Travel, adventure & wellness blogger, fan of hot water, kayaking, archery & fencing instructor iamapolarbear.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lryfl5puic2sI’m too tired to really realise it yet but on my Paddlesport Leader training course today, I did three successful Hand of God rescues in a row - flipping an upside down kayak with an “unconscious” casualty hanging upside down under water.19 Jun 2025 20:49 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lryfl5puic2shttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lp4xa55ehs23The new leader Adventure badges are finally out! A few weeks ago, I took the Ranger ones (top row) and messed around with the colours to create my vision of what the incoming leader ones might look like (middle row). Take a look - I got pretty close! (the real thing is the bottom row)14 May 2025 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp4xa55ehs23https://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lovzv5vmp22aHands up if you thought I was smart enough to a) check the pole bag was in the tent bag b) check all the poles were in there - after spotting a pile broken in two places in the garage. You’re wrong.11 May 2025 17:59 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lovzv5vmp22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3locfguqmas2cIt's May 2025 and I'm about to become utterly insufferable for a few weeks because the final(?) Mission: Impossible movie is about to come out. You don't know how much I love that series. It's partly personal (Good evening, Mr Hunt) and partly just because it's so much fun.03 May 2025 22:33 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3locfguqmas2chttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lmhit3dv2c2zWe had good news about Foxlease, now we have good news about Waddow! https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/about-us/press-releases/waddow-hall-update/10 Apr 2025 12:26 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmhit3dv2c2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3llr3i2w56226Aw, the Scouts have fooled us with a Chocolate badge… which is something the Guides had 20 years ago as both interest badge and patrol GFI challenge, now both discontinued under the new programme. We once did them both in the same term. Girls love it. Parents are a bit more dubious.01 Apr 2025 14:29 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3llr3i2w56226https://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3llqnjqwt322nAnd it's started! https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2025/04/01/breaking_news_eruption_has_started_on_the_reykjanes/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Apr 2025 10:19 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3llqnjqwt322nhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3llqiivd3vc22Moon River. Every second of it. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Apr 2025 08:49 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3llqiivd3vc22https://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3llqigo5i4222The M*il is reporting that an eruption has started in Iceland. There's a massive earthquake swarm & deformation shows a lot of magma moving around but it's all underground at the moment. It might well pop up and start erupting today but then volcanoes are unpredictable and it might go back to sleep.01 Apr 2025 08:48 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3llqigo5i4222https://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3ll52flkonk24I'm just messaging one of the other leaders on the Legoland trip yesterday and reflecting on how easy it was with just two 15-year-old Rangers. We drove up instead of going on the coach, they don't run off, they don't whine or argue, they love to stay together and we had a great day together.24 Mar 2025 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3ll52flkonk24https://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3ll4swm76622gOk, I'm turning that off because a flood of posts just because I added a UK tag is incredibly annoying. I went to Legoland with my Rangers yesterday, have that instead. It was a really long day but it reminded me why I like Rangers.24 Mar 2025 13:02 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3ll4swm76622ghttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lkxxkj5vrc2gWe're having a Brownie sleepover in June, just 1 night but I've had to write a 25-page risk assessment, half of which the answer is "We don't know if we need to worry about this until we know who's coming". Also, "no, we're not expecting snow in the UK in June, so no snow activities planned".22 Mar 2025 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkxxkj5vrc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lktqu4rm2c2iToday I learned that WordPress not only posts here anything that gets published but also anything that gets saved, so in updating tags to some old posts, I've inadvertently spammed you all with decade-old Switzerland trips!20 Mar 2025 22:31 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lktqu4rm2c2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lkt2yen2y62lIs Baden-Baden past its best? Baden-Baden is a well-known spa town. It's almost the ubiquitous spa town. Does it do anything else? Does it have any other claim to fame? So when I started writing my Bath Book, a travelogue of some kind about hot water, steam and bathing culture, Baden-Baden was the… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/03/20/is-baden-baden-past-its-best/20 Mar 2025 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkt2yen2y62lhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lklqggqlpv2hGermany’s Great European Spa Towns by 13 trains and 4 buses In the last four posts, I've talked about the four spas I visited on my train adventure around Germany's UNESCO Great European Spa Towns and now it's time to talk about the journeys between them - because visiting those four spas required… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/03/17/germanys-great-european-spa-towns-by-13-trains-and-4-buses/17 Mar 2025 18:02 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lklqggqlpv2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lkbhqf2odg2eI tried Emser Therme’s naked riverside sauna The last of the four spas I visited on my Great German Spa Towns trip and let's get the spoiler out of the way early - it was probably my favourite. Bad Ems is a tiny place that doesn't instinctively feel like the place to put an interesting spa with a… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/03/13/emser-therme/13 Mar 2025 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkbhqf2odg2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lkbcz4np2c2jWell, I'm not entirely surprised it skews southern - bit surprised it dodges London when my dad's side of the family were Londoners. In the second is my mum's name. We've done some family research and there's no Welsh in there... [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Mar 2025 14:36 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkbcz4np2c2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lkavrfzixk2cYesterday I asked on Instagram what two items to take to INTOPS to tell the selectors something about me. What I've learned in the last twelve hours from three separate school friends is that apparently my eating disorder (cheese & marmite: ARFID) is what defines me above all else.13 Mar 2025 10:39 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkavrfzixk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lk2nm5kbac2sRanger news: one is finally doing something for herself she should have done months ago, one got accepted onto an Oxford summer course and I’m accepted for INTOPS, international opportunities, to help run a trip next summer. Whether I get selected we’ll see but at least I’ve managed step 1.10 Mar 2025 22:57 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lk2nm5kbac2shttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3ljzwdm7d4i2mKissSalis Therme: the one with the mushrooms Next on the Great German Spa Towns adventure is KissSalis, in Bad Kissingen. So far I've been to Baden-Baden's Caracalla Therme, which sits on the spa/waterpark borderline, and Friedrichsbad, which is as close to Roman as you're going to find in 2025.… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/03/10/kisssalis-therme/10 Mar 2025 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljzwdm7d4i2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3ljpuogkh2b2tA swimwear day at Friedrichsbad, Baden-Baden When I went to Baden-Baden, I was expecting the famous spa town to be a bit like Budapest, in that it would have a different spa on every street corner and I'd need to spend at least three or four days to work through a good selection, so I was quite… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/03/06/a-textile-day-at-friedrichsbad-baden-baden/06 Mar 2025 16:04 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljpuogkh2b2thttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3ljid5pnnbj2fAn evening at Caracalla Therme It's time to start the German Spa Town adventure posts! I'm going to do the spas themselves first and then the journey and then the towns and so first up is Baden-Baden's Caracalla Therme. Caracalla Therme opened in 1985 although you'd think it's under a decade old -… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/03/03/caracalla-therme/03 Mar 2025 16:02 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljid5pnnbj2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lj6bdsirk22tWhat I wear when I’m travelling What does a travel blogger wear? Well, if you're looking at Instagram, a lot of very impractical long colourful dresses, yellow waterproofs especially against grey-green backgrounds and probably Teva foam sandals. Bikinis as often as possible. Clothes that make them… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/27/what-i-wear-when-im-travelling/27 Feb 2025 16:03 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lj6bdsirk22thttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3liwpt3owpt24Christmas Adventure 2024 at Hurst Spit This is usually either the first or the second post of the year but here we are in the last week of February because I had the bright idea to document our Christmas Adventure on film this year. I'm not very good at taking 36 film photos in a single day, so it… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/24/christmas-adventure-2024-at-hurst-spit/24 Feb 2025 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3liwpt3owpt24https://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3liwosksrzs2tI spent my six days in Germany feeling really stupid because I can't speak a word of German. Any recommendations for ways to learn some of the basics, other than Duolingo? Are there other apps or should I be looking at the Teach Yourself books? My local adult education centre only does German 3.24 Feb 2025 15:42 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3liwosksrzs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3limnwy4ovb2aHow to spend a day at Landmannalaugar I'm astonished I've never written about the natural hot spring at Landmannalaugar - or not in the summer, anyway. I wrote about the visit I made in 2013 in thick snow where we used the river as a road and scampered about in a snowstorm getting dressed but I've… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/20/how-to-spend-a-day-at-landmannalaugar/20 Feb 2025 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3limnwy4ovb2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lif4lfzdqm2xHow to travel Iceland on a budget I watch a reasonable number of Ring Road vlogs and apart from the fact that there are a load of things that infuriate me (mispronunciation of any and all names, neglect of Þingvellir, non-existent flicking through of guidebook - for crying out loud, the last one I… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/17/how-to-travel-iceland-on-a-budget/17 Feb 2025 16:01 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lif4lfzdqm2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3li32pblyei2iWhy you should learn some first aid As a Girlguiding volunteer, I have to get my first aid qualification renewed every three years. It's a really basic qualification - last time I had to do the full-day training, the answer to almost everything was either "phone the parents" or "phone for an… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/13/why-you-should-learn-some-first-aid-2/13 Feb 2025 16:01 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3li32pblyei2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lht7hiqulj2kI did the Bronze level of four award schemes. How do they compare? When I was at school, I did the Bronze level of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. It was introduced at my school in my last year so we were the guinea pigs for it. I didn't know I could continue it at uni or through Girlguiding or… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/10/i-did-the-bronze-level-of-four-award-schemes-how-do-they-compare/10 Feb 2025 13:04 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lht7hiqulj2khttps://bsky.app/profile/polarbearjulie.bsky.social/post/3lhjhfbxxro2uBath Roman Baths: how to actually bathe like a Roman In my last post, in which I visited Bath Thermae Spa, I called it "bathing like a Roman", on the grounds that the modern spa uses the same source as the 2000-year-old Roman bathhouse but other than that, there's no similarity at all between my… http://iamapolarbear.com/2025/02/06/bath-roman-baths-how-to-actually-bathe-like-a-roman/06 Feb 2025 16:00 +0000at://did:plc:ntphpjz3h4jvtyjf7vf3ua4w/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhjhfbxxro2u