Sunshine in our life

The sun is shining again in Svalbard. It feels already like the polar night is far behind. We have had a really warm winter, meaning that it has been mostly just couple of minus centigrades. It looks like that scooter season won't be that good. But for me it has been just perfect to have our daily walks without worries about frostbites. In stead I have been worried that our baby might get it too hot in his sleeping bag made of sheep skin.

We're really enjoying our new everyday life with our son. Days are going quickly with him and our faithful black coated companion. One thing which is very low priorised is time used in the front of screen. As we're not having TV that's already pretty low but lately I haven't used much time in the front of lap top either. So it might be that I might update this blog less regularly.

Where is our dog?

My partner is working again in Svea and I'm home with my boys. Or, just with our son, beacause our dog got borrowed for a week. He is having a skiing holiday. I have to admit that of course my life is easier when I don't need to think to have walks in early morning or late evening with our little one, but it's strange not to have a dog in the house. I have been looking around so many times after him, just thinking where he's now.

We're getting nice twilight in the middle of the day and then we have a walk, even without dog. Increasing amount of light is feeling very good and already giving a feeling we're having now real days.

Together with the boys

My partner started with a new working plan after New Year. Now he's working two weeks in Svea and having after that two weeks free. That means that when he's working, I'm alone two weeks with our boys, with our little son and our black coated companion. But when a working period is over, is my partner also totally free for next two weeks.

The first longer period alone with our boys went fine. Luckily our dog is an easy and really patient sheppard. I'm really happy now that I have used all those countless hours with our dog - that makes our life now much easier.

And our son - he's now two month old, happily smiling and making some really strange sounds. He's starting to be interested in different things and can be looking at some toys for a good while. Best thing after milk is to sit in mei tai (a baby sling) and follow what mummy is doing. And when he gets tired, he can be also having a nap there, feeling himself safe by mummys warm tummy.

There isn't any trees in Svalbard, so we got one from our friend. Now our son can be playing under an evergreen foliage.

Alone with the boys

My partner has been having paternity leave since we got the baby. He got also little bit unplanned ekstra free because the baby came some weeks before the due date. It has been really nice to have him at home. But this weekend he left us first time alone and got to work in Svea. When you're working in Svea, then you're totally away over the working period as people are living there over the work weeks. Our son is now about one month old and everything is going fine with him, so it has been totally ok to stay home with him. My partner is also having now a shorter working period so he was supposed to be away only for four days. But because of the weather flights got cancelled and then he got an ekstra day in Svea. That's how the life is in Svalbard, you're always dependent on the weather.

Until now my partner has been having walks with our dog and I have been doing that if I have had an opportunity. Then I just went out mostly alone with the dog and my partner was staying in with the baby. I haven't taken our son out every day when it was temperatures around -20 centigrades. But it was good for me to have some walks anyhow. Now since my partner was away, it wasn't asking about an opportunity, now I needed to have some walks every day. Luckily our son have started to like to sleep in the baby carriage, so it has been fine to go out. And it's not only the dog who likes some walks - it's also mummy who likes to get fresh air.

Peek to the darkness

It's still coming light at the day time, but the beautiful full moon gave us a nice peek to the coming polar night. Earlier the coming time of total darkness was something unrealistic, something very distant. But having some walks with the dog out on the light of the full moon gave a feeling about the coming time. Now I'm almost waiting forward for the months in darkness.

Now it's time to get used to have daily walks in the town also in darkness. It's time to remember to have reflectors on again - both on us with two feet but also on those with four.

The most eager ones have already started their scooters and been happily driving around. For me this amount of snow isn't yet anything impressive, I prefer wait little bit more and enjoy then driving without getting worried about cooling problems or hitting stones.

Our dog isn't howling the moon. He knows that only thing which is worth to howl are bitches.

It's already getting light in the early morning, but the moon is still going around on it's orbit. I'm not any early bird, but when it's that beautiful morning, it's actually pretty nice to have a little walk with the dog. 

It was still summer

Even though it was already September, we were really lucky with weather and had a nice summer holiday in Denmark with warm days. We're usually splitting our summer holiday in two and have the second part little bit later in autumn before darkness is coming in Svalbard. It gives somehow the feeling that winter is shorter - it can't be that long when we just came from summer holiday!

Our well-known holiday place was welcoming us once more. I really love our holidays here in Denmark.

We were also travelling little bit in Denmark and had couple of nice days in Samsø, in a little island between peninsula of Jutland and Zealand (the island where Copenhagen is). You don't actually need to be travelling really far away for to find exciting holiday places.

I have to admit that I haven't seen earlier a pumpkin field. These pumpkins were quite a bit bigger than my own I was growing in Longyearbyen.

An essential part of a good holiday is good food. And that we're not lacking in Denmark. Even though, I wasn't really sure if I was happy to meet that red thing on my plate...

Of course our faithful black coated companion was following us everywhere we went. I'm sure he enjoyed our holiday as much as we did.

Summer days with rain and slush

This summer hasn't been the best one in last years. It has been cloudy, raining and partly cold. Having mountains covered with new snow in late July wasn't really cheering. But somehow, even though the sun has been a rare thing to see, it's easiest to remember those nice days. 

White mountains are nice, but in late July it would be nicer to look mountains without snow.

But anyhow, I think it was kind of impressive to see and feel that coldness in the middle of the summer.

This isn't a graveyard with its's crosses but a building site. Here is coming a new student housing.

But there were also couple of nice days. Then it was almost necessity to spend some time out.

The best way to spend a nice summerly days is to take a little bag with a thermos and packed lunch and have a little trip somewhere on surrounding mountains.

Also our dog is appreciating those small trips.

Always ready, is his motto.

Living in a dangerous place

If I say that life is dangerous here in Svalbard, I guess people start to think polar bears or harsh Arctic climate. But no, I don't mean anything like that. It looks like we're living in a place with dangerous diseases.

The mainland Norway isn't having Rabies, not Echinococcus parasite either. We're having both of them here in Svalbard. Because of that all the dogs, which are travelling to the mainland need to be identity marked (chipped) and they need to have yearly vaccination against Rabies and blood analyse to proof antibodies against that disease. Earlier we bought ourself a worm treatment against Echinococcus before we travelled to the mainland, but since May we couldn't do that ourself anymore but a worm treatment needed to be given by a vet. And that caused a little bit more seriouse problems as a vet is coming to the island just about three times per year.

In early August a lady who can give veterinary services moved in the our island. That makes our life easier, at least temporiraly, as she can confirm given worm treatment. But anyhow, even though we can get now necessary stamps on dogs passport, we can't travel just like that to the mainland. Rules aren't that easy to interpret. Costums meaned that Svalbard is counted in the same category than third countries, which means that we need to contact two days before we travel "Mattilsynet" (=Norwegian Food Safety Authority) and ask a veterinary to meet us in the airport we're landing. Travelling with an animal from Svalbard to the mainland is counted as risky as taking an animal from the deepest Africa with excotic and potentially dangerous diseases. That resulted in that a veterinary needed to be called and he checked that our dog was looking healthy enough to be slipped in the country.

I shouldn't be compleining about the rules which are meant to protect our safety, but in this case I'm feeling all that is little bit overkill and unnecessary use of resources which are paid by taxes. I really can't get it that we're living in so dangerous place it's necessary with all of that fuzz.

Smell of green grass

What could be better than smell of green grass? Or walking outside on shorts, just having sandals instead of gore-tex boots? Having the sun over you - the sun, which is warming, not just giving light?

Quite excatly one month ago we left from our cold island and met a real summer in the mainland. We celebrated the biggest happening in the summer time, the Midsummer festival, in our neighbour country, Finland.

It was really nice to be just walking around - without a rifle, seeing all the greeness and flowers around and listen different birds singing. Finnish country side is really beautiful in the middle of the summer.

We were overnighting couple of nights in a cabin, nicely hidden in a small forest beside a waterside. And as we were in Finland, having a refreshing sauna every single possible evening.

Nights in the middle of the summer are light without dark time in North, just as they should. The darkness in the summer has always been a strange thing to me. Warm weather and darkness in the same time isn't fitting each other in my dream world.

We were really enjoying our little holiday in the North. Weather was just nice and we enjoyed summerdays with over 25 centigrades. That was totally enough for us! We were having it just fine on those temperatures, but it was worse for our black coated companion. The best thing he could do for to cool down was to swim - and that he was doing as often as it just was possible!

Since we're used to see just white bears around in Svalbard, we went and had a visit in a place to see brown bears.

Even though sign was just in the native language, the pictures was clear enough to  warn, that we needed to keep distance to the bears.

Norwegian National Day

Norwegians are celebrating their National Day at 17. mai. That's a big day with parades and celebrations and it's spesially a big day for children with lot of activities.

We didn't really have a nice weather for celebration in Longyearbyen. It was snowing and blowing and even the dog find it best to stay on the lee-side of his snowhill.

Dogs weren't welcome to join the parade. I can't really understand why they couldn't join on the end of the row with "små og store", but we respected the wish and didn't join at all. 

Instead we had a dog-friendly walk. It was blowing and snowing, but anyhow, we need to have a walk every day regardless of weather.

It's not yet really summery in Svalbard, but at least winter is over and it's spring. We have parked our scooters for sommer even though the toughest are still driving.

Moods of spring

After a short week in Svea it was nice to come back home and enjoy a week off in Longyearbyen. We got a really nice days with spring weather.  

Now we were having a better view over the town - last week everything was  just foggy.

With this kind of weather it was nice to have a walk with a dog around the town. There were a real  feeling of spring everywhere. Snow buntings were singing, little oaks were busy by the mountains sides and a polar fox were howling somewhere close by.

Walk with the dog

Sometimes it's nice to have a walk with the dog in different places, just not beside the town.

Our dog has needed to learn all kind of things, just for that he has possibility to follow us. Sitting on the scooter isn't his favourites, but on that way we can have a walk with him little bit outside the town.

From Hiorthhamn it's nice to start to walk upward and enjoy the view to the town.

Our "TV-tower" is a pretty popular destination for small scooter tours.

Lot of pictures you can see from Longyearbyen is taken from here.

There were a nice halo. That's always a beautiful phenomenon.

Our dog had an important task: He was carrying our down jackets and ekstra clothes.

1000 km southward - Tromsø

To take a 1000 km tour southward can sound like a pretty long trip, but actually we "just" end up to Tromsø then. But Tromsø is a really nice town and for a small week trip it's an easy access. Just about 1,5 hours flight and we're almost middle of the town.

Our hairy companion was following us - of course. He needs to be traveling inside cargo. For sure he doesn't think that's the best thing, but he accepts that because that's the way how he can follow us. He takes his tail between his legs but jumps voluntarily up in his own cage. He is already an experienced traveller and really easy to have with.



Tromsø is a nice town with great surrounding. We had a really cosy week nearby Tromsø.

We couldn't avoid polar bears even in Tromsø. Luckily these ones were peaceful.

Time for twilight tours

During last week off we were having nice tours around. Even though the sun was still under the horizon, there was enough light for to have a "day light" tour with scooters. It felt so nice to drive out again after the dark season and to see mountains around.

Pink clouds are giving a promise that we get soon the sun back.

A huge group tourists having a dog sledge tour. With light we get also tourists back.

The waxing crescent moon is mystically hiding behind the clouds.

Twilight isn't that long and on the way home it was starting to get dark again.

The town with it lights looks welcoming.

Lights of the night

The first thing when I coming back to town is to take our dog out. He gets always so extremly happy when I'm back that it's good to take him out then and start our week together so.

Even a little walk around the town can be a really beautiful experience.