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I Am A Polar Bear

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Tag: The Russian Odyssey (2019)

Russia 2019: Red Square and St Basil's | iamapolarbear.com

The labyrinth cathedral, the dead man and the legs

October 10, 2019

The most exciting moment of my entire Russia trip was on my penultimate evening when I walked up the Kremlevskiy Prospekt slope from the north-west corner of Red Square and saw that iconic view laid out before me. I was in Moscow twice. I spent three full days there are the beginning of the trip … More The labyrinth cathedral, the dead man and the legs

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Russia 2019: Exploring the Moscow Metro | iamapolarbear.com

Exploring the Moscow metro

October 7, 2019

Last week I told you that I went to Russia and today we start the blogs in earnest. I currently have plans for 15-20 of them over the next four months – I did quite a lot while I was out there. So, day one, city one – welcome to Moscow! I arrived late afternoon … More Exploring the Moscow metro

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Russia 2019: So, I went to Russia... | iamapolarbear.com

So, I went to Russia…

September 30, 2019

Welcome to my first Russia blog! Over the next couple of months, I’ll take you along on my journey, which I’ve been calling #JulietsRussianOdyssey on Instagram. In this post, I’m going to cover a few of the themes from the trip: where I went, the language barrier, the weather and what it was like being … More So, I went to Russia…

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Russia 2019: How to get a Russian visa in the UK | iamapolarbear.com

How to get a Russian visa in the UK

August 5, 2019

I’ve been talking about going to Russia for a long time. The trouble is, there’s a huge obstacle to getting there from the UK: how to get a Russian visa? You need a visa for lots of countries. I’ve done the forms and letters for people at work for Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Sierra … More How to get a Russian visa in the UK

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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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I didn’t have the library on my to-do list for Birmingham but it turns out it has a great terrace for views over the square below, the research/academic library is pretty spectacular and while the normal-person fiction library downstairs is nothing very interesting to look at, it has comfortable seats in the dry and the warm and has wifi. #birmingham #libraries While my purpose in Birmingham was Rock Choir Live and my second purpose was the famous Frankfurt Christmas Market, I also had plenty of time to get to know Birmingham a bit. A particular highlight was the work of local boy Edward Burnes-Jones and William Morris in the spectacular windows of the cathedral, the Birmingham Bifröst which helped me find my way home in the evenings and a glimpse of one of the “more than Venice” canals that you don’t see in the area between New Street Station and the cathedral. #birmingham In yet another “you should be doing more with your weekend”, I spent the weekend in Birmingham two weeks ago. The main purpose was to see Rock Choir Live’s big Christmas party (featuring special guests Emili Sandé, Sam Ryder & Russell Watson, plus the legend Pat Sharp’s DJ set to get things started). The journey home from Spa was slowed down by engineering work, requiring a rail replacement bus to Pepinster where I had to wait for half an hour, a local train to Liège, long distance train ultimately to Ostende but to Brussels Midi for me, Eurostar to London and finally a South Western Railways train overdue some important maintenance back to Southampton. When in Belgium, eat waffles! Just in case there was any doubt about mineral waters in Spa… Thermes de Spa is lovely inside - although it’s much smaller, I think I prefer it to Therme Bucureşti - but the outside leaves a bit to be desired. The back is lovely, what with that huge glass wall overlooking the town. It’s just a shame about the barbed wire that keeps walkers out of the water. I know I’ve been to other pools with views and they haven’t had to resort to barbed wire. On the other hand, the front has something of a red brick 60s comprehensive about it rather than the welcoming facade of somewhere that’s about to transport you to a world of relaxation. Honestly, the difference between the outside and inside is astounding. Do go (when the funicular is running) but maybe don’t linger for selfies outside. #thermesdespa #belgium The spa at Spa is perched on top of a hill, accessed by foot via a funicular railway from the town centre, a 2-minute ride up 84m of ascent. Except when I was there, the funicular was broken and I started my lovely relaxing spa day with a very non-relaxing 1.3km hike up those 84m through the woods, which were unlit and very uneven under foot, although I only really realised that on the way back down. Because back in the summer I thought I wasn’t doing enough with my weekends, I thought I’d do a little train adventure to Spa in Belgium to try out the spa that named (or at least shares its name) with all spas. However, I built in so much time for late trains that it took about fourteen hours to get to Spa from Southampton Airport via delightfully Gothic St Pancras, genuinely chocolate-scented Brussels-Midi, a double-decker packed in with Cub Scouts to Verviers before finally arriving at Spa at 8.30pm. It was an adventure but as I realised by Sunday evening, it was the wrong proportion of travel to time in destination.

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 with a third and fourth being (not to much) written simultaneously right now.

Blog at WordPress.com.
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