Hiking in Vesterålen

Did a very nice hike together with my fabulous Grandma Hilda and Aunt Astri. In the background is the spiky peak of Klotinden.

Gisløya in Øksnes

Hiked through Grunnfjorden Nature Reserve and reached the sailing light at Gisløya. This is another pearl of Vesterålen. After a short wait the sun came down below the clouds on the horizon and gave me a magnificently lit landscape.

Landing across the ice at 80° N

Amongst my favorite moments in expedition cruising is when the conditions are such that you don't have to use other landing crafts than you own two feet. This is from Chermsideøya high north in the Svalbard archipelago.

Hammerfest

Travelled through Hammerfest a while ago with Hurtigruten. What a city! Quite colorful and thriving on the natural gas taken ashore on the nearby Melkøya, where there is a plant that is, essentially, a giant 10 billion $ fridge that makes it liquid and transfers it to Liquid Natural Gas vessels that takes it to the markets.




A few hours further north, before you arrive the port of Havøysund, you witness another method of luring energy out of nature. The giant windmills dot the spectacular cliff in an intriguing way.

Fast ferry to Harstad

I took Hurtigruten from Harstad to Tromsø on friday. On our way we met the fast ferry going in the opposite direction in fantastic winter light.

Raudtind in Tromsø

Dark season skiing in Tromsø is great. Not too much light, but enough to have a great time on the mountain.

Hunting the Light

Sailed from Tromsø to Bergen this week. Fantastic light - forget the midnight sun and all those things we've seen a million times.

White Sea - Russia

I was just stuck in a hotel in Moscow. Bad luck, but at the same time it gave me an opportunity to re-live yesterday. I had a memorable day on the Northern Dvina River. Together with my Russian friends; Olga, Vladimir, Jury, Natasha and Anna I had the pleasure exploring the borders of the White Sea. It made me feel like continuing an ancient tradition of keeping up the good relationship between the Pomor People and Northern Norway. Mayor of Patrakeevka; Petr Ivanovich Kopytov (you see him in the only portrait below) had a first class, number one welcome in his village, that's for sure. In excitement I took a few pictures...

Hiking on a beach near Tromsø

I spent the first of May hiking along a beach for four hours. The weather was variable and the sky was changing all the time. This season is great for big backcountry skiing trips followed by some layed-back life on the beach, a bonfire and good food.

Evening light in Tromsø

The light yesterday evening was so nice that I had to mount my long lens and go out on my veranda to shoot this picture. I thank the fisherman that conveniently came sailing in from Sunday overtime.

In Arctic Air Space

The sun is almost back in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. These pictures are taken from the flight in yesterday and out today. The landscape is extraordinary fascinating in the blue ambient light from the sun below the horizon. The reason I was in Longyearbyen this time was to launch the Norwegian Polar Institute Cruise Handbook for Svalbard (sorry, only in Norwegian, coming in English by the summer), the project I have been working on this winter.

Architecture Svalbard

Longyearbyen is becoming a place where modern high tech and architecture goes hand in hand. The new university is an excellent example. The new part of the university building is designed by Jarmund/Vigsnæs AS and have been nominated to the prestigious Miles van der Rohe-price. This is the European Union price for best contemporary architecture.