News from the North

What happened in the last few days.

In the past few days, it was mainly about settling in, setting up, and finding our way around. On Thursday after moving into Fantoft, like almost everyone else, we went to Ikea to buy some practical and nice things for our rooms. For me, it turned out to be a duvet, pillows, a bath mat, a bedside lamp, and a potted plant. By the way, there is a free Ikea bus from the center to Åsane where Ikea is located. The journey only takes 20 minutes, but you pass by a small fjord and it looked really beautiful with the snow-covered mountains. Gradually, the rooms in our kitchens also filled up. Currently, I live with 5 other people: Robin from Jordan, Diana from Ukraine, Aina from Mallorca, Doruk from Turkey, and Victoria from Glasgow, Scotland. And Vic's accent is really amazing! She doesn't actually speak English but some other language that I don't know. The accent experiences from Ireland don't help me at all. Most of the time, I guess what she's talking about, and if I take too long to answer, she asks if I understood her. Pia already lives with six other people in the kitchen: 2x Viktoriia from Ukraine, Amr from Egypt, Marcella from Italy, Paula from Spain, and Adrian from Germany. Everyone gets along well, some are quieter than others, but over time, everyone becomes talkative or just doesn't want to be. We have also gotten to know various supermarkets (they also have goat cheese!) and enjoy cooking together, sometimes at Pia's, sometimes at my place. Currently, Pia's kitchen is more lively. Last weekend, we visited the Fantoft Stave Church, a reconstructed medieval stave church. It was set on fire in 1992 and then rebuilt by private investors. I thought it would be a bit larger, but it still has its own charm with the dragons on the ridge. Then we explored the surroundings and went to a small lake or a big pond, depending on how you think about the sizes. On the shore, we found a swing and a climbing frame and, of course, engaged in the appropriate activities, which was quite fun. Otherwise, it has been thawing during the day last week, so the sidewalks became really slippery. They are rarely cleared, and if you manage to go down the hill without sitting on your bottom, you can be really proud of yourself. I would love to hike in the mountains, but with the amount of snow and especially the ice, it is not possible. Therefore, we have just been wandering around in the vicinity and now know many different routes to the supermarkets. Last week also marked the official start of the lectures. Seismotectonics started for me, a course about seismology and tectonics, which will mainly focus on plate movement and the forces involved. So far, it has been a lot of revision from Geo III in the 4th semester. This week, we will also have Physical Meteorology and Norwegian. Unfortunately, Met was canceled due to technical problems and will hopefully start next week. Norwegian has been quite relaxed so far. Of course, we first learn the basics, but I heard that you have to stay on top of the homework. Pia's courses have also started. She is a bit more diligent and fully engaged with 4 courses. We study Norwegian and Met together, and additionally, UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water and Atmospheric and Marine Optics.

Last weekend, we went to the Stave Church again with the girls from Pia's kitchen and walked further to the Gamlehaugen Castle, the official residence of the King when he is in Bergen. The facade is currently being renovated, and there is a public park around it and a small beach where you can go swimming in the summer. But as I mentioned, we were cautious due to the ice and did not go through the park and to the beach. We will definitely visit the castle again. The Bergen Light Festival also took place over the weekend. The name sounds a bit too pompous for what it actually is. But it was nicely done nonetheless. The lights had various sounds. One sounded like a washing machine in the spin cycle, another like a snowplow, a circular saw, and alien noises. We particularly liked a small dome where many self-painted butterflies were hanging, with wishes, greetings, and questions written on them.

On the way to the next shopping center, the 'Slettensenter', there is a small lake called 'Tveitevannet' that we have already walked around several times. Yesterday, the sun was shining, and it had snowed a bit again, and together, the entire lake was glistening. Today, even more fresh snow fell, and at the end of the lake, a Norwegian forest cat walked across our path. It was fluffy!