Farewell and Fare Weather

Here we sit on the plane leaving behind an unforgettable year in Norway.   I'm sure the girls will share their own and varied experiences with you when you see them.  The water in Trondheim must contain fertilizer because both girls grew like weeds.

Melita is now my shoe size and has blossomed into a teenager. She has learned rudimentary Norwegian and has grown in both her social and artistic expressions.  Her teacher remarked that Melita was a very positive influence on the girls in her class, making peace, befriending insiders and outsiders alike.  I am proud of her. Even though she argues that her art skills are not nearly as masterful as some, her teacher and I both agree that Melita has a very good artistic sensibility.  She doesn't just copy but makes her own expression as evident by her instagram account.   From our visit to Florence and a videography exhibit, Melita also has started to move her films in a more artsy direction and completed her first black and white film set to classical music.

Annaliese, in her usual fashion, grew straight upwards. Her skirts from kindergarden still fit, they just become mini-mini-skirts over time.  Similar to the theory that giraffes willed their necks longer to reach the tops of trees, Annaliese's arm and leg span grew to allow her to reach all the best climbs at the bouldering gym. I was worried that "tigger" lost her bounce at times, but that turned out to be her bodies own doubling phase.   She also had her first outdoor rock climb which started with a full pull up from ground.  She has blossomed in the class room and was aptly voted biggest bookworm ;-)  That is no lie, she finished every book on the bookshelf at the house:  Twilight series, Harry Potter series, Dark Magic, Secret Garden, etc... I am proud of how well she has made friends in her class and being willing and able to explore a new culture. 

Me?  Well how can you measure a year abroad? 

I grew stronger.  My waistline grew smaller (xcountry skiing has its advantages). 

I learned patience.   I completed my epic needlepoint Buddha in tiny flesh-toned cross stitch.

 
I learned some new songs on guitar. 

I finished a European world tour on seagrass optics visiting the Fram Centre for Climate in Tromsø, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory in Liverpool, University of Oldenburg in Germany, NATO Undersea Research Centre in La Spezia Italy.

I completed a true labor of love in the form of a paper inspired by the famous Norwegian scientist Sverdrup, whose ghost was sitting behind me urging me on through the more challenging and grueling aspects of the project.  In particular, I now know much more about the enclosed mediterranean seas of the world including the Hudson Bay, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Baltic Sea and the many important straits that separate one basin from another.

Dierssen, H.M.  Submitted.  Redefining the Ocean Basins using Bathymetry and Satellite Imagery:  New Extent, Hypsography, and Mean Biogeophysical Parameters.  Limnology and Oceanography.  Review paper.

I finished 5 book chapters, mostly for public consumption:

Dierssen, H.M., and Randolph, K.  2013.  Remote Sensing of Ocean Color.  Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology.  Springer-Verlag.  In press.

Dierssen, H.M.  and A.E. Theberge. 2013. Bathymetry: History of Seafloor Mapping.    Encyclopedia of Natural Resources.  Taylor & Francis Group. New York. In press.

Dierssen, H.M.  and A.E. Theberge. 2013. Bathymetry: Assessing Methods.    Encyclopedia of Natural Resources.  Taylor & Francis Group. New York. In press.

 
Dierssen, H.M.  and A.E. Theberge. 2013. Bathymetry: Features and Hypsography.   Encyclopedia of Natural Resources.  Taylor & Francis Group. New York. In press.

Johnsen  G, Z. Volent, H.M. Dierssen, R. Pettersen, M.V. Ardelan, F. Søreide, P. Fearns, M. Ludvigsen, and M. Moline.  Submitted. Underwater hyperspectral imagery to create biogeochemical maps of seafloor properties.  In Subsea Optics and Imaging. Ed. J. Watson and O. Zielinski.

And eight other manuscripts published or submitted in peer-reviewed journals with some element of optics and remote sensing but with wide-ranging topics from bubbles, seagrass, phytoplankton, sediments pteropods, polarization.

And, finally of course, I finished this project, the Norwegian sabbatical blog, a record of our experiences overseas.  I did this for the girls to document our trip together, to keep our friends and loved ones abreast of our trip, and also as a form of therapy in and of itself.  The true irony is that I have had over 4000 page views – far more than any research paper could hope to achieve.  I thank you many kind readers of our blog.  May your weather be always changing. I leave you with this lyric from the song Furr by Blitzen Trapper:

   And now my fur has turned to skin

   And I've been quickly ushered in

   To a world that I confess I do not know

   But I still dream of running careless through the snow

   An' through the howlin' winds that blow,

   Across the ancient distant flow,

   It fill our bodies up like water till we know.

We send you our warmest klem (hug),

Signing out,

Heidi, Melita, and Annaliese

Walking streets, towers and donut shops

I have this theory about climate and cultural identity.  The hardier the climate, the more nationalistic the people seem to be.  Go to maritime Canada and every night at the bar they sing rowdy songs about their homeland like "Here's to Nova Scotia..."  Similar in Norway, although not really in song, but in their common belief in community service (dugnad) and a strong cultural identity.  Norwegians are proud to display their local heritage and the girls often wear their beautiful national costume (bunad) to weddings as well as on national day.  I loved this picture of mother and daughter celebrating National Day up in the Arctic with me.   People in climate-based "paradise" don't really have the same survivor spirit.  They haven't hibernated through the dark, cold winter nights.  They often want to escape people, carve a nitch apart, rather than come together.

So what will we carry back to the states with us? Besides lots of memories, friends we will never forget, I guess we had a lot of togetherness.  We weren't overly scheduled. When I wasn't dragging the girls on some hiking or ski trail, we spent a lot of time just at the house, reading lots of books, guitar for me, GIlmore Girls :-), the Wii just dance and mario was a hit, laughing with nigahiga and other internet icons, 3 to 13 and oh heck, needlepoint.  Because eating out is more of an event and very expensive here, I cooked nearly every dinner at home.  I got involved with their school as secretary of the parent committee -- the first time I had the time to volunteer for the schools.  It was also amazing to see the committee filled with half or more fathers rather than just mothers (dugnad is alive and well).  The girls did a lot of schlepping to bus stops in rain/hail/snow.  They spent time at the Torg with their friends shopping at the same 10 common stores (H&M, Ginatricot, Bik Bok, Falkanger,dinsko, Nille, etc..) that seem to be replicated in every block throughout the city centre (some sarcasm but largely true).

The kids here keep lists of how many countries they've been to visit, whereas in the states it seems to be how many of our 50 states you've been through (and mostly on long tedious car trips).   Since arriving in Europe, the girls have checked into:

 - Iceland (overnight on our way in and we didn't see much, but I guess we can count it)

 - Norway  

 - Germany 

 - Denmark  

 - Sweden (Åre ski vacation)

 - Italy

 - Switzerland (Zuruch, we spent the night on our way home and had fondue in old town, so it counts)



Girls on walking street of old Zurich



What defines a town in Rhode Island is the donut shop and nail salon (sarcasm with a grain of truth).  The two things that define a European city or village is the cobblestone walking/shopping streets with no cars, old churches and a tower.  We have visited walking streets in Trondheim, Ålesund, Åre, Munich, Odense, Zurich, Firenze, Lerici, Kiel (girls) and the longest in the world or Strøget in Copenhagen.  I experienced a few more on my seminar tour of Europe including Liverpool, Bremen, Oldenburg, Tromso, Longyearbyen, Ischgl.



Pisa, Munich, and Copenhagen from towers



We've also scaled towers with worn stone steps winding up and up and up, including  the leaning tower of Pisa (which made me seasick coming down in leaning spirals...urghh), Rundetårn in Copenhagen, Peterkirche's tower in Munich, and of course the famous Tyholt tower in Trondheim (via elevator) but they serve beer at the restaurant on top.  Of course, we couldn't have achieved those high heights without the hiking and cross country ski training...viva la Norway.



Italian Riviera Doesn't Suck

Well we arrived on the Italian Riviera to visit with our dear friend Chuck and his dog Keelee.  Now we are really vacationing with salty Mediterranean water, beaches, boats, and big waves.

Town of Lerici

First, we give a shout out to my niece Thyra who came to Lerici with me a few years back.  We feasted on the Jennifer white pizza with truffles and gave up a toast to you.  Wish you could be here to indulge!

Hi Thyra!

Chuck drove us up a very windy road to the mountop village of Collonata today to see the marble quarry and purchase some hard, smooth trinkets.  We also feasted on their signature dish Lardo, a cured lard spiced with fennel, that was used to feed the miners back in the day and was surprisingly delicious.  The girls however preferred the molten chocolate dessert in particular. 

Marble mining above Carrera

Nothing more need be said

A final a dip in the salty Med

Heating Up in Firenze

It wasn't exactly easy to move the girls to 63°N for a year without making some special concessions.  If they finished a whole year of school in Norway, I promised that we would head somewhere warm and sunny to celebrate.   Well, guess what???  We have nearly finished a successful year and are now celebrating in Italy.  We arrived in Florence to beautiful warm flip-flop weather...yeah.   My sister Christina joined us and we have been hitting the streets shopping, eating, and absorbing the ancient vibe.  Today we saw the Statue of David in all his naked glory.   We also saw the Birth of Venus and other oil paintings by famous Italians including Leonardo, Michelangelo, Bocelli.  We have consumed our share of pasta, pizza and truffle oil.  However, I think the shopping has really taken center stage with lots of leather and lace (the current fashion).



Annaliese rests in Bobboli Gardens



As some of the only Americans in the city of Trondheim, Norway, it has been really, really strange to be in Florence inundated and overrun with American tourists.  Melita and I start to talk with Norwegian accents because we don't really feel associated with the "average" American tourist anymore, even though deep down we are truly American and proud.  We are also looking forward to heading home to see our many lovely friends again in the states, in case we haven't mentioned how much we miss you all at home too.

The girls also seem adverse to seeing so much marble "junk" and much of it rather homoerotic...strange indeed.  But, perhaps even stranger things have been observed.

Our hotel room is huge, beds for the four of us with high painted ceilings.  Nearly all of us have cappuccino for breakfast and did I mention the gelato sold on nearly every corner of town?

Tomorrow we head south to the Med Sea for some salty water and hopefully more sunshine.

Not quite goodbye -- sniff sniff

I hate goodbyes.  Nostalgia is what overwhelms us these days.  We haven't even left yet and we keep seeing things we will miss when we leave. As we jogged today, Melita and I reminisced about how much we would miss jogging around the damn.  Only 1 more trip to the rock climbing gym.   I will miss the lunch table at work.  Saying goodbye to my friends....  Ahhh...

So much to recap.  Our little family has become stronger, closer, and more well-muscled from all of the outdoor activities.  Yes, we have skied a lot, but most of our exercise comes from running from bus stop to bus stop in the rain/snow/hail....

Since I'm being nostalgic, I wanted to send out an early word about my Swiss friend Siv.  We have hiked, biked, skied, skated, climbed, and feasted together.  We changed the winter tires on my car.   She taught me how to use an Eingangs Grill and how to ski in the dark with no light. She helped me chop down our Christmas tree.  She has listened to me rant, rave, and giggle.  The girls and I miss her already.  Did I already say I hate goodbyes...gotta grab some kleenex now.

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.