Wretched, wet, windy winter weather Feb 11 2025

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:

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

Strange clouds Feb 2 2025

When I woke up today at 7 o’clock half the sky was red. It was still dark enough for stars being visible and I considered whether this could be some strange sort of polar light.

When I walked to the ski jump it has become less dark and it was clear, that the colours come from the light of the sun rise (09:17 today). Anyhow there must have been some strange clouds up in the sky reflecting the light of a sun still being 8° below the horizon. Even the snowy mountains were crimson red.

When I took a hike with a friend on the frozen snow near Tønsvik my eyes caught another special cloud phenomenon. These pale clouds were colourful due to diffraction. The effect was weak and delicate and so the photo looks a bit boring. No reason to now show it anyhow ;-)

It is 8 o’clock. The sky is clear and I can see Mars, Jupiter, Moon and Venus in the starry sky. In the north there is a very faint polar light.Will it develop? I’ll check until I’ll go to sleep.

The sun is back in Tromsø Jan 22 2025

Today I saw the sun for the first time this year. Polar night in Tromsø has already ended one week ago but it always takes some days until it rises over the mountains. Yesterday it was cloudy but today was the day. Welcome back, sun.

This is a shot by mobile phone. I may have taken better photos with my small Sony camera but I forgot it in the office.

Rain, rain, rain Jan 17 2025

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.

Wet snow by the street left by the plough

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.

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

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)

Clearing snow in Tromsø Jan 11 2025

This evening I was out in the snow. I walked 1.6 km and this was the route:

What happened? Was I disorientated? Drunk? Drugged? No, none of that. The snowfall was the reason. It has been snowed more or less the whole day and in the last 24 hours (22:00 – 22:00) we got 26 cm of new snow resulting in a snow depth of 103 cm.

I am lucky. The front yard beside the parking place lies about a metre deeper and I don’t have to pile up snow but push it more or less straight into the front yard. The garden gets fuller under the winter and so the way gets longer. Today’s snow clearing covered a distance of 1.6 km according to my tracking app. The last metre is the hardest, because there the snow is still soft and if you made a careless step there you might land in hip deep snow. Or in my case after moving my legs up and down a few times even deeper:

Since it hasn’t stopped snowing yet I will have to shovel again tomorrow. To be honest, I like it. I am outside and get some exercise, I can do it in the dark and the front door of my apartment is never more than 20 metres away. But I want to use my skies tomorrow as well. Last chance before the heavy rain arrives.

Back in Tromsø and it’s winter Dec 1 2024

When I worked in Tromsø on 20 November I took a snapshot through the window panes of the 5th floor. You could guess the sun between the mountains. It would be the last time I’d see the sun in Tromsø this year.

The next day I travelled to Germany to visit friends. I returned yesterday, 30 November and could see the sunset a bit north of Bergen from the airplane back to Tromsø.

In Tromsø we have polar night from 27 November until 14 January next year and it looks like this:

No, it doesn’t! Just kidding.

Polar night (the English term) does not mean, that it is dark all day. Only, that the sun won’t rise or set. The Norwegians – more affected than other countries – have two words. They call the polar night mørketid (darkness time) and reserve the term polarnatt (polar night) for the time where the sun is at more than six degrees below the horizon for the whole day. This applies only to places north of 72°33′ such as Bjørnøya or Svalbard.

Since it is not pitch-black I took a small ski promenade in the forests nearby. And so it looks like on a cloudy 1 December (-4 °C) on Tromsøya:

Ski promenade in Tromsø on 1 December II

Ski promenade in Tromsø on 1 December III

Ski promenade in Tromsø on 1 December IV

Norddeich/Norden Sep 12 2024

Annika and I were in Norddeich, the coastal district of Norden (“north”) in East Friesland, Germany the last days. The word “Norden” definitely qualifies that place for getting an article in my blog way-up-north.

Many streets of Norddeich have the theme “north” in their names. Am Nordkap (At the North Cape), Nordlandstraße (Northland street), Nordlichtstraße (Northern Light Street). Guess what, I like the names! Partly from my Scandinavian point of view, partly because I am from Northern Germany and therefore a “Nordlicht” (a nickname for people from Northern Germany) by myself.

Some photos from Tuesday, 10 September, the day of our arrival:

Yesterday on Wednesday, 11 September Annika and I rented e-bikes and took a cycle tour to Greetsiel. The weather was quite nasty for early September: strong gusty winds, hailstorms, cloudbursts and even a thunderstorm. And all that at temperatures around 10–11 °C. Kudos for the e-bikes! Without electrical motor support we wouldn’t have managed it against the wind.

It’s a long way to travel to Norden from our places. Round about 2800 km from Tromsø, my “work home” and still 1900 km from Obbola, my “home home”. But I think, I’ll visit Norddeich again some other time.

Fram Strait 2024 – returning to Svalbard Sep 1 2024

This article is part of the series “2024-08: Fram Strait cruise KPH”.

26 August 2024

It is the 14th day of our Fram Strait cruise. We are on our way back to Longyearbyen on Svalbard. After many grey and foggy days we finally have got nicer weather since yesterday and so I am standing on the “heli deck” looking for animals to take pictures of. I cannot see any whales and the few puffins that I spot are too fast and too far away. So I take photos of the seagulls that effortlessly accompany the ship.

Since today it is possible to see land again in the distance. Not Greenland like a week ago but Prins Karls Forland, an elongated island which is the westernmost island of the Svalbard archipelago.

I have gone inside again until I see a message popping on our WhatsApp group:

Dolphins just in front of the ship now

I grab my photo bag, hurry to the heli deck again and see a school of dolphins on the starboard side. Most of them swim underwater but again and again a group of these beautiful sea mammals come out of the water. With my big telephoto lens I try to take pictures of the dolphins. The result: a lot of pictures of sea water. They are just too fast for me and my lens. But I’m lucky. Once I manage to guess correctly and get a photo of two dolphins (and a third one immersed).

27 August 2024

Originally we wanted to reach Svalbard one day later but a lot of things have been done faster without the presence of sea ice. Mooring recoveries are simpler, CTD casts are easier and so is the ship’s navigation – no search for leads needed. Therefore we will arrive one day earlier, which is today. While I’m having breakfast we are already in the fjord Isfjorden. At 9 o’clock we have arrived in the city port of Longyearbyen.

After lunch I leave the ship and stand on land again. I walk into town and go to Svalbardbutikken, the local supermarket. We still live on board and get our meals there, but I want to have chocolate! And I get it.

28 August 2024

We all have stayed on board overnight as well. The cabins are free (and paid) and so there is no need to find some expensive last-minute accommodation in Longyearbyen.

My plane to Tromsø will depart at 14:40. I interrupt my work and leave the ship once more to take some pictures. It is sunny again but Svalbard looks pretty brown and dirty in summer.

Then it was time to say good bye to the crew and the other participants. Car to the airport – checking in the baggage – security. And some hours later I sat in the airplane to Tromsø now leaving also Svalbard and the research ice breaker Kronprins Haakon behind.

When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the data work is done,
When the budget’s lost or won …

Before the cruise – Longyearbyen, Svalbard Aug 13 2024

This article is part of the series “2024-08: Fram Strait cruise KPH”.

Sunday, 11. August

I am sitting in a plane heading north. Tromsø lies behind, the plane goes to Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on Svalbard. If everything goes according to plan I’ll be on board of the Norwegian research icebreaker Kronprins Haakon two days from now to join a scientific cruise to the Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland.

Eight other participants are in the same plane, there are not so many flights to Longyearbyen. The rest will arrive tomorrow or has been joining already the previous cruise. We wait for the luggage and then for the “Maxitaxi“ that brings us to our different accommodations. I check in at Gjestehuset 102 and start a photo tour back to the center.

Arctic cottongrass grows next to the road

The river is fast and carries very muddy water

In August the town looks brown. It’s brown water, brown mountains and brown dust everywhere. As a photographer I prefer winter. Longyearbyen lies by the fjord Adventfjorden and there lies the German research icebreaker Polarstern that I visited in Tromsø three days ago.

The German icebreaker Polarstern in Longyearbyen

It is windy but surprisingly warm with temperatures round 19 °C. Later I learn that the maximum was 20.3 °Con this day, the warmest August temperature measurement ever. I stroll around and go to the huge supermarket to buy some goodies. Then I head to the beach again to take some more photos. At 18:30: dinner time with nine of the cruise participants. After that I walk the 2.3 km back to the guesthouse. And take some more photos in the evening light.

Monday, 12. August

Before the cruise many things are on hold. When will the ship arrive? When are the first scientists allowed on board? Is my help needed? When is the flare gun training for the ice people? And so on. Let’s wait and see.

KPH has arrived in the morning but only a few selected scientists were supposed to go on board to get a handover. So I have time to stroll around again – it is still warm and sunny – and take some more photos while constantly checking our WhatsApp group for plans being updated. And I meet some of my colleagues that joined the previous cruise.

Goslings – part of a larger flock of geese

Taubanesentralen– used in old mining times

In the evening we have another dinner, this time with all 19 participants. That is quite a small team this time, there are 35 berths on the vessel. We have pizza and the first opportunity to get to know each other. What a nice and interesting team I am allowed to work with for the next two and a half weeks :-) !

Tuesday, 13. August

Today is the day. I was already in town and bought a woollen sweater that I wanted to buy for years. Then at 13:00 the first group of people gets a ride to our swimming research platform – Kronprins Haakon. Welcome back. At 13:15 I have boarded, at 15:00 I have checked in. I have got the very same room as on the first cruise two years ago. It’s on deck 3 in the bow and when there is ice, it is shaky, loud and noisy. I love it! Arctic lullabies. This time I have it eben for me alone. That’s luxury!

At 16:00 we get a safety briefing. After that I fetch my safety boots and my survival suit. Will I ever wear it on the ice on this cruise? At 17:00 we have our first dinner. Salmon and rice – delicious. Ice cream as dessert. And at 18:19 I realise that we have left port. Now we will be on our way west.

My favourite photo shooting location – the heli deck

I will work with a software project and I want to join the sea ice team. The ice situation however is doubtful. Last year there was so much ice, that navigation was a real issue, not its the absence of ice that can lead to problems for the ice people. But as on each cruise – let’s wait and see.

Anyhow I’m lucky and happy to be on tokt – on cruise – again!

I decided not to blog regularly while being on the cruise. There is just too much going on and too much work to do. Anyhow I may show some photos in a few days. Let’s wait and see.

5 × 5 images from a Hurtigruten cruise Jun 5 2024

Two weeks ago I took the plane from Tromsø to Bergen. From there I would travel back to Tromsø by Hurtigruten together with my sister, my brother-in-law and my mother. My wife Annika would join us in Trondheim two days later.

22 May

There is still a lot of snow in the mountains on Tromsøya, Kvaløya, Senja and other islands I do not recognise from the plane. But in the lowland it is springtime.

Flaying from TOS (Tromsø) to BGO (Bergen)

I travelled with the Hurtigruten several times, but never south from Trondheim. We were not the only one’s boarding in Bergen. A lot of people use the Hurtigruten as a cruise ship, not as a possibility to travel from A to B. And there it lies, the vessel Kong Harald.

We have boarded round 18:00. At 20:30 we are departing and leave the town Bergen behind.

We are in sheltered waters and you hardly notice the ship moving beside of the motor’s vibrations. Even though Bergen is nine degrees south from Tromsø it does not get dark anymore.

The weather is cloudy but when the sun peeks through a holes in the clouds it looks beautiful.

23 May

One breakfast later: We arrive in Ålesund where the Hurtigruten will stay for ten hours. Time to explore this town which looks so different from the towns in the north. Ålesund has many Art Nouveau houses and “exotic” plants like azaleas are blooming everywhere. Together with my sister I climb the four hundred and something steps up the Aksla where we have an awesome view on the town.

We have also a view on the cruise ship AIDA prima. And beside of that – our Hurtigruten ship Kong Harald. It looks so tiny in comparison. I definitely prefer the small one.

I take a short stroll through town before I meet the others. First I admire all the small Art Nouveau details on the houses, then I almost get a culture shock when I find this tunnel:

In the evening we circumnavigate the island Hessa, because the ship is “reparked” on the other side of Ålesund. After a very warm and sunny day clouds have been gathering. But the sun manages to send beams through the clouds.

Is this one of the life boats? I mean – a photo of one of the life boats? No, it is a photo of a reflection of one of the life boats. It is reflected in the glass facade of an office building by the port.

24 May

Where are we? In Trondheim. Yay! I was so looking forward to meet Annika there. She checks in, then we take a short stroll in town along the channel with the groundbreaking name Kanalen – the channel.

As in Tromsø there are Kittiwakes in Trondheim. They use to screech a lot – often to each other – but these two fellows seem to be a bit shy, at least in the minute where I took the photo.

At lunchtime we leave Trondheim behind. The shimmering sunlight is reflected by zillions of tiny waves. We meet commercial ships, fishing boats, two kayaks and sometimes a sailing boat.

On the port side there is the open sea. Blue sky, blue sea, a small skerry and a house. Wait, a house? Yes, it is erected on a floating raft. What you cannot see – it is part of one of the countless salmon farms located in coastal Norway.

I have moved into Annika’s cabin. It has no regular window but two portholes. It is five to eleven in the evening and the sun peeks into our small but practical cabin.

And that’s the night where I get sick. That really wouldn’t have been necessary at all.

25 May

I am feeling ill and I sleep, I sleep and I sleep. I do not leave the cabin before 17:45 to take some photos while we are approaching the Lofoten islands. They look like mirages at the hazy horizon.

Round half past seven we are approaching Stamsund, passing rocky skerries and rocky mountains. Northern Norway, here we come!

At the harbour a graffito was sprayed or painted on the outer wall of the waiting room. Free high fives! For me however it was time to continue sleeping …

… but I got up at 23:15 again to see more from the Lofoten islands. Some of the mountains look like not being from this world.

The light got dim but it didn’t get dark. It’s the first day of midnight sun on the Lofoten. And it is almost midnight.

26 May

The reason for being up so late is that Kong Harald sails into the quite famous and very narrow fjord Trollfjorden. The landscape is impressive because the Hurtigruten is so near to land. – especially the mighty dark rock face in the north.

On our way back I spot a beautiful wave pattern. I really wonder how it was created.

Then it is time for me to sleep. And I sleep long. At lunch time I take some more photos. Now the landscape looks very familiar. No wonder, in an hour we will be in Tromsø, where I’ve been working for three years now. To my relief there is still snow on the mountain tops. It looks so nice.

The sky is still blue and the sea has been calm more or less the whole journey. There is hardly any wind but the flag is flattering in the airstream.

Round two o’clock we pass the southern tip of the island Tromsøya and then the new buildings on the eastern sea side.

After round 93 hours we are leaving the ship. My family checks into their hotel, Annika and I take the bus to my apartment which has become one of my two homes.