to go to this mystical place. I was excited to try to float in the ocean that you apparently can’t drown in, but strong winds and wild waves ruined my plan and everyone’s dreams of a relaxing time at the ocean. We all went in, but nobody was successful in floating. We did get to cover ourselves in the famous mineral-rich Dead Sea mud though, which was a lot of fun!
Bahá’í Pilgrimage in Haifa and Akka
My main reason for coming to Israel this month was to go on a nine-day pilgrimage at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa and Akka. I went with a group of six Bahá’ís from Greenland and we joined a pilgrimage group of people from all over the world. For those nine wonderful days, we travelled between Haifa and Akka, visiting the shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb and many other Bahá’í Holy Places.
I met many amazing people on this journey and had the experience of a lifetime.
Stormy days in Tel Aviv
My last stop in Israel was the city of Tel Aviv. Compared to the other incredible destinations in the country, Tel Aviv is nothing special, but I did want to see the UNESCO-inscribed White City. Unfortunately, I only got to explore for an afternoon as the weather was terrible on my only full day in the city. Strong winds, heavy rain, thunder and lightning dominated the entire day, and forced me to spend the day inside a shopping mall, before heading to the airport to wait for maaany hours for my morning flight.
A stopover in Christmassy Riga
My December adventures didn’t end in Israel as I had a stopover in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on my way home. I only had 2,5 hours available to explore the city, but since I’d been there once before in 2015, I decided not to go sightseeing and instead focus on exploring the three Christmas markets. I hadn’t celebrated Christmas this year as I was still on the pilgrimage then, so it was wonderful to get a bit of Christmas spirit in Riga.
I had a wonderful few hours there and found many beautiful items on the Christmas markets, including two pairs of gorgeous birch tree earrings that I’m completely in love with!
Home for New Years
The year of 2019 ended in the best way possible – at home in East Jutland with my family. In fact, it ended with me jumping off a chair at midnight (a Danish tradition) with my cat in my arms! It couldn’t possibly have been any better.
I arrived home from Israel on the 27th and spent the next few days relaxing with my family, cuddling with my kittie, going for long walks, celebrating my older brother’s birthday at Tivoli Friheden and attending my friends’ incredible engagement party (Afghan style!). For New Years, my older brother, his wife and their daughter Ellie came over for dinner, we watched the Queen’s speech and then jumped into 2020.
Destinations visited in December 2019
- Kiel, Germany
- Hov, Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark
- Jerusalem, Masada, En Gedi Nature Reserve, Kalia Beach, Haifa, Akka and Tel Aviv, Israel
- Riga, Latvia
Highlights
- Finishing my Bachelor’s Degree!! Hello freeeeedom!
- Jerusalem. The whole experience!
- The sunset hike up Masada.
- The pilgrimage. Words can’t describe what a wonderful experience that was.
- Meeting so many wonderful people in Israel – every one of them were special and made the trip incredible for me!
- Riga. Always magical – especially at Christmas time!
- Raihana’s and Ali’s wonderful Afghan engagement party. It’s such a privilege to be invitied to an event like this. And it was wonderful to see my beautiful friend so happy!
- The family outing to Tivoli Friheden for my older brothers birthday!
- A quiet and relaxed New Years Eve with the family. The perfect way to end the year!
- Jumping into the new year with my cat in my arms – Can it get any better? 😉
Challenges
- The Dead Sea…… And my failed attempt to float due to high waves 🙁
- Rain, wind, thunder, lightning = My entire experience in Tel Aviv.
- All the airport waiting time. I don’t usually mind waiting as I can always work on my blog, but I’m not a big fan of staying up all night for a morning flight!
Most popular post
- Beyond my Bachelor’s degree: Life and travel plans – An update on my life the next six-eight months and the more or less unknown future
The other posts
- Happy 1st of December from Kiel – 2019’s German Christmas market trip!
- My November 2019: Goodbye Tasiilaq – What I got up to for my last month in East Greenland
- Salute to the last supply ship in Tasiilaq as winter sets in – A story of isolation and traditions in East Greenland
- Tasiilap Nuua: Autumn and winter hiking to the land’s end – A beautiful hike outside Tasiilaq.
- The return to Kulusuk: Goodbye East Greenland – An incredible helicopter ride and a 45-minute visit to Kulusuk!
- My travel year of 2019 – 19 countries and territories in one very busy year!
Most popular Instagram picture
The perfect view of Jerusalem’s Old City at night – from the private rooftop of a wonderful Jewish family.
Coming up in January 2020
New year, new destinations. I’m finally heading to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, a place most of my family has been to, and a place where my younger brother has been living for three months – and a place I’ve wanted to explore for a long time!
I left Denmark on January 3rd and flew to Inverness where I spent one day, before taking the bus to Portree, the largest town on the Isle of Skye. I will be living and working in Portree alongside my brother for the upcoming two months – and exploring the island and surroundings in our free time!
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