From Obbola to Tromsø – home home and work home

Thursday, 20 March – Obbola

Annika and I are in Obbola, my “home home”. In the morning we get visitors. Three deer stand in our garden – always alert. Are they happy, that much of the snow is gone?

Deer in our garden in Obbola

In my lunch break I am kayaking round the island Bredskär. That’s just 3 km. There is still some ice round the rocks at the shore, but much snow and ice has melted away the last weeks. What a warm winter.

Kayak tourThe last ice blocks

Friday, 21 March

Annika and I take the car to Tromsø. We will make a stopover in Jokkmokk, because the total distance is almost 1000 km. Hejdå home home!

Hejdå, our Swedish home in Obbola

In warm and sunny weather we head northwards to Piteå and then northwest to Jokkmokk. Now we are north of the Polar Circle.

Arrival in Jokkmokk

In Jokkmokk we meet a good friend and take a walk round the lake Talvatissjön. Around the sun a halo appears .

Halo in Jokkmokk

Saturday, 22 March

After a good sleep in the hostel Åsgård Annika and I continue our car trip. Gällivare, Kiruna, Abisko. Torneträsk – the 6th largest lake in Sweden – is still completely frozen. Good for recreation such as skiing.

Skier on the Torneträsk

Parts of the road were closed some days ago. You can still see some remains of the snow storm.

E10 between Abisko und Rriksgränsen

Some weeks ago it would have been impossible to drive from Jokkmokk to Tromsø in daylight. Anyhow two days ago astronomical spring has started and the days are as long as everywhere. After hours of driving the sun is low but visible. It illuminates the beautiful clouds. And then we arrive at our apartment in Tromsø, my “work home”.

Altocumulus lenticularisBack in Tromsø

Sunday, 23 March

On Sunday the weather gets nasty. Max temperature: +9 °C and wind gusts up to 23.5 m/s. Annika and I take a promenade anyhow. With spiked shoes because some of the ways are just bare, wet ice and the friction is next to zero. We arrive at home before the rain. Good luck.

Slippery waysAfternoon rain

Monday, 24 March

On my way to work I spot the first spring flowers in front of the Tromsø Cathedral. I could believe in spring …

Spring flowers in Tromsø ISpring flowers in Tromsø II

Tuesday, 25 March

… but do know the forecast and it is correct: Snow, snow, snow on the next day. So it looks like in the morning outside of the apartment …

Snow in Tromsø in the morning

… and so in the afternoon, when I walked home.

Heavy snowfall at the lake PrestvannetWinter walk IWinter walk IIMe and the old Anorak I’ve bought 2nd hand

So we did not solely travelled between countries but also between seasons. Anyhow I hope for some more winter days (or weeks), before my seasonal clock will jump to spring mode. Perhaps in mid-May?

 

Waves and flying ice at Vitskärsudden

No paddling today. The reason, why? Strong winds and rough sea with breaking waves.

Waves at Vitskärsudden IIWaves at Vitskärsudden IWaves at Vitskärsudden III

The wind blew onshore, carrying the sea spray several metres inland. Normally spray is liquid, but today it consisted mostly of peaces of crushed ice. Ice from floes that the waves had been crushing into smithereens. So yes – ice can fly, at least a few metres.

“Flying ice I”“Flying ice II”

A result of these conditions was the ice wall you can see in the front of some of the photos. It was built today and was up to one metre high.

So as I said, no paddling today and no winter bath either.

 

Kayak – 3rd try and success

It’s less the temperature than the wind who makes the sea ice on the Baltic Sea vanish. Although we had -10 °C this morning the sea was more or less open. Time for a slightly longer kayak tour in the afternoon under a blue sky enjoying the calm weather.

But still there is some ice shield attached to the coast. As the days before I push myself forward using ice spikes.

Ice kayak IIce kayak II

First the ice holds then I crash through. It takes me 10 minutes to cross 100 metres of ice until I reach open water. Yay!

Blue sea, blue sky

I decide to paddle round the islands Obbolstenarna. There is hardly any ice left on the way there but at the eastern shore it still looks pretty wintry.

Icy Obbolstenarna IIcy Obbolstenarna IIIcy Obbolstenarna IIIIcy Obbolstenarna IV

The western part of  Obbolstenarna however looks like another season. Is winter over now? Anyhow, time to kayak home.

Western shore of ObbolstenarnaPaddling back

If you look carefully at the photo with the red bow of my kayak you see that the water is very smooth but with some crystal like structures. Let’s take a close look:

New ice

Despite of the sun air temperature is still below zero. Not only the sea water on the kayak freezes but new ice is also formed on the water surface. It is thin and fragile but so soft, that the smooth waves do not break it. An even closer photo (heavily edited):

New ice on the Baltic Sea – details

Through this smooth though icy water I paddle back until I reach the ice edge again. I choose another place, take a run-up and paddle onto the ice. I’m lucky. This ice is more stable and I do not break through. I slide back to the shore. Meanwhile the sun is already low. I was slower than planned, because it took some time to take all these photos.

Ice in the low sun

 

Kayak – 2nd try

Just one day later the situation has changed on the Baltic Sea with a lot of more open water than ice. So the kayak season was continued today.

A heart cloudStacked thin layers of iceAlong the ice edgeOlder and newer ice

No Kayaking, the ice is too thick

Three days ago I opened the kayak season in the open Baltic Sea. Since then the weather has become colder and the Baltic Sea has started to freeze over. I was in doubt, if I could find open water to paddle kayak or at least thin ice today, but at least I wanted to try.

I drag the kayak to the edge between old and new ice and then along the shore.

Ice kayaking I

The ice between mainland and the islet Lillskär looks solid.

Ice kayaking II

I push the kayak onto the ice and enter it. The ice holds.

Ice kayaking III

I use ice spikes to push myself forward. Soon the ice is thinner and my kayak breaks into the ice. The paddle however is not made for chopping 2 cm of ice so I continue with the spikes.

Ice kayaking IV

A small patch of open water, then ice again. It is exhausting to push myself forward, especially when the ice breaks and there is nothing to push against. However there is another type of ice ahead, perhaps it is thinner.

Ice kayaking V

No, it is not. For today I give up and return. Backwards, because in the small groove that I had cut into the ice with my kayak it is next to impossible to turn.

Ice kayaking VI

After some backing I reach the small open patch of water again. Now I can turn. It takes some momentum to “jump” onto the stable ice. After some more sliding on the stable ice I arrive home. On the weekend it probably gets warmer and, more important, windier. Maybe the wind will break the ice. Until that the paddle season is paused.

 

Back in Obbola – opening the kayak season

Friday

Two days ago Annika and I returned from our Finnmark and Finland journey. Just north of Umeå there was a low layer of strange clouds. Any of you who knows what kind of clouds this is?

Strange clouds

Saturday

We are back home in Obbola in Sweden. The sky is clear and blue. In wintertime this often means that it can be pretty cold outside. Instead we had up to +8 or +9 °C. What a strange winter.

The wind is strong. The waves have already crushed the ice floes. In the afternoon the floating ice has been blown away into the open sea.

Ice floes in our little bayCrushed ice at Vitskärsudden

There is still some snow around but parts of the ground is free of snow. That‘s early for the season. And so is the arrival of the first whooper swans.

Where is the snow?Whooper swan seen from our garden

Sunday

The wind has calmed down and so have the waves. Time to fetch the kayak from the garage and open the kayak season. While there was not much of ice left at the shores of Obbola and the island Bredskär there was another highlight today: A 360°C halo round the sun.

Starting the first kayak tour 2025A field of thin ice covers the seaBredskär beachHalo IThe lighhouse DynanHalo IIBredskär, partly free of snowA small remaining ice floeThe Finland ferryThe islands ObbolstenarnaBack home

Next week?

It looks like we expect colder temperatures, sun and calm weather. I hope, I have more opportunities to do some kayaking.

Finnmark birches

This article is part of the series “2025-02: Finnmark”.

Yesterday Annika and I continued our travel from Alta to Karasjok, part of the Norwegian Finnmark. I connect this landscape with birches and snowy hills. Especially by the rivers it often looks like this:

Finnmark birches IFinnmark birches II

You may think, this looks quite desolate, but I love the simplicity landscape. I find it much less desolate than the wet and ice snow free meadows that we passed the day before. Sign of a winter that has been much too warm (and still is).

The lower parts by the sea are often free of snow – in the end of February!

The rivers however can be quite beautiful, when they are partly frozen and snowy and partly open. This is the river Kárášjohka where the road 92 crosses it.

Kárášjohka

Wretched, wet, windy winter weather

If you are like me and love white winters with a lot of snow and clear sky – stop reading. The weather in Tromsø the last weeks was mostly miserable. We had hardly any frost days and most precipitation came as rain. A lot of rain. And it was windy. Yes, we had winds.

There is still round about 45 cm of snow, but it is wet, icy and has a lot of holes. It’s ugly and hard to walk on.

So it looked like today when I was walking home from the bus stop Prestvannet:

Way home I – Framsenteret – our officeWay home II – Tromsø DomkirkeWay home III – icy pathWay home IVWay home V – wet pathWay home VI – the lake PrestvannetWay home VII – by the lake PrestvannetWay home VIIIWay home IX – under the snowWay home X – dark forestWay home XIWay home XII – TromsøbadetWay home XIII – icy ski trackWay home XIVWay home XV – crossing the E8Way home XVI – almost there

Luckily it looks like that a colder period starts tomorrow and we even may get some fresh snow until the end of the week.

Rain, rain, rain

It was so beautiful in the weekend when Tromsø got half a metre of fresh snow. Already on Monday it got warm and it started raining. Since then it has been above zero with a lot of rain of all kinds. Drizzle, steady rain, downpour. Snow became sleet, the roads and footpaths became very icy and roof avalanches tried to hit my car with wet snow.

Slushy roadsWet snow by the street left by the ploughRoof avalanche in front of my apartmentA very icy footpath

While it continued raining first the larger roads became free of ice and snow and then even many smaller ones. More than half of the snow has melted away. What a shame! Anyhow, if yr is correct we get new snow on Sunday and colder weather next week. That would be much appreciated by a winter lover like me.

Tromsø today – near workTromsø today –near my apartment

Data from the Norwegian weather service yr:

Date Snow depth at 0:00 CET Rain fall
2025-01-13 124.0 cm 26.7 mm
2025-01-14 94.8 cm 23.0 mm
2025-01-15 88.6 cm 0.2 mm
2025-01-16 72.5 cm 34.9 mm
2025-01-17 64.1 cm 13.9 mm
2025-01-18 55.0 cm

(Source: www.yr.no/nb/historikk/graf/5-90450)