An important day

Today I have been away from home for 1 month already (but only in Tromso for three weeks)! and it is my mom's birthday, Happy Birthday Mom. Did I mention that my mom and brother are coming to visit me in October.  Very surprising. Mom, I'll save your present for when you are here.  My wife is coming to visit me too (even more exciting to be honest, though perhaps less suprising), and even though I was away for her birthday earlier in June, she is nice enough to come here over my birthday!

So what's happened over the month?

I've been trying to post often, though I find that i often just use Twitter to share a quick picture from my phone.  I should start trying to only use my blog to do this stuff, as it feeds to Twitter and then to Facebook.   I will work on this over the coming month.

I've been hiking, seen some of the country side near Tromso, walked and hiked more this month than I have for quite awhile before hand.  I've watched a marathon, and have been cooking for myself (though honestly I am making more or less the same 3 or 4 meals each day since I arrived). I've seen birds, porpoises, reindeer, and lots of dogs.

Otherwise I have worked alot, many evenings, most of my weekends.

I haven't had much chance to really explore Tromso. At least, I don't feel like I have.  The island is a good size, and I've really only been around downtown and to the southern tip (closest to NPI).  

I've been out to a restaurant/bar and to a total of two bars (one of which closes at 6pm). I'm able to understand a bit more Norwegian, mostly through the wonders of grocery shopping.  However, my spoken Norwegian has not improved at all, that is to say, I still don't speak a word of Norwegian besides numbers and thanks.

I need to be working more in the evenings, though it will be difficult in July as I need to make sure to catch the bus out to Skulsfjord where I am staying at Harvey and Angelika's place (as the bus at 4pm is my last option for the day).  But as long as I plan ahead and download enough data to my computer, I can work.  But it is also nice to take the evening, make supper and then walk/hike with Yukon. Just tonight I hiked up the hills behind Harvey and Angelika's.  Only a few hundred meters elevation gain, but well worth it, even if the views today were a bit clouded/rained in.  Today it has been raining hard, we even had thunder and lightning (while i was at work, not when hiking on the mountain)!

I've also been reading away much of my spare time.  The last book in the wheel of time series came out in April (ebook version) or something, and in preparation I have been rereading the entire series of books so far (13 of them, each 700-900 pages).  I am not sure when I started, but I'm on the final book now.

Quick Post: Postcard photo and reindeer

Hey all,

Just a quick post from some of the views from this morning.  This weekend I moved to Angelika and Harveyæs place.  I know Harvey and Angelika from 2010 when I was here for the ICE and NPI Fram Strait research cruises.

Harvey and Angelika live in a small village called Skulsfjord about 30km away from NPI. They rent the top floor of an old school house.  While they go on some holidays in July, I will be taking care of their dog, Yukon.  He's fun, and full of energy, and a real sled dog.

Yukon and I hiking

Last night, I walked and fed Yukon, and did some work. It was a bit of rainy evening.  This morning though, I was greeted to sunshine and this view.

View from the drive (Skulsfjord, Norway)

One of the reasons I took the picture here is because if I wait for the bus at the end of the driveway, a seagull who has chicks always dive bombs me, trying (and succeeding) to scare me off.

I rode the bus for awhile then had to get off and transfer to another bus that takes me to work.  While waiting for the next bus a small herd of reindeer decided to walk through the bus transfer area.

Just some reindeer

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

When the situation requires it, I can be very decisive.  However, I sometimes find myself being less than decisive, mostly because I am not very picky about things.  I consider myself to be pretty easy going and adaptable. Right now I am trying to find accommodations for time here in Norway.

I am watching someone's house in July and then in August I am on a research cruise in Fram Strait, so I really don't need anything until September.  Unfortunately, the housing market in Norway is crazy and all the students start University again in mid to late August.  Right now this means there is quite a rush on all rental places.  Of the more ones I have contacted, two have contacted me back saying that the room was not yet rented out and they would make a list of appointments.  Of those, 1 called me back and I went to view it yesterday.

I was supposed to be there at 6, and I was, just.  I had planned out the bus route I would take there, and which bus I needed to catch.  Then I had a Skype meeting with my supervisor from 4:30 until about 5:30.  Of course as my wife is well aware, my meetings with my supervisor can last a bit longer than planned, and so when I was discussing just one more quick thing, I saw my bus pull away from the stop.  It was my day off running yesterday, but what choice did I have.  I walked-jogged-ran to my appointment.

The room was okay, nothing special, nothing terrible.  Just a small room with space for a bed and a desk in a house shared with 4 or 5 other people. A shared bathroom and kitchen and living room area. BUT I would have to take in in July already.  So I would pay for two months where I won't use it.

With the housing market the way it is, should I just take it or should I hold out? If I hold out I can use the money I save for the three months I won't have had to pay rent to get a nicer place for the last 4 months.  But do I need a nicer place, I really am only looking for somewhere that I can cook, sleep and maybe do some work, and a bit of unwinding and so a shared house could be great.  They can also be terrible, if you get the wrong group of people.

The landlord lady said she would contact me today if I made the cut (she had about 8 appointments to view the place last night after I left).  Her thoughts were to wait (maybe she didn't like me, but I think she was just being honest). I guess I have to decide soon (maybe).

Part of me wants to wait, I think there should be more options coming open in July with all the students arriving in August. I would like to have something sorted before I go on the research cruise at the beginning of August.

I thought I would share my thoughts on this problem as I am working on it.  

Otherwise, life here is good.  The mountains/hills, the fjords, the cooler temperatures, the smell of the ocean, all of these agree with me. I have been busy working, lots of meetings, writing some code, and soon I will be spending some time in a freezer processing thin-sections of ice cores. In the Arctic we usually do thick sections,  though ours are pretty thin, just not as thin as you can get them in a lab.  I will hopefully post a couple pictures for you.

Also it turns out I will be going to back to the Netherlands for a few days. I will have some meetings there and so I will spend two extra days and hopefully see some of my extended family again. 

Cheers

Justin

Friday Night Hike

After supper and spending the night at Angelika and Harvey's, I worked Friday.  I sent off some work that had a deadline and decided to reward myself by going hiking that evening.  I am trying to make sure that I do go out and enjoy this amazing place, instead of just spending all my time at work (though I have just finished working today).

The weather was looking pretty good, so I decided to go out for a hike. There is a cable car here that takes you up one of the hills (or mountain, not sure what you would call it, it felt like a mountain to me). You can then hike up to the summit from there.

I decided that instead of taking the cable car up, I would hike up. This was quite nice.  Since I am also trying to get in shape I decided to take my camera, tripod and a few other somewhat unnecessary items just to add weight to the pack.  I left work at 4:30 or so, packed up and changed, stopped at the grocery store to buy some supper for the hike (bananas, a cheese bun, a pastry and some juice) and also stopped and finally got myself a SIM card for my phone (just incase I needed help, I wanted to be able to call).

I walked from downtown, across the bridge, and stopped quickly to take a picture of the Arctic Cathedral.  It looks quite nice, lots of light, many many windows. I think there are daily concerts (with one at midnight as well) here during the summer tourist season.

Tromso's Arctic Cathedral.

After this I headed toward the cable car and started going up. The trail climbed a bit and then levelled off for a long time.

View of Tromso.  Can just make out Polaria and the Fram Center where I work, if you know what to look for.

 After a while I came to a stream with a small hose for drinking water and decided to take some pictures with my camera, my neutral density filter and my tripod.

A stream along the way.  With hose to supply drinking water. Shot with my iPhone.

Shot with my Canon 60D with a Neutral Density Filter

I ate a banana quickly and then continued on up. It took awhile but in the end I hiked some 19+km, took a few pictures and had a nice evening.  I was hope around 10pm and had a great nights sleep.

Another shot with my iPhone, showing Tromso, and again you can see the Fram Center and Polaria

Panorama shot with my iPhone showing Tromso (island) and Tromsdalen (foreground town)

Looking out over the ford. shot with iPhone

View from the Top, Panorama from ipHone

Shot with my iPhone.  Is a very small puddle, but I held the camera close to the water.

Seeing the country side.

Well it was a busy week last week.  I did not get up to much besides work, at least not from the weekend until Thursday. However on Thursday I was invited for supper at Angelika and Harvey's place. I know Angelika and Harvey from when I was here in 2010.  They were on the NPI cruises I participated in then. 

I will be house/dog sitting for Angelika and Harvey for the last week in June and in July while they go on holidays.  As such it was a good idea for me to go see the place and to meet Yukon, their dog.

They live in this beautiful little village about 30km away from Tromso. It sits in a bay with snow capped mountains around, green little mountain pastures and farm land, and just amazing views.

View from Angelika and Harveys place

From the top of a "hill" near Angelika and Harvey's place. Looking over the fjord.

Another shot of the village and fjord

Supper, an Svalbard goose, being de-feathered.

After a dinner of the breast meat from a svalbard goose that Harvey shot a few weeks ago we went for a nice hike with the dog.  Yukon seemed to like me, which is good.  He is a real dog-sledding dog, a working dog...very high energy, very, very strong.

Yukon, Angelika and Harvey's dog.

Reflections on Week 1

Now  that I have been here for more than 1 week, I  thought I should take the time to give some impressions so far. To be honest, I don't have many impressions of Tromso yet.  Last week I had the WCRP Climate and Cryosphere Workshop from Wednesday - Friday. I worked all weekend and have been working long days since then.

But okay my impressions so far: Norway is expensive, I knew this but it translates in weird ways.  A bottle of beer at the grocery store runs around 50-70NOK, or about $9-12. I haven't even looked at wine yet. Certain items seem reasonably priced, but of course vegetables and meet are expensive.

But okay no big deal, I won't drink much alcohol and I will just try to minimize my expenses where I can.

Tromso is definitely a tourist town.  Cruise ships like these ones stop here each day, unload a few hundred tourists and then sail off again.

The people are very friendly. and not just the people at the Institute; while having a beer one night of the workshop, a Norwegian man, a salesman, sat down and talked with us for awhile and bought us a round of Aquavit, a Norwegian liquor famous for being transported across the equator on a ship in Oak barrels.

Everyone here speaks excellent English, which is great considering that I don't speak or understand any Norwegian, though I hope to learn a bit of it.  I am learning what certain foods are.

I plan to take some time this weekend to get out and enjoy the sights, and maybe buy a bicycle.  I have been looking for a used bike but haven't had much luck so far, but will keep looking. Otherwise I can also look at new bikes or maybe find someone here who has one I can use over the summer. If the weather is decent I may go hiking and camping. Then  I will have some pictures for you.

If you have questions just ask, post a comment, send me an email, however you'd like.

Random Post: A Better Way to Eat an Apple

Just before I left Edmonton, my office mate and fellow PhD student, Alec Casey told me about a new way to eat an apple. I believe he said he saw it on a video online.

Normally when I eat an apple, I start along one side (top being defined by the stem) and eat my way around the core.  But then you are left with the core, and usually a fair bit of the fruit as well.

Alec told me to eat the apple top down (or bottom up) instead of from the sides allowing you to eat pretty much the entire apple without noticing the core at all (except the seeds). WHAT!? Alec said he was doubtful at first but found that it was true.

I was pretty dubious but gave it a try, I mean what was the worst that could happen, I could eat a few apple seeds, ingest a little cyanide (a really small amount), and discover that I did not enjoy eating the apple that way.

BUT IT WORKED!! It is truly great. You really do not notice the core. I eat my apples this way all the time. Thanks Alec!.

Here are a few pictures:

AND GIVE IT A TRY!

Photos: Tromso, Norway

Well today's blog post is more photo filled than normal.  I realized that I had not shared many of the pictures I've taken so far.  Most of my pictures have gone up onto Twitter or Facebook because it is so easy to do from my phone (yes, most of these are from my phone camera).However, Facebook and Twitter are not accessible to everyone, so here are a few photos of my time here in Tromso thus far.

View from my office..

My desk....much nicer than my office at the U of A.

View from the top of the Maritime High School in Tromso, where we had a workshop dinner.

Looking the other way from the top of the Maritime High School in Tromso

Panorama from the top of the Maritime High School. Mountain in the middle back is one I want to summit the next chance I get.

The halfway point of my run yesterday.

Another view at the half way point of my run yesterday.

Halfway point of the run

Only the second supper I have had to cook for myself this trip. Pasta with ground beef, vegetables and tomato sauce.

The First Few Days

Well I arrived here in Tromso on Monday, June 3 at around 8:30pm (see previous posts).  From Wednesday - Friday I joined the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) Sea Ice Modelling and Observing Workshop here in Tromso.  CliC is a core project of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP).  At this meeting, sea ice scientists and modellers were getting together to discuss some of the urgent gaps in the data and the models in order to make our understanding of the Cryosphere more complete.

Small breakout groups with modellers, observationalists, experimentalists, and remote sensing experts got together to identify key knowledge gaps and suggest possible studies and ideas on how to further Cryospheric Research.

For me, it was a good way to see some old friends, make some new ones, meet some of the very important and "big name" researchers in my field and more generally in sea ice research. Most importantly, there was some free food and drinks and lots of interesting talks/discussions.

Of course, this means I have not gotten much else done while here, so I think I will be working this weekend. I have a scholarship application due back in Edmonton, and then I need to try to work on some data/plots for a paper I co-authored that is under revisions.
I have been busy enough with the workshop and with the more social aspects of such a workshop that I have not been to bored or lonely yet.

Today I will have some skype meetings yet with Christian (supervisor), Alec (fellow PhD student in Edmonton) and at least another meeting with Sebastian Gerland. I will then be going for dinner with the CliC Director and a few other big name scientists.

Well I was writing this while my one project hard drive was updating and it is now finished so back to work for me. I will post again this weekend.


Justin

Day 1: Getting settled

Today was my first full day here in Tromso, Norway.  Last night I unpacked my stuff, bought a box of cereal and a litre of milk for breakfast.

This morning I went to work at 8:00 am, by which I mean I went up 3 floors and down a hall way to my office, living at work has one giant advantage: no commute. Of course, I did not have an office key, so I went back to my room until 8:30 when Sebastian said he'd arrive.

Sebastian Gerland is my supervisor for the Leiv Eiriksson project I am doing. He showed me around NPI and the Fram Center a bit and introduced me to a lot of people.  It's always hard to meet many new people, I never remember people's names as I'm trying to give off a good impression and get an impression of them. I also got a key for my office.

I then caught up on some emails, chatted to a few of the people I knew from 2010 and then went to a seminar in the building. After a bit more work/emailing there was another seminar, and then more work.

At about 5pm I left work and went to get some things I needed, another power plug adapter, and some tourist info in case I have some time this weekend. Then I had to get some groceries for supper.

Now, normally I would say that I help with the cooking at home, and I do help, but I do more of the prep than the cooking.  In the summer I do the BBQing, and I make the odd supper and the odd thing on the weekend, but I am by no means the main cook or even used to cooking for myself.  When Nicole goes away, I plan some meals but usually as simple as possible.

So, it seems I will have to get to used to cooking and planning my meals and everything else. Today, something simple, salmon with penne pasta in a lemon dill cream sauce and some red pepper.  It was really quite easy, just cooked up some pasta, fried up some salmon with some lemon juice, pieces of lemon peel and dill.  Once the salmon was mostly cooked, I added cream and more lemon juice.

Nicole and I have made something similar before at home and I just added salmon to it. Combined with some apples to eat at lunches or as a snack, it all came out to less than my daily food allowance, and I still have pasta, dill, and cream left over.

Tomorrow until Friday I am attending a workshop where lunches and at least one supper are included.  This is nice, because not only will it save me some money on food, which I can use later, the workshop looks to be really great.

Well that is the end of day one. I still have some reading to do in preparation for the workshop tomorrow, so back to it.

Now I am really off to Norway

I am sitting on the airplane, flying from Amsterdam to Oslo. Once in Oslo, I will have six hours to wait.

Yesterday everyone gathered for a nice potluck style lunch at my grandma and grandpa's (Oma and Opa's). Then in the evening I had a nice supper with my aunt and uncle and my two cousins.

The day before we went for supper at the beach. We all ate a lot of food and it was a bit cold and windy but the sky was clear and it was nice to see the ocean

Sitting here on the plane I have mixed feelings. I have had an amazing holiday; visiting with family here in Holland is not something I get to do very often and it is always very nice. I have been to the ocean; ate poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes served with powdered sugar and butter), visited with my Opa and Oma and thoroughly enjoyed not working and not thinking much about science.

I could spend much more time on vacation, I think. 

That said I am looking forward to starting my Leiv Eiriksson project looking at laser scanner data from over sea ice. I am excited to meet new people at the Norwegian Polar Institute and the other institutes at the Fram (NPI) Center where NPI has offices. I am looking forward to seeing some of Norway and hopefully picking up some of the language and culture.

I talked with Nicole via FaceTime yesterday (her afternoon). It was nice to talk to my wife, to see her and hear her voice. But it also really made it sink in that I will not see her until September or so. So far I have been busy and surrounded by family, a family that I dot see often but still feels like family. Soon it will be just me, I will undoubtedly have time on my own which I both enjoy but can find difficult. At least at home I could talk to my dog Jax; I feel a little less crazy talking to my dog than to myself, which I invariably end up doing. Perhaps I will try listening to more music and being more active.

Nicole will come to Norway for a couple of weeks to see me and we will take a few days holidays. Before then I will be busy with work, with a scientific cruise to Fram Strait and then finding a place to live from September through December.

I will post more pictures soon. But for now here is a few pictures I have taken on my holidays. More will come soon, for now only photos I have taken with my phone.