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.