On the Road Again ....la la la la la ...On the Road Again

Summer hit with a vegeance and we had one week of amazingly beautiful, warm, sunny weather (>20 deg C).  What this meant was 1) no blog posts; 2) lots of grilling outdoors with the "EingangsGrill" (one time disposable grills) and 3) camping, tramping, and siteseeing.

First, the girls school had an overnight camping trip that miraculously coincided with the warmest and most lovely day of the year (considering it is now 8 degC and raining...brrrrr).   We managed to strap together lots of gear on their backpacks and they got to enjoy a day of school studying erosion and marsh life in the brilliant sunshine with their school friends. 

 Next, we went on a trip of a lifetime tour through the Norwegian countryside over the "Pinsens" holiday (Pentacost), which is really an excuse to enjoy spring like our "Memorial Day" in the U.S.   We did a giant loop southward and then westward over the course of three days covering high mountain plateau, fjord system, and the art nouveau city of Alesund. 

We started the trip rustically camping near the "building of the year" lookout near Snohetta.  When we hiked up the trail, unfortunately the hytta was still closed for the season but we got to peer in and take pictures around it.  This was par for the course and emblematic of our many experiences hiking to locations that were closed (seems I have a knack for this).   Melita and I nearly froze, but huddled together in my tent which fell over on us in wind, and managed to sleep even though it was broad daylight at 4 am.  Unlike the rest of her family, Annaliese who is hyper by day, but the calmest sleeper on the planet, was able to tuck into her bag and not move inside her warm coccoon.  Note to self -- flashlights are no longer required in this part of the world :)  However, we managed to get tent back up and pass out huddled in warmth from 4-7 am to arise with warm sunlight and enjoy the best breakfast ever in the beautiful outdoors.

Day 2 we moved up to staying in a little red Hytta in a camp site in Stordal on the fjord and enjoyed the warmth of the sun , soft ice cream, and the view of parasail kites.  The drive over the mountains and through the yellow-flowered fields was SPECTACULAR.  I can't tell you how amazing it was for me to see the waterfalls flowing down over the fjords, the raging rivers, and the high mountain fjords.  I might have pulled over along the road one too many times to take a picture, at least according to the girls taste, but this is my once in a lifetime.  Our original plan was to head over the windy Trollstigen, but this road weaving up through the waterfall/mountain was "closed"  and we only experienced the base of the road.  Our resulting detour, however, took us up over a dirt road by rivers and through fjords that was pretty amazing as well.

On Day 3, we made it to the city of Ålesund that was rebuilt entirely in 1904 in Art Nouveau style after being destroyed by a fire.  The fjord was bright turqoise/blue and the city was sunny, bustling and beautiful with canals reminiscent of Venice.   Lots of WWII activity occurred here with German troops stationed all over the area and an active Norwegian resistance movement.  The girls and I gave up the rustic, and stayed at the swank Radisson Blu and ate "city food" other than grilled sausage.  We took a tour through the museum to see the WWII artifacts, guns, posters, and entered the original Uraedd (a floating egg lifeboat that made it across the Atlantic in 1905).  A true sailor/survivor at heart, Melita actually fell asleep in the cozy "egg" bunk and we had to search the museum for her.

We took the coastal route home and also got to experience two drive-on ferries and the 'in'famous Sveler med brunost (pancakes with sweet brown cheese)...mmmm...

Now Norway state government/offices/schools/post is on strike because they got 0.25% less of a raise compared to industry.  Protest on, it's a slippery slope into rank capitalism my friends.  All local schools are closed, except for my children's international school which is private and able to keep on keepin' on.  Aren't we all just...










  

   

Svalbard calls

Midnight Sun

Just back from the most northerly marine station in the world at 79°N called Ny Ålesund.  An intense location with the sun never sinking and remote, vast landscapes of white and sea.  We sampled the fjord in a small boat and made optical measurements of color and tracked the glacial plumes of sediment-laden meltwater and productivity harking back to my Antarctic days.   Downwelling sunlight was completely peaked in the green portion of the spectrum and, as a gal who has been around the block a few times, I've never seen that before, even in polar regions with the long amospheric pathlength.  Turns out that the Arctic Haze was also delayed until now. Arctic haze occurs when the atmospheric polar front contracts and  brings and concentrates urban pollutants/aerosols up in the Arctic.  Sadly, one can't escape pollution even in the pristine Arctic.  On a positive note, I look forward to working with our crack team of students further on analyzing the data and publishing something really cool.

We worked 24-7 with no food or drink.  Smile.     The marine station serves delicious meals including reindeer filets, salmon and lots of desserts that were devoured in particular by very lean but hungry students, Sana and Hanna.  We need to have some blubber to keep warm after all ;)  We had some great fun including scooter rides, hikes, and a few nights of drinking and maybe a little head shaking at the bar.

This is also the location of one of the long-term CO2 monitoring station high up on a mountain that is so precise it only allows two individuals to service it and they enter through a long canopy shield into a low pressure room to avoid having their breath interfere with the measurements.  Very sci fi.

Ny Ålesund is also the location of  the famous "Norge" airship zeppelin built by Italian engineer Nobile and led by Norwegian leader Amundsen.   They were the first to actually reach the North Pole ahead of the fraudulent American named Byrd.  Roald Amundsen discovered both the North and the South Pole -- pretty epic for one individual.  I feel pretty blessed to have also experienced both the Arctic and the Antarctic in my life.  Here is an original painting from the walls of Amundsen's house that the group painted after their expedition.

Back in Longyearbyen, I also saw the global seed bank sitting like a beacon in the snow-covered hillside.  I heard the Indian government just deposited a bunch of native seeds while we were there.


Thank you Geir and UNIS (the Unversity of Centre of Svalbard) for allowing me the opportunity to teach, mingle, collect, explore, and check off another few points on my bucket list.

Happy 17 May Everyone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa_IZBhUuKQ

That's all I can say on the subject, except I will be marching in the parade in Longyearbyen this year.  I will wave a norwegian flag and do my best to  look patriotic.

Got a few more Russ cards at the bar tonight from the last night of the "celebration."  Maybe now that they are done drinking, the youngsters can start to study for their big exams.

We had an amazing time in Ny Alesund and got lots of cool data up at 79 degrees north. 

Spring has Sprung -- well sometimes

Spring is in the air and when the sun shines, we all shine brightly.  Spring fashion is on the move -- checkout Melita and Anastasia on the runway at school for Art Week.

The birds are migrating and twitter loudly. Our neighborhood beaver has come out of hibernation to find some tasty wood treats.  Check out her symmetrical handywork -- looks yummy


On our last hike, we had some real Sound of Music moments as we followed some moose tracks through the woods.   Although we encountered knee-high snow drifts, we were able to navigate down a small melting stream to civilation and lived to tell another tale.

Life is good.  Even as I huddled outside under an umbrella in the snow earlier this week with some friends having a post-pub moment.   We decided "a fag in the snow is worth two in the sun." 

It is also the season of  "Russ"  (pronounced Roosh).  For those unfamiliar, "Russ" is a 3-week coming of age, drunken fest for high school graduates in Norway.  According to tradition, they wear overalls colored to match their future course of study:  Red for those headed towards grad school, blue for courses in Business, and black for  technical pursuits such as mechanics or electricians. Downtown is filled with these clowns wandering about in packs half-sober.
 
Russ cards (russekort) are mock business cards with humorous slogans and pictures that young kids swarm the graduate to collect. The girls were a little shy, but two nice young gentlement Olav and Simen shared their cards with us today.  Simen's card was the Norwegian equivalent of a Monopoly "Get out of Jail Free Card."   Olav's card had a trucker style naked girl on it said "kvinner er frigjort, men trenger likevell en støtte opp gjennon livet."   Translated "Women are liberated, but require a support system through life."  Right on brother, or not??  What kind of "support" are we talking?  I think I missed something in translation :)

Apparently, the last day of Russ will be 17 May national day parade and according to my friend Linda, you want your daughter to marry the kind of Russ that is able to get up from his stupor and march in the celebration at the crack of dawn.  I'm betting Olav won't make it..