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.

A puny Christmas tree

Christmas time starts traditionally with a celebration around a Christmas tree at the market place. Celebration is specially important to children, but the Christmas tree is also delighting us grown ups. This year the Chrismas tree gave a talking point: Isn't it slightly puny? Yes, for sure it was, it was something pretty sad thing to look at, but at least we were having a real tree on our treeless island. But it wasn't only us who was wondering about the tree, it came to the national news in Norway as well. As a result of that we got a new tree. This time they really selected an impressive tree at the mainland. The new tree is the biggest Christmas tree I have seen here in Svalbard.

First outing in -22 centigrades

If we don't count travelling and a visit to them who took care of our dog while we were in Tromsø, we had our first outing together with our son couple of days ago in -22 centigrades. He got packed well in with couple of layers wool and a huge dress. First we walked to the health care center, where he got weighted and checked that everything was fine. He was grown a half a kilo in two weeks, so I guess he has got enough milk.

Then we had a tour to the local grocery and bought some food for us who can't be living just with milk. In afternoon we dressed him once more and drove to the airport. There we met our friend who was coming from the mainland and continiuing then with a local flight to Ny-Ålesund (a research settlement in north).

It was nice to see, that he was doing just fine with his clothing even though it was pretty cold. That's just good when he's living in a island of snow and ice. I think he's a tough guy to be just couple of weeks old.

1000 km to home

After the delivery of our son we were staying a good week in Tromsø. We were lucky and were able to stay with our good friend. It's kind of brave to take a family with a newborn baby to stay at your place!

But, home sweet home - even though it was really nice to stay in Tromsø I was waiting forward to go home. That mean our baby under two weeks old should be flying 1000 km for to end up that icy island where we were having our home. To have a such a travel isn't for sure the best thing to do with a newborn, but that's the way when you're living up in the north. Everything went just fine. Boy got a scathing amount of mother's milk before the flight and pactically he was sleeping until Longyearbyen. Finally we were home again!

Where hospitals aren't always that close by

We're having a small hospital in Longyearbyen and I were able to get all the maternity controls there. But they don't want to get any planned deliveries in Longyearbyen. If everything goes fine, giving a birth isn't a problem, but if there is some complications which need special expertise, mainland is far away. That is why all the pregnant ladies need to leave the island latest two weeks before due date. Of course, it's safest to leave little bit earlier, because you never know when baby is ready to be born.

I wanted to give a birth in Tromsø, not in my small home village where there is long way to a hospital. We're having a health center in my home municipality, but they don't either have a maternity clinic there. Distances in Northern Scandinavia can be long and it's not that unusual that it can take some hours to get to the closest hospital. We were lucky to have a good friend in Tromsø where we were planning to stay and wait the delivery. Actually Tromsø is a nice town anyhow to stay. But just few days before we should fly to Tromsø our child decided otherwise - he wanted out now. For to avoid to get a delivery in Longyearbyen an ambulance flight from the mainland was called and we got transported to Tromsø. It gave me a real perspective for how far away from help from outside we are in Longyearbyen. It took about eight hours from the point the flight was called to we entered the hospital in Tromsø. That was in good weather - if weather is bad, it's not quaranteed an ambulance flight can be send up straight after an accident.

Everything went just fine in our case even though I wouldn't think to travel to Tromsø on that way. But just asking from the proud mother: I think we got the most beautiful baby in the world!

Child of the Northern Lights

I have had unforgettable last nine months. Everything started already last February and since I have been following amazed the new growing life. I have felt changes in my body, seen growing tummy, felt first the small slights movements, later the strenght of turning and twisting and huge hick-ups. For a while it really felt like I was carrying a child of a real miner - it felt like he was trying to dick his way out of my tummy just straight through the skin. I haven't been having morning sickness, not hearth burning or any enourmously disturbing other symptoms. Instead I have really enjoyed my pregnancy. I didn't get tired to my tummy at all - I just could't stop thinking how amazing it was!

Our child was made under the Northern Lights, just after a polar night was over. He grew up in my tummy during the midnight sun, while we were enjoying a half a year day-around light. He was following us on our scooter tours, in the small tours on the mountains, travelling with us in the Nordic countries where we spend our holidays. It was an easy pregnancy and it was perfectly fine with my work in Svea.

We were planning to have couple of nice weeks after my work was over before we got our new family member. Our Mørketidsbarn didn't want to wait that long, he was ready to breath his own lungs. We got an ambulance flight to Tromsø one night, at a night with Northern Lights. Suddenly he was here - without that we got unpatient with waiting for it.

Now, next months, we'll be enjoying the quietness of a dark time we're having in Longyearbyen. Life will be much around that new small creature. And that just fine - a polar night is quite a perfect time to get a child. When the sun is getting back, our son has also got bigger and then we can go together out and greet the sun back.

Good bye, Svea

My last week in Svea is over. Store Norske has been having big economical challenges and because of that they needed to reduce about 20-25 % of employee. I was one of them who lost the work. I'm sorry for that, because I think work in Svea has been the best I have had. Svea is a great place to work with good working shifts and work itself is really fine. And best of all, the working climate on our work place is really good with great work mates. But when the company can't afford to have all of us there, so then we just need to find some other place to work. Many have also left voluntarily for to find more secure work. Since spring I lost half of my work mates - and now it was my turn to leave.

But in my case situation isn't actually that sad. Now I'm having couple of weeks free and then I'm starting with new challenges. Actually I'm waiting forward for it and timing was just perfect. Soon we're ready for new adventures in Svalbard.

Farewell Sun

We have said farewell to the sun. The sun went down last time at 26th of October and we'll see it again at 16th of February. We're still having some twilight at the daytime couple of more weeks, but after that we're in the real polar night, were there isn't difference between day and night. Latest now it's time to find the candles on the table and enjoy a warm cup of cocoa in a sofa and let peace and quiet take over.

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. 

One more busy week in Svea

One more cargo-ship has just left Svea. We have got the first container of goods in the storage. Everything need to be unpacked, registered in the electronic inventory management system and placed in the right place in the storage.

When the one containerfull of goods is ready, the next one is coming. The work continues.

There is lot of work included before we can delivery a thing out of the storage.

At the lunch time the sun is still shining in Svea.

When we're going to have a dinner, the sun has set and beautiful pink is taking over.

The sun is still shining in early October

When I'm on call duty in Svea, I'm coming home in early morning day after when I'm normally coming. From the airplane it looks like town is still in sleep. I'm almost as well.

But some hours later the sun has reached the town. These are the last days when we can see sun shining in the town. When you know it, you just can't stay inside and let the town glide to the shadows again.

White world

So was our summer holiday over and Svalbard was welcoming us back. It was quite an experience to walk out of the airplane and meet the white world after really nice days in summerly Denmark.

Next morning I wasn't even got really woken when I was already sitting a small aircraft and was on the way to Svea. The first work week after a holiday was starting.

Actually autumn in Svalbard is quite nice. I really like that special pink colour in the sky.

It can be pretty painful to wake up early to work, but  beautiful view helps to wake up and gives a good start for a new day.

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.

Everyday life in Svea

I'm spending every other week in Svea, so Svea isn't just a work place but I need to think that there is my other home. For that it's worth to be working like we're doing you need to like your work, work place and have a good time with you workmates. Luckily we're having a really good team to work with and work days aren't lacking laugh and good stories.

It's actually pretty nice to be flying to Svea. I just love these mountains and like to be following where we're. I think landscape is just amazing from the air perspective. Here is Longyearbyen from southward.

This summer has been really cloudy and rainy. Here is Svea in sunshine - one of those rare days we were having a summerly weather. 

Summer is a hectic time in Svea, even though production is low when many of miners are having theis summer holiday. This is shipping seasons first coal boat, transporting 80 000 tonn good quality Svea-coal to the European market.

It's easier to see how huge the bulk boat is when you compare it for a tank boat beside it or to the 20 feet containers stabled on the left side of harbour.

After a work week it's nice to fly home. Soon a complete free week is starting!

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.

Summer with little snow

We were back in Svalbard in early July. Then it was time to put shorts back to cupboard and find our thin woollen underwear on use.

Actually summers are pretty nice in Svalbard with around +6 centigrades, but it's not uncommon to get some new snow on the mountains even middle of the summer.

Amounts of water destroyed one of the bridges over Longyearelva, river running through the town. Rivers can be get pretty heavy on rainy or warm summer days.

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.

Welcome summer!

We have got some really summerly days here in Svalbard. Amounts of snow has been just disappearing! When the weather got suddenly warm (up to +10 degrees Celcius) and same time came lot of rain, the risk of the avalanches got also high. Luckily no human life has been lost but some roads needed to be closed for a while when avalanches tumbled over and also one cabin got totally damaged.

But we're happy that summer is coming. It will be great to be having some trips to the mountains without skies. And I really like that brown colour we're getting on the mountains in summer time. When I was still living in the mainland I didn't like so much brown as a colour. Now I think that variable brown colour mountains are having is really nice. In the same time I'm waiting forward to have little bit holiday in the mainland. I can almost feel the smell of grass when I'm just thinking about it.