Peddle kurs (kajak course)

It was the end of May and kajakking is the new skiing, so we followed a kajakkurs. Things to bring to the course: hat, gloves, 2 sets of woolen underwair, dry clothes, sausages and chocolate...!
We had a lot of fun, learning how to paddle , getting out of a kajak that is upside down and also how to get in again. On Sunday we had a big lunchbreak with a campfire and sausages. The water was a little bit cold, 4 degrees, but the drysuits helped! Now that we have passed this course and recieved our 'wetcard' we can borrow Statoils kajaks. There will more kajakking in the near future!

Plons!


Douglas & Claartje

Happy Norway day!

On the 17th of May the Norwegians celebrate their National day. They go outside and have large parades, eat ice cream, cake and sausages. They congratulate each other with the birthday of Norway and sing the anthem whenever they get the chance. This day they also wear their traditional regional dress, which makes it a very colourful day! Hurra!

Vi snakkes!

Claartje & Douglas

Moving

 

On the 12th of May we have moved to our new house here in Harstad. And by now, we are almost finished unpacking! We are very happy in our new home, and this summer a lot of friends and family will come and have a look, looking forward to that! With the house comes a garden, where last years leaves came out from under the snow. There is a first time for everything, like raking a garden! And we have new view..

For those of you that are interested in our new adress...send us an email....

Ha det bra!

Douglas & Claartje

Trip to the Netherlands and last day of skiing

  

Hei!

In the week before Easter we went on a holiday to the Netherlands.

We met our family, saw among other things some living statues in Borne, visited Deventer, went to 'Het Noorden', saw a lot of friends, had a great time and enjoyed the sun and great temperatures the whole week long! It was a really nice week, thanks everybody for creating time to see us!!

We got back in Harstad on Easter Sunday, just in time for the last day of skiing at the local ski-slope on Monday.

Goodby snow, and welcome sun!

At the moment we are in the process of moving to our new house. More about that in our next post.

Ha det god!

Douglas & Claartje

Skiing in Sweden, Kirnuna and the Ice Hotel

Hei!

In the beginning of April, we travelled to Sweden for the first time since we arrived in Norway to go skiing with some colleagues.
The drive there was fantastic, it took us further into Norway past Narvik.
Sweden is actually very close to where we live, it took us only two hours to get to Swedish boarder. The ski ‘resort’ is located on the border between Sweden and Norway. It is possible to ski from Sweden to Norway and back going down on one of the slopes. As the weather was very bad and the ski lifts were closed on Saturday, we decided to go and visit the Swedish mining town Kiruna and the Ice hotel that is built there. Very impressive to see a whole building of ice! Not necessarily a place I would like to spend the night though...

On Sunday the weather was a lot better so we could go skiing. It was a great weekend with a great atmosphere and a nice 'after ski'

Ha det bra!

Claartje and Douglas

Douglas won a price, we bought a house, skiing!

A long time since we last posted something, and a lot of things happend in de mean time:

In the last week of February, Douglas went to the Netherlands because he was nominated for a prize. In the finals he managed to win the Universities Fonds Delft Cofely Energy Price! Of course he was very happy with that!

And: We have bought a house here in Harstad!! We were looking around since October, and it took us some time to figure out what we wanted and to find the right house. After we found it, the strange Norwegian bidding practices started, but apparantely we had a good strategy and we got the house for a good price.
At the start of May we will get the keys. In our new house there is more than enough space for people to come and stay over. Maybe a good insentive for those of you that have not planned their trip to Harstad yet?

We have done quit a lot of skiing in February and March, straight after work to the ski-slopes, enjoying new powder snow on the slopes and the fresh air! What a great place to live in!!

Vi snakkes!

Claartje and Douglas

Cold and beautiful

We have had great weather the last two weeks, cold but sunny (yes, the sun returned some time ago). We are outside every day walking, skiing and sledging.

We found some moose traces in the snow and ploughed trough kneedeep snow around a lake. Lots of fun! 

There were also beautiful northernlights above Harstad at several nights!
Unfortunately at the moment is it warmer and raining, so all the snow is dissapearing...should be back next week though!

Love,

Douglas & Claartje

Having fun in the snow.

New snow, lots of fun and nice views!

Love Claartje & Douglas