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I Am A Polar Bear

Travel, adventure & wellness with plenty of snow

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Category: Weekends away

A weekend in Edinburgh

A weekend in Edinburgh

August 13, 2018

As you’ll know if you read What I saw at EdFringe 2018, I went to Edinburgh last weekend. I saw thirteen shows in three days, which is probably more than I saw in six days last year, and this is the post about the weekend in general. I flew up on the 8.35am flight from … More A weekend in Edinburgh

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What I saw at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018

What I saw at the Edinburgh Fringe

August 9, 2018

I went to the Edinburgh Fringe last weekend and here’s a quick rundown of what I saw. Friday The Amazing Bubble Man Yes, I started my Fringe with a kids’ show. Of course there were adults there but all the others had come with small children. However, the Amazing Bubble Man had been highly and … More What I saw at the Edinburgh Fringe

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EdFringe 2017 part 2 title pic

EdFringe 2017 part 2

August 29, 2017

I pick up the story of my trip to Edinburgh on Sunday morning. Tom and I were going to see Ashley Storrie on Sunday afternoon. He had plans to meet someone around Sunday lunchtime; I had plans to try to catch up on a little sleep. However, the hostel was so noisy and I can’t … More EdFringe 2017 part 2

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Packing for Edinburgh title pic

Packing for Edinburgh

August 26, 2017

I wasn’t going to write this post because I was ashamed of how much stuff I took with me. I’m terrible at packing and I’ve never mastered the art of packing light. But come with me and see how atrocious it was. This is the bag I took with me. It’s my favourite Mountain Equipment … More Packing for Edinburgh

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EdFringe 2017 part 1 title pic

EdFringe 2017 part 1

August 22, 2017

2017 is my third Fringe, although I did make two trips up there in 2013 – one scheduled and one spontaneous when FOMA got the better of me. Actually, I’d only been half-thinking about going this year (I was only working two days a week after two months of unemployment) but then in the pub … More EdFringe 2017 part 1

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One bear becomes two bears

August 19, 2017

For the last decade or so, I’ve been a solo traveller. It’s not a lifestyle choice, it’s just the way things worked out and I’ve got so used to it that I can’t imagine travelling with someone else. This year I’ve done just that. In May I went caravanning in France with my sister. That’s … More One bear becomes two bears

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Who am I?
I'm Julie, a travel, adventure and wellness blogger. I love Iceland, I love jumping into hot water and I do love a bit of snow.

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Day two on the West Bohemian Spa Triangle… Day one of the great West Bohemian Spa Triangle train adventure! If I’m putting it on Instagram, I feel like I have to have something to say, so I have to do some writing. This time tomorrow, I’ll either be in a passport control queue or searching for a bus stop and then first thing on Tuesday, I’ll be getting on a train and going off on an adventure! My itinerary says six trains in six days, which isn’t so bad and the bits in between should be nice. 🇳🇴 I just finished my Norwegian course and I won’t be sad to get my Wednesday evenings back! I’ve been learning Norwegian on and off, by myself, for the best part of a decade so I wasn’t sure if beginners module 1 was the best place to start. But a real human native-speaker teacher is invaluable and I’ve acquired a very unexpected vocabulary from it. Postcards from London the weekend before last. I am an onion: last weekend I was swimming a mile in the Olympic pool and then climbing Tower Bridge, then I spent Wednesday teaching my Rangers to break codes, Wednesday having a Norwegian lesson, Thursday doing Brownie Promises and on Saturday I was at the opera (when I say that out loud, I over-emphasise every syllable: op-air-AAAAAH!). I tell myself I’m an Elsa (I’m actually more of an Anna) but sometimes, like when it’s -15° and I didn’t bother to put the furry leggings on under my lined trousers and I have a 15-minute scurry back to the bus before hypothermia gets me, the cold does bother me anyway. It’s not that 2026 has been so bad but it seems to have been busy and harder than normal. One of my Brownies gave me the cold from hell and that dragged on for *thirty-five days*, culminating in pulled back muscles and such incredible pain for ten days that at one point I was stranded upside down like a turtle who can’t physically turn over. I’ve also done three weeks with someone else’s Brownies as well as my own and my Rangers and I’ve got one more week of a Norwegian course that’s taken out my Wednesday evenings since late January, which feels like just one too many nights on. And work hasn’t helped - certain bits of research have been either difficult or hellish in certain countries but my boss and I have agreed a timeline for the current stuff that seems realistic to me and acceptable to him!

About Julie

I'm a blogger, adventurer, lover of hot water, amateur paddler and polar bear who wilts in hot weather. Time (by day, I'm a researcher) and funds keep me within Europe and I make regular trips up to the north, especially to Iceland. I like the occasional adventure across Europe by train and I'm starting to make use of my weekends for 48-hour adventures. This isn't my only creative outlet - I've written two travelogues (one on a winter adventure across the Arctic Circle and one on exploring volcanoes during a warm summer road trip around Iceland) plus a little book of Icelandic pools and I have a fourth book in progress right now.

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