Welcome to my (new) world!

When I lived in England I kept this blog so that 'my people' back home would know what was going on and what I was up to. Now I've moved, and I realise that there are friends and people I love who would like to know what life is like now, and to see some of the beauty my country has to offer. Well, I give you: the blog, in English this time… I will not update too frequently, but if you pop by every once in a while you'll see some of what goes on in my life. And if the pictures tempt you to come here and see for yourself: You're welcome, be my guest :-)

I'm back in Norway. In the north, in a town called Bodø. It has about 50,000 inhabitants and lies a bit north of the Arctic Circle. This is not where I come from, but my home town lies on an island in the sea just 30 minutes' flying time from here. The university here is where I got my undergraduate degree. Bodø is beautifully situated; it has the Atlantic Ocean to one side and an abundance of mountains on the other. There are a lot of islands and islets around here, and the area is excellent for absolutely all kinds of winter sports – and quite a few summery ones too. The local football team is in the Norwegian equivalent of Premier League – at least for now :-)

This is Bodø as seen from a very nearby mountain just about two weeks ago. I live in one of the block of flats near the front of the photo. The city centre is in the background and a bit to the right, and if you think you can see a straight line of asphalt to the left you are perfectly right – that's the airport. It takes me about 30-40 minutes to walk down to the city centre, but just a few minutes if you drive. The city centre is also where my two jobs are located.

Bodø city centre as seen from west towards east. There is a beautiful marina here with lots of sailing boats, traditional fishing boats and other boats. At the far end of this seaside promenade is a place where boats dock when they sell fresh fish or fresh shrimps during summer. I love the atmosphere down here and regardless of what the weather is like you'll always find people out for a stroll here. People simply enjoy the outdoors a lot, even in rough weather, and just dress appropriately whatever the conditions are. I love that about them.

I took this photo from one of the nearby mountains on the last Sunday in September, when I went for a long cross-mountain walk together with a group of five other people. In six hours of walking we had hail storm, winds so strong they blew us off the path, rain that soaked us in 7 seconds – and beautiful warm sunshine as we were having lunch in the open… Quite amazing, but not a rare experience here in autumn. If you look closely you can see parts of the city in the background. There are also tall, beautiful mountains hiding behind the clouds – I'll show them later. My 'real' camera is in need of some repair, so this photo was made with my mobile camera. You can still see traces of the beautiful autumn colours in the nature though…

Some people from my group, and some random wanderers. Here we are on top of the Løpsfjellet mountain, about 90 minutes walk from where I live. The wind blew so strong that it was impossible to stay on track – once you lifted a foot you were blown away, whether you were a petite size 8 woman or a muscular 6ft-something man. But we had fun, and fortunately we were nowhere near any edge so we could run off course without fear or danger. We crossed this mountain and returned a different way.

One of the first weekends after I got back I spent by the sea, together with a group from the local hiking association. The boat house you see here has a room in the back that has been converted into a two-bed accommodation space, with a kitchen and a fireplace. There is no electricity or water; candles are used for light and water is fetched from a hose near another house on the estate, a little higher up. But this is my new favourite place – you literally hear the waves crash onto the shore without even opening the windows. I'll post more pictures from here later.

This beach is more or less next to the cabin from the previous photo; just behind the building. It is beautiful in summer and both kids and adults can swim comfortably here, or play on the shore or grass field nearby. It's also possible to arrive here by boat, obviously, and as a member of the hiking association I can even borrow boats from the (above) boat house for free. The view here is towards south-west. The wind blew strong and I loved it; my face tasted of salt when I got back in. Definitely a place to return to.

Sunset across the Atlantic Ocean, as seen from Bodø harbour. The mountains you can see to the left in the picture are both islands. These days the sun sets at about 18:15/6.15pm.

And with that I wish you goodbye for now. Will update again before too long!