Huskies, a raindeer kiss, and a snowmobile safari

Wow, another amazing day in Lappland.
Today we woke up stiff and sore so Tiina suggested we visit the Huskies at the Husky park. What amazing animals. They have the most amazing eyes and love to run. These are Siberian Huskies and when they are lined up to run, they are rearing to go. Meanwhile the other dogs, not part of a team are howling because they want to join the running team. They have to be rotated so they can all have a go otherwise they whine and howl.
So we ended up having a ride! It was amazing.
They are super friendly too. We got  up close and personal and they are just like any other dog, and love the attention and being scratched under the chin. Their caregivers work full time with them and have a special bond.

Those eyes!

Getting ready to go

Tiina and Seppo arriving home

We were treated to some coffee and hot juice and sausages, as well as a video about the founder, Reijo Jääskeläinen who started sleddog safaris in Western Lapland over 20 years ago. He has won six Finnish and three Scandinavian Championships in dog sledding and four victories in the Nordic Marathon. He has also completed a 700 km dog sled expedition in Greenland with Eskimo guides. He was our 'Musher' today and his hut was pretty rustic. Exactly what you would expect!

I got to have a kiss from a reindeer. The missing antler, I was assured, happens naturally. The reindeer lose their antlers naturally in the spring and they grow again in the autumn.

In the afternoon, we had another adventure waiting for us. This time it was a snowmobile safari. I don't think Barry will ever wipe the smile off his face. And now, of course, he wants a snowmobile!

Seppo wants one too!

We had a few stops. This one was to visit a reindeer park.

Tiina also loves snowmobiles!

Coffee stop

Antlers at 2 euro a piece

Fan number 4!

365 days and 1 hour

So exactly 12 months and 1 hour away from New Zealand.
It has been a year of years
Being a little OCD, I’ve done the stats:
365 days and 1 hour
213 nights spent in Horsen’s, Denmark and
152 nights spent in 13 country’s including:

• Denmark; Copenhagen, Aalborg
• Sweden; Malmo
• Germany; Berlin, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Hamburg, Dresden, Franfurt, and Cologne
• The Netherlands; Holland – Amsterdam, Kampen
• Finland; Helsinki, Levi, Tarvaala, Rovaneimi
• Austria; Innsbruck
• Czech Republic; Prague
• Italy; Venice, Trento, Moena, Bressanon, Cortina, La villa, Lake Como, Rome, Florence
• France; Paris, Chamonix, Annecy
• England; London (Soho, Clapham, Peckham, Shepherds Bush, Dartford, Gravesend, Gatwick, Greenwich, Heathrow), Southampton, Hythe, Lincolnshire, Norwich
• Ireland; Dublin, Cork, Bantry, Galway, Sligo, Derry, Dungannon
• Thailand; Bangkok
• Australia; Brisbane

Other places visited but not stayed in;

• Italy; Balonzo, Pisa
• Russia; Moscow, 
• United Arab Emirates; Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
• Singapore
• Switzerland; Geneva
• Denmark; Veile, Silkborg, Aarhus, Billund
• England; Stanstead, Bournemouth, Sandbanks (Poole), Mayfield, Portsmouth, Brighton, Dover

So all in all; 31 flights, numerous train and bus rides, and 3 car hires, and a period of car share rental,
Here’s a bit of what we have learnt from a year of traveling.

• I love travelling and am not done yet. 
• There is always more to see than time and money allow, but as my wise cousin Karen says, the world is not going anywhere and I can always go back.
• Budget airlines are always full and the gates are always the furtherest away from check-in.
• After a year of budget airlines, they have always been on time and my luggage has never gone missing.
• Luggage wheels are not designed for European pavements.
• Every airline has different luggage policies but no one seems to check what you take on board so it’s easy to hide the heavy stuff in a backpack saving the weight charges if you are close to the limit on the checked in bag.
• You always need less than what you pack.
• The laptop, iPad, phone, and plastic bag of makeup and other liquids need to be ready in a separate bag, everything else in a backpack, no belt, take the coat and shoes off and wear no jewellery and you’ll be sweet through security every time.
• Unless you are with Barry and then you find that he forgot about the bottle of water, and Swiss army knife. Again!
• People are essentially the same everywhere and the lifestyle in Denmark is pretty much the same as in New Zealand.
• If people know that New Zealand is not Australia (or America) then they also seem to love us kiwis.
• I get ridiculously proud to be a kiwi when people express what a paradise it is and how much they want to visit.
• Many of those people also live in what I would consider to be a paradise (think the Chemist in Moena in the Dolomites, Northern Italy).
• There are extremes of wealth and beggars on the street everywhere.
• Along with drunks and addicts.
• Pre-loaded Travel cards are a pain and sometimes you find a merchant’s system automatically recognises your home country, so takes your home currency instead of the pre-converted local currency which means you have just paid double conversion fees and taxes on the same money.
• The best way to get local cash is to use your debit card in a local ATM, or to pay directly to the merchant with a credit card.
• Trains are fast, comfortable, have toilets, but are expensive.
• Busses are slow, but cheap, comfortable, and have toilets too.
• I can’t sleep on planes but with Bose headphones, it’s possible to shut off and zone out which is almost as good.
• There are some truly amazing places in the world. My sister Susan said that New Zealand is not more amazing/beautiful than other places but it’s certainly as amazing/beautiful. And I agree.
• A European passport means a quick transition through customs or no transition through any customs throughout Europe which is kind of cool.
• If you have a yellow card and address in Denmark, the $1000 car hire fee becomes $4000 as you have to pay the local tax included rates. We should have used our kiwi passport and said we were visitors!
• Denmark is more expensive to live than New Zealand. We got to go to the Doctors for free, but meds were unsubsidised so it works out the same as we’d pay back home anyway.
• I wish New Zealand had cycle lanes throughout the country like they have in Denmark, Sweden, and Kampen in the Netherlands. And I wish we used city bikes like they do in those countries too (in addition to mountain bikes and road bikes).
• Electric bikes are brilliant fun.
• I want four different types of bikes at home as well as a car.
• Having no car for a year means a one stone weight loss throughout the year without trying.
• It could also have been the CrossFit with the young ones at the student gym.
• I haven’t missed hearing about the news or having a TV for the last year.
• I have heard the most newsworthy news anyway.
• And managed to watch a heap of TV series, and films anyway.
• Not having a car means a lot more trips to the supermarket with a couple of bags rather than a weekly shop or anything silly like that.
• I think New Zealand should forget about heat pumps (unless used for air conditioning in unusually hot summers) and have central heating throughout their houses.
• And much thicker walls for insulation like they have in Europe.
• And double glazed windows.
• I think New Zealand cities and towns should also have pedestrian only shopping town centres like they have in European cities.
• New Zealand is so young compared to Europe (not counting ancient kauri trees, mountains…)
• Every airport in New Zealand needs a train station with a rail link to the town/city centre with a tourist information at its first stop, and a really simple, pictorial sign showing where to get the train and where the train goes.
• Most people in Europe speak some sort of English, but mostly the younger people and not in Italy. Or France. (Because @#$% you).
• Google translate works where people don’t speak English.
• Danish people speak English but you never see anything written in English (because @#$% you).
• Danish doesn’t sound anything like it’s written.
• A lot of what is written in Danish is recognisable as it’s almost like English.
• Then again some of what looks like English means something completely different.
• It’s still really funny that ‘fart’ means ‘speed’.
• It’s easy and useful to pick up local phrases but also easy to automatically reply with a phrase for another country in the current country.
• It’s easiest to show all the coins in your hand and let the shopkeeper take the right ones when in a new country. They mostly seem to be honest about it.
• It’s useful to remember to use up the coins in a country before you leave it for good because you can’t exchange them.
• Leftover coins are useful to bolster letters and parcels home to your grandsons.
• Postage from Denmark is confusing and seemingly cheaper when you go to the post office instead of trying to work it out yourself.
• Facebook and messenger are brilliant for keeping up to date and in touch with family and friends.
• And Instagram.
• Blogging is useful for your Dad so he doesn’t accidentally press the wrong thing, thereby losing where he is and getting frustrated. 
• Danish people don’t eat salt and vinegar chippies (can’t find them anywhere), nor black tea. If a café has black tea, it will be Earl Grey and even then they don’t quite understand why you don’t want coffee.
• The Danes and Europe really get into Christmas, and light up their homes and gardens from mid-November. Shopping precincts are decorated and lit up and little Barvarian huts markets pop up everywhere with handicrafts, hot sausages, hot spiced wine, hot spiced variations of pancakes, dumplings, crepes, and waffles, and decorations to make Kirkcaldy’s Christmas shop pale in comparison.
• And New Year’s is something you must see to believe. 
• Denmark has bigger, scarier, and more household spiders than Wellington.
• But not as big as Australia.
• Australia is too hot.
• There are too many places I haven't been in NZ that people we met over the year have been, and so we need to see more of our home country.
• Upon returning to NZ, I’m that person; “when we were in Denmark…., In Italy we…., The Danish are…..

And I'll possibly add more to this as I remember....

So what next?

We have a lot of debt to pay back so no more travel for a while, but we will try and get to many of those places in NZ that we haven't yet seen. For the next few weeks though it will be settling back into work and life here at home. Barry needs to find a job and start earning some dosh but will also begin his final semester to finish off his degree. He'll be a busy boy!

Warning: Spider photo below!

Right now Barry is in the air on a flight between Abu Dhabi and Sydney. I am at Dave's and can't believe that a whole year is almost up. So I thought I would post one last time while on this trip away from home and because I got close enough to take a photo of a spider as I passed by yesterday. Very proud of myself.
It's been very hot so hopefully when I get to Wellington tomorrow I will be somewhat acclimatised to the unusually hot summer they have been having. It's been around 30 degrees each day with around 80-90% humidity.
Below is some artwork also. David has been busy, making a model of an idea for a Children's gym.

 Dave and Shona took me out for dinner. We went to a Japanese place at a busy part of a local shopping centre that has created a dining village with a bunch of different restaurants and lovely landscaped gardens and features. Pretty cool.

Banksy?

David's street

A bit of old Brisbane

This is the view from the back porch

 Are you ready for the spider?





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Back in Oz

I'm now back in Australia and getting used to the new timezone. Mainly getting used to the fact that NZ is only 3 hours ahead and I have to actively calculate when Barry will be awake. Shona, David, and their flatemate Nea have been wonderful hosts, ensuring I don't lift a finger or a dollar towards food and upkeep. Too generous. When I landed in the Gold Coast, I finally understood why people talk about how bright the sky is in this hemisphere. It was soooo bright. Or maybe it was just bright compared to hazy steamy Bangkok.
Dave suddenly appeared with a humungous bear hug and we went to a groovy local cafe for coffee and brunch. I also understand now why people talk about the taste of food down under. Is it also because of recent experience that the food and fruit here really taste so good? Nom nom nom...
Anyhow. Just a few more sleeps and its back home to NZ. Really looking forward to seeing everyone again (just wish I could bring Dave and Shona with me), and of course being back with Barry who is down to 3 more sleeps before he leaves Denmark. It was snowing there yesterday!

Snowing in Horsens!

Really good coffee and food!

Gorgeous Shona and silly Dave

Monarch season

This guy wasn't in the slightest bit perturbed by my approach

Exotic stopovers

I'm currently in Bangkok, one of three stopovers that help break up the long journey from Denmark to Brisbane where I'm destined to arrive in two days time.
First stopover was Moscow though only for a few hours. This stopover in Bangkok is for several nights and since it is exactly 6 hours ahead of Denmark, and 6 hours behind New Zealand, it is helping me to ease into the Southern Hemisphere time and heat zones.
Next stopover is Singapore. I figure by the time I get to Brisbane, the heat will feel refreshing compared with these humid Asian cities, and then by the time I get to Wellington, I'll be welcoming the heatwave they have been experiencing this Summer.
Meanwhile Barry is reporting snow back in Horsens. He is now into his very last week, putting together the final drawings, uploading the final submissions, and preparing with his fellow group members for the final exam. This will happen on Tuesday 23rd and consists of an interview (aka 'grilling') with four tutors. The next morning he will leave the apartment and take the 3 hour train ride to the airport then board for his 36 hour journey home with brief stopovers in Dusseldorf, Abu Dhabi, and Sydney. His jetlag will not be pretty, particularly if Wellington maintains its current average of 30+ degrees each day.
Anyway, back to Bangkok, today was a particularly sweltering hot day. It's a crazy, busy, smelly, and very loud city. If I had more time (and money), I would have gone to those pretty beaches and resort areas, but I did managed to find a couple of interesting spots; the Jim Thompson house, and Lumphini Park...

Cityscape

Pathumwan junction

Road scene

Shopping/hotel/mega centre

Interesting discovery; the Jim Thompson house. He was an American businessman who helped revitalise the Thai silk industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Mysteriously, he disappeared without a trace on 26 March 1967 in the Cameron Highlands, Pahang, West Malaysia (and not long after, his sister was murdered and her case remains unsolved). Jim was a great collector of arts and was also an accomplished architect and designed his own place in Bangkok; a complex of six traditional Thai-style houses, teak structures that were purchased from several owners and brought to the present location from various parts of Thailand. After his disappearance, it became a museum.

Jim Thompson house

Jim Thompson house

Ginger plant (?) in the Jim Thompson house

Typical cable arrangement seen all over the city

A random 'Predator' sculpture from car and bike parts outside the Nissan centre

Inside the crazy busy MBK shopping centre

Cityscape

Lumphini Park

Pretty colours on a tree at Lumphini Park

Fragipani tree in Lumphini park

Hibiscus, Lumphini Park

Lumphini Park

Hibiscus, Lumphini Park

Massive hotels everywhere

Temple/shrine

Back street scene

Tooty cat. Not sure it its a kitten or half starved emancipated adult. It was feral anyway.

Cityscape at dusk

More night time cityscape

Orchids in the garden at the Jim Thompson house

Hydrangea? Pretty anyway.

'Snow flakes' in one of the confusing alleyways between the shopping centers. I somehow ended up three buildings away from where I started with no idea how I got there or how to get back.

Lumphini Park

Lumphini Park

Lumphini Park

It was a different scene in Moscow; check out the ice on the tarmac!

-12 degrees in Moscow!