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When traveling to Svalbard....

The first question people ask: when is the best time to travel to Svalbard, Longyearbyen?

The answer: When we started living here i caught myself after every month thinking that the last month was the best. In October i thought: Wow, September is so beautiful here, the coulours of the endlessly long sunsets, the beautiful mountains, the smell of the first snow in fresh air. No trees! In November: Wow, the cold, the snow, the promising auroras! And this would continue until September next year thinking: Wow, August is awesome, the colours of the plants, the grass, the reindeers, the hikes to the mountains! You see?

Then again, now i do have a little insight perhaps;
The first question might actually be to yourself: what am i looking for in this trip? What do i want to see and experience?

I have a feeling this will become a long post, right.. O_O

Aurora borealis, the northern lights:

More often people are eager about the polar-day than the polar-night. As an estonian, i surely could kind of imagine the polar-day, since we have something like that in the midsummer (of course here it's like totally much more of a "day" than in estonia that one-two nights) but the polar-night seemed therefore arose more interest: how will we cope? how does it feel? Will we go mad not seeing the sun for months? Do we change as people? Haha! When the only indicator for morning or evening is the clock, will it be depressing?

It is strange, especially here, since in December there isn't even a hint on light at any time of the day. (In Tromso there supossed to be still a little blue time during midday). 

But this darkness is good.... very good to see some northern lights, aurora borealis. This is something of course you cant scedule, but with a bit of luck it's possible. In my personal experience the best times for that might be November and December. In January it's usual to have a warmer period with the snow melting and rain, so the clouds cover the sky. February might work too, since it is still cold and the night still is much much longer than the subtle light that might take only an hour or three of the entire day. After the 8th of March we have the sun coming back fast and then there is even more to look out for.

Dogs, snowmobiles, skiing/hiking:

My favourite is the dogsledge rides. A tip: when you're on the sledge, riding between the white snowcovered mountains in the dark polarnight, starry sky above you - switch off your headlamp, that way you can see more. You're on a different planet, sweeping through the universe in silence. But the first rule of dogsledging is.... never let go of the sldege. As cute and loving the dogs here are, they will not stop when you fall off. Hold on tight!

The second thing: In smaller companies you get to interact with the dogs, it means, you yourself will put them on the sledge, later take them off and feed them. In seven cases of nine: I'm afraid of dogs. After interacting with the sledgedogs here, i've partly overcome that fear... im not afraid of sledgedog anymore. (Still afraid of the bulldog or something, who lives on our street.) The common breed here is the alascan husky, which is here a bit of a mix of the greenland dog too, here and there some siberian husky vibes in corporated. It's told that the innuits used dogs to keep children warm during cold winternights, -days, so that only a friendly dog could survive in that culture. We had a chance to dog-sit a  retired greenlanddog couple of times and she's the sweetest ever, even with three children running around screaming and a house full of exitement.... she was chill, wanting to cuddle.

Here are some links of companies i've been on trips with: Svalbard Husky, Svalbard Greendog,

Snowmobilerides: fast and furiously through the arctic! With a snowmobile obviously one can get much further in little time on the island, but beware! Safety first! There are awesome trips offered, but keep in mind: you are driving, therefore you need a driverslicence with you and you need to be sober. It might seem palpable. Worth mentioning anyway. And... last year we witnesed a snowmobile accident right from our window, where a trip didn't last even 300m in the valley, when a scooter spinned and crashed. It was the day of the solar eclipse and this guy had to lay in the hospitalbed instead. The reason being: because he drives a motorbike, he thought to make some trick with the snowmobile too, well, it was an totally exiting day. Lucky he didn't crash into someone else and survived with some broken bones.

When it comes to skiing, i must say, i haven't tried this here. I've been more on hikes on the snow. The good thing: no need to go too far. The mountains around the smal town offer great views and nice nature experiences. Depending on your strength you can combine a longer/harder trip, or something more easy. The Platåfjell is quite popular during winter and summer.

Im going to leave you with two links, Spitsbergen Travel and Svalbard Wildelife,  to look around and see the different opportunities.
Usually trips with dogs and snowmobiles provide you a overallsuit, hat, gloves, shoes, that are suitable even for harsh conditions. The shoes are designed to keep feet safe even with -40 C. 

It's quite a long blogpost aleady, so i continue some time later about other oportunities/seasons and my views and tips about them ;) and what to pack with you when travelling to Svalbard as a tourist ;)
See you soon!
Bisous!  
 

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It's weird but i can't really remember a time i was more hungry for music than i am now. I was just listening and watching this Damien Rice live piece and ahhh.. it's so good (low quality video though), how awesome it must have been to be there live. I miss live instruments: piano, strings, guitar, voice. And the sensation of a concert. Lately.

 

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So, Valentine's Day is over. Many-many e-mails are waiting to be written. I still suspect time flows here differently, but it might not be because we're exactly here, but that we are somewhere else. But homesickness is something strange, since you can feel it anywhere, even when you'r home. I listened to some music in the evening, when everyone is sleeping, and felt that this yearning is maybe something really great, moving people to create so many beautiful tunes. Thanks to this song i actually will keep an eye on the competition for the eurovision song contest. 

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*sigh*

We're back from our vacation, but still recovering. Everyone in this family is out of shape and i don't know when it all will be back to normal again. As usual here, the wind is howling and the temperature is near -30C, the ongoing gale just making it worse. But the blue period has started: during midday the sky and the mountains are all blue in different shades - it's beautiful.

I start from the end. The last days of our Estonian trip we were just like zombies. Although we limited visitations and going around, it still got crazy. Because crazy things kept happening. But even when something went wrong, it went all right again. This rollercoasterride wasn't bad itself, but it drained a lot of energy.

Our flight from Tallinn got delayed because of the sudden snow in Oslo. It meant we had even less time to transfer than before and as we remembered it was always 'running like nobody's watching' in Oslo. This airport is too small for their traffik, honestly. The line in the security check? They should separate the domestic and the international already before the security check? And im not even starting to talk about the strollers, when you'r on the domestic flight, because there aren't any to be found. I like to work out, but not with my baby under my arm, our coats under the other, a backpack and my passport between my teeth. We lost our phones, liquids, babyfood, e-book, Juss's shoes and some other important stuff in the security check: i didn't see them, Martin didn't, so each one thought the other one had taken them. So silly, when i think about it now.

Stressed, trying to calm down, figuring out solutions as soon as we arrive at Longyear. And then... in Tromso the flight to Longyear is delayed for two hours. After two hours it's cancelled. Hungry, tired, lost, sad. The battery completely empty.

It had been raining and the runnway here is very icy, in addition the wind was strong and unpredictable. A plane not going to/from Longyear as supposed to, is something everyone i know living here, has experienced at least once. SAS had us all booked a pretty hotel and we got to eat nice food. But the thought of our lost items still ruined the mood, since it was hard to get any kind of contact. (Note to self: write down some phonenumbers!). The snow in Oslo had mixed up many peoles plans i think.

Probably in some days i see what photos our camera has stored and share some vacation crazyness :) Until then: rest, recover, chill!

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This photo is taken 9 am. In case you wondered :)

As im browsing through an estonian ebook-shop in the section of foreign classics, i see a lot of Cartland next and between some Dostojevski, Gogol, Rilke and Fizgerald, Bacon. When did that happen? And it makes me wonder if i should buy one of Cartlands ebooks? But the pink exterior with the flowers and old pin-up-like photographs kind of make it look like a toothache.

It's 3am in my hometown and here i am wide awake. For some days (weeks) i have developed this medieval habit of waking up in the middle of the night. I have my continuing zombie-moments. 

Recently i sent out our weddingphotoswebsite and included some polarnight impressions, very minimal though, but the responses were theremore amuzing. Anwsers kept coming with the content: thought we have the sun, it's not that bright, its actually really-really dark here too.

M, who's been here for couple of years, says that when she goes home in november she's just so happy to see the sun rise every morning, that rain, clouds, mud and anything-everything else seems actually like decoration. I guess it's not something easy to comprehend and i think those responses were meant to cheer us up. And, well, they did. In a odd way, but they did.

Maybe it's likewise as in paintings, when you want to give the impression of darkness you add a little light somewhere and vice versa. So the gray-dark winter is much harder to endure perhaps?

Mørketide or dark season is here actually dark, i mean, like night, like really, honestly. Even people coming from Tromsø are surprised by it, altho they also have this mørketide they "celebrate", still on midday some sunrays reach that northern city of norway. But not here. Not this town.

So while we have not seen the sun, at the moment for almost two months now, we wait patiently and calmly, cuddle up in warmth and take in every source of light with the utmost delight ;) that way we survive, longing quietly for the sunrise, that awaits us here in February.

Sweet hugs and merry holidays!

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Hei! Hello!
Hi! Shouldn't you not be here?

Taken out of context, isn't it strange. Didn't you move?/Shouldn't you be somewhere far away? Seconds later my apologetic rush would kick in and i would start telling how my husband came for work, how we came along to visit family, how it's only for two weeks. Feeling like the object of "What's wrong in this picture" section. 

So, home, where are you?

It's not where it used to be. And it's not quite here yet. But, as we drove back up Sukkertoppen from the airport, Juss said "our Svalbard" and invited our local friend D over to visit us in "our Svalbard". It was funny, sweet and somewhat surprising. He picked it up from all the invitations we have made to familymembers and friends. And he must have felt homesick too. 

I realize that i write in questions. That's how i start. There are topics i'm not sure about, not sure what to think of them, wanting to lean to all directions before finding the balance somewhere in between, or on a side, who knows. It unfolds best in a conversation, like a dance, like improvisation with a partner who catches the impuls and follows it further to return something new and see where it goes from there. 

I miss questions. In a world of statements, where a question easily becomes critisism or a sign of ignorance. I question myself.

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It's 23pm and i'm obviously ...cooking jam. Miki is asleep, like Martin and Juss, who instead of the bed, are sleeping in the winter-garden, by accident. Interesting. They wanted to wait/play there until i put Miki to bed, but ended up asleep on the orange couch.

I'm gonna miss this apartment, although it's full of flaws (like last renovation was in the 90es), it has been a great two years and these walls here know it. We love the garden and foremost our neighbours. Living here has made me see how nice it is to have a small community and that they actually work. 

Last friday we had a nice brunch outside the town at our friends place. We stayed until the late afternoon. They have a big garden and a sandbox, that way the kids were entertained and we could just relax. And truth be told: it was flattering and exiting to have someone photograph me and us for a change, since 90% of all our jpg-fails don't include me, because i'm the one taking them and it's either me with the kids or Martin with the kids. Now we have some fails i think i'll even print. Yey. 

 

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I have no idea what happens to these files, when i upload them here, they get all foggy or darker or worse, lighter, and i can count pixels too. Why is that ? An idea anyone?

Truth be told, i haven't really figured the camera out. A task waiting for a different time. ... Talking about time!. 

We're wishing you all a wonderful Christmastime, a meaningful Christmastime... actually wishing you time. Let all the clocks stop for a while :)

On Sunday we went on a Christmas-party with relatives and i can't recall talking to anyone really. Or being part of any conversation in any way, because... there was no time for that. And now it's freaking midnight and i'm supposed to bake cakes for tomorrow and i'm obviously not doing it. Because ... it feels wrong, a task, altho' it was something i volunteered to do. Tomorrow, i say. As much as i hate being late, i dislike the pressure i am capable of putting on myself to do it perfect, to the point that it just becomes a paralysing force. Some sleep will help :)

Let's see, what tomorrow brings. It will be a nice Tuesday at least, i'm sure. 

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One month. The first clothes, that are already too small. Time does seem like a fleeting river as you try to hold on to it. Miky is awesome, as Juss, who adores him. Soon they'll be up to things together. Like eating soap. But after Monday, Juss can already explain you, little Miky, that it' doesn't taste that good.

This first month has been a joy as it has been a learning experience again on how to live without sleeping :)) I got to bed once at 3.30 in the morning, and Martin was woken up at 4. But we're good.  Looking like a pair of old slippers, but really really happy ones.

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Just wanted to let you know, that we're back on festland. Arriving home was like the best thing ever. Being on a trip is great, but home is home, that's like your castle, your stronghold. I was amazed how much energy we had after arriving from a tiresome- tiresome drive, while we could only think of getting upstairs and going straight to bed. But we cooked (Martin did :P), filled the washing-machine, twice, had dinner, unpacked everything and, when Juss went to bed, even watched a movie. Wow. We could see that Juss was equally happy to be back;  he was like all over the place, going through his toys and running from one room to the other. In that sense i can understand my friends well, who, having been living in France for two years, decided that it's easier to return, than to stay here for the summer, living one week in one place, the next one in another, until they find a new home.

The apples on the tree tops are getting ready. And sometimes the wind brings the smell of autumn. Not yet, but it'll come. We're heating the apartment for the first time this summer,' cos it's been raining all day and the nights tend to get chilly. Only +10C. Our tomato-experiment is doing okay. I guess it's just nice to have the plants around, the amount of tomatoes doesn't matter. It's almost as if they had been waiting for us to return and two turned red for celebrating. 

For now: i want to snuggle up in a blanket and sleep. I'll just stare a while into the fireplace, before i go. 
Hope to share some of the photos of the island this week too.

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Today is the dress-rehearsal of my moms play. But since im awake from 4am now, because of my nice cough, it's up for a debate if we're going. Im kind of mad, that it's my moms event that gets the short stick, when the past days i've been dragged and have dragged myself thorough various events. I hope i'll learn how to put my foot down one day and say "no, now, this is how were gonna do it!". Hoping that someone else takes the responsibility or makes a note of things, is clearly a naive one. Trying to please everyone just gets to the point where, since the self is not pleased, people around aren't either. So much to learn... sad lessons. "Pregnant and sick" doesn't seem to make it to the empathy-table, surprisingly :)

Summer vacation has begun. Im clearly not in the position to talk about the weather, but next week we will be on a trip to an island. No, it's not a tropical vacation with white rocky beaches and clear blue water. We'll be staying on the same latitude and longitude. Still, looking forward to it, as i hope for a little peace and quiet. Some mellow time for our family. The question is, if we should take the PC with us or not. A Internet free week, seems great as an idea, but what if we get really bored or/and it's raining the whole time?
Wouldn't it be nice to watch a movie or two in the evenings? 
Then again, it would be a great opportunity to read some of my book-list books... Then again, i wouldn't post anything for at least a week again...
We'll see.

I found this band today and at 4 am this kind of rocked up the mood. Enjoy the music!

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Dandelion syrup - the reason i forgot my second last painting-class. 

After reading this recipe, i was hooked. I see a bright yellow dandelion field from all our windows and was determined to try it out. Of course you can't use the flowers from the city, therefore we headed to the countryside. On a not so sunny Sunday. The thing is, that if i try to add something new to my everyday routine (like making this syrup) it's with the cost of sleep. But anyways. This yellow gold is gorgeous, smells great and tastes sweet as honey. 

Now we only need to find the time and energy to make pancakes, so we could actually use this up :)

Being in the countryside made us also realize something about life in the city. We both want to hang out more in the woods and fields, outside with nature. But a one-day-trip is rather a haste through it all. Not being completely relaxed, looking at the clock, to see what time we should be heading back, doesn't make our little boy relaxed either. And when he finally got to like the long grass, it was time to go.

Our friends who tried living in the countryside, gave it up after one summer, because they'd rather miss the country, than live there and miss the city. That is a good point. But i guess, we also don't want to give up a dream without trying. We need to find it out ourselves. 

(The blue topping is made by me, the two others by a friend. Charming, right!)

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It's getting warmer again and someone is fretting because it means a break from skiing. The rest of us stay home with a running nose and itchy teeth.
I dream of HaggenDazz and of mediterranean holydays. It was just one of those days where there was a lot of tears and snot and sleepless hours. I feel like im run over by a truck.

Not to eat sweets for 30 days? What was i thinking! Now, tomorrow it's pancakes and sirup, what ever may be! :)

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He knows. 

But as i don't tie my photographs necessarily with my posts, this shouldn't be an exeption.

Martin is in Australia and im out of sleep. And I'll be out of sleep for a too long time in my opinion. Granny is here to help and it's nice to eat 3 times a day a warm meal, but it doesn't change the fact that im desperatly in need of some slumbertime myself. At least some quiet-time. 

Please cross your fingers, that Juss decides to start sleeping again more than 45 minutes at a time. Im happy even with just 3 little hours. As granny says that he needs to sleep in his own bed, and I kind of agree, i slept maybe all together 2 hours, maybe 3, last night.. starting from 23 until 8 in the morning.  

People without children, appreciate your night-time rights :)!

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My original thought was not to post any posts at night anymore, because they seemed to be a bit too melancholic. But as i am sleepless right now, i decided to look the other way, for once. Again.

I don't know how it happend. Time has started to run, galloping over the frosty meadows, into the woods, into the dark winter. My heart is pounding fast, while the clock keeps ticking away. Our diamond, our cristal, our apple of the eye, our wonderful gift from the universe, our son. He's just awesome. Telling tales in his own language. Highlights of the day.

Now for every sunday, for 4 hours, i'll be doing something. It'll be finished by christmas. I hope it'll turn out just as great as i imagine. Maybe that's why i can't sleep: im just too exited?

It's been monday for an hour now. Have some blues: