Dear Norway, Today, this morning, is my last morning here in your little city above the Arctic Circle. These four months have gone by quite quickly haven't they? It has been a very interesting time and first off I want to say thank you for all that you have done for me lately. You see, I spent most of my time here dreaming of home, grieving for the Mendenhall Towers that I had left behind, and it was only a little while ago that I looked out over at your mountains and felt that same feeling of comfort that the ones [View Full Entry]

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Toys going to the Arctic Once or twice every year dad takes us on trips when mum doesn't come along. This summer dad took us on one of these trips and the destination this time was North Cape. North Cape is the furthest north you can go in Europe. That sounded to us like a big adventure so we happily followed dad on this trip. We thought that we would have to walk for days in snow and ice, sleep in a tent, fight with wild animals and generally risk our lives to reach this remote destination so far up in [View Full Entry]

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There was a spark of inspiration, a need to write a few hours ago. What was it that brought this on? Well, I was watching Julie and Julia, sewing part of the strap on my travel backpack and sipping a warm cup of tea when I suddenly felt the urge...the need. Could it be because the heroine of this movie, the whiny yet determined Julie, was blogging about her cooking triumphs and following the recipes of Julia Child, all while throwing in her own thoughts and experiences? Or could it be that I wanted to shed my thoughts and clear my [View Full Entry]

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Tromsø is long way from any part of the world : it's 3 hours by plane from Oslo, and took me nearly 20 hours from Tel Aviv, Israel. On 6th November afternoon, I departed with the world's safest and impenetrable security airlines : ELAL to Amsterdam, despite of how many times of the Jews attacks the Muslims, how confused between Israeli and Lebanese, and avoided flying anywhere above the Islamic airspace, afterall the airlines still considered one of the most success and has the safest record in the industry. So where is Troms? Troms is located above the European Arctic Circle [View Full Entry]

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It's Sunday, one of my used to be favorite days of the week and I am back to the comforts on my little humble home in Hoglimyra. A part of me really wishes I was still out traveling, out occupying my mind, moving, doing stuff, seeing new things, taking pictures, wearing myself out walking all over a city, and just out doing. Instead, I'm being a bum now and writing this blog before I tackle my homework that I put off. Today has been a relatively nice morning so far though. I started it waking up on the train numerous times. [View Full Entry]

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October 16 to October 27, 2009 Bergen to Kirkenes ....6,206km ... And Back -twelve days and eleven nights on the MS Nordcapp; built in 1996, holding 691 passengers, 464 berths, 45 cars, 123.3m long, travelling at a service speed of 15 knots and owned by HurtigrutenASA. -have crossed the Arctic Circle, seen three rainbows in one day, been to the northern most point in Europe, been to the point where Russia,Finland and Norway meet, witnessed the Northern Lights, stood under the Milky way, saw seals swim in the harbour and looked for trolls in the TrollFjord. -have gone on tours to [View Full Entry]

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The ship takes six days to go from Bergen to Kirkenes. Along the way it crosses the Arctic Circle at 67degrees N and passes Nordkapp or North Cape, a point in past days known equally as the end of the Earth or the beginning thereof and a part of the territory occupied by the only indigenous peoples left in Europe. MS Nordkapp stopped at Honningsvaag. From here the tour bus travelled north in latitude and up in altitude to 71 10' 21", a distance of 34km and passed thru Sami territory . Samiland, formerly called Lapland, stretches across the northern reaches [View Full Entry]

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As I walked to class this morning, after a brisk night that covered the layer of ice with a nice layer of powdery fresh snow, I kind of zoned out while Libby and Brad talked about fishing. Now I love fishing, but these two...they live to fish. And they have so many fish in their freezer that their apartment now smells like fish. So as they talked about it and I remembered the fact that I left home exactly two months ago from today, I couldn't help but think that life...is kind of like walking on the snowy/icy ground below. You [View Full Entry]

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain It is with cold ears and a humble heart that I write these words. My camera is still cold to the touch, my legs still reddened from a chilly afternoon walk here in Norway, and my mind still wandering. Today is Sunday, one of my favorite days to just relax at home and have time [View Full Entry]

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It's snowing! Okay well, it was snowing last night at approximately 3a.m. when I was walking home from the student pub, Samfunnet, after a very fun and interesting night with some old friends and some new. So not only did the snow put me in an even better mood, it just made me smile which hasn't happened a whole lot this week. It's been a LONG, quiet week here in Bodø. And it all started after coming back from an exciting trip, but the weather had taken quite a turn for the worse. All week has been hail, snow/slush, rain, and [View Full Entry]

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