The Last Month: Visitors from Afar

What a terrible job I am doing of keeping this thing updated. I can only blame the continuing fabulous weather, friends stopping by to say hello, and traveling. Which is all to mean that I'm having way too much fun to be distracted by my computer.

So after arriving back from the wilds of Svalbard, I had only a week and a half before hopping on a plane to Iceland. Waiting for me there in the middle of the Atlantic were my two of my favorite people in the world. We had a wonderful, whirlwind weekend of Reykjavik fun, complete with running a 10k in the mist of the North Atlantic, visiting the local public pool to soak with the locals, celebrating culture night around town, and finally stopping by the famous Blue Lagoon on our way to the airport. Despite the Blue Lagoon being very tourist-oriented, it is absolutely a must experience for Iceland - the whole experience was absolutely perfect!

Inside the Reykjavik Concert House

Journey to the Sun Sculpture 

Reykjavik Cathedral

Panorama of Blue Lagoon

Amazing Landscape around Blue Lagoon

After Iceland, we came back to Oslo for a week of vacationing, both for me and my friends. We did the Norway in a Nutshell, a day in Bergen (they stayed one more) and then back to Oslo to celebrate together a mini college reunion/pirate-themed birthday party.

It was sad seeing them go, but I didn't have too much time to be down, because just a couple days later a couple more of my favorite people arrived from Washington, DC. While my vacation was over, it was still wonderful to come home to dinners cooked by my friends, catch up on life, and of course participate in a secret marriage proposal plot (she said yes :-)).

A Pirate Birthday Party

Now, halfway through September the pace at work is going up, up, and up and the weather is slowly but surely going into fall/winter mode. This really has been the most amazing summer, so while it's sad to see it go, I know that I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Norwegian summers and am looking forward to the season that truly defines this wonderful place.

http://servicecentered.blogspot.com/

The Week I Almost Quite My Job to Live in the Arctic

In another life I could have been an Arctic scientist. Probably a geologist or glaciologist. But since I didn't know those things existed and instead stuck to the social sciences, I guess being a diplomat that gets to visit the Arctic is the next best thing. I just spent 5 days traveling around some of the most northern and most pristine places in the world and can't wait to get back. Something about the remoteness, the air, and the crazy people who spend their lives up there just made sense to me.

I was lucky enough to accompany a group traveling from Washington D.C., so we were privileged to get high-level briefings and VIP tours along with the amazing scenery. We started off in Bodø to learn about Norway's military work in the North and then were treated to boat tour through Salstraumen, the strongest tidal current in Europe, and along the beautiful coast.

Scenery around Salstraumen

The tidal current going into the Fjord. 

View of the coast outside of Bodø

From Bodø we traveled to Tromsø, known as the capital of the Arctic. Tromsø is a great town with lots of activity around the Arctic, included a large university and the Fram Center, home to the Arctic Council Secretariat and the Norwegian Polar Institute. After all these years working on Arctic issues, it was a small thrill to see the offices where much of the work I've read about takes place.  The mayor of Tromsø joined us for a lovely dinner and everyone on the delegation started considering a move to the high north.

View of Tromsø from the hotel

The official greeter at the Fram Center

But the main show was really Svalbard, and so from Tromsø it was on to Longyearbyen, a town of around 2000 people, and the largest settlement on Svalbard. We spent just a few hours on the ground meeting the Sysselman (Governor) and doing some very quick shopping as a few pieces of luggage didn't make the hop from the mainland. Then, on a very small plane to Ny Ålesund, the most northern permanent settlement in the world. It was a true honor to be invited to Ny Ålesund, since it is very difficult for anyone apart from the researchers living and working there to visit. The international director of the Norwegian Polar Institute was our guide and the leader of the company that runs the facilities was our host. We learned about the important climate research taking place there, and saw first hand the changes taking place from boat ride along a rapidly retreating glacier.

Because of the gulf stream, the waters around Svalbard are usually ice free, sometimes even in the winter, but the climate is Arctic none the less. An hour long boat ride in the icy fjord was enough to chill us all and make us thankful for the huge survival suits and many layers of wool. The next day we walked around the village and heard from many of the researchers about the interesting science they were conducting on everything from sediments on glaciers to arctic bird reproduction. This is where I started questioning my chosen career and wishing that I could be out running around the tundra taking snow samples instead of sitting at desk writing reports, but I guess that's easy to say when it's a balmy 40 degrees with 24 hours of light. A candlelight dinner in a house once visited by polar explorer Roald Amundsen only added to the adventurous atmosphere.

Svalbard: Way the heck up there

Our transport from Longyearbyen and Ny Ålesund

Front seat view

View of Svalbard from above

Downtown Ny Ålesund

The beach

Getting up close and personal with a calving glacier

Just because we were at the end of the world, didn't mean we couldn't dine with class at the Amundsen Villa

Back in Longyearbyen for our last day, we visited the University Center and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Yet again, this was a privilege that few get to experience, as the director of the Vault flew up from Germany to escort us inside. Out of all the reasons someone might have heard of Svalbard, the seed vault, or doomsday vault, is usually up there. Going inside was fascinating, and learning about the system of seed banks and genetic cataloging around the world gave us all a sense of how important the facility is as a final back-up to the world's food. For instance, there were seeds from several countries currently in the midst of war in the case that the infrastructure within those countries fails to keep their national seed banks running. So cool.

Our final dinner was at one of the nicest restaurants in Norway, Huset, home to an astounding wine cellar and gourmet cuisine. It was a perfect end to a dream trip, and I really am trying to plot how to make it back up there again.

The vault sits above Longyearbyen and goes into the permafrost of the mountain

The final back-up plan for 700,000 food varieties

It's about -18 degrees celsius inside. 

Goodbye Longyearbyen, I'm back soon. 

Summer around Oslo

It's August now. I can't believe July, and what I've been told is the bulk of the Norwegian summer, is now over. But man, what a month it has been. When I arrived in Norway I was warned that last summer consisted of no more 3 days of sunshine and days of 50 degrees. So I was really prepared for the worst. Instead, I was treated (and continue to be treated) to the very best. Four straight weeks of 75-80 degrees and sunny, very little rain and plenty of time spent on the beach, on a boat, or in the water. I actually can't remember the last time I've had such a summery summer. And there is still a few more weeks of promising weather to go. 

So it's hard not to gloat a little and share some of my pics of the last few weeks. But before that, to give you a taste of Oslo, here is a fun video put together by Norwegian artist Kristian Larsen.

And now, my pictures of summer in Oslo, in no particular order: 

Sunning on a sailboat

What happens to the anchor when it gets stuck on something mysterious on the bottom

Playing chicken with a cruise-ferry

Paradisbukta on Bygdoy

A massive pile of seafood enjoyed with friends down on the waterfront (this is halfway through)

Sadly my window candle did not enjoy the heat wave as much as I did

A quiet harbor on one of the islands. 

After work picniking at Huk Beach

Vespa adventures up to the top of the hill 

Oh, to make this last forever...

Coming up, an overnight at a hytta (cabin) and a work/fun trip to the wildest, most Arctic place on the planet!


http://servicecentered.blogspot.com/

Søndags Tur (Sunday Tours)

I've already written extensively about some of my Norway hiking experiences, notably my 24 hours of craziness last month, but it's worth mentioning that Sunday hikes are an institution of Norwegian culture and something that I've been trying to experience as much as possible. It's not always easy convincing myself that I should leave the lazy comfort of my couch and coffee, but once I'm out in the woods without another soul in site, waterfalls, ferns, berries and birds all around, I know I've made the right decision.

This Sunday, thanks to some fantastic weather, I was more ambitious than usual, clocking in about 14 km (the map below underestimates because it can't capture all the twists and turns on the trail).

Sunshine and 75 degrees is about as perfect as it gets, with a cool breeze hitting the viewpoints and ridges. I revisited some of the spots I had seen during my Marka24 hiking race, but it was much more pleasurable seeing them in daylight and not during a rainstorm. Particularly satisfying was going back to Mellomkollen, which is where our team had to turn back, get our bags, and come back up the steep hill again in the middle of the night. It turns out that it is a gorgeous lookout point, which I completely missed during the black, cloudy, bitter chaos.

Amazing view from Mellomkollen

Yellow points to Maridalsvannet (the main drinking reservoir for Oslo) and red points to the Oslo Fjord. I am WAY up here. 

Another highlight of my tour is the discovery of an abundance of berries! Known in Norwegian as blåbær, or blueberries, they are actually closer to huckleberries, rather than the big light-blue mild berries that most people are used to in the states. But my family isn't most people, and summers spent in the mountains picking huckleberries sent my berry radar into overdrive.  Sadly, I had to pull myself away after 20 minutes of picking so that I could make it out of the woods on time, otherwise I could have spent hours there. My mother would have gone crazy with her "leave no berry behind" mindset, since every corner and new sunny ridge brought a new field of plump, purple/black berries. I picked just enough to eat along the way but am hoping to make an afterwork trip that is focused just on the berries this week.

After tearing myself away from the blueberries (which in my head will still be known as huckleberries), I headed up and down some hills, through some amazing forests, and past a few cool, sparkling creeks. I came across just a few people during my 4-hour hike until I made it to Øyungen, another boat-free lake that provides water to Oslo. I was in a hurry to make it back to the bus, so I skipped a swim, but plan to get out again and try out the crystal clear water as long as this amazing weather holds out*.

A small cabin area known as Liggern

The view from Liggern down to Øyungen

A very refreshing creek to wash my feet in after 3 hours of hiking

An old dam just up the creek

Øyungen, a pristine lake just 20 minute bus ride from downtown Oslo. Amazing. 

* My next blog post will likely include dozens of gratuitous beach and sailing photos, and long descriptions of the ridiculously amazing weather we have been having. I am now officially spoiled by this past month of sunny and 75 degrees and will never be able to have a too hot or too cold summer again.

http://servicecentered.blogspot.com/