About traffic light pepper and roundabouts

paprika trafikkllys

Even though I don´t live in Norway any longer I still like to share some of my experiences as I enjoyed my time up there a lot and - I admit it - miss the landscape and people I met there.

This entry was intended to be one of the first entrys to be published as it is about stuff that in a way surprised me in the beginning and as well about things that I like about Norway as they are in some way advanced. However, I never managed to finsih it till now.  As you might have guessed already the main topic is the traffic but I want to share a little bit about the people´s lifestyle as well. I might use the term "In Norway" or "Norwegians" a couple of times even though I did not visit or live in all of Norway. So, I am sorry for that :D

When I went to a shop during my first week in Tromsø I came across "trafikklys paprika". Actually it is just the normal vegetable pepper but as it comes in red, orange/yellow and green and is sold in packs of three they call it trafikklys which means traffic light (fun fact :P)

streets to be used by busses and taxis only

Coming to the real traffic now.
In Norway you find many mountains. Sometimes the streets go across the mountains but often streets go through the mountains which means there are many tunnels. In the city of Tromsø they have tunnels as well but here they even built roundabouts inside the tunnel. This is something I surely did not expect to see as I have always known a tunnel as long tube with only two directions. As if that is not fancy enough already they even built a car park inside one of the tunnels.

In the city there are streets which are to be used by busses and taxis only to assure that busses go on time and to reduce traffic in the inner city but also in residential areas. The citizens usually follow those rules. Still, sometimes you see a car driving through those streets. In the moment you see the little Hertz, AVIS or Europcar logo on the car you know it is a rental car and a confused tourist steering it :D

Now a little more about the local public transport. The public transport consists of busses. At least inside the city and to Tromsdalen (mainland in the east of Tomsø island) and Kvaløya (island in the west of Tromsø island). If you want to travel through Tromsø county for example to Finnsnes or Harstad you can catch a ferry or an express boat. Trains do not exist in Tromsø besides one pub called "train station" in the city centre. The next real train station is located in Narvik (250 km south of Tromsø). However, the busses are environmental friendly as hybrid electric busses are used for public transport. They have a combined system of ordinary combustion engines and electric engines.

Further, Norway is a leading country when it comes to electric cars. It is the country with the most elecric cars in relation to the number of inhabitants. Electric cars are for sure very popular in Norway. All of them were supposed to have the same letters on the number plate. They decided to use EL as a short form of electric. But then too many electric cars were sold and no more numberplates with the letters EL were available. So, all new electric cars now carry the letters EK on their numberplate. EK for "elektrisk kjøretøy " which means "electric vehicle". But why are electric cars so popular in Norway? Basically you save a lot of money when driving an electric car in Norway. When you purchase one you pay zero taxes, charging your car at public chargers is free, parking on municipal parking lots is free and you also get rid of paying tolls. Further, nowadays electric cars do not like futuristic space ships anymore but the electric Golf by Volkswagen is the bestseller in Norway.

electric golf

Now, when you think about electric vehicles you will at some point reach the issue that the electric energy has to be produced in some way.  Producing energy from non-renewable energy sources often pollutes the environment e.g. by burning fossile fuels. Then the question is: What is the better solution? Pollution by exhaust fumes generated by cars or pollution by burning e.g. fossil fuels to produce energy? As Norway already produces 95 % of its electric energy need by using water power plants it is not an issue for the Norwegians because water power is a renewable energy source. Still, when electric energy for electric cars is produced by burning fossil fuels it is a definetly an issue.

In Norway all cars have spikes on their winter tires. In case there is no snow that gives you some strange sound on the roads. In Germany this would probably not be possible as the spikes could harm the streets which are bust anyhow :D When there is a lot of snow the busses still have to run and are equipped with snow chains. It can be a little tricky for the drivers to get the busses uphill without them. One morning my bus on the way to work got stuck. Everyone had to leave the bus, walk to next bus station and wait for the next bus of another route as the other bus basically blocked the road :D

As I promised in the beginning, here is something about the lifestyle: 
Most Norwegians are very active people and connected to the nature. They like to go for a hike in the mountains or on bicycle trips. Fishing is popular,too. Many go to work by bike as long as it is still possible. When the snow comes the bike will be exchanged by skis. For the weekends or holiday Norwegians tend to have small cottages somewhere in the nature.
 Further, only very very few people seem to be fat or even obese due to the active lifestyle. I did not meet a single smoker during my entire time in Norwegian. I guess there are some but instead of smoking cigarettes many people use "snus". Snus is a smokeless, moist, powder tobacco product placed under the upper lip for extended periods. It is healthier than smoking cigarettes but still not entirely healthy. At least the people around you are not harmed by smoke and you find less cigarette ends on the streets as the used snus can be put back in the cover of your snus box. Additionally, using snus is more discreet than smoking as you don´t see right away whether the person in front of you uses snus at the moment or not.

snus "damages your health and is addictive"

Last but not least always beware of any reindeer that might cross the street in front of you ;D

Dog Sledding

 Now that the snow is here the dog sledding tours are finally running. In Breivikeidet just 45 minutes from Tromsø city centre 120 Alaskan Huskies are waiting to run through the snowy valleys. I decided to join one of the tours together with my roommate Janne. After we got dressed with thermal suits, mittens and warm boots to withstand the Arctic cold and listened carefully to the safety instructions we got to meet the dogs for the first time. We could hear them from far as they were barking loudly. They know when the tours start and it is time to run. Then all participants paired up in teams of two and every team got a team of 6 dogs and of course a sled. All guests are allowed to do the mushing themselves. One of the team is sitting on the sled and the other one is standing doing the mushing. Throughout the sledding it is possible to changeover. The mushing is really easy, it is just about using the breaks appropriately and steer the sled by shifting weight. Sometimes you have to help the dogs by running behind the sled eg when the track goes uphill.

As soon as you stop the sled the Huskies will start barking again. They only want to run and run and run. Once you go again they will be silent and enjoy running through the valleys. 

During the tour we enjoyed the fantastic landscape with the view of the Lyngen Alps and the relaxing silence in the valleys. After the sledding was done we had some time to pet the dogs and get to know them a little more. It was also possible to ask the guides and hosts some questions about the dogs.

During a stop there was time for a snow angle :D

Our team

Every Husky has a name and his own hut

Credits to Tromsø Husky :)

The snow is here!

Better late than ever it finally snowed here in Tromsø. Just in time for the first Sunday of Advent. In fact the snow has never been that late since 1944 ! The last days have been very icy and slippery due to the lack of snow. Also many tourists were disappointed as they booked snow related activities from home like reindeer or husky sledding or snowmobile rides which then had to be cancelled.
On top of the mounains we have had snow for some time now and it is also icy up there which made hiking a little dangerous in the end. On my last hike it was that cold on the top that my phone ran out of battery almost at an instant. I only managed to take one shot:

on top of Fløya in Tromsdalen

Now that the snow is here the temperature will rise a little also. The air has been very humid but now that it snows the air will be less humid and therefore it will feel less cold. Also it will feel a little less dark because of the bright, white snow.

Sunset with great colours at 3 pm

Further, the dark time has now begun. That is the time when we don´t see the sun in winter as the sun doesn´t rise over the horizon . The offical dates for the dark time are 27th of November til 15th of January. As Tromsø is surrounded by mountains we didn´t see the sun in the city centre for a week now. This does not mean that it is now dark 24/7 in Tromso. Darkness 24/7 is found at the north pole. We still have twilight between about 10:00 and 14:00. It is not as bright as daylight but still light. For now the darkness did not really effect me in a bad way. In the beginning when gets dark earlier and earlier every day you might feel quite tired all day but you get used to that really fast.

While the sale of christmas decorations and sweets in Germany starts already in September and you have christmas markets in every bigger city there is no such thing in Norway. The christmas decoration in the city was put up this week and the first christmas sweets were sold at the shops at mid November. They dont have a christmas market here and it is also forbidden to drink alcohol outside in the streets.
There are very strict regulations about alcohol in Norway. All acohol which is stronger than beer is not sold at all in general super markets. In Tromsø there is a shop called "vinmonopolet" which means as much as "wine monopoly" and it almost like they do have a monopoly on wine as general shops must not sell it. All wine, rum or other strong alcohol is sold in special shops which have limited opening hours.

The christmas decorations can be used for Valentine´s day also :D

At least the milk spreads some christmas feeling

Whale Watching

Last Sunday I had the chance to join a whale watching tour. I am telling you that this has been a once in a lifetime experience! It is still very early season for whale watching here in Norway but at least the orcas have arrived while the humpback whales are yet to come. The big catamaran "Aurora Explorer" with berth  in the harbour in Tromsø city centre took us out further north to the open sea where the whales arrive these days. Next to some pictures and an amazing video I took throughout the boat trip I will also provide you with some scientific information in this entry.

The scientific name of the orca or killer whale is Orcinus orca. Killer whales are mammals which for instance means that they breathe air using their lungs. To get the air to their lungs they use a blowhole which is located on top of their head. As their lungs don´t tolerate water (just likes ours) this blowhole is covered with a muscular flap when the orca is below water. When at the surface the orca opens the blowhole by contracting this muscular flap in order to inhale. Afterwards they close the blowhole again. When diving they hold their breath. While swimming near the surface they tend to dive for 30 seconds or less. When above the surface you can see and hear them breathing. The visible spout of water that rises from a killer whale's blowhole dosen´t come from the lungs. Water that is on top of the blowhole when the exhale begins is forced up with the exhaled respiratory gases. Especially in cool air, a mist may form which is water vapor condensing as the respiratory gases expand in the open air.

Killer whales are easy to recognize because of the striking and characteristic black and white pattern.
Behind each eye they have a white eyepatch. Just behind the dorsal fin they have a gray patch called saddle. The dorsal side is black while the underside is white.

It is quite easy to distinguish between males and females. You determine their sex by the form of their dorsal fin. Males´ fins are shaped like a isosceles triangle while females´ dorsal fins are curved. The dorsal fin of a male also tends to be larger.

This is a male

A male on the left, a female in the middle and a male on the right

As you might already have guessed the orcas don´t stay in Norway all year long. They usually get here around mid-October and stay till February. They come here to feed on herring. Orcas don´t travel alone but in pods. Often several females and their offspring and just a few males live together in one pod. Further, the orcas hunt together working as a team. Orcas have the second-biggest brains among all marine mammals. They show their great intelligence for example by the use of special and diverse hunting techniques. Often they encircle their prey so that it doesn´t know where to go. Then they might even stun the prey with their tail flukes and afterwards feed on the stunned prey.

The diet of orcas differs a lot. They are carnivores. Even though they have teeth they don´t usually chew a lot but rather tear apart their prey so that it gets easier to swallow. Killer whales have no natural enemies, instead many other animals fear them. That´s why they are called killer whales. Even though penguins or seals resting on ice floes might feel safe (as orcas can´t come on land), they are far,far away from being safe. Either the orcas will hit ice floes from below to knock them of or they will create a large wave  by swiming side by side and diving below the ice floe in the last second which then washes the prey of the ice floe. Depending on where they are the orcas are able to adapt to their environment very fast and develop different hunting techniques.


Throughout the cruise we even watched different surface characteristics and special behaviours. They are hard to capture on camera but I managed to get a shot of a tail slapping orca as seen on the right.
In the bottom left corner of the below picture you can see a spy hopping orca. We saw some spy hopping on the tour as well. Orcas do this to get an overview of what is going on around them above the surface. They are very curious animals and want to know what is going on.

surface characteristics

 After all this information please enjoy the following video from the whale watching trip. As you might recognize when watching the video I didn´t even know where to look first as the orcas where everywhere and came very close! I would have expected the orcas to leave when they see a big catamaran coming but they did the exact opposite. This once again illustrates that they are very social and curious animals. These animals are not meant to be captured in way to small aquariums drugged up with tranquilizer as tourist attractions. They are meant to to live freely in the earth´s oceans and swim thousands of kilometers in their lifetime.

 

Credits to the captain Stein-Are, the guide Liga and the rest of the crew from Arctic Explorer AS for this amazing experience!

We even saw a calf!

Die ersten Punkte auf dem Konto / The first win

Vor dem Spiel am Samstag / ahead of Saturday´s game

Am Wochenende des 1. und 2. Oktobers hatten wir unseren ersten Doppelspieltag. Zugleich waren die Spiele gegen Storhamar und Elverum auch die ersten Auswärtsspiele der Saison. Am frühen Samstagmorgen ging es los von Tromsø per Flugzeug nach Oslo. Von dort ging es weiter mit Mietwagen zum Hotel. Dort hatten wir ein wenig Zeit zum Entspannen, ehe es dann zur Boligpartner Arena in Hamar ging. Storhamar war der erste Gegner des Doppelspieltages. Der Start war ein wenig holprig, aber wir übernahmen trotzdem schnell die Führung und konnten diese über das ganze Spiel bei mindestens zwei Toren halten. Immer wieder kamen wir aus einer stabilen Abwehr heraus zu schnellen, einfachen Toren. Phasenweise viele Fehlwürfe und andere Unkonzentriertheiten machten es nicht möglich, das Spiel vorzeitig zu entscheiden, denn Storhamar spielte immer weiter egal wie es stand. So blieb es bis zum Ende spannend und die Freude über die ersten beiden Punkte war nach dem Abpiff riesengroß. Das Endergenis lautete 23:19 für Bravo. Hier  kannst du den genauen Spielverlauf einsehen.

The weekend of the 1st and 2nd of October we had 2 games. Both of them were away games. On early Saturday morning we went by airplane from Tromso to Oslo. From there our journey continued by rental cars which we collected at the aiport. When we arrived at the hotel we had some time to get some sleep or just relax before went to Boligpartner Arena in Hamar. Our first opponent was Storhamar. After a little uneasy start we very soon took the lead and did not give it away at any time. Based on a stable defense we were able to score many easy goals. Still, too many technical mistakes and missed chances prohibited us from deciding the game at an earlier stage. We kept the suspense in the game which then ended 23:19 in favour of Bravo. Here you can see how the game developed in detail. The happiness after the game was huge. Finally ,we added the first two points to our account!
 

Der Siegerjubel / celebrating the first win

Am Sonntag waren wir leider weniger erfolgeich. Obwohl die Abwehr zu Beginn des Spiels deutlich schlechter stand als am Vortag, lagen wir nach 18 Minuten beim 9:7 für Elverum noch gut im Rennen. Trotzdem nahmen wir einen 5-Tore-Rückstand (13:8) mit in die Pause. Nach der Pause zündeten wir ein kleines Feuerwerk und glichen zum 16:16 aus. Doch gerieten wir danach  wieder mit 4 Toren in Rückstand. Somit kam die zweite Aufholjagd zu spät und der Enstand lautete 22:21 für die Heimmannschaft Elverum. Hier kannst du den gesamten Spielverlauf einsehen.

It is a pity that we were less succesful the next day. Even though our defense was way less stable than the day before we were still in the game after 18 minutes at a score of  9:7 for Elverum. Still, we were down 5 goals at half-time. In the beginning of the second half we set alight a little firework and reached a draw at the score of 16 all. Afterwards we got down again by 4 goals. Our second comeback in the game was too late and therefore the home team got to a narrow 22:21 win. Here you see how the game went in detail.

Unser nächstes Spiel ist erst wieder am 29.Oktober. Dieses Mal zu Hause gegen Nit/Hak.
Our next game is scheduled for October 29th. We play at home against Nit/Hak.

Die traumhafte Landschaft und das Klima (Deutsche Version)

Die traumhafte Landschaft und das Klima

Das Klima hier oben nahe des Polarkreise ist sehr besonders. Dank dem Golfstrom, der aus Mexiko und Mittelamerika kommt, haben wir milde Temperaturen. Im Winter liegen die durchschnittlichen Temperaturen bei etwa -4 Grad. Ohne den Golfstrom würde wahrscheinlich keine Menschenseele hier oben wohnen, weil es viel zu kalt wäre. Im Sommer werden 15 Grad schon als warm empfunden. Manchmal klettert das Thermometer sogar auf 20 Grad oder ein bisschen mehr. Aktuell Ende September haben wir meistens um die 10 Grad oder ein bisschen weniger.

Das Wetter verändert sich sehr schnell. Es ist mir schon mehrmals passiert, dass ich mich morgens in Jacke und Pulli auf den Weg zur Arbeit gemacht habe und als ich bei der Arbeit im Stadtzentrum ankam, war es so warm , dass ich in T-shirt rumlaufen konnte. Man weiß nie genau, was man anziehen soll, denn auf die Wettervorhersage ist nicht immer Verlass. Von einer Minute auf die andere kann es von Sonnenschein auf Regen umschlagen. Und es regnet sehr oft. Als ich Tromsø nach meinem ersten Besuch verlassen habe, hat es geregnet. Als ich dann nach Tromsø gezogen bin und am Flughafen ankam,  hat es wieder geregnet. Oder immer noch ? :D Der Regen wird jedoch bald vom Schnee abgelöst werden. Oftmals schneit es schon im September, habe ich mir erzählen lassen. Bis jetzt hat es noch nicht geschneit, obwohl ich auf den Bergspitzen schon Neuschnee gesehen habe.

Desweiteren ist die Luft hier sehr frisch und klar. Es fühlt sich fast an, als könnte man die schöne Natur um sich herum einatmen. Manchmal ertappe ich mich selbst dabei, wie ich einfach dastehe und die Landschaft bewundere :D Man kann die Berge sogar vom Hafen im Stadtzentrum aus sehen.

Im August kann man die Mitternachtssonne in Tromsø genießen. In dieser Jahreszeit haben wir 24/7 Tageslicht. Aber schon jetzt im September beginnt es um 19 Uhr dunkel zu werden. So geht es weiter bis dann Ende November die "dunkle Zeit" beginnt. In der Zeit wird es nur von 10 Uhr bis 14 Uhr ein bisschen Dämmerlicht geben, während es den Rest des Tages dunkel bleibt.

Die Polarlichtsaison hat auch schon begonnen. Diese Woche am Dienstag war die Aktivität so stark, dass wir die Polarlichter direkt über der Stadt sehen konnten! Ich freue mich, mehr davon zu sehen und werde den Polarlichtern einen eigenen Blogeintrag widmen :)

Weiter unten ein paar Fotos, die ich im August gemacht habe und dir einen Eindruck davon geben, wie schön Tromsø ist :)

Auf dem Weg zum Training 

Ausblick beim Abendessen

Blick auf die Brücke zwischen Tromsdalen und Tromsø und die Ishavskatedral

Die traumhafte Landschaft und das Klima (English version)

The wonderful landscape and the climate

The climate up here close to the Arctic circle is very special. Thanks to the gulf stream coming from Mexico and Middle America we have moderate temperatures. Average temperatures during winter are -4 degrees. Without the gulf stream no one would be living that far north here in Tromsø as it would be way to cold. In summer 15 degrees are considered as warm already but sometimes you even have 20 degrees or a little more. Right now in the end of September we mostly have temperatures around 10 degrees or a little less.

 The weather is shifting very fast. It has happened several times to me that I left for work wearing a sweater and a jacket and when I arrived in the city after a 15 minutes bus ride it was so warm that I went on in T-shirt. One minute it can be quite sunny  and 10 minutes later heavily raining. Oh yes and it rains very often. When I left Tromsø after my first visit it was raining and when I moved to Tromsø and arrived at the airport it was raining again :D The rain will soon be displaced by the snow though. Often it is already there in September I was told. I did see some new snow on the  mountain tops but not more yet.

Furthermore, the air up here is very fresh and clear. It seems like you can inhale the beautiful nature around you. Sometimes I catch myself at just gazing at the beautiful landscape you can even see from the very city centre at the harbour.

In August you can enjoy the midnight sun in Tromsø. At that time of the year we have daylight 24/7. But already now coming to the end of September it starts to get dark around 7 pm. It will continue like that. Every day it gets dark a little earlier until in late November the dark time starts. During that time there will only be some dim light from around 10 am to 2 pm and the rest of the day it will be dark.

The Northern Lights season has aready started. Tuesday this week there was so strong activity that we could even see the Lights just above the city! I am very excited to see more of  the  Northern Lights or "Aurora Borealis". I will dedicate a seperate blog entry to them :)

Below you see some shots taken in August giving you an idea of how beautiful Tromsø is :)

Auf dem Weg zum Training / on my way to handball practice

Ausblick beim Abendessen/ the view at dinner

Blick auf die Brücke zwischen Tromsdalen und Tromsø und die Ishavskatedral/ view of the bridge connecting Tromsdalen and Tromsø and the Arctic Cathedral