Godt Nytt År!

Happy New Year!!!

Celebrating the new year was no Times Square event here. Just a little over dozen folks celebrated New Year's Eve quietly yet beautifully here at Jøssåsen.

We had our own little fireworks and even sparklers, but what I will remember most fondly is sending off balloons and paper lanterns into the dark Norwegian night sky.

Hello 2009!!!

Winter Solstice: Sunrise at 10:01am & Sunset at 2:31pm

In the summer when I newly arrived in Norway, I was absolutely fascinated by the long days of seemingly eternal sun. I've even stayed up all night taking photos of the night sky. Five months have passed since, and the days have been getting shorter and shorter each day. Winter solstice is finally here today, with sunrise at 10:01am and sunset at 2:31pm. With such a short winter day, I took on another photo project, documenting the shortest day of the year (as once suggested by a friend).

7:00am

I began the project at 7am, and it was pretty much pitch dark. Even at 8am (below) you could see stars scattered all over the sky. If you blow up the picture below, I swear there are stars!

8:00am

9:00am

9:30am

Instead of the sun, the moon is pretty much visible in the sky all day long.

10:00am

The sun is theoretically supposed to rise at 10:01am, but because we are in the mountains, that time varies, and we don't see the sun until a bit later.

To take advantage of the sun, Anne, Daniel, and I decided to go on a snow shoe tour around Jøssåsen today.

Here I am, looking like a little Eskimo with old school snow shoes. I bet you couldn't find snow shoes like these any more. I saw some at a sporting goods store the other day, and they were so high tech-looking, with aluminum frames and all. Too fancy, if you ask me. I prefer our antique snow shoes.

Anne and Daniel walk ahead of me while I busily take pictures along the way.

Anne thinks I look like a little troll in this picture. Do I really?

Me with Superaffengeil Papa Daniel and my Partner-in-Crime, Anne, soaking up the sun and getting some endorphins while exploring the forest with our awesome snow shoes.

11:00am

We are by the lake, a familiar place, after trekking around for an hour in the snowy wonderland.

Anne takes a much needed rest on the snow.

11:30am

I am back in Nergarden just in time for some yummy brunch!

12:00pm

It got cloudy, and the sun is nowhere to be seen...

...until about an hour later, when it makes its much desired appearance.

1:00pm

2:00pm

The sun doesn't stay too long, hidden behind dark stormy clouds.

3:00pm

We are showered with fluffy white snow, and yes, the sun is gone. Even if the clouds cleared, there would be no sun.

Unfortunately, I missed taking some photos at 4pm because I was slaving away in the kitchen, making beouf bourguignon with real red wine, which is extremely rare in Camphills and perhaps even more so at Camphills in Norway.

5:00pm

Does this picture look familiar? My day started with a similar photo from my window.

6:00pm

I intended to take pictures until 7pm, but I put a halt to that idea when I could capture nothing interesting in the dark, even with long exposures and a tripod. So the project ended at 6pm with this picture: tractor clearing snow. Woohoo!

Winter Wonderland

If I had any preconception of what Norway would be like, it is just the way Norway is now a days with lots of beautiful white snow.

Gone are the flowers

and the bright colors of the fall....

Everything has turned white...

When Allison and Tracy came to visit, they were welcomed with lots and lots of snow. We felt as if we were walking through Narnia under the spell of the White Witch.

With two days of non-stop snow, Jøssåsen became a Winter Wonderland.

The trees around the lake were all covered with snow and looked perfectly picturesque as if they have been sprayed with fake snow except it was covered by genuine Norwegian snow.

The grass that the sheep so enjoy grazing is covered by snow and no longer visible.

And the lake slowly began to freeze.

Norway is a true Winter Wonderland!

Madrugada

I went to my first concert in Norway to see a great Norwegian band, Madrugada, a band that Anne introduced me to.

The evening kicked off with 0.5 L of good ol' Norwegian beer at the Student Center. (And if you thought I had a low tolerance for alcohol before... well, let me tell ya, it's gotten worse here! But that's another story.)

Studentersamfundet is pretty cool place for students to hang out. During the academic year, it has 10 bars, a cinema, and a great venue for live music. The concert hall, where Madrugada played, reminded me of Chicago's Congress Theater but better--a bit more intimate and "koselig."

There was no opening band--just pure Madrugada for two hours. It was awesome!

The singer, Sivert Høyem, is totally dreamy and has the sexiest voice. Yes, I heart him.

And in my usual concert-going tradition, I scored a copy of the set list and, this time, a guitar pick to boot! It was a great night.

Just wish more bands would come to Trondheim....

Snow in October

We have been teased with a bit of snow here and there since late September, but the big snow finally hit Jøssåsen yesterday. I was so excited to see big white fluffy snowflakes that I could hardly contain myself and smiled the whole day. Yes, I was a bit like a little kid waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. I could barely sleep, and I woke up super early to make sure that I could see the snow in its pristine condition.

The picture above was taken just before sunrise.

You can see the sun slowly making the snow more visible.

The sun finally came up after 7am, revealing our white village.

I love snow! Doesn't Jøssåsen look so picturesque?

I can't wait to go for a walk and hear the sound of fresh snow crunching under my feet!

Autumn in Norway

In the Camphill tradition, autumn starts with Michaelmas. There's the harvesting of the vegetables. We picked potatoes in our field here at Jøssåsen. They were picked on my day off so I didn't get to take part in the festivities, but I went down to the field to take some pictures.

First the tractor goes over the field so that it's easier to pick out the potatoes from the ground.

Here is Ernst picking potatoes that were left behind by the villagers.

Gabi is brining a crate for us to put the potatoes in. We now have enough potatoes to last us the whole year!

Michaelmas was celebrated at a neighboring Camphill, Kristoffertunet. They started the celebration with an outdoor play.

Then we had to test our courage by going around and doing a certain task like archery.

Once our tasks were accomplished, we were knighted by the king for being so courageous.

After being knighted, we gathered in the barn to have our Michaelmas meal made from the harvested vegetables. The table was long enough to seat about 100 people (just like how it was at Camphill Blair Drummond in Scotland).

After the meal, there were games for the co-workers to participate in. Here are Lukas and Martina doing a 3-legged ski race. If you thought 3-legged races were hard, you should try it with skis.

I love autumn, especially because of the colors of the season. All around Jøssåsen, trees were turning colors, and I went for walks a lot--with my camera always by my side. Here are some pictures from around Jøssåsen:

Autumn leaves floating on the lake.

A melancholic day around the lake.

On a sunnier, brighter autumn day.

Isn't it so beautiful?

I love the colors of the fall.

The birches always look so picturesque.

And have you ever seen such intense yellow leaves?

Trondheim in fall.
Too bad the colors won't last long. The leaves have already fallen, and most trees are bare these days....

Anne is enjoying the last bit of summer/autumn blueberries. They won't be here long. Winter is coming!