Well, I feel like the most fortunate person on this planet these past 2 months. Not only did I get a chance to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime Arctic expedition/residency, but I was then able to follow it up with the most wonderful travel adventure with my everything partner, Lisa, in northern Europe.

Following my departure from Svalbard in late June, I met Lisa in Oslo where we began our extended stay. Oslo is a lovely city. Highlights were strolling through the amazing Vigeland Sculpture Park.
It’s hard to believe that one artist managed to create masterpiece after masterpiece that captures the deep multidimensional core of the human spirit all in such a pastoral setting. We also enjoyed spending time along the waterfront and visiting the modern art museum and the Munch museum. The architecture of this section of Oslo is stunning, cutting edge and vibrant promoting the use of public space in such holistic ways. Have you heard of their new opera house? It’s spectacular! I dream of working there one day.

We then took the train through the beautiful, scenic countryside from Oslo to Stockholm. Stockholm has cosmopolitan energy to it. Stockholm’s history is deep. The historic old city is very well preserved. The city parks are beautiful. And their Museum of Modern Art was awe-inspiring. We just happened to be there when a huge Laurie Anderson retrospective was underway. Being a huge Laurie Anderson fan, this was one of the highlights for me of our trip.
From Stockholm, we took an overnight ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. We stayed in Tallinn for 3 weeks so we could attend Mindvalley University, an immersive health, business, well-being and personal-improvement conference. Our weekdays were spent attending workshops and classes. It was an opportunity to hit the reset button on my mind, body and soul. It was a great opportunity to remind myself of my values, how I envision moving forward in both my professional and personal life yet also look back and celebrate all that I have accomplished with my amazing collaborators. I couldn’t think of a better platform to do this type of self-reflection. Lisa and I met so many kind-hearted and inspiring individuals at MVU. And we also took valuable time to ourselves to discover a magical city and country.

We attended concerts. We visited the countryside to be in nature. This is a country that has its own very unique vibe, a country that flies under the radar but is a very special spot in the world…a place that I look forward to returning to in the future for more discovery and creativity.

Following Tallinn, we took another ferry, this time to Helsinki. We only stayed a couple of nights but it was still quite joyful to walk around and soak up the history and sights of one of the world’s great capitals. Kudos to all the cities we visited with their impeccable and efficient transit systems. We criss-crossed Helsinki numerous times taking the tram on an all-day pass.

We completed our European adventure by visiting family in Amsterdam. This was my 3rd time visiting and this visit confirmed yet again something I have always known…that Amsterdam is definitely one of my top-3 favourite cities in the world! I never get tired of strolling beside the canals, observing the unique architecture, and going to galleries. Amsterdam oozes culture. I hope I return again soon, this time for musical reasons and collaborate with the amazing musical and artistic community based there.

After being away for over 7 weeks, it’s a bit surreal to be back home. But as awe-inspiring as my travels have been, it is always nice to come home. That being said, I look forward to more excellent travelling adventures in the near future.

And for this past trip and all future trips, I look forward to purchasing carbon credits courtesy of Less.ca to offset the carbon that was emitted during my travels.