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I Am A Polar Bear

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Tag: Train to York (2019)

York 2019: When it 50 metres not 50 metres? | iamapolarbear.com

When a 50m pool isn’t a 50m pool

March 26, 2020

In 2019, I did a virtual swimming challenge every month. 2.5km or 100 lengths of a standard pool every month and double that in June and October. December was going ok. I’d done 40 lengths before I went to York and I wanted to do another chunk while I was there because I like to … More When a 50m pool isn’t a 50m pool

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York 2019: selfies at the National Railway Museum | iamapolarbear.com

Selfies at the National Railway Museum

March 23, 2020

Hi from social distancing/semi-isolation and working from home! Blogging continues as normal even though I can’t travel so today’s blog is from my trip to York in December – which is what I’ve been writing about throughout March anyway. My primary objectives in York were Jorvik and the Minster. With them crossed off, I set … More Selfies at the National Railway Museum

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York 2019: Is Jorvik exciting or underwhelming | iamapolarbear.com

Jorvik Viking Centre: underwhelming or fascinating?

March 16, 2020

Is Jorvik Viking Centre underwhelming or fascinating? Or is it both? Jorvik is the main reason I wanted to go to York and the fact that it flooded a couple of years ago is why it’s taken until late 2019 to get there. The Minster only came to my attention in April, as I said … More Jorvik Viking Centre: underwhelming or fascinating?

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Inside and under York Minster | iamapolarbear.com

#BeforeItBurnsDown: York Minster

March 12, 2020

My first stop on my long weekend in York was York Minster. Well, my actual first stop, on the evening I arrived, was next door to my apartment, at the Barbican Theatre to see Rob Beckett. What kind of comedy fan, living next door to a theatre, isn’t going to pop round the corner for … More #BeforeItBurnsDown: York Minster

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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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While I’m doing Iceland’s spectacular blue water, I’m also going to do Iceland’s orange majesty - the time I hiked out to Meradalir to see the second Reykjanes eruption back in 2022. It’s still one of my favourite things I’ve ever done. Seeing a real life volcano is incredible - I think the highly intelligent thing I said on my first glimpse was “it’s so red and hot!” and I’d love to see another but it hasn’t worked out since (and if it never does, at least I saw this one!) ♨️ Which is the best geothermal lagoon / pool / tourist-oriented experience in Iceland? As a student I visited Chateau de Chillon and somehow managed to believe that Lord Byron wrote a famous poem about his time as a prisoner - well, he was “mad, bad and dangerous to know”. Of course he’d spent time in a Swiss dungeon. But of course, he hadn’t. He’d visited a castle while on holiday, written a poem about an actual prisoner and turned the place into one of Switzerland’s biggest tourist attractions. And I do mean big - there are 48 rooms detailing its history from Savoy to today via Bern and Lausanne, as a defensive structure, a luxury lakeside residence and yes, a tourist attraction. I was at the station in Lausanne, thinking about the old days when I lived here with my “triplets” 20 years ago and then five minutes later, one of them messaged me. This selfie, by the way, is one I took to send to her down by the lake, hence the awkward wave. Because it’s 2026, I’m calling this Switzerland in analogue instead of on film. This is the result of taking my film camera with me and actually getting through a full roll (last year, I managed 24 photos between May and December and carried that thing around far more often than I actually used it). It’s a mixed bag in which you only get to see the better ones. The blog from Thursday also features the film photos, plus a few of the nearly-terrible ones, in case there aren’t enough brown grainy pictures right here. #analogue #analog #35mmfilm This one was on the blog almost before I got back to Switzerland but it’s time it went on Instagram too. I went snowshoeing! It was in the dark, following a trail of lanterns through a snowstorm and finished up in a mountain restaurant with traditional fondue or rösti before taking the cogwheel train back down to the lake. I love cathedrals and I especially love Gothic cathedrals, so Lausanne’s was the first thing to do when I arrived. I went there as a student and didn’t appreciate it. I thought the couple of photos I took then were a bit dark but it turns out Lausanne’s 13th century cathedral really is a bit dark. It’s very beautiful and has some amazing stained glass (including some hiding right up high in the crossing!) and my only complaint is that it’s far too hot. Cathedrals tend to be cool, cold places, especially when there's a snowstorm raging outside but this one has big heating vents keeping the place at approximately sauna temperature. It took a while to decide where in Switzerland I was going to go but it was really the Hotel Swiss Chocolate in Lausanne that swayed me to Lac Leman. 🍫 This was on the blog yesterday but it gets an Instagram post too - I went to a Swiss chocolate factory and did a chocolate workshop! The actual chocolate work was very easy but I really enjoyed the little lesson on tempering chocolate while our creations set enough to take them home.

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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