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| Picture of the week: Ice flows on the train ride to Trondheim. |
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| Anders enjoying the view on the voyage from Trondheim to Oslo. |
The forecast today is clear, sunny and 21 C. Yes, we arrived back in California late last night after a 24 hour sequence of flights against strong headwinds (117 km/hr at one point) and moderate turbulence. The flight back was after a fantastic week in Norway. From Lillehammer, we took the train north for just over two hours to Trondheim. The tracks weaved through the valleys along the mostly frozen rivers, over the high plains and passes in the center of the country and then down towards the coast. The experience was great for the boys (all three of them!). We stayed in a hotel in the center of town that had been converted from the old cooperative bakery until the turn of the century. I met up Geir Johnsen at the Trondheim Biological Station (see second December 2011 entry) to go over a report we were working on. After a few hours, Nicole and I joined Geir and his wife along the Nidaros River for a wonderful Italian dinner. I visited the NTNU campus the next day with Geir for some additional work and a meeting (the purpose of the trip to Trondheim) which lasted the rest of the work day. We then picked up the family and went over to his cozy house in Trolla for some homemade pizza and some good conversation and laughs. We were up early the next morning to catch the 7 hour train ride back to Oslo. Clear weather and sunshine followed us the entire trip back along the same track we had arrived on. After settling in at the hotel, we strolled down the main boulevard from the place for dinner. The following day, I met at the Fulbright office for lunch with the office staff and my Norwegian Arctic Chair counterpart, Joystein Bakke. We all then walked over to the foreign ministry and both Joystien and I gave presentations to our generous sponsors highlighting the research, teaching and cultural exchange during our respective Fulbright experiences. After goodbyes, I returned to the hotel for a few hours of down time. The boys were not interested at all in going out that night, so Nicole and I capitalized on the opportunity to grab some time together for a walk and a movie. Oslo was alive with activity, restaurants, night clubs etc., a large contrast to Longyearbyen! After a slow start, we just managed to catch the right bus to the airport, and our flight to Germany. Leaving Norway was more difficult than I thought, but knowing I will return for further collaboration etc. made it easier. In Munich, we were treated with a visit from our good friends the Wilds at the airport for some beer and brats before our trip back to the US.
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| The viking ship museum in Oslo. |
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| Visiting the Wilds in Munich airport for dinner! |
I will miss the isolated routine that we established in Longyearbyen, free from many of the diversions from a larger city and University. I will miss our many new and old friends and the stunning beauty of Svalbard and mainland Norway. I am taking with me a new sense of the Norwegian culture and traditions, what it means to be Norwegian, and a bit more of its language. I hope this blog has given some of that flavor. How very fortunate I was to experience these last 7 months with my family and I would like to thank the Fulbright Foundation and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry that sponsored my stay.
As this journey comes to an end, the next one begins. After unpacking and resettling in at home I will be off to the Republic of Palau for 3 weeks working in a place that is a stark contrast (to say the least) to Norway. Time to break out the sunscreen!
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| Myself and Ian Robbins in Palau in March 2011. |
This will be my last blog on this topic, but follow Ian Robbin's blog of Palau at I have enjoyed writing and hope you have as well ... ha det bra!
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