It looks like winter has come back to Tromsø. At four o’clock the temperature fell below zero, at 17:30 the first heavy snow shower arrived and at 22:00 we got wind gusts up to 18 m/s. It’s not a lot of snow that fell, but the wind gusts take the snow from the ground and blow it through the streets in metre high clouds. Winter parka time, at least when I took this photo.
This article is part of the series “2025-02: Finnmark”.
While Annika and I have been travelling through Northern Norway, Finnish Lapland and Northern Sweden I take photos not only with my cameras, but also snapshots with my mobile phone. Here is a small non-landscape selection.
Solhov, built in 1912–24 as a school provides accommodation today. The wooden building is huge and has a large hall with a piano that is surprisingly in tune.
As in Tromsø it is too warm in Alta. Temperatures round +7 °C lead to snowmelt and giant puddles in town.
In the middle of nowhere there is a café by the road E45 from Alta to Kautokeino. To our delight it is open and we get reindeer burger and omelette with smoked rein for lunch. Delicious!
We stay two nights in Karasjok, where the Samí parliament is located. Our cabin is cozy. Min Ája, the camping site has a billiards room.
The design of some of the beer cans looks arctic. While most alcohol has to bought in the specialist shop “Vinmonopolet”, beer up to 4.7 % can be bought in supermarkets, too.
In the tourist shops you can buy a lot of genuine Sámi handicraft. And thick fabrics in wonderful colours. Many traditional Sámi garments use the same colours: blue, yellow, red, and green.
A small shop. A cupboard with lockers. On each locker attached photos, all of them with fishing motives.
As many hotel rooms our room has a wardrobe with hangers. But it has something more: two umbrellas. Could be a useful device here in the warmer months.
Saariselkä has many cross-country ski trails. No wonder, that the hotel has an own waxing hut, where you can prepare your skis.
It’s not a rumour, there are definitely a lot of Ä-s in the Finnish language.
No town without a pizzeria and/or a burger bar. Although the name “Riviera” may not completely match the actual winter weather in Sodankylä.
If temperatures are hardly below zero and it is snowing the snow is sometimes like glue and covers your car everywhere.
Snow, a birch, a fence, a road in the background. Leaning against the fence: a bicycle. Clearly unused for a while, since it is deeply stuck in the snow. A Northern winter short story.
Two countries, two time zones, two languages. At the border two towns: Tornio on the Finnish side, Haparanda on the Swedish. They share a lot of infrastructure such as the bus station. The border itself is not visible, but the two clocks showing Finnish and Swedish time or the cabinet with Finnish and Swedish food.
A border that connects people. A border I like.
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.
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.
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.
| 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)
Sometimes the trains in Northern Sweden run and sometimes they don’t. Last weekend, when my wife Annika planned to travel from Obbola to Tromsø they didn’t. Anyhow she was lucky and got a lift for most of the distance ending in the town Bardufoss. That’s less than two hours from Tromsø so I fetched her from there.
Sunday morning my car was covered with ice flowers. I was very happy that I got my tyres changed two days ago. Now I have studded winter tyres and I feel ready for winterly road conditions.
On my way to Bardufoss I took a detour through the valley Tamokdalen and the side valleys Rautadalen and Dividalen. Still many trees were clad in colourful leaves but a bit higher there where white of snow.
In Dividalen the temperature dropped to -4 °C and the road in the shadow was icy. Thank you, winter tyres!
The valley Dividalen is long and I didn’t make it to the end. On my way back the sun began to set. I crossed the river Målselva that has some river isles and turned left to the main road.
One other stop for a bog covered with frozen grass and a hill with green pines and spruces and yellow birches.
One day later – Annika and I take a walk through the forests nearby. Nature here may be less impressive but I like it very much as well. Two photos with the same theme: autumn, meet winter. What luxury to have access to nature nearby but only two minutes to the next bus stop.
It is the first of October. The wind is blowing and it is raining against the large window panes of the Framsenteret, the building where the Norwegian Polar Institute is located.
After work I take the bus to the lake Prestvannet and walk home. That’s about 4 to 5 kilometres depending on which of the zillion routes you choose. I prefer the small paths. Rubber boots recommended. It is still raining anyhow it has become colder and more and more sleet mixes with the raindrops. When I cross one of the broader ways the sun peeks through the clouds creating a beautiful light. I really enjoy these walks home and do it twice a week.
Today it is three days later. I wake up early and it is snowing, but the roads are dark and wet. After work I’m taking a smaller promenade through the neighbouring forest. Some patches of the morning snow have remained.
My way back home leads along a small path over one of the bog. The grass is turning yellow and so are the birch trees. Some of them have lost there leaves. The mountain Tromsdalstinden in the background has been snow white for many days. And the weather is pretty fair. A good end of the workweek. Now it is weekend and guess what – it will rain tomorrow.
It is autumnal equinox, the beginning of autumn today. Despite of the unstable weather a friend of mine and I took a tour to Oldervik and took some photos. Yes, we got wet and the friend’s dog was not amused. The good thing about unstable weather: You have a good chance of interesting light situations and rainbows.
This article is part of the series “2024-08: Fram Strait cruise KPH”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :-) !
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.
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.
It is 10 o’clock on Sunday, 28 April. Marika, whom I know from work and I are in Hansnes on the island Ringvassøya waiting for the ferry. It will take us to the island Vannøya where we want to stay for the day.
I want to take photos, so I am opening the boot of my car and realise that I have forgotten my camera backpack at home. Sh*t! Fortunately I have my Sony camera with me, which does a pretty good job on landscape photography But no time to be grumpy, here comes the ferry.
After a ferry ride of forty minutes we arrive at the island and take the western way to the fishing village Torsvåg. We pass the Polargirl, a passenger ship that uses to make touristic excursions in Svalbard in the summer season.
After seven kilometres we come to our first stop: A small beach. The view is incredible. Snow covered mountains in the back, a cloudless sky above, some islets with white sandy beaches and shallow waters of a turquoise colour so intense that you can see it on satellite images.
We start cleaning the beach, mostly of plastic. A huge amount is plastic nets and ropes from the fishing industry. The plastic is harmful to the environment and is especially dangerous to sea birds. Beach cleaning has become quite popular and it is a good feeling to remove the garbage from nature even when it is only a drop in the ocean. The next photo showing me is taken by Marika.
We stay there for a while, not only because the scenery is to beautiful and the sun shines warmly, but because there are seals out there. Some of them were sitting on rocks until the tide came in, others are swimming in the turquoise water. They are too far away to take good pictures, but I can observe them through my binoculars.
We continue our road trip, occasionally stopping when there is any wildlife. And there is quite a lot. Here at partially frozen puddles we do not only see crows but also a Eurasian curlew.
Minutes later we arrive at Sandsletta, a larger beach. The small sandy dunes are reminiscent of the German North Sea, the mountains aren’t.
There are some more photo stops, either for scenery or for animals. This time a reindeer (we saw some of them) grazing by the road.
Then we arrive at the fishing village Torsvåg. Parts of it are located on Vannøya, others on the small island Kåja. To get there by car you have to cross a dam with a single file concrete road. In the harbour area there is a huge rack full with fish hanging to dry. The dried fish is called stockfish. And there is the Torsvåg lighthouse. If you look north from there, you can see some stony islets and rocks and then there is the open Norwegian sea. Next stop Svalbard.
Is this the end of the island? Well, at least it is the end of this road. But there is more to explore. We turn, drive back 8 km and turn left onto the road to Burøysund in the east. Marika spots an eagle with prey, probably a mountain hare. I do not stop timely and the disturbed eagle flies away to land on a stone nearby. I make a photo through the windscreen, but it is blurred. Anyhow it shows, how big eagles are. You see the crow for size comparison?
Ten minutes later I have stopped the car again, this time for two ptarmigans that first strolled on a meadow by the road and then decided to ignore us and cross the road. Another object with flying abilities was easier to photograph, but what does a propeller plane do on a parking place by the road? Does it use the road for taking off and landing?
We arrive in Burøysund. The whole of Vannøya is a bit “Norway in a nutshell” with its snowy mountains, the blue sea, the rocky shore, the coastal villages. Here anyhow the rocks are special. They are sharp-edged with their “teeth” up into the air and look wild and rough.
Now it is time to head back. On a place we spotted already on our way there we take a late lunch break with the view to the sea (and some ptarmigans and seals in the distance) and the wetlands in our back.
Even if we take the second last ferry we have plenty of time. And we need it, because while driving further I spot something in the water which does not look like seabirds. It is an otter. No, it’s two, wait – three. They meet in the sea and then swim side by side.
Then they go ashore quite near us. One is swimming away soon while the other two stay on land for ten minutes. What an experience so see them so near! I’m sure they have seen us as well but since we are quiet they ignore us. What a pity, that I forgot my Nikon to use the large telephoto lens. The Sony did not manage to take good pictures, also because of the light situation. Anyhow – for the archives – two pictures of the otters:
This day really delivered! Incredible weather and a lot of wildlife. Reindeer, curlews, ptarmigans, geese, eagles, a lot of other birds I do not know, a white mountain hare, the first butterfly of the season (a small tortoiseshell), several seals and now the three otters. Time to catch the ferry with a hasty detour to the south east of the island from which you can see the Nordfugløya (Northern bird island).
Finally we have to hurry a bit but we reach the 19:15-ferry in time. Another forty minutes ferry ride in beautiful light …
… and we are back in Hansnes on the island Ringvassøya which is connected to the island Kvaløya with a tunnel which is connected to the island Tromsøya with a bridge, and that’s where I live. There are worse places!
Takk for turen, Marika!
I woke up at 4:20 and since it still snowed I decided to to go out to take a photo. Or two. Taking a photo – or two – became a longer promenade in the snowy neighbourhood.
Just some photos before I continue sleeping. My sleeping room is behind the window behind the bush on the second photo. You see it?
For the stats: Last Saturday 90 of snow were measured at the meteorological station Tromsø PLU. Now it’s 128.4 cm.