I am back
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Crista
01 Maart 2016 | Noorwegen, Tromsø
A blog after many, many months. Many things have happened, but nothing about that tonight. Just my thoughts while I am staying here in a hotel in the beautiful north of our country.
Thoughts around winter. I will try to explain the phenomena 'winter' to you Dutch people. Because is Norwegian winter = Dutch winter (times 100 or so)?
Not at all. If you think in detail around winter, there is so much we Dutch people never experience and therefore can't imagine, even if we are used to visit other countries for winter sports or similar.
This year, we didn't have much of a winter. But still, the world has been covered in snow for a long period of time by now. That is really odd if you think around the consequences.
- things that are hanging around in your garden will be invisible most of the winter. If you don't clean your garden well before the snow comes, you may be surprised after the winter by what you find in your garden (and/or by the state of it: not everything survives ice and cold...)
- if you are driving in a landscape you haven't seen by summer, it is nearly impossible to imagine what it looks like without snow-cover. Once the snow disappears, you may discover paths, garden-borders, markings and much more.
- the world is more organized in the summer: in the winter everything is just white. It can be difficult to see the flow of the landscape, to imagine small lakes, to imagine what the road actually looks like and how the hard shoulder you tend to use in the winter, isn't a hard shoulder at all but swamp in the summertime...
- if the road isn't cleared, there is no road in the wintertime. An abandoned house, a walking path etc, they may be unreachable in the winter, unless you have a snow scooter or are willing to walk through knee-deep snow or worse.
- when the road is icy, your driving speed will drop significantly
- by bad driving circumstances, you will suddenly experience how the trucks drive faster as the cars, tend to push you to speed up, try to pass you on ridiculous places
- driving a car is more like driving a boat on the real winter road. The reaction of the car to your steering is different, your 'flow' is different. Can really recommend driving a very old car by winter circumstances, with no board computer or modern equipment, to really, really get that experience and learn how a car reacts in wintertime.
- there is less colour in the winter, at the same time, everything is brighter (on sunny days). If you watch around, you see all different shades of grey, black and white, plus a blue sky. This gives a special experience and makes you really appreciate the red and yellow houses you see scattered around, and not understanding how white and black houses ever could have become a hype (unless you live in a city).
No, Norwegian winter is not a bigger version of Dutch winter. It is completely different. And I can only appreciate the possibilities I have had to experience them, both with dog sledding, driving my old Beetle around in the middle of nowhere, traveling all over the country to see the differences everywhere. Winter really is something. For those who aren't afraid, that is. And those who have experienced some winter, you have this experience as a kid how much fun snow is, how you can have a snowball fight, build snowmen, fool around in the snow, let yourself fall, making snow angels etcetera. If you never enjoyed the snow before, it may be more difficult to appreciate it fully, but I am a fan of winter.
Unfortunately it is quite difficult if not impossible to go swimming/bathing in the winter, which is the other thing I really like around Norway. But that gives something nice to look out for once the snow is gone. By now, I am still in winter-wonderland.
Thoughts around winter. I will try to explain the phenomena 'winter' to you Dutch people. Because is Norwegian winter = Dutch winter (times 100 or so)?
Not at all. If you think in detail around winter, there is so much we Dutch people never experience and therefore can't imagine, even if we are used to visit other countries for winter sports or similar.
This year, we didn't have much of a winter. But still, the world has been covered in snow for a long period of time by now. That is really odd if you think around the consequences.
- things that are hanging around in your garden will be invisible most of the winter. If you don't clean your garden well before the snow comes, you may be surprised after the winter by what you find in your garden (and/or by the state of it: not everything survives ice and cold...)
- if you are driving in a landscape you haven't seen by summer, it is nearly impossible to imagine what it looks like without snow-cover. Once the snow disappears, you may discover paths, garden-borders, markings and much more.
- the world is more organized in the summer: in the winter everything is just white. It can be difficult to see the flow of the landscape, to imagine small lakes, to imagine what the road actually looks like and how the hard shoulder you tend to use in the winter, isn't a hard shoulder at all but swamp in the summertime...
- if the road isn't cleared, there is no road in the wintertime. An abandoned house, a walking path etc, they may be unreachable in the winter, unless you have a snow scooter or are willing to walk through knee-deep snow or worse.
- when the road is icy, your driving speed will drop significantly
- by bad driving circumstances, you will suddenly experience how the trucks drive faster as the cars, tend to push you to speed up, try to pass you on ridiculous places
- driving a car is more like driving a boat on the real winter road. The reaction of the car to your steering is different, your 'flow' is different. Can really recommend driving a very old car by winter circumstances, with no board computer or modern equipment, to really, really get that experience and learn how a car reacts in wintertime.
- there is less colour in the winter, at the same time, everything is brighter (on sunny days). If you watch around, you see all different shades of grey, black and white, plus a blue sky. This gives a special experience and makes you really appreciate the red and yellow houses you see scattered around, and not understanding how white and black houses ever could have become a hype (unless you live in a city).
No, Norwegian winter is not a bigger version of Dutch winter. It is completely different. And I can only appreciate the possibilities I have had to experience them, both with dog sledding, driving my old Beetle around in the middle of nowhere, traveling all over the country to see the differences everywhere. Winter really is something. For those who aren't afraid, that is. And those who have experienced some winter, you have this experience as a kid how much fun snow is, how you can have a snowball fight, build snowmen, fool around in the snow, let yourself fall, making snow angels etcetera. If you never enjoyed the snow before, it may be more difficult to appreciate it fully, but I am a fan of winter.
Unfortunately it is quite difficult if not impossible to go swimming/bathing in the winter, which is the other thing I really like around Norway. But that gives something nice to look out for once the snow is gone. By now, I am still in winter-wonderland.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
