Hipp hurra for 17. Mai! :D Norways National Day :D

Gratulerer med dagen alle nordmenn! :D

 Happy Birthday Norway!

 I always enjoy celebrating Norways National Day/Constitution Day in Longyearbyen! This year I did not get to see the band play the National anthem at Huset, I was busy preparing the Champagne Breakfast for my friends =) Thanks to everyone who helped out it, turned out to be a great feast! (And thanks to Greg who brought me fresh strawberries!!) This year we were not so lucky with the weather; not too cold (around -1 degrees), but alot of wind! And snow! But of course, that does not stop Norwegians from joining in the parade! :D

 

So even though it was quite stormy and chilly, we all stood by for the speaches, the greetings from Barentsburg, and to sing our National Anthem!

 

Oh, and the barnacle geese are back! They must be pretty confused about arriving in a snow storm! After the speaches and song, we headed up to Svalbardhallen to enjoy cakes, icecream and entertainment, together with the rest of Longyearbyen =)


I don`t have my bunad/Nationa dress on Svalbard, but the nicest thing I have up here is the medieval dress I bought in Germany last summer. It was great fun dancing with the wind in such a dress!

 

Then there was a cold white-out walk back to Nybyen, to enjoy the rest of the feast and relax :)



Now I´ll be gathering my strength and put my brain towards creativity, as tomorrow will be the kitchen-to-kithen party! I`m super-excited about starting the decorations, and see what other kitchens come up with! :D

Trollsteinen! And testing new skiis!

So, now that I`m done with this semesters exam, it was time to celebrate and get outside. What way to better do that than skiing up to Trollsteinen? :D Especially with my new skiboots (Thanks for helping me get them Terina!!), and new skiis! (Takk for bidrag mamma og pappa!!) After several days of blue skies, it started to get abit cloudy again. All the clouds did however was making Larshierta and Nordenskiold abit more dramatic. On top of Trollsteinen, we still could enjoy some sunshine before descending down again. Both me and Henrik were testing out our telemarking-skill on our new skiis, wich ended up with a few spectacular falls x) Luckily, most of the snow on Larsbreen in still soft, so with every fall came a wave of laugther! The next day, Benny turned up on my doorstep with a snowscooter packed with skiis! I got towed up Longyearbreen, and we were hunting for some wind so Benny could kite, but ended up telemarking down to Fardalen a few times instead! The snow conditions were absolutly perfect for telemarking! I was so excited, I didn´t really want to leave!

Revision-break --> Sun and Nordenskioldryggen!

Well, we can`t only be indoors, reading, working and preparing for the exam... Especially not when it`s sunny and still snow outside! Me and a few classmates went up to Platåfjellet and got a nice surprise hearing all the little Auks! :D The birds are back on Svalbard! And walking in constant sunshine, we couldn`t really help but smile =) or strike a few poses outdoors ;) I think we definitly needed to get out and about, just enjoy the view and appreciate were in the world we actually are!

Sunset in Colesbay =)

Sometimes you just need a few minutes of quiet away from everything else. What better way to do that, than driving out to Colesbay and enjoy the sunset? :)


While Stuart was trying to (more professionally) capture the moment, me and Katrine was leaning back enjoying the view
  It won`t take too long before the sun is up 24 hour a day, so I am enjoying the sunsets and beautiful colours while they last! Thanks for giving me a ride to some peace and quiet!