A Trip to Grøtfjorden, reindeer included Jul 28 2024

Yesterday my wife Annika, my colleague Marika and I made a trip to Grøtfjorden on the island Kvaløya. I parked the car by the lake Storvatnet and we started our mountain hike. First the trail led up through a birch forest with some steeper passage and we quickly gained altitude.

The tree line in Northern Norway is low and soon we left the birches behind and had wonderful views on the fjord, the mountains and the open sea.

We passed the lake Smørstabbvatnet– time to cool the feet, but it was too shallow for a bath.

We were pretty slow – for good reasons: The blueberries had ripened and were sweet and delicious. Anyhow the top of the small mountain Smørstabben was not far away. There we took a break in the sun and went round to take some photos.

While the landscape around us was very idyllic some mountain chains in the distance looked dark and forbidding.

Down we went the same way but before arriving at the parked car we took a bath in the lake Storvatnet.

We took the car in direction Tromvik and passed some sandy beaches. Time to take some more photos.

Now we were ready to head back to Tromsø which is round about an hour’s drive. I spontaneously changed plans when we spotted the small flock of reindeers by the beach of Grøtfjorden. Apparently they liked the place. Perhaps it’s a bit less warm by the sea or there are less mosquitoes? First they stood around watching the bathers and other people around. But since no one seemed to be a serious thread one by one went on its knees and lay down in the sand until the whole flock sat there.

Reindeer at the beach of Grøtfjorden III

We sat there for a while watching the animals. Then it was time to drive back.

I thought: what a great place Tromsø is, that you can do day trips to Norway. Yes, guys, I know, that Tromsø is Norway. I’m just so glad that you can do trips like these from here in a single day. I do not have holidays but a day like this felt like being in the middle of a summer vacation.

Takk for turen – thanks for the trip – Marika and Annika.

Three weeks in Sweden – some photos Jul 7 2024

14. June

I am sitting in the airplane. Soon I’ll be back “home home” in Obbola for three weeks. Here we are crossing the river Umeälven.

20. June

A low rainbow has appeared above the trees. In the inside it shows supernumerary bands.

21. June

Midsummer in Sweden has several traditions. Probably the most famous one is the dancing round the midsummer pole. Annika and I are in Gammlia, a park with outdoor museum in Umeå. Here we are doing “raketen” – the rocket.

“raketen”– the rocket – midsummer in Sweden

In the evening Annika and I are watching a roe passing by with her two young fawns. They are crossing the shallow bay. Since the water level is higher than normal the water is quite deep for the fawns.

22. June

Excursion to a coast we do not know yet – Järnäsklubb. There are several trails you can follow, only the bathing place we do not find.

24. June

While I pluck lupins (an invasive species) I realise how many beautiful flowers we have in the small patch of wilderness between our house and the sea. Here: a Siberian iris.

27. June

Annika and I are in Gammlia again, this time for the Mullin Mallin Band that plays folk music from Balkan to Sápmi.

29. June

We are in Åsele in the Swedish inland where we visit friends of us together with their farm animals. (Photo: Annika Kramer)

“The sheep and I” – photo: Annika Kramer

3. Juli

For lunch break I paddle to the beach at Byviken where I eat Ćevapčići. Total distance – round 6.7 km both ways. After that I have to continue working. Home office.

6. Juli (yesterday)

I am sitting in the train to Narvik. I read, I eat, I play with my mobile, I doze and I look out of the window.

The train was in time in Umeå and in Narvik as well. From there the bus 100 brings me to Tromsø where I will work for the more or less next five weeks. Hej då Sverige – hei Norge!

Midnight paddling Jun 23 2024

It’s midsummer day in Sweden. Yesterday Annika and I danced around the midsummer pole and ate huge amounts of salmon, potatoes and eggs with roe, just as you use to do on a typical midsommarafton. One thing however was not typical: It didn’t rain at all. And since the night was still clear and beautiful, Annika and I decided to make a small kayak tour. At 22:40 we were clear to leave.

The eastern sky was blue and purple and the trees on the island Bredskarssten almost black – but it was not dark although some of the photos may look like. The sun had just gone down.We decided to paddle to the tiny archipelago Obbolstenarna.

Kayaking to Obbolstenarna – Annika ahead

When we arrived there all seagulls flew up into the air screeching. Did we disturb them? No, it was an eagle that quickly was chased off by the seagulls. We circumnavigated the islands and headed back east, where some of the spare clouds still caught some sunlight.

And now? There was no noticeable wind and kayaking has been pretty effortless until now. Annika and I had the same thought: kayaking to the southern tip of Stömbäck-Kont. We’ve been there often, but always by car. Stömbäck-Kont is 30 km from our home by car but only 5 km by kayak. So, let’s go …

Meanwhile it had become a bit darker and the flat sea and sky looked like fantastic paintings. Like from another world.

We passed the sea side of the island Tarv, and turned north behind the small island Gåshällan and some islands I don’t know the names of. Then we headed west.

This black shadow ahead, is it the rocks of Strömbäck-Kont? It is hard to see because the contrast is low. But my navigation was correct and soon we approached the barbecue area, where we were welcomed by the mosquitoes, that luckily were not present on the open sea. Time for a short break to stretch one’s legs.

The stop was pretty short, because the mosquitoes just loved us and we have quite a lot of them this year! So we jumped back into our kayaks and followed the coast a bit north were we could hear music.

Here lies Simphamn, both a nice sandy beach and a marina. A bunch of very expensive looking yachts were anchored at the boat bridge and apparently some people had had a party on one of the yachts. We paddled round the small island with the clubhouse.

Now it was time to head east back to the island Tarv and circumnavigate it clockwise. Most sea birds were relaxed. The geese more or less ignored us while the terns were ignoring us. They were hunting. Again and again they plunged vertically into the sea to catch fish.

After a while we headed south and reached the opening between Tarv and a peninsula connected to the main land. Here we reached the open sea again.

From there we know the way home by heart. Passing the bay Vitskärsudden, following the coast while avoiding the many rocks in the water and after two more kilometres we were back home.

Now we only had to drag the kayaks back to our house through a field of lupins. (I will pick them. They are an invasive species and we want to get rid of them.) And then – after 12.5 km of an extraordinary beautiful night paddling we were back home. Now it was a quarter to two – definitely time to sleep!

For those who love maps or live nearby, this is the track:

Cold drizzle and snow on the weekend May 20 2024

After a summer day on Sommarøya on Friday, the weather got colder again on the weekend and it started drizzling and raining. Both on Saturday and Sunday I took walks in the forest near my apartment. Ten days ago I still saw some cross country skiers, but now the season is definitely over, I think while I’m walking along the wet paths.

Yesterday it got colder and colder and drizzle became sleet. In the evening it started snowing and this morning at least five centimetres of fresh snow had fallen at temperatures round 1 °C. I took a small walk through the forest again – it looked quite different.

Today the wintry weather may continue and I won’t drive through the mountain valleys since my car has already summer tyres. Tomorrow warmer weather and sun will melt the snow away.

Tromsøya between the seasons May 9 2024

Today I took a promenade on Tromsøya. In the beginning of May the island is between the seasons. Partly late winter, partly early spring. Some areas are free of snow while on others still a lot of snow covers the ground. Now it is time to look carefully not to break through the snow and fall into the next ditch.

Walking off the tracks can be exhausting, because the snow is often knee to thigh deep. Therefore I mostly followed the ski trails. They are not prepared anymore and get narrower and wetter …

… but as long as there is snow there are people to ski. At least a few.

The first Thursday paddling 2024 Apr 19 2024

Yesterday on 18 April was the first organised Thursday paddling of the Tromsø Sea Kayakers Club this year. I was eager to join. I took a photo when I arrived at the boat houses:

Arriving at the boat houses – a sunny afternoon

What is special about this photo? I can show you. In comparison – these are photos I took on other first Thursday paddlings. One on 4 May 2023, one on 28 April 2022.

So this was my first time opening the kayak season in Tromsø where it didn’t snow! Instead the sky was blue, the sun was shining and the temperature round 1 °C. But it was so windy!

Me prepared our kayaks and made ourselves ready and then had a talk about where to go. The tour leaders make proposals and have the last word.

This timewe would go south – against the wind – and see if we make it to Telegrafbukta. OK, let’s go!

I didn’t take a lot of pictures because the wind punished each photo instantly by blowing me back. We took a rest seeking shelter in the lee of a breakwater where one of my fellow kayakers provided us with goodies.

Shall we continue? Yes, ok for all of us. So we left our shelter and continued further south.

The more south we came the stronger the wind got and the higher the waves. We weren’t alone. On the other side of the sound a commercial boat headed south. Nearer a sailing boat, driven my a part of its fore sail. I however had to fight to keep up with the others and I was glad, that Telegrafbukta is not far away.

There we took a break. A short one though because of the chilly wind.

On the way back it felt like a complete different tour. Now we could take it easy. Both wind and waves just pushed us ahead and we hadn’t to do much to keep momentum. Soon the colourful boat houses of the club were in view and a short time later we arrived. A pity, that I didn’t track this tour. I would have liked to know the difference of the speeds there and back.

Most of us kept ourselves near to the shore but some of us like wind and waves and were a bit further out. Here a b/w snapshot of B. in his self-built Greenland kayak. It’s too far away to reveal its beauty.

Spring winter in Obbola Apr 13 2024

I’m sitting in the train travelling from Obbola, my “home home” to Tromsø, my “work home”. Normally the journey would have taken 18 to 19 hours but this train is four hours late. That will probably extend my journey to 37 hours including an overnight stay in Narvik.

The last days we had full vårvinter (literally “spring winter”) which is the transition period between winter and spring. Not only in my opinion this is an own season. And so it can look like:

Tuesday, 9 April

The weather is fine and calm. The drift ice that I paddled through the day before is mostly gone. I take another kayak tour to the islands Obbolstenarna and now also the sea is calm enough to circumnavigate the islands and the ice cap on the rocky shallow.

After the tour I continue my work in home office.

Wednesday, 10 April

It is raining at lunch time and the fog hides the horizon of the Baltic Sea.

Thursday, 11 April

The drift ice has come back over night. The day is sunny.

Friday, 12 April

In the village at lunchtime I spot the first Tussilago which always has been the first flower to bloom in vårvinter. And in front of a house I see some crocuses. It is +7.5 °C.

Some hours later I take a short and icy “farewell kayak tour”. It gets harder to find a good place to set in the kayak. And on the way back I was right when I doubted that the small ice floe would carry my weight. It didn’t. The ice has started to rot and then it’s not stable anymore even when 10 cm thick. So – be prepared.

We still have 50 cm of snow in the garden but round our rowan tree the snow has melted. The birds love to be there picking for food.

Saturday, 13 April

That’s today. I’m sitting in the heavily delayed train heading north. The forest ground and the bogs are covered with snow but the first patches of blueberry twigs are visible, too. It’s nice to see the landscape, but I’ll have a long journey ahead and I’m going to take a nap now.

Spring winter kayaking through the ice. Apr 9 2024

After yesterday’s ugly and windy conditions the weather today looked quite promising. A good ooportunity to take another kayak tour. At eight o’clock I put on dry suit and life vest and dragged my kayak to the open water by the islet Lillskär.

I paddled slowly to give two pairs of swans time to retreat and then kayaked round the islet. Here a large field of ice floes awaited me.

There were open patches of water, but mostly I paddled through dense ice fields that were moved by long and smooth waves. The large floes were 30 cm thick, some of them even thicker.

How does paddling through the ice work? Most ice floes are small enough to be pushed aside. I tried to paddle around the larger ice floes. Sometimes I bumped into them. and sometimes I just paddled over them by purpose – “brute force”.

After a kilometre I reached open water and then another ice field with thinner and smaller ice floes. Here I could just paddle through and the transparent ice glittered in the sun.

I wanted to reach the “ice berg” south of the islands Obbolstenarna. Out there is a large shallow with some rocks. There the waves build a temporary island of ice and snow. This year it was two to three metres high. I didn’t dare to circumnavigate this icy island because in the shallows around the waves were high and breaking. I considered this being too risky to kayak there since I was alone.

I didn’t kayak around Obbolstenarna neither for the same reasons so I returned. I could see the Finnland ferry in the harbour some kilometres away. Soon I entered the ice field again.

As on the way there I paddled through the floes without any problems. I only landed in a dead end once and that was on purpose for the photo.

Since the weather was great it was so exceptionally beautiful out there I parked my kayak on a larger ice floe and took a short break.

Then it was time to return to the ice edge, walk back to our house and enter my office because this was my first day of a week of home office. Farewell ice floes. Thanks for good company.

The right timing for a small winter kayak tour Apr 7 2024

Friday afternoon

Yesterday Annika and I took a winter bath in the ice free bay Vitskärsudden, now it is snowing and the wind has blown back a lot of ice floes. Too unstable too walk on, too thick to paddle through. How shall we paddle kayak tomorrow under these conditions?

Saturday

In the morning the sun is shining and the ice floes are gone. I walk to the ice edge that is round about 200 metres from shore. The ice is stable. After breakfast Annika and I dress properly (warm clothes, dry suit, life jacket) and drag our kayaks to the ice edge.

We get into our kayaks on the ice and then hop into the water. Then we turn right and are calmly paddling following the coastal line to the bay Vitskärsudden. First we navigate through some larger ice floes and the usual rocks (our “underwater archipelago”). When we enter the bay a layer of fresh ice is in front of us. It is so thin, that we can paddle through it effortlessly. The sounds of the braking ice are fascinating.

We are not alone. Three other kayakers are further out while other people are taking a walk ashore. One of them took a photo that we found on Facebook:

Annika and on tour seen from land (Photo credits: tbd)

After we paddle back we build up momentum and paddle right onto the shallow ice shield. We already can see our house – shortly later we are there, longing for a shower.

In the evening the wind has turned and ice floes are drifting back ashore.

Sunday (today)

Did we have calm weather yesterday? Well, not today. The wind is pretty strong and wet snow and sleet is falling from a white-grey sky. The horizon is hidden in the fog.

I take a promenade to Vitskärsudden again. The wind has filled the whole bay with small and large ice floes that wobble in the waves.

I am walking along the ice covered coastal line until I come to the open sea. Here the waves are throwing water, slush and ice ashore so that the shore is covered by metre high ice walls. This view is impressive, pretty arctic and also a bit frightening.

The waves are high and break early. It’s hardly imaginable that Annika and I had a fine and calm kayak tour yesterday. Good timing!

I have five other days in Obbola before I’ll head back to Tromsø. I’m quite curious whether I’m able to take another kayak tour. But today the weather looks quite promising.

First kayaking 2024 Apr 3 2024

Today I took my first kayak tour in 2024. It was much too windy to do a longer tour (and proper photos) and my walking distance was larger then my paddling efforts but hey, at least I was outside. Now I’m eager to kayak more.