Catching Up

I keep opening this page, writing words, erasing them and giving up. I've been trying to write for a few months but I can never find the right words or the motivation to finish a post. Writer's block is killer! I just have to force myself to write and eventually, things will roll off the tip of my fingers.

My last post was three months ago! A lot of things have happened since and also, well a lot of things have happened before that last post that I didn't mention, so let's get started!

I've been living in Berlin for over a year now and I still love it. It was really really tough at first, but now things have finally seemed to settle and life is so much better, even if life is always going to be somewhat stressful.... I managed to get a new visa to extend my stay in Germany for another two years! I didn't get just any kind of visa. I got a freelance visa, which brings me to my next piece of news. I changed careers. Well that's a bit of an exaggeration, seeing as I have never really had a career to begin with, but I went for entry-level cook jobs to actually finding something I could see myself doing for a very long time. I started working as a language teacher! I now teach English and French at various schools in Berlin, ranging from kids to adults and I love it.  I have also decided to go back to another love of mine and will be starting as a tour guide next week! Ironic how I came to Germany to speak German and I end up teaching and touring in English instead, right?

Another big thing that's new is moving in with my boyfriend! I had been spending more at his place than at my own (I have had crazy roommate after crazy roommate), and it just seemed logical for me to stay. It was almost more his idea than mine, so no one can say I pushed it on him ;)
It was quite the adjustment at first, but I really love living with him. His roommates have become my friends and it has become my home and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It's also a big bonus that he is a very good cook!

One thing that hasn't change is that I am still running and traveling, and still craving any and every race I can find, any destination I can reach. I have quite a few races and trips planned for this year and I will talk about those soon in an upcoming post! The one thing about running that is different is that I joined a running group! Adidas Runners is an amazing group that offers runs every day, and workouts on most days, giving everyone a chance to run when they can, morning or evening, yoga, core training, pace training, etc all for free. It has become a community and though the season only started about a month ago, I am absolutely loving this sense of community and the friendships I have started forming! Running with these people and seeing them run extremely fast gives a renewed motivation to run, which is always a good thing! There's a point system so the more you participate, the more points you accumulate and get to be part of special events, get free registrations to races or all kinds of other goodies like community t-shirts or a discount at the exclusive store! All bonus things you get for being part of a wonderful, slightly crazy running community.

I promise I will be writing more frequently from now on! A lot of exciting things are happening this year and I can't wait to share it all with you!

Let's See How Far We've Come

I'm back!
I haven't written anything since July.... I tried, many many times, but I just didn't have the motivation anymore, then when I changed jobs, I just didn't have the time anymore. I did miss blogging, but couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. Then my sister messaged me yesterday asking me to write more and even giving me a list of ideas to write about! So I might as well write something for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and after that, we will see what happens. I have a ton of stuff to catch everyone up on!
2016 has been a rollercoaster of a year. A ton of good and a whole lot of bad as well. Even though the bad is easy to remember and complain about, I will try to concentrate on the good. After all, the good parts of life is what keeps us living.

2016: A Year in Review

January

January was amazing. I left Winnipeg on January 5th to start my travels in Great Britain. I landed in lively but rainy Dublin, explored the overwhelming Cliffs of Moher, spent a few days in Belfast and took a tour of the breathtaking Giant's Causeway, then flew to Glasgow. This is where things changed for me. Walking through Glasgow and taking a trip to the Highlands up to Loch Ness is how I fell completely in love with Scotland. Even more so in Edinburgh. There's just something about the Highlands that stay with you, touch your soul somehow. Edinburgh, this beautiful, old city where you feel like you stepped through time as you walk down the Royal Mile, was incredible. After the short love affair with this incredible country and vowing to come back as soon as I could, I headed south to Liverpool, to follow the steps of The Beatles. Heading more south, I visited a friend in Bristol, and together we visited Stonehenge before I made my way to London.

February

I finished my incredible trip with 10 days in London where I stayed with a friend of mine. Admittedly, I spent most of my time on the Tube, trying to get to one end of the city to another in order to really see as much as possible, but I did explore a whole lot of what London had to offer, including the Harry Potter Studios, one of the highlights of the trip! After fast-paced London tired me out, I flew over to Germany to visit my host family in Kassel, who had hosted me during my student exchange in 2013. I visited for a few days, but soon enough, it was time to start my new life in Berlin, where I had decided to spend a year. I was living in a hostel in the mean time and had a job lined up at a museum, so everything seemed to be coming together nicely. I started my job at the museum, which ended up being an unimportant internship where we had maybe one task a day and the rest of the time we tried to keep ourselves busy with random things on the internet (or blogging, in my case). I finally found a temporary apartment when my hostel room was robbed clean... I lost all my valuables aside from my phone, laptop, passport and money, which I thankfully had on me. But that meant my GoPro, my brand-new Polaroid camera, all my charging cables (including my laptop cable), my backpack which they used to take everything, and heartbreakingly enough, my running shoes. I gave a statement to the police (all in German, I might add), and then called my mom, crying. She told me to wipe my tears, that things would turn out okay. And they did.

March

March was a good month. Though there wasn't anything incredible that happened, it was when life seemed to have finally stabilized itself. I joined and sometimes organized a running group, where I met my running friend Gaurav, and just simply enjoyed living in the wonderful city that is Berlin.

April

I started the month by running the Berlin Half Marathon, which didn't go quite as I had hoped, but it was still a great race. The weather was incredible and I was lucky to be in Berlin. A week later, I ran the Airport Night Run, another half marathon, this one taking place on the not-yet-finished airport just outside Berlin, where I beat my personal record by NINE seconds! At the end of April, I found a new job in a restaurant, which was full time and paid a great deal more than the internship salary of the museum. So I went from invisible intern to full-time waitress.

May

In May I found a new, more permanent place to live and spent a lot of time running around the neighbourhood, which bordered the great Tiergarten, the "Central Park" of Berlin. I got injured, of course, with a case of Achille's Tendonitis, but that wasn't going to stop me. I joined the gym across the street from my apartment and started working out instead of running.

June

For my 21st birthday, I flew to Scotland and ran a half marathon on the Isle of Skye, where I renewed my deep love for the country. I camped in a campground just outside the capital of Skye, Portree. The whole island seemed to be straight out of a Scottish legend. Every gust of wind, every rock, mountain, moor and river has a story and you can feel it surround you. I dream of going back to Skye just to see its beauty again. Once I got back to Berlin, my parents came to visit for two weeks and together we explored a bit of more Berlin together. We hadn't seen each other in six months, so you could imagine how good it was to see them!

July

I worked hard in July, barely taking a day off, slowly dying from the suffocating heat. It seemed to be the month of travelling for everyone else as I had a ton of visitors! There was a solid two-week period where I was constantly spending time with people from home that were in Berlin! Between that and the running, it was definitely not a boring month.

August

In August, I ran my 10th (yes, TENTH!) half-marathon! I ran it in Rostock, a small harbour town in Northern Germany. Though the terrain and route was clearly never meant to be ran as a marathon, it was still a beautiful area and nothing beat the feeling of hitting the double digits. Right after I got back to Berlin, it was now my sister's turn to come visit! We found each other at the airport, nearly in tears, and then made sure to see as much of the city as possible. My sister really did her research; she had a list of things she wanted to see and what others had recommended she saw. We topped off her visit with a quick day trip to Tropical Islands, this amazing indoor tropical world just outside Berlin. Right when she left, I found a new job at a new restaurant as the boss of the other place had decided to shut down the restaurant and gave me a week's warning, so miraculously, I managed to find something else very quickly.

September

I slowly started adjusting to the new job, with an insane schedule. We were so low-staffed that we were all working way too much. But they invited me to join them in a team run in the Olympic Stadium. These types of run are very popular in Berlin; teams from different companies get together to run a 5km race or something as a relay. We definitely weren't the fastest, but it was so nice to be part of the team! The rest of September was spent really training for the impeding marathon, though it was really tough as we had a crazy Indian Summer with temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius...!

October

I ran my first FULL marathon in October! It was most definitely not the time I had hoped for, but I finished it and I was damn proud. I had met my mom in Munich to then road trip together to Lindau, a beautiful city-island on the Lake Constance in Southern Germany, where the race would start. This marathon is quite special: it stretches over three countries over its 42km. During this run, I ran in Germany, Austria and Switzerland! It's an absolutely beautiful area of Europe and I'm so glad I got to see it. We even did a small detour to visit Liechtenstein, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber on our way back to Munich. All in all, it was a really, really great trip.

November

Complaining of stomach pains, I went to my doctor to try and see what was wrong, and was sent to a specialist, who told me it was appendicitis and that "I have time today if you want, we can have it out within the hour, or we can wait a couple of weeks to see if it gets worse." So, 2 hours later, I woke up post-surgery. Talk about Germany efficiency! I was in the hospital for two nights, and then within 5 days, was back on my feet as if nothing had happened. Of course, one of the incisions got infected and I had to get it re-opened and cleaned out, because life can never be that simple, but once that was done, all was well again! While I was recovering, I took an online TEFL course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and got certified to teach English. After sending a few emails to different schools, I landed three different job interviews and got two of the jobs! On top of offers to hire me once I got my visa for next year!

December

Christmas time in Germany is like non other. Markets and beautiful lights everywhere... It's magical. My good friend Megan came to visit and we explored the Christmas Markets as well as all the rest of Berlin, as any good tourist should. The day after she left, there was an attack on a Christmas Market in Berlin. One of the ones I had been too a couples day prior. It was heartbreaking and terrifying, but the Berliners are a tough bunch and within a few days, life went back to normal. I, on the other hand, ended up on the news across Canada, radio, television and online, as I gave an interview about the events. I hadn't been there the night of, but as a Winnipegger/Canadian in Berlin, they had wanted to know what I thought. I got my fifteen minutes of fame!

Christmas rolled around and it was a good one. I spent a lot of time on Skype with my family, had dinner at my boyfriend's parents' place and worked quite a bit as well, but all in all, it was a good holiday season. Berlin has truly become home.

Now here we are, it's the end of the year, and I'm looking back on this incredible year. So much happened in 2016, and I cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store for me.

What are your best memories of 2016?

Shetland Islands

I always say one of the best things about travelling is the people you meet. I met Megan in Northern Ireland while we were on the same tour to go see the Giant's Causeway. We just got to talking and been friends ever since! Megan is from an amazing place in Scotland that I had only heard of because of the ponies that come from there: The Shetland Islands. Today I'm letting her take over my blog to talk a bit about where she's from!

Hi there, I’m Megan! I’m from the Shetland Islands located at the far north of Scotland, in the middle of the North Sea.

When you think of Scotland a few things that come to mind probably include haggis, tartan and bagpipes. These things are the first to pop into my mind anyway. Considering Shetland is a part of Scotland the only one of these I see regularly is haggis (and that is because I love the stuff…). It is far more common to see reestit mutton, Fair Isle knitwear and fiddle & accordion music in Shetland.
Some downsides to living on Shetland include the lack of access to big shopping chains; not having reliable access to 3G internet (what even is 4G?!) and it takes one hour on a plane or 12-14 hours on a boat to reach the mainland. There are frequent transport disruptions due to weather and this can cause a lack of food in local shops. It is also very expensive to leave Shetland unless you book well in advance.
The beautiful landscapes, friendly locals and unique festivals quickly make up for the lack of these first world ‘necessities’. No matter what time of year you visit the isles, there is always something to see and do.

Up Helly Aa
Up Helly Aa Season is from January until March - in this time there are 10 fire festivals held in various locations around the isles. This includes the Lerwick Up Helly Aa, Europe's biggest and most spectacular fire festival. Want to see 1000 men dressed up as vikings, women and animals parade flaming torches around the town before throwing them into a Galley? Yeah, I would to! Head up to Shetland for the last Tuesday in January to see this fiery spectacle!

Northern Lights
Throughout the winter months Shetland is frequently graced with the beauty of what we call the Mirrie Dancers! Mostly green, but sometimes purple and red, lights dance across the sky and mesmerise you. Having lived in Shetland all my life I'm ashamed to admit I only saw them for the first time this year.
Fantastic walks
Shetland's never-ending coastline and rugged hills make for amazing walks with beautiful views as a reward. I actually have a Shetland bucket list which is mostly full of beautiful walks and islands which I have never visited. This list has grown vastly since my discovery of a website dedicated to showing you Shetland walks! If there is a particular area of Shetland you would like to explore, you can search for walks in the area and the website tells you the distance of the walk and how long it should take you!

Heritage
Shetland is full of brochs, archeological sights and evidence of our Norse heritage. Our local museum is well worth a visit to take you back in time to life during the viking times, highland clearances and both world wars. The Scalloway museum, set right beside the Scalloway caste, hold the history of Shetland's previous capital and that of the Shetland Bus.

Wildlife
As well as being home to the Shetland pony, we also have one of the best viewing points for puffins in Britain. Seals, otters and various bird species are dotted all over our coastline. We are even lucky to be visited by pods of orcas (killer whales) on the odd occasion.

I could go on for hours about how much I love where I am from. There are downsides to living on an island in the middle of the north sea, but in my mind the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. To make up your mind, you'll just have to make your way up here for a visit. No matter the time of year, or the weather, there is always something to do.

I don't know about you, but I am most definitely going to Shetland one day (soon!). The breathtaking landscape of Scotland never fails to amaze me and Shetland seems like a hidden gem that we all need to see.

You can follow Megan's travels on her blog, Travel and Trowie Tales, and as well as on instagram. 

Saint Patrick's Day in Berlin

The first time I went out to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, I had a hell of a good time. I won a t-shirt, saw a great band live and even made a new friend, who then became one of my closest guy friends. Last year, I was too busy planning my trip and finishing all my homework to go out, so I made up for it this year!

Though I wasn't in Dublin to celebrate, I found myself in an Irish pub in Berlin, where you got a free hat and free whiskey for wearing green. It was incredibly crowded, but thankfully it was a beautiful night and we spent it on the patio drinking our Guinness and Jameson, and listenning to bagpipes (not Irish I know, but there definitely was a bagpipe player at the front door!)

Have I mentioned how international Berlin is? I spent the evening in an Irish pub with a German and an Indian guy, we all spoke English, and arround us? We heard Spanish, Irish, English, German, etc. All this to say that it was a great night!

Do you celebrate St. Paddy's Day? How?

5 Things I'll Miss Most About Winnipeg

Winnipeg is one of those cities that's very easy to complain about. It's absolutely freezing cold for half of the year (hence the nickname Winterpeg), and you get maybe 2-3 months of nice, sunny weather, it's not exactly a famous touristy city, and the transit system is beyond awful.
But you see, Winnipeg is my home. I was born and raised here and I think it's a beautiful city. Maybe it's because I've travelled that I can come home and really see its beauty. The prairies may be flat and seemingly boring, but all you have to do is try a tiny bit and you'll always find something to do in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is home. I'm definitely going to miss it while I'm gone.

Skating on the river is one of my favourite things about winter. It may be way too cold, but when the river is frozen, you forget about it all. It's the longest ice rink in the world and you can go whenever you want. I've also run on the river a few times, on the snow trail next to it. The best part? A rum & hot chocolate to warm up afterwards.

Winnipeg Folk Music Festival is my favourite festival by far. I practically grew up at this festival, going almost every year since I can remember, whether it was my dad on stage or some random band from across the globe I'd never heard of before, I owe this festival some of my best summer memories. Some years, it rained so much the week before that we would walk around barefeet in the mud (you can imagine how much fun that is as a child), or you would get the most perfect July weather, with a few sunburns. It's truly a place of happiness and music.

Festival du Voyageur is the outdoors winter festival almost every Franco-Manitoban waits for all year long. Every year, we would go with our class and learn a bit about the fur trade era and our history, all while having a ton of fun in the snow; climbing things, getting lost in the big snow maze or going down the ice slide, and don't forget the tire sur glace! As young adults, we go there to party, see some really great live bands, admire some fantastic snow sculptures and drink some caribou. It's where we get together and pretend it isn't incredibly cold outside. We all know once Festival is over, the summer isn't far away.

Camping season. Okay, so this may not exactly be a Winnipeg-specific thing, but Manitoba in general has so many beautiful places to go to during the summer, that it's definitely something I need to add here. I love going camping and spending time outside. The sunsets, the fresh pine-smelling air, the lakes... Manitoba is a lot prettier than we give it credit for.

The People. If there's one thing I'll miss more than anything, it's the people. Winnipeg has been my home for 21 years, and my roots are deep. I have made some truly great friends over the years, and I am so grateful for the people I have met. You have grown with me, inspired me, made me the person I am today.

There you have it! The 5 things I'll miss most about Winnipeg. Though I'm sure I can find all of these things in Berlin in one way or another, it just won't be the same as good ol' Winterpeg. Until next time!

Goodbye Party

Before someone leaves on a big trip, it's customary to have a going away gathering of some kine, usually a party or a dinner. I decided to do both. I combined our annual New Year's Eve party with my going away party, and also had a dinner at Boston Pizza for those who either couldn't come to the party or don't drink. Both were a total success and I'm so happy I got to see some of my friends before I leave for a year.

I didn't get any pictures at BP, but I got quite a few during the party. I got myself some ridiculous 2016 glasses that gave me the perfect excuse to take ridiculous selfies!

In all seriousness, I am so grateful for the people I have in my life. Whether we've been friends for years, or a few weeks, I will miss you all so much! I am so lucky to have you all in my life.