Opening of Christmas Season

Hello Readers,

Santa Claus. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

You can see the smile on my face that shows
my Christmas Spirit.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

It is now officially the opening of the Christmas Season. This happened last Saturday November 17th. If you are not from Rovaniemi or been to Rovaniemi at Christmas time I do suggest it.

Here is the link to the Opening of the Christmas Season 2018 Celebration - You can see me waving at the beginning (around the 12 minute mark)as my sister was home in Canada and able to see me on the live stream.The live stream is available each year, and they speak in both Finnish and English so anyone can enjoy it.

Me petting the one Husky they
had on a chain.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

There were free shuttles available from the city center that day and I took advantage of that. I do have a bus card but the friend I went with did not so these free shuttles saved about 7 euros in bus fairs. We took the earliest shuttle at 2pm us to Santa Claus Village. We wanted to go early because for that day there was free admission to the Husky Farm. You still had to pay for Husky sled tours but at least we got to see all the pup and even pet some of them.

When you go to Santa Claus Village it really gets you in the Christmas Spirit, even though there hasn't been any snow here at the Arctic Circle. Around 3:00pm the center starts playing some good Christmas music, and there is a reindeer brought out that you can pet and take pictures with as well (I did not do this, I have already taken a photo with a reindeer before and I thought best to allow the children to experience this). Around 3:30pm we found where we would want to stand since I knew my sister would be watching from Canada, and I wanted her to be able to see me. All the festivities started around 3:45pm and there were singing and dancing elves, and speeches before Santa came out and Officially Started the Season.  You can check out the entire event
in the link I have above.

This was an amazing experience, I couldn't stop smiling. It really brought out the kid in me and I wish I had of gone to this all of the years I have been here in Rovaniemi.

Thanks for reading....
Enjoy the beginning of the Holiday Season!

Santa Claus Parade

Hello Readers,

This photo is of me testing some
glasses at H&M. Really festive.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

On Saturday Nov. 10/2018 I attended the Santa Claus Parade in Rovaniemi, Finland. If you didn't already know Rovaniemi is the Official Home of Santa Claus. It started from the Town hall and finished in the city center or Lordi Square as it is known to the locals - named after the Finnish rock band, Lordi, which is from Rovaniemi.

I was a little disappointed by the parade, however, it was wet and rainy all day. The parade did not have many elves walking with Santa and the single Rudolph reindeer. When Santa arrived at the city square he was unaccompanied by the reindeer. The highlight was when a team of kindergarten children sang him a few Christmas songs. Yes, the songs were in Finnish but that didn't matter as you could see the joy on their faces while singing to the man himself. I have added a video of one of the songs to the Finland Photos Page located at the top.

This is the children singing the songs to Santa Claus.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

When the children were finished Santa took the stage and thanked everyone for coming out. He talked in both Finnish and English and asked the crowd if they thought they were on the naughty list or the nice list. There was also explanation that you could see him in the two malls that afternoon for a short chat and some pictures (we chose not to do that). It is very different then at home, as we have mall Santa's in almost every mall near by at Christmas Time. The difference is though that Rovaniemi being the home of Santa Claus, there is a Santa Claus Village just on the outskirts of the city.

I will be attending Santa Claus Village's official opening of the Christmas season this Saturday and I hope that I will not be disappointed. I think the atmosphere will be different because there will be more Christmassy things there - like trees, elves, presents etc. All of this would be better if it would snow as well. Here in the Arctic Circle we are still without snow. We are patiently awaiting the white blanket that will make it seem that Christmas is coming.We are already headed into the dark winter, as the "sun" (it has been cloudy and grey for almost a month, there has not been any sunshine) has been setting around 3pm and rising each morning around 9am. Our daylight will get shorter before I go home for Christmas, but with no snow it feels even darker.

I hope everyone reading this is getting into the holiday spirit, whether they celebrate Christmas or some other holiday.

Thanks for reading....
Bye for now.

Almost Christmas

Hello Readers,

The end of October is now here, that means we are so much closer to my favourite season. Christmas season will be here soon. I am so lucky to be able to start my season in Rovaniemi which is the home of Santa Claus. The official Christmas Season starts here on November 17, 2018. I am excited to attend this event at Santa Claus Village.

This is the Screenshot of the Christmas Countdown for
Hallmark Movies.
Photo Credit: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas/
new-movies-countdown-to-christmas-2018

According to Visit Rovaniemi's website the Event starts at 4pm, with the Grand Opening of The Christmas Season, at the central square of Santa Claus Village. The elves and local artists put on a festive concert that culminates in Santa Claus’ speech. The evening is rounded off with dancing to Christmassy disco tunes. The city is also offering Free Shuttle Bus Services from the city centre and I will definitely be taking advantage of that. I hope to be able to document this in a future blog post.

Christmas Movies are probably the biggest highlight for me. I usually look forward to ABC Spark/ABC Family's selection of movies - I could not find that list to include, I did find information that the channel switched names to Freeform - But there was only a list called Kickoff to Christmas which was for the month of November. I love the Hallmark Christmas Countdown because they come out with new films each year. It is another bonus that I love Romantic movies which is what I believe Hallmark specializes in. It is also a bonus that my dad likes these Hallmark movies and I watch them online in Finland while he watches in Canada and we compare our notes with each other about the movies.

I am also counting down the days until I get home for Christmas which as of Oct. 30/18 is 46 days (hehe). I am only a little excited, mainly because right now my sister is planning her Wedding next fall and I am not there to be in the middle of all the planning. I know she understands and I am still involved via Video Chat but it is not the same as being there helping her. When I am home, I hope to see many people but also get a lot of things checked off my sisters list for her wedding. I will be buying my Maid of Honour dress then as well. I can't wait to see all of my little munchkins. I miss them the most because they grow so much over a few months. I love Christmas at home, with all the festivities, the music and attending the movies. I want the house to be all ready and decorated by the time I get there on Dec. 15th. I already asked my mom when she plans to put the tree up and start the decorations but she isn't quite in the same spirits as me.

Bye for now...
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1st Anniversary of Blogging

Hey Readers and Followers,

This is a collage of photos from Venice.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

It has now been 1 year since I have begun this blog, it doesn't have quite as many posts as I was hoping for but hey we are getting there. My one year Blogging Anniversary is October 5, 2018. I never thought this day would come, and to be starting this post while on a study trip in Sweden just sounds astounding to me.

This is a collage of photos from Germany.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby & Eugene Kim

A year ago I started this blog, and a year ago October 4th, I booked my trip to Venice, Italy. It was so cool. In 1 year I have been in and out of 5 countries. I am from Canada and travel often for shopping or dinner to the United States. I completed a semester of studies abroad in Germany where I got the opportunity to travel to Italy. I wish I traveled more while in Germany but it can get expensive, and I am not completely comfortable traveling to foreign countries alone as a female. Then I went to Sweden recently and currently am Studying back in Finland. Those are my travel destinations briefly. I can not wait for more adventures.

This is a collage from Finland last year.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I have had the opportunity to meet and network across these countries, and having connections and friends from all over the world is a large asset in the Tourism world. I hope to someday connect with many of these people whether for personal gain or for future career opportunities.

I can not forget the memories and experiences I make each time I am home from traveling. It is so exciting to see all of my friends and family each time I head back. I love that everyone stays in touch while I am gone and they go out of their way to make plans with me when I am home. When home the time always flies by but what can you do except grasp those memories and really make the best out of the time you have.

This is a collage of photos from the summer.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby & Janet Vanderwerf

I am now finishing my 3rd year studies as well as my 4th year studies (at the same time). Hoping to graduate next fall after completing my thesis. So this is possibly my last time in Finland, though I will be back someday to see the people I have met. I have gotten quite close with a Finnish friend and her family, so it would be great to host them in Canada as well as return here to visit them.

Lets hope there are many more years and experiences to share in the future of this blog.

Bye for now...

Summer Job

Hello Readers,

This is a opossum skull a child
found outside the museum.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This summer I had a student position as Visitor Services/Reception at the Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend. I was excited to start a summer position in my Tourism field of study. This position was approximately 67km from my usual residence in Canada, but I had the opportunity to live with my sister which was only 20km from the workplace. This was an option I knew I had but was hesitant because my sister and I hadn't lived under the same roof in about 6 years.

I started my job on June 1st and I worked Saturdays to Wednesdays. Thursdays and Fridays were my days off. It was hard to make plans to visit with friends but that is life and it was much better to be working in my field gaining some experience. I also got to learn more of the History of Lambton County (where I come from) because the Lambton Heritage Museum is the museum that covers the county as a whole.

This is from my personal Snap chat.
My last day was August 29, 2018.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The job consisted of sitting at the reception desk and answering any phone calls that came in, ensuring the books were stocked on shelves, answering Tourism Information related questions, and taking admission to the museum.  I was to give an overview of the museum to each customer so they knew what areas they could explore and some key information about different exhibits. The museum was celebrating 40 years open this year so the special summer exhibit contained 40 artifacts over the 40 years from different areas around the county. It also told the story of how the museum started and gave information about the 2 men (Fred Walden and Peter Eisenbach) that donated approximately 6,000 artifacts each when the museum began in 1978.

The customer interaction at the museum is what particularly enjoyed about my time at the museum. I loved hearing about where people were coming from and what they thought of the history of our area, especially if they didn't know anything about Lambton County before coming to Lambton Heritage Museum. The museum is always trying to update the facility and improve their interpretations and exhibits. A task I was completing this summer was re-labeling the entire permanent exhibit, The interpretation labels will soon be put up and they will specifically tell the guests where in the county that specific artifact originates.

 If you are ever in the area to check out the Museum I do recommend it. There is a lot of information and history in this specific museum. If you are from Lambton County and are reading this, you can always go to your local Lambton County Library Branch and obtain a "Free Pass" you check it out just like a book and you have the chance to check out the museum free of charge. This also works for the partner museum located in Oil Springs "Oil Museum of Canada". The Oil Museum of Canada is part of the County of Lambton family which gives you that perk. It is very informative of the 1858 Oil History in North America - The first Commercial Oil Well in North America specifically and details the Oil Industry locally. If you do not have a chance to see these museums in person, be sure to check out their websites as they also have virtual exhibits with a lot of information as well as different exhibits you can not find in the museums.

I am very happy with what I have gained in knowledge this past summer working at Lambton Heritage Museum. I feel like I got to use my tourism knowledge as well as my customer service skills to give the guests a great experience.

Thanks for reading...Don't forget to hit that follow button or add your email address to get updates on when a new post is posted.

Back to School...

This photo is from First Year (2016). It is the Kemijoki River. It showcases fall quite well with the coloured trees.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Hello Readers,

I am currently back in Rovaniemi Finland, about to embark in my HOPEFULLY last year of studies. I am trying to take my 4th year classes as well as some 3rd year classes to finish my time here. I am trying to expedite the process because this past summer my sister got ENGAGED. I am so happy for her and I need to get things going here so that I am 100% available for her planning needs.

I have been back to Rovaniemi for a couple of weeks, I had jet-lag very bad this time. I had a hard time adjusting to the time difference, it took me about a week to get sleeping at the right time of day. I was excited to start some new classes and to gain more experience in destination planning. I think it was because of the KLM flight. I had never flown with KLM before this time, I few from Toronto to Amsterdam, and then Amsterdam to Helsinki, finally Helsinki to Rovaniemi. The past 2 years, I flew with my parents and I didn't come directly to my destination, I did sightseeing instead and I think this helped the jet-lag because I kept busy and could sleep more on the flights (I wasn't worried about flying with my parents, but when traveling alone it can be stressful).

This is me at the Con. It was held in the same
building as the Moomin Museum in
Tampere. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The first weekend here, I made plans to go to my friend Alex's house to see her family for one day, then travel to the south of Finland to Tampere for an Anime Con - Tracon. I am not particularly interested in Manga, Anime, Cosplay, or anything of the sort, I just wanted to go for the socialization and to say that I have been before. The day was exhausting, there were tons of people and we did a lot of walking, not to mention we took the bus so early in the morning that it wasn't even open yet, and then we booked a late train in case we wanted more time at the Con. This trip also got me out of the apartment before school started and allowed me to overcome my jet-lag. I also love visiting with Alex's parents. They do not speak the best English (though I am sure they understand way more then they let on) but she is like our personal translation speaker. I have learned a lot about Finland and customs from them, as they have asked me a ton of questions about Canada, to the point where they are excited to one day embark on a vacation to our vast country.

If i can not take the 4th year courses, it will be a little frustrating but out of my control because there are only a limited number of spots for students in the course, and the DPT 15 (year before me) have priority over the course. If this happens and I can not take the course, it means I will have to come back next fall to take these 2 courses, therefore making my sisters job more stressful in planning her wedding and potentially she will have to choose another date then what she originally wants.

Over the summer I said there would be more posts but it got very hectic at my summer job and the summer flew by too quickly. I have a few posts written as drafts however, the photos I need are in Canada. Maybe I can get them over Christmas and get these posts done in Spring.

Stay tuned for more Arctic Adventures....
Bye for now.

Starlite Drive-In Theatre

Hey Readers,

My sister and I waiting for the Show to start
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I am sorry for not posting but I am finally settled into my summer position at Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend, Ontario. I am working at the Front Desk as Visitors Services - I amexcited to finally work in the Tourism sector, gaining experiences while in school. Expect to see some good throw back posts about past trips and some new things here that I will experience living with my sister.

Back on June 2nd - I went to the Starlite Drive-In Theatre in Shipka (just outside of Grand Bend). I saw Deadpool 2 and Super Troopers 2 (which I fell asleep for...oops). Make sure you check out their website for upcoming show times. It was a great experience for a reasonable price. They even have 2 screens so there are a few options each weekend for their showings.

The movie was hilarious - the only problem was that the Drive-In company put this on the small screen and it was very busy that night - it would have been better, more spacious and easier to park. However, it was still a lot of fun and when they decide which screen to play the movies it is done through a process of which movie they think will sell more spots.

Deadpool 2 - Photo Credit: Amanda Gadsby

I will try and give a review of Deadpool 2 without giving any spoilers for those who have yet to see the movie. I thought this movie was just as good as the first, full of humor and like most people say Ryan Reynolds was born to play Wade Wilson. This movie had what seemed like more action and a much better plot.

Again, I did not watch Super Troopers 2 (I have actually never seen the first one either.) so i will not be giving a review of that one.

I will try my best to post more.

Bye for now...

Mayhem Event at Ounasvaara Ski Hill

This rider wasn't even a competitor, he started off all the snowmobile heats, they called him the crazy Finn.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Hello Readers,


On April 21st I went to a Mayhem Event at the Ounasvaara Ski Hill here in Rovaniemi. This was a free event that was open to the public at the Ski Hill. I had received an email to my school email about this event that included a link to the website (which I have linked above) that has an amazing video about what this event looks like.

They had to go uphill to the rest of the course.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This year the Mayhem event happened at 4 different locations across 4 different weekends, with the 3 earlier ones Olos, Luosto, and Ounasvaara leading up to the main attraction at Ylläs. This event is for snowmobiles and motocross motorcycles that have a track from the bottom of the hill to the top with some ramps and challenging light snow to get through. 

This Video is of the crowd favourite (the guy who got the most air) and also the guy who got the fastest heat of the day.

I thought this was an interesting event that you don't get the chance to see very often. I was excited to get the chance to see some snowmobiles going off some jumps and getting some air. The fastest snowmobile of the day made it to the top in 33seconds while some others took about a minute. The fastest rider was flying through the course, and got mega air when he went off the jump near the top of the hill. All of the spectators were oohing and aahing at this particular riders run. 

View of the Riders getting ready and the pit area.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Some of the motocross motorcycle riders got stuck in the snowy section. It had been slightly warm this past week, so I thought it was melting snow, but later found out they put it there as an obstacle for the riders. While watching this part of the event it was like watching a 3year old shuffle their bike down the road instead of riding it, but they would make it through and continue through the course. 

Rider cutting through the snow on his bike.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This was so cool, I really enjoyed going through my photos and selecting the best ones, that showcase the riders doing the jumps.


Bye for now...

Arctic Animals of Ranua Zoo

Measuring my height against the height
 of a Polar Bear standing up.
Photo Credit: Aleksina Seppä

Hello Readers,

This past weekend I got to go to the Ranua Zoo. I didn't do a lot of research on the zoo prior to going, so it was nice to see that the entire zoo housed animals you can find in the arctic rather then that of typical zoos I have visited in the past.

This trip was made available with my housing company here. The price was very cheap only 10€ and included the bus to and from Rovaniemi. Usually the zoo costs between 15€ to 18.50€ plus the bus which is about 50€ if you want picked up at your hotel. It can be quite expensive to attend.

In Finland the only place to see Polar Bears is the Ranua Wildlife Park. Many of the animals at Ranua Zoo are endangered in their natural habitat so seeing them here is one way to still enjoy these animals while you can.

You walk the entire zoo through the wooden trails - or slightly snow-covered wooden trails. The trails are one way, as you start you follow the arrows and once you have completed the approximately 2.8km walk you are back where you started. There are maps available when purchasing your tickets as well as there are signs throughout the park. At most of the animals there are different facts about them, like their size and what they like to eat. 

Polar Bear, Muskox, Arctic Fox, Great Grey Owl and Wild Boar. Some of the Animals you can find at the Ranua Zoo.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby - Created the Collage through Free App Pic Collage.

The best time to attend the Zoo would probably be in May, June or July as the animals are just beginning to start the spring process right now - the brown bears were still sleeping since their bodies feel like they should be hibernating. Also, in summer you can find many baby animals in Ranua Zoo. In the past there have been two cases of polar bear babies that have survived being born in the zoo.

 Bye for now..

Nörds Ice Hockey

Hey Readers,

Alex and I at the Arena Photo Credit: Aleksina Seppä

Yesterday, April 7, 2018, I was looking for something to do. I checked the Visit Rovaniemi website and I found out that there was a Ice Hockey tournament at Lappi Areena for the weekend. It was called Nörds on Ice 2018. A free event to attend but the level of hockey was not obvious. I read that it was just forbidden to be a player in the 3-division and upper tiers of the Finnish Hockey Leagues.


The tournament was a two day event that started Friday Night (which I did not attend, as I did not know about it), I attended some of the games in the afternoon on Saturday. The games were 45 minutes long, and at the end players of the game were announced. There was a no slap-shots and body-checks rule on the tournament, which made the talent of the players shine through. A few of the teams were from Rovaniemi while others were from Helsinki and Oulu.

HockIt Beta vs Fortinet
HockIt from Rovaniemi Won 5-1
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

In the end the defending champions HC Tieto from Oulu won the tournament again. This did not surprise me since the earlier game of theirs I watched they won against one of the Rovaniemi HockIt teams 13-2. HC Tieto was a team of only 11 players while other teams had 15-20 players. With only 11 players that allowed them two full lines and a goalie, not a lot of time for rest between shifts but their endurance for the 45minutes allowed them to dominate the tournament.

I was happy to be able to watch this, though there weren't a lot of spectators at the arena (I believe lack of advertising was the problem). I hope to keep my eyes peeled for more things like this here in the city. It was a afternoon of quick and eventful games.

Stay tuned for another blog coming soon as Saturday April 14th I will be going to Ranua Zoo. I am hoping to see the polar bear and its baby from last year (won't be much of a baby now). It was the second baby polar bear born in a Zoo in Finland that has survived.

Bye for now...

Study Week

Hello Readers,

Alex, Julianna, and Myself at the Outdoor Rink
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Study week has come and gone for us students in Finland. In October and March the schools have a one week break of studies. In the past, I have chosen to visit my Finnish friends home in the middle of Finland. I chose that again this year, as I hadn't seen them in about a year due to my exchange. Her family lives in a small town called Kärsämäki, with approximately 2,000 inhabitants. This small town makes me feel more at home since my village in Ontario only has 800 inhabitants. 

My friends dogs Jimi and Pössi.  Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The week is meant for students to get caught up on studies but since returning from Germany my studies haven't started yet. For most students the semester starts in January, but due to the exchange period I was on, I missed a few courses that I will make up next year. It just means that the 1/2 year I thought I could skip last year, by taking 2nd year courses has caught up to me. I have 2 courses that I can take this semester to at least get some credits. I used this week to relax before starting studies and to start applying to some summer jobs. 

I got to enjoy some recreational activities as well. My friend, her sister and I walked one of their dogs around their property (which is quite large, they live just outside of town on a farm). It was a great way to get some Vitamin D and some fresh air, though bundling up was still necessary as it was -5degrees.We also went into the town and enjoyed an afternoon of skating. Here in Finland there are outdoor rinks in just about every town or city. They allow you to skate and get some exercise for free. This was the highlight of my trip, because since moving here I haven't had the opportunity to go skating.

Skating around. So glad I didn't fall. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

After we went skating, we went to my friends Grandparent's house. I had been before so it was nice to get to visit them again. They do not speak any English but we get by with my friend Alex who is our own personal translator. Her grandparents have complimented me before on the fact that I speak directly to them even though they don't understand me. They just find it more personal that I don't speak to the translator when I am actually addressing them. 

One of the days, we went to a shopping mall in a nearby city. It was about an hour drive, I was happy to go there, as the one store had really good deals. For those North American's that follow my blog it was similar to that of a Walmart (minus groceries)...it had everything at reasonable prices.

I enjoyed my relaxing week in the middle of Finland, immersed in  a Finnish home, so the culture and language was around me the entire time. The family asked me everyday if I wanted to go to Sauna (Big part of Finnish culture) but I decided not, as I don't like the heat of it and find it increases my blood pressure too much. I had a great time, I can not wait to visit again.

Bye for now...

Poro Cup 2018 - Reindeer Cup 2018

Ticket to the Poro Cup...It cost 5euro to Enter - Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Readers,

Alex and I at the Entrance
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

On Sunday February 25th, I attended the Poro Cup in Rovaniemi. Poro is Finnish for Reindeer. I was going to attend this last year however, it is about 5km outside of the city and there is no city buses that go there. This year, there was a committee that planned to have buses from the city center for free for anyone who wanted to attend. I took this chance to attend. My friend and I met in the city and took the bus. Even though she is Finnish she has never been to this kind of race before. It is very unique to Lapland.  

The Reindeer race consists of 4 racers on ski's that are pulled behind the reindeer. They have to go around the track which is 197.5 meters in length. I have included a short video of the racers from the start and when they zoomed past me.

 

When the races were over we waited for the bus to take us back to the city center. This bus service really made it possible to travel to the race track and witness this type of races. To me it is similar to that of horse racing around a track and there were even places you could bet on the winning reindeer/rider.

This was a very unique experience because I have not experienced this before. I did however, attend a shorter type of race in the city center of Rovaniemi last year. It was a practice race for competitors that had to race from the river to the center of the downtown and only two racers at a time.

If you get the chance to come to Northern Finland (Lapland) in winter, I hope that you can try and attend one of the Poro Cup races they have in the 6 Different Cities (Nuoritta, Rovaniemi, Kuusamo, Salla, Kuninkuusajot Inari, and Äkäslompolo).

Thanks for Reading...

All Adventures Must End

Hello Readers,

February 15th was the day I left Kempten, Germany and head back to Rovaniemi, Finland. I was bittersweet about leaving because I met a lot of nice people from all over the world (I now have connections to Hungary, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, USA, South Korea, and India to name a few), but I was also excited to get back to my friends that I haven't seen since May of last year.

Last Trip to the City Center of Kempten. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I haven't written a post in about a month because when I arrived back to Kempten after Christmas we had 2 weeks of classes and then exams began. I was just in my apartment studying for the exams because in Germany the exam is worth 100% of the mark, there are no assignment marks or anything, so studying for the exams was very important to achieve the grades.

Last View of the Mountains from the Train. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Prior to leaving I had a lot of tying up loose ends like closing my German Bank account, cleaning my apartment, preparing my luggage and saying goodbye to everyone. There were a few things I didn't do while I was here, like visit a few people I wanted to see while I was in the area but I just ran out of time and the 5 months just flew right by. I did get to meet up with my exchange student from High School who I hadn't seen for 12 years, I got to go to Italy, I went home for Christmas, and I got to explore much of the Allgäu region. That to me means that it was successful, just being here and meeting all of the generous people and exploring would have been enough experience for me.

Delicious but Expensive Hamburger at Helsinki Airport. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I will met with my Teacher Tutor on Monday February 19th to discuss my progress for school, since I was planning to arrive later into the semester. This was known before I left for exchange because in Finland the School Terms are End of August to Just Before Christmas, then January until Beginning of May and in Germany it goes from Beginning of October to Middle of February, then Middle of March to End of July. However, I only have two courses to take over the course of the term and they start on March 12, so currently I am enjoying my study week at my friends house.

Reminiscing about Venice with these lovely girls from South Korea. Photo Credit: So Young Lee

I will be posting again this week about when I attended a Reindeer Race last week. Stay tuned...

Bye for now...

Flight Adventures

Hello Readers….

Passing the Time at the Airport
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

As promised in the last post, I will give some feedback and insight into what happened when my flight had been delayed in Toronto. I went to the Airport Via Robert Q bus from London at 2:30pm January 7, so I had said good bye to my family in London, Ontario. When I reached the airport the attendant at the Check-In desk informed me that the flight had already been delayed. It was originally scheduled to leave Toronto at 8pm but at this time it was delayed until 9:40pm. Given that I was traveling in the middle of winter from Canada it wasn’t entirely a surprise to have a delay due to weather conditions.  I was slightly concerned as I had a connection to make in Iceland, however the Iceland-air Attendant during check-in informed me that if the connection was missed that Iceland-air makes it their responsibility to reschedule my flight.

Anyone who knows me, knows that usually I would have panicked and gotten upset at this point however, as I continue to travel and gain experience I managed to stay calm and decided to just go with the flow at this point. It was completely out of my hands, and it was the flight coming from Iceland that had been delayed due to storms. I enjoyed some dinner at my gate, and got comfortable to sit around for about 3.5 hours at the airport, thank goodness for technology.

The flight boarded late around 9:30pm which meant take off was around 10pm. They had to de-ice the plane so that created more delays for take off. Once in the air it was smooth sailing. I did get around 2.5 hours of sleep and enjoyed some Orange Juice and some great movie options from Iceland-air. Once the plane landed in Iceland it was local time 9:40am. My Flight to Germany had departed at 7:20am. I had missed it. What was next??? I had to go through security as I was entering Europe and then proceed to the Customer Service Desk. The line was relatively short and moved quite fast, as I am sure they were expecting us (pretty much our whole plane was in line). I got to the counter and they informed me that I would be re-directed with a flight to Oslo, Norway and then to Munich, Germany my final destination. I also received a voucher for some food as they apologized for the delay, I was very grateful as I was getting hungry. At this point they also informed me that I would have to go to baggage claim and re-check into the airport and go through airport security, I had time since my Flight wasn’t until 12:50pm local time. The line to check-in was abnormally long (Again mostly all of the travelers from Toronto) but there was only one check-in counter open. This to me was the part where passengers would get very angry, which some in line were getting impatient, but again it was out of my control so I remained calm and went with the flow. I got to the counter, the man checked me and my luggage into the airline and away I went to security. The bonus for me was that I had done airport security in Iceland from the trip I took with my parents in the fall 2016.

Snapchat from Oslo Airport, Checking
Flight Status Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The flight boarded and left on-time from Iceland, even though again the plane needed to be de-iced. It was only a 2.5-hour flight, but I managed to sleep about 1-hour. I arrived in Oslo, Norway (checking in with my family the entire trip, so someone knew where I was at all times). I had even woke up mom up out of a sleep at one point. I had never seen Oslo, but even though it was local time 4:30pm local time it was already pitch black. So I got to see the Airport J. I still had my sandwich and some snacks left from home, so I enjoyed those at this time while waiting to board. I had about 1.5-hour layover then to travel to Munich. This flight also boarded on time, it wasn’t full so there was no one sitting beside me, thank goodness for extra room on this flight. Again it was a 2.5-hour flight and I managed to sleep another 1-hour or so.

I landed in Munich at local time 9:10pm January 8. This was 3pm the next day at home in Toronto. I had been traveling for over 24hours and still wasn’t to my apartment in Kempten yet. I had some naps but not an actual night of sleep. I managed to get a ticket on the last train from Munich to Kempten and finally arrived to my apartment safe and sound at 1am Tuesday January 9 (7pm January 8^th in Toronto).  Whew!!!!

I showered and went straight to sleep, and slept the entire day Tuesday. I finally got adjusted by Wednesday evening to the time change and have been fine since.

This was a different adventure than I had expected, but I did it and was treated very well by Iceland-air. There was nothing I could do, nor could they change the weather so making the best out of the situation was all I could do.

Although they only happen occasionally, I hope you can make the best out of unfortunate situations.

Thanks for the support from my Mom, and Sister through this. Love you.

Bye for now…