Dear friends,
The end of my academic year in Oslo and my return home are quickly approaching. This time is bittersweet, as I have come to know many wonderful people and appreciate the lifestyle I have become accustomed to here, but certainly I look forward to reuniting with my family and friends in the US. My return flight is set for 25 June.
I will be completing a number of assignments and exams in the coming weeks until the end of the month. On 30 May, I plan to embark on a journey to Northern Norway with my two Rotary Ambassadorial scholar comrades who have been with me in Oslo for the year. We plan to visit various locations on the tour, including the archipelago Svalbard, lying in the Arctic Ocean midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole; the city of Tromsø; the Lofoten Islands; and the city of Bodø. The Lofoten Islands are renowned amongst most Norwegians as a particularly quaint and beautiful place in Norway. If you look at a map, the Lofoten Islands are the archipelago jutting out from the mainland approximately a third of the way down the country. I look forward to the semester-end journey and sharing my experiences with you afterwards.
As the semester is drawing to a close, I had to say my first farewell to a classmate as he'll be traveling soon to another city in Norway for training to prepare for his field work next semester. I bid this farewell at a gathering with my master's program at another classmate's house last night. My Norwegian classmate, Lisa, invited us all over for a cozy gathering and delicious bacalao at her home. I brought homemade beer for the group to enjoy.
The pictures I've posted below are from my last cross country ski trip for the season. As with my final weeks in the country, this ski trip to conclude the season was bittersweet for me. The conditions were amazing, with mostly good weather, blue skies, and significant time with the sun shining down on us. I went with an Australian friend, Zoe, who is a medical student and studying at the University of Oslo for the semester. The photos are compliments of her. We enjoyed about 70 km of skiing, bringing my cumulative distance for the year to a grand total of 833 km, or 518 miles.
I wish everyone a wonderful May, and Happy Mother's Day to all those who fit the bill!
Dan
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Finse, situated at 1,222 meters above sea level. This stop along the train line connecting Oslo to Bergen is a popular location to spend the night while going from cabin to cabin on cross country skis. We began our trek at this point.
Zoe with a dog sled team in the background. We met and talked with some dog mushers along our way and learned that the first weekend of May is a special weekend for many of them to go out for a ride in the area where we were skiing.
The name of the region in which we were skiing is Hardangervidda, a mountain plateau with a climate that maintains ski conditions until the end of May
But careful, some spots could get a bit wet!
We encountered these conditions only on a couple occasions along the way. The top 6-12 inches are a snowy slushy blend having been melted from the warmth of the sun, but a sturdy thick sheet of ice lying underneath remains intact and keeps us on top.
Enjoying some relaxing and high altitude tanning
This picture presents the profile of the mountain plateau well. Virtually no sharp cliffs or mountain peaks and mainly undulating hills. I prefer this type of terrain when XC skiing.
As the temperatures are rising in the spring, we begin to see more mountain streams flowing
The cabin we stayed at the first evening. The cabin is another of the collection of 400+ around the country administered by the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT)
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