I’ve always loved January for the fresh new start it brings, and this year, it was particularly fresh for me. I finally made the long-awaited move to Aberdeen, Scotland, to study for my master’s degree in Archaeology of the North!
Destinations visited in January 2023
Denmark
- East Jutland (Aarhus, Hov, Odder)
- Central Jutland (Skals)
Scotland
- Aberdeen
Top 3 favourite new destinations
- Brig o’ Balgownie, Aberdeen, Scotland
- Riis Skov, Aarhus, Denmark
- Scotstown Moor, Aberdeen, Scotland
Daily life
The last weeks in Denmark
My 2023 began in the city of Aarhus, celebrating the new year with my friends, younger brother and his friends. It was a fun and festive evening, but I have to admit that I fell asleep straight away after the fireworks… I guess I’m finally old!
I spent the next few days in Aarhus hanging out with my friends. We went for long walks in the city, discovered a beautiful skyline view from Riis Skov (my new favourite spot in Aarhus!), worked on our different projects and played board games until the early hours of the morning (and I won most of the games!).
Back home with my family in Hov, I started preparing for my big move to Aberdeen. I spent a lot of time replacing plastic buttons with wooden ones on my clothes as I love the look of wooden buttons. I’d been collecting the buttons over the past year whenever I’d find some in thrift stores, and now I finally had enough to complete the project! I spent quality time with my family, visited my dad’s aunt in Skals, enjoyed a cozy Christmas lunch, watched some of my favourite programmes and walked a lot in my hometown. It was during one of my walks that I witnessed the destruction of our old café by the harbour, something that pains the hearts of all of us Hov-citizens. It’s a weird feeling seeing the place you grew up in develop and change into something you can hardly recognize.
Settling into Aberdeen life
On January 13th, I hugged my family goodbye and set off on the long journey to my new home city (which involved a 10-hour stopover in Heathrow in the middle of the night). I’ve written about my arrival in Aberdeen and my first weeks in the city in detail in my recent ‘Welcome to Aberdeen’ post, so I won’t repeat it all here.
But generally, it has been a fun time. It’s always difficult to adapt to a new environment, and especially a city for a country girl like me, but I’m liking Aberdeen a lot, and especially my neighbourhood with the Brig o’ Balgownie (Scotland’s oldest bridge) and Seaton Park.
I’ve met some great people, won my first pub quiz (I got lucky with a great team and some geography questions!), and joined several clubs at the university! I’ve also enjoyed my first lectures, read lots of interesting articles and started planning my thesis work. I’m really enjoying studying again!
Unfortunately, I haven’t been physically well almost ever since I arrived. It started with a bad knee injury when I fell on my first run, and then I caught a cold that I haven’t been able to get over. But I seem to be on the right track now!
Travels and local adventures
The first explorations of Aberdeen
I haven’t left Aberdeen since I arrived, but that’s because there’s so much to see in the city – a surprising amount, actually! I’d heard some quite unflattering stuff about the city beforehand, and I can definitely agree that Aberdeen is no Edinburgh, but it certainly has its charms!
As I mentioned above, I really love my neighbourhood with the Brig o’ Balgownie, and I’ve also enjoyed strolling through the old fishing village of Footdee, watching the sunrise and sunset at the beach, exploring the city centre and walking through the lowland heaths of Scotstown Moor, a local nature reserve. I’m excited to discover everything that Aberdeen has to offer during my year here, but I can already say that I’m pleasantly surprised by the city!
New on the blog
Most popular post
- My worst travel moments of 2022 – Yet again! This post is always my most popular in January, and this year was no different!
The other posts
- My best travel moments of 2022 – Bests are just not as interesting as worsts, but I promise it’s worth reading anyways!
- My December 2022: A teary goodbye to Lolland and a Christmas at home – All about the last two weeks on Lolland and a relaxing Christmas at home
- Borđoš 2022: A second season of archaeological fieldwork in northern Serbia – I finally got around to sharing about my second fieldwork season in Serbia back in March!
- Sørvágur to Oyrargjógv via Slættanes: A long hike across the middle of Vágar – A gorgeous hike and my last one during my 2021 summer visit to the Faroes!
- Welcome to Aberdeen: I’ve moved back to Scotland for my master’s degree – By far the most popular post on Facebook, but that didn’t quite translate onto the blog statistics (at least not enough to beat the worsts post!). It’s all about my big move to Aberdeen!
Most popular Instagram picture
A wee selfie from my new university got the most love this month!
Coming up in February 2023
February is the last “quiet” month before all of my assignments and exams take off in March, so I’m going to enjoy it and explore as much as possible. There’s a lot I’d like to see in Aberdeen, but I’d also like to take some day trips out of the city. I’m thinking hiking in the nearby Cairngorms National Park and perhaps a visit to a coastal village.
I’ve also been eyeing a cheap airbnb on the Isle of Mull, an island I’ve wanted to explore for a while, so I’m thinking an extended weekend there would be wonderful!
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