I was waiting for that moment…
Two words: Getting real!
I still have some packing to do tonight, and Chéri’s hair to cut, and my walking shoes to waterproof, and things like that… But I am in what we call in French “le dernier droit”…
I’d like to write more, but I guess it will have to wait.
One night left, and I am taking the leap!
Today, I received an email from Pippa, suggesting where and when we should meet… And it struck me.
Now, all this is really getting really really real!
I got butterfly flutters reading the note. Because it is one thing to say you’ll meet someone, but it is completely different when you can picture things happening.
And now I can imagine myself sitting on the side of the street near the B&B where I’ll have spent one of the most resting nights of my life, knowing I am safe in Svendborg’s Fairy’s town… – That being Svendborg, if you have trouble following – protected from all evil spirits that could have wanted to give me nightmares. And waiting, with the magical green fairy dress I have fought dragons and evil Asian delivery critters (they are the worst!!) to bring to her on my lap. And there she will come, with her long wavy hair in the wind, walking barefoot (yes, even in May… she is a FAIRY!! Follow!!) in the green Denmark grass, the wind playing with the many ribbons dancing around her svelte silhouette, vintergæk pinned in her braided hair and all…
Ok, it probably won’t be just like that… But still, I know exactly where and when it will happen.
And things are really getting really real!
May 1st.
It felt natural to open the doors of my Travel Blog to my friends and family today. In seventy two hours, I will be at the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport waving at my brother as I head for the customs.
So welcome to all!
Welcome aboard this journey around the great Kingdom of Denmark, home country of all those little things you see everyday; legos, Bodum coffee makers, Pandora jewelry, Tuborg and Carlsberg beers…
For those of you who have had the chance of not being in my close surrounding during the past weeks, meaning that you didn’t have to suffer all the preps, here is just a quick summary of things…
Wednesday, I will be boarding a plane for a night flight to Keflavik, Iceland. (Yes, mom, I promise to look out the window as we land 🙂 I know you miss Iceland!) I’ll spend eleven hours of teasing time over there before flying my way to Copenhagen… At last!
Almost all the places I will visit are on that map 🙂
From there, it will be a hyggelig mixt of planning and improvisation. Three weeks of discovery, and I’ll try to find at least a Hotspot (free wifi zone) a day to give news, and share pictures with you all. I’ll be travelling alone with my backpack, resting where I’ll be welcome, getting to know Denmark through the eyes of the people who know it the best, locals!
Follow, share, “like” if you like, comment if you have questions or things to say…
Special thanks to four very special people, without whom I would never have been able to do this trip…
Ok, time to go back to preps now… Stay tunned 🙂
Today, it just hit me…
“Enjoy speaking French while you can girl…” a little voice told me.
I should indeed. Because in four days, not only will I be surrounded by Danish (which was my will to start with, no complaining here!), but when I’ll need a time off, it won’t be in my good old French slippers… No, no, no… My only hideout will be English.
And the last time I had to spend weeks not speaking French (except to myself, but that is another story) was in North Carolina, more than 15 years ago…
I’m kind of happy I had that thought today.
Just saying…
This morning I woke up with a tender stomach, but all other symptoms I was experiencing yesterday night were gone, thank God!
I had a lot to do… And, although I didn’t get to take care of all I wanted to get done, I am happy with myself!
I went shopping, for a few knick knacks, and for gifts for my future hosts. It wasn’t easy, because I don’t have much place to carry them, but I hope they’ll be nice souvenirs from the crazy girl from Canada.
Back home, I finished the lists I had started… I am not very fond of lists, but it was a total must, in order not to forget anything… I only have 4 days to go, after all! I listed my clothes, my hygene and medical items, my electronic and entertainment stuff, my gifts, the documents I have to carry and what I had left to do…
I washed everything I am going to pack. Tomorrow, I’ll test-pack again to see what the scale has to say about it. I wish I didn’t have to be at work at 5 O’clock, but I only have 3 days of work left, so I can live with it 😉
Time to rest a little…
This one will be short…
Yesterday night, after my evening shift, I got back home at midnight as usual. I had a few stomach cramps, but nothing too worrying.
Until arround 2am, when it hit me… From nowhere, I started being sick. And it was particularly intense and constant. Every 20 minutes or so, all night long, I had to visit the bathroom.
In the morning, I hadn’t slept much, and I obviously had a fever flash, because the little sleep that I got was filled with delirious dreams in which I was trying to solve intricate puzzles…
I had to take a day off work, still being sick and dizzy during the day (and not wanting to share this with co-workers if it was contagious) and I spent my afternoon wrapped in a blanket, trying to wrap up as much online preparation as possible.
I feel like I’ve kind of lost a day, but at least, I didn’t get sick just before getting on the plane!
I hope things are better tomorrow. I have some shopping to do (for my future hosts’ little thank you gifts and some other knick knacks) and I have to work on my packing!
6 days to go… Can’t wait to come meet you Denmark 🙂
One week to go…
I can’t believe that in a week, I will finally be on my way to Denmark… For real!
These days, it is all about lists, and lists of lists… What to do, what to get, what to prepare, information I have to gather… It is a bit hectic, working, dealing with everyday chores, and planning all this, but it is getting more and more exciting as the days roll by.
Accomplishments of the week…
Hosts searching:
Out of the 9 cities I will visit, people from 4 of them have agreed to let the crazy Canadian Turtle in their lovely homes!! I will not drop names without permission, but
Tusind tak til dig, søde venner og venninder i Aalborg, Viborg, Odense og Sønderborg!!
(A thousand thanks to my friends in Aalborg, Viborg, Odense and Sønderborg! – Well, soon to be friends anyway!! )
I have requests pending for Copenhagen and the Island of Møn… So things are going very well!
Other very good news! I now officially have a phone waiting for me… I have my phone number and all!! Wow! This is getting real!
Tomorrow I have to concentrate a little bit on paperwork that need to be done even if it is dull… Letting know my bank I’ll be abroad, gathering information like Canadian Embassy’s number, making myself a list of important and useful phone numbers and addresses… And such stuff!
When things get a little stressful, I sit back and tell myself that all I REALLY need fits in one hand:
And I have it. So what could go wrong now? J
With less than two weeks to go, and eleven days of work to kill, it is really starting to smell like the final countdown… Europe style final countdown, you know?
I have started getting responses to my Couch hunting, which is encouraging.
My schedule is ready, although still flexible. I won’t post it, because I want to keep a little mystery. I have never been one to reveal too much about my whereabouts in the past, and I guess that’s just something that won’t change overnight.
To those of you worried to see me hit the road alone, Ib and Pippa will be aware of where I am and am going through the weeks. And I will have a cellphone to call for a little help if I ever need to. I know I’ll never be able to take the worries off your minds, but I hope you know I am not going to put myself in dangerous situations.
I have decided to fully pack my backpack next wednesday and live out of it for my last week in Québec. I’ve never been very organized when it comes to luggage when I travel. I pack just fine at first, but things can easily turn ugly. If I don’t want to take everything out and re-pack every 2 or 3 days and go crazy, I have to be prepared. A little practice couldn’t hurt.
Yeah… Yeah… I feel boring tonight. It happens sometimes, I guess.
Sorry about that one, I’ll try to make preps more interesting next time!
It is said that it takes 21 days for any person put in a new situation, to lose his or her points of reference to embrace the new reality completely.
I found that interesting tonight. I realized that was exactly what I was about to do with Denmark…
I am not foolish enough to think I’ll come back fluent in Danish, or with a complete understanding of the Danish way of life, but I believe it will be a fulfilling experience overall.
I did my first practice at packing up tonight. I am allowed 25 pounds and although I know I haven’t done a thorough job for my first attempt, I am still just at 15. Needless to say that I am pretty happy with myself… And as my brother told me, I need to keep some space and weight to bring back a few souvenirs!
My schedule is almost set, and I will be visiting 9 cities in total. I hope you’ll follow me, because it is the point of this blog, after all…
Two weeks, and I’ll be embarking this adventure. Two weeks… Just 14 days to go.
Fjorten dage…
Today has been pretty quiet preparation-wise.
I had other things to do, and it was my last day off work for a while. I had to stock on some energy for the week to come.
But I didn’t want to leave a blank page in my trip’s book, so I just wanted to take the time to thank two very special people. I am not a name dropper, so we’ll just call them Pippa and Ib.
Pippa is the sweetest girl I know. We met via the Internets over a year ago, and we’ve stayed in contact ever since. She lives on Fyn Island, in Denmark, and she is my first Danish friend. I feel lucky for having crossed her path, every day. She is caring, understanding, and an incredible artist on so many levels… She helped me greatly with my Danish, and thought me countless things about her home country. I don’t realize yet that next month, we’ll meet in person. We haven’t spoken live yet, and have chatted on messenger only a few times, sticking to our epistolary friendship. I wish everybody knew a Pippa, because she is the kind of person who can light up your day with her good words!
Ib lives in Jutland. We also met through the Internets, but through blogging. Although we’ve only been exchanging for a few months, we quickly built a special connexion. Ib was not born in Denmark, but he has lived most of his life over there. He is an incredible storyteller, that can make a soar foot interesting. He would say I am biased, but through the weeks, he keeps surprising me with his endless imagination, clever writing, playful ways and twisted ideas. Ib is one of the most thoughful people I’ve had the pleasure to know. It could look like nothing destined us to be friends, and that time, distance and the likes would have kept us from developing a friendship, but it makes him just that much more special… Ib is helping me a lot with my trip preparation, and I can’t wait to thank him in person!
I’ll soon meet them both, and it is heartwarming that although I’ll spend most of my traveling by myself, I’ll know that they will be close by all the way.
Pippa… Ib… Thank you for making a place for me in your lives!
Jeg er en heldig kartoffel!
The Turtle's Journey... 