Between seasons – between journeys
It is a frosty morning in Tromsø. Warm sunlight lies on the snow-covered tops of the mountains and the birch trees have shed their leaves. Other trees and bushes are still wearing their autumn garb but their leaves are falling, too. There, on the ground they become covered with morning frost, a clear sign that it is still autumn, but winter has already knocked on the door.
I am not only between seasons, but also between journeys. It was a week ago that I returned from the four-week holiday in Western Canada that Annika and I took. Now my suitcase is packed again, along with a huge bag containing my Canada Goose down parka and pants. In a few hours I will fly to Longyearbyen on Svalbard, and tomorrow I will embark on another expedition on the icebreaking research vessel Kronprins Haakon with the Norwegian Polar Institute. We will spend almost three weeks in the Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland, and I had a lot to organise over the past few days. Now I finally have time to look forward to the cruise. As always I am pretty curious. How will the sea ice situation be? Will I get my tasks solved? How will the weather be? Will I still remember Canada while being on the ship?
Probably I will have some spare time to blog from the ship, but I cannot promise. We’ll see …