You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of you

Time passes fast. I am already up here for 5 months! The winter fades into spring and slowly the snow melts. Wherever you look little streams of water run downhill until they find the sea.

Time to leave. With tears in my eyes I write this and think of all the good firends I made here, all the people that I will miss (and maybe will miss me). I had a fantastic time up here north of the polar circle. Northern Norwegians may seem cold and not interested at first sight - but when you get to know them better, they are very friendly and heartwarming folks.

I plan to depart from here in the beginning of May. Taking with me only what you see on the picture above and wonderful memories of all the people that I spent my time with. Plus - the hope to see you all again sometime, somewhere, somehow...


"Heute hier, morgen dort, bin kaum da, muß ich fort,
(Today here, tomorrow there, I must leave again even though I just arrived)
hab‘ mich niemals deswegen beklagt.
(anyway - I never complain about this.)
Hab‘ es selbst so gewählt, nie die Jahre gezählt,
(I made the choice myself to live this way, never counted the years)
nie nach gestern und morgen gefragt.
(and never asked about yesterday or tomorrow.)

Refrain:
Manchmal träume ich schwer,
(Sometimes I dream difficult dreams)
und dann denk‘ ich, es wär‘
(and then I think it is time now)
Zeit zu bleiben und nun ganz was andres zu tun.
(to stay and do something completely different.)
So vergeht Jahr um Jahr und es ist mir längst klar,
(The years are passing by one after another. And I realized long time ago)
daß nichts bleibt, daß nichts bleibt wie es war.
(that nothing stays - no - nothing stays as it is.)

Daß man mich kaum vermißt, schon nach Tagen vergißt,
(That nobody might miss me and that people have already forgotten about me)
wenn ich längst wieder anderswo bin,
(when I am somewhere else)
stört und kümmert mich nicht. Vielleicht bleibt mein Gesicht
(oh, that doesn’t bother me much. Somehow - in the end, a couple of people
doch dem ein‘ oder and’ren im Sinn
(might even remember my face...)

Refrain:
Manchmal träume ich schwer...
(Sometimes I dream difficult dreams…)

Fragt mich einer, warum ich so bin, bleib‘ ich stumm,
(When someone asks me why I am the way I am then I stay quiet)
denn die Antwort darauf fällt mir schwer.
(because I don't have an easy answer.)
Denn was neu ist wird alt und was gestern noch galt,
But all new things become old and yesterday's reality)
stimmt schon heut‘ oder morgen nicht mehr.
(already doesn’t count anymore today - or tomorrow...)

Refrain:
Manchmal träume ich schwer...
(Sometimes I dream difficult dreams…)

(Song: Hannes Wader)

Frozen river trip - Reisaevla

In the north of Tromso is a big river called "Reisaelva" which is well known for its excellent salmon fishing. During the winter the river is frozen and my friend Ida, a couple of others and I take our huskies to explore the national park that surrounds the river.




We make almost 30km on the first day and arrive in a little cottage where we stay overnight. On day two we do a daytrip to the little "Arthur-Gamme" (cottage) that you see on one of the pictures. It is cold so we make a fire outside and grill sausages.

The view is splendid and the weather couldn't be better!

On day three we head back to where we came from, refreshed and relaxed and happy :) Weekends can be so wonderful without television and mobile phones!

Sunday morning walk

Sunday morning and the sun is shining! I walk home from the center of Tromso all around the south of the island and past the Airport and the big bridge to Kvaloya. 4 hours of sunlight tickling my skin and breathtaking mountain views!

Sometimes life can be so easy... I love this place!!!

Snowshoes, snowboards and snowstorms

Another fantastic thing about Tromso is the fact that it is surrounded with amazing mountains! Just behind the house is a nice hill for snowboarding and sometimes my brother Jan and I hike up there before work and enjoy a nice little wake-up-ride.



But today, my friend Laura and I go for a daytrip on Lille Blamann, an easy peak with a gorgeous view on Tromso and the Ocean (if you don't happen to get up there in the middle of a snowstorm).



We start with nice weather conditions in the afternoon. The trip takes about 3 hours. It gets dark around 6pm nowadays so we have plenty of time.
In the vicinity of the peak is a radio tower. When we reach it, the weather suddenly changes and the wind gets fresh. The sun disappears fast and it starts getting foggy and snowy. We decide to skip the rest of the way to the peak and rather enjoy the nice new snow on the way down.