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Author: Hanneke

I started my first blog when I left the Netherlands (my home country) for an internship in Alaska in 2004, to keep my friends and family updated on my adventures over there. Little did I know it would be more than 13 years before I'd move back to the Netherlands! I spent a year in Toulouse (France) before starting a PhD in meteorology at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (UK) in 2005. That's when I started this current blog, first in Dutch but I soon switched to English. I really enjoyed life in the UK, and was actually planning to stay there after my PhD, but "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" and I ended up moving to Tromsø in Northern Norway in 2009. Tromsø is a photographer's dream, surrounded by spectacular mountains, with the light ever changing from the midnight sun in summer to the dark days compensated by aurora-filled nights in winter. I learnt Norwegian and got a job as a weather forecaster - I got thrown in at the deep end, doing radio interviews and speaking with fishermen with way-too-strong dialects straight from the beginning, before I was anywhere near fluent in Norwegian :D I survived though, and slowly started to do some research on the side. I got more and more involved in research projects and in August 2015 I moved 2000 km south, to Oslo where I started working 100% as a researcher. A year after moving to Oslo, I met Michiel at a music festival in Brussels :) and we started to travel very frequently between Oslo and Rotterdam, where he lives. You can't do that forever though, and I soon realized I found the perfect "excuse" to finally move back home, something I had been considering many times before. So since July 2017, I'm living in Rotterdam! I'm actually taking some time off before finding a new job, and I'm looking forward to lots of adventures in the near future - so stay tuned!
First week (and a bit) in Tromsø

First week (and a bit) in Tromsø

Hello!

Sorry for my lack of updates recently, December was extremely busy! We’ve been in Tromsø for more than a week now. We spent the first two nights in a hotel. These photos were taken on New Year’s Eve. The sun doesn’t come above the horizon but there are still some hours of twilight with very beautiful light:

Tromsø Tromsø Tromsø

At night we took the cable car up the mountain to watch the fireworks over Tromsø island. It was very busy, in fact we were very lucky to get into the last cable car up, everybody in the queue behind us was sent home! They also lit fireworks from the top, it was very pretty!

Tromsø Tromsø

And as if all that wasn’t enough, the northern lights were visible too! The photo on the right is a new year’s card I’ve made out of a photo we took up there.

Tromsø Tromsø

We moved into the new flat on the 1st of January, it’s a really nice place! Paul started working on the 2nd, so I’ve been working from home as well. This is the view from the (covered) balcony in the morning:

Tromsø

Very amazing! Last weekend we had time to explore a bit, and we discovered a frozen lake on top of the island, not far from our flat. There were people skating and playing ice hockey. I haven’t skated in so long!! I’ve immediately asked my parents to send my skates here, I can’t wait to try them 🙂 These are some photos we took at the lake:

Tromsø Tromsø Tromsø Tromsø Tromsø

At night the northern lights were visible again, and this time they were very active and really impressive! We decided to go back to the lake to take photos from there. Unfortunately they almost disappeared by the time we got there so we didn’t get any photos of the very impressive part of the show. It was still beautiful though! And quite special to be out on a frozen lake in the dark with nobody else around…

Tromsø Tromsø

On Sunday we saw clouds for the first time, and that really shows how the days are really one long sunrise/sunset here! The colors were just amazing:

Tromsø Tromsø

This morning when we woke up it was snowing like crazy! And it kept on snowing all day, so in no time we had a LOT of snow, very exciting! I went for a walk to town and took some photos. It takes only about 15 minutes to get there, downhill on the way so it takes a bit longer to come back as the hill is quite steep! In the first photo you can see our flat, if you enlarge it I have put an arrow pointing at our balcony.

Tromsø Tromsø

With and without flash – as you can see it was snowing heavily! I came back as a real snowman 😉

Tromsø Tromsø

This is just around the corner from the flat, there is actually a skeleton in the window of the little hexagonal hut – it scared me the first time I walked past!

Tromsø

Ok, now you have an impression of our first week in Tromsø! I’m really enjoying it here. I’ll be here for another two weeks, then I have to be in Norwich for a bit. More soon!

Kat Flint

Kat Flint

Kat Flint is one of my favourite singers/songwriters. I first saw her at a Cara Dillon gig in Norwich (she was the support act but I thought she was better than the main act!). This is her at that gig:

Kat Flint

I have seen her perform two more times since then, both times in London (once at an open air concert in a park!). The gigs are really nice and often small and cosy, which means I actually got to talk to her – she’s really nice!

I supported her with some money when she decided to produce an album without a record company, and in return I got the album with a really nice handmade cover. It’s one of my favourite cd’s and I listen to it a LOT 🙂 Her first cd used to be in my alarm clock and I’d listen to it every morning!

Anyway, she now has her first official single out! With a video to… This is the video of her song “Go Faster Stripes”. Hope you like it as much as I do!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5bQZuv6vhk]

I could have actually been in this video… would have loved to! Unfortunately it was filmed in the weekend that I spent working to prepare for a meeting 🙁

December update

December update

Hello!

Wow it’s been a long time since I wrote anything here. It’s been a very busy time! There’s so much to do to prepare for the move to Norway, and of course I also have to work! I’ve had a few important meetings in a row, even worked through some weekends… I’m looking forward to Christmas!

Here are some of the highlights of December so far…

I went home (to the Netherlands) in the first weekend of December, for Sinterklaas! It was fantastic, we had 13 people participating and a huge amount of presents, “surprises” and poems. I’ve laughed so much, it really was an amazing evening with my family. Too bad Paul couldn’t make it this year, as he was preparing for his viva.

Here some photos of this evening:

Kaya with her Nijntje and my sister with her look-a-like 😉

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas

My brother with his new guitar and my dad and Anneke showing him how to play it!

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas

Paul & Kaya, and the “thumbs up” photo – my brother was annoying me by constantly putting his thumb up when I was taking a photo! He soon got everyone to join in, great 😉

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas

Joop & Anneke, and everyone watching the hilarious quiz that my brother had to take

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas

The best surprise of the night: Kaya made this portrait of the whole family for Jan, it’s really great!! She also wrote a poem that describes every member of the family in a funny way.

Sinterklaas

It was really nice to be at home, even if it was just for a short weekend!

Back in Norwich, I also had a dinner (and secret Santa!) with some very dear girlfriends 🙂

Girls dinner

Last Monday I went to a Christmas (folk) concert of Kate Rusby with Paul, Nem and Colin. It was amazing, I just love her voice and her music. I’ve been to three of her concerts now 🙂

Some good news, “we” (Paul!) have found a flat in Tromsø! It’s pretty big and fully furnished. It’s only for 6 months, but that’s fine. It’ll be easier to find something from there, it was quite difficult from here! The view from the balcony looks amazing 🙂

Tromsø

We’re going there on the 30th, I’ll come back sometime in January but not sure when yet. Exciting!

Ok that’s all, I still have some work to finish tonight!

Hanneke