Christmas Markets in Copenhagen

Another Marathon sports and social club weekend excursion took Julia and I to Copenhagen for the Christmas markets at Tivoli Gardens.  A few months ago Julia and I were compiling our last minute bucket lists since we both figured we would be moving back across the pond in the near future.  Two items on our list were Christmas markets anywhere and Copenhagen, so when a weekend excursion trip was announced through work, I jumped on the opportunity to combine two bucket list trips into one.

We flew out on Friday and arrived just after lunch.  It was a raining first day but Julia and I braved the weather and headed out exploring.  We stumbled onto an small Christmas market full of little log huts selling goods.  After getting wet and cold we headed back to the hotel to relax before heading over to my friend Henrik's house for dinner.  That evening we enjoyed good company, wine and food.  It was nice to catch up with an old friend from Houston.

Saturday was spent relaxing, canal exploring and the Tivoli Gardens Christmas market in the evening.  Julia and I were a bit disappointed in how commercial Tivoli's market goods were.  We thought we were going to markets where locals sold their craft and goods.  Instead it was a bunch of permanent huts filled with stores that stocked mass produced goods from places like China.  Not even made in Denmark goods.  Oh well, we did enjoy walking around and the evenings water/laser/light show.

We flew back to Aberdeen late morning on Sunday, so overall our weekend in Copenhagen was short but since we both agreed it felt so similar to Amsterdam we didn't leave feeling like we had missed out on too much.

Video of Tivoli Christmas Lights and Water Show

Birds of Prey Photography Workshop

Back in April I signed up for a birds of prey photography workshop that was sponsored by Marathon sports and social club.  Basically it was a weekend get away where you got go take a photography course in the Czech Republic and have a day seeing Prague at the end.  Since Prague is one of my favorite cities and I am an avid photographer with little experience taking birds of prey photos, this sounded like the perfect opportunity!!  The entire weekend package was airfare, hotel, and workshop for 400 pounds, another great deal!

We flew out of Aberdeen on Friday and arrived in Prague early afternoon.  We were met by our photography workshop guides and transferred to the hotel in the country side of the Czech Republic.  Saturday and Sunday were spent in the field taking pictures of some magnificent birds and learning about rescue and conservation efforts by some local falconers.  It was truly a great experience and I think I have improved my photography abilities, just a little.

After wrapping up the photography workshop on Sunday we headed back to Prague.  A group of us went out to dinner in the old square and then I played tour guide to some co-workers on Monday before our flight out that evening.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the weekend.

If you are interested in taking the same photography workshop or any others, the company we booked through is Tatra Photography and they do workshops all over the world!

My first win for best halloween costume!!

My friends Liz and Greg, also fellow Americans living in Aberdeen, hosted an awesome halloween party.  This is my favorite holiday!!!  Every year I try to one up my previous years halloween costume.  This year I decided to go as a peacock.  What should I go as next year?

Liz asked me if I could make my "famous" gluten free sugar cookies so Julia, Erin and I gathered before the Halloween party to decorate in a festive manner.

My last birthday in Scotland

One of the things I am most grateful for are my friends here in Aberdeen.  They have not only become my lifelong friends but they have become my family while I've been living abroad.  This year marked the start of my 34th year on this planet and it was brought in with a bang!!!

I arrived to work early that morning before my co-workers got there and found this:

Rachael was responsible for the over the top decorations, but I secretly loved feeling so special on my special day.  She not only overdid my desk but she then spoiled me with homemade peppermint truffles and chocolate covered strawberries and a beautiful pair of green amber earrings.

Then later that morning I got another surprise from my twin Julia.

Julia and I had decided that we wanted to have a girls lunch out to celebrate our birthday followed by an afternoon of what Scotts do best, drinking!  We had a smaller group of our friends who could make it to lunch but the ladies who could make it helped us feel so special.  We enjoyed Spanish tapas at La Tasca, which also has amazing gluten free pita bread.  Julia and I received bronze highland coo sculptures and a box of bath/beauty goodies.

Post stuffing our faces with tapas we headed to Soul Bar where we embraced our Scottish surroundings and proceeded to enjoy the company of our friends and some yummy cocktails!

Even google wished me a happy birthday!!!

I'm looking forward to what this year will bring!

My life in a rut...

I feel like I am in a rut, a holding pattern, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the glass to become half full again.  The next two months are going to be hell.  Work is ramping up and project deadlines are quickly approaching and things just aren’t going smoothly.  I actually dread getting up in the morning and going to work.  I have lost all energy to go on my lunchtime runs and I feel that any energy should be spent working.  The bright side is that in 70 days, yes 70 days I am off to the southern hemisphere.  And I can’t wait!!!  In 70 days I am also all but done working in the UK too!  I return from my month long expedition to Antarctica to have 12 days left in the UK.  Those 12 days will go fast and will be filled with wrapping up any last minute things at work, packing the house (well overseeing the movers pack my house), getting Kady sorted for the move back to Houston and saying goodbye to all my wonderful friends in Aberdeen, who let’s face it have become my family!!!

I have loved and cherished my time living abroad but I’m so ready for my life to get back on track and to move forward towards my long list of life goals.