Ordinary Norway.
Two photos of me in what I usually am wearing as I walk around town running errands, grocery shopping at tiny local bodegas, to pickup the kids from barnehage or whatever. The grey shirt is very thin wool and silk thermal, and I´ve got something similar under the black jogging pants. So when I´m walking outside, I am still warm enough. The thin thermals are not for dead of winter by themselves, but when the weather is cool out, I can wear the thin thermals without a bulky huge jacket or winter coat!
The weather here is an ever-changing combination of warm, sunny, cold, blustery, raining, snowy. Night time temperatures are usually colder than in the daytime. I have different boots for different weather; in the first photo I´ve got on a smaller pair of snowboots, while in the second photo I am wearing my rainboots. Both these outfits are thermals, thin soft not-scratchy wool and silk material for cold weather combinations.
Rainy view from where I live to the mainland. See, it´s not that far, but sometimes it does feels further, as the dialects change, the weather over here is often different, the general atmosphere and attitude is more rural and bucolic over here. The mainland is wonderful and I enjoy going there often every day, but it´s great to come home to the quiet smallness over here, and have even more fjells (forested mountains) and open fjords (sea), lakes, and such. It´s snowing again now as I type. Apparently spring has gone back to nap for a bit again,) Poor flowers, all gone again now...did not even have time to photo any before the snow came back again! Will have to find some from last year...there is a gorgeous unusual snowdrop-like flower I must show!
The Cube. Temporary outdoor art scuplture from last summer, in the festplassen open area where we often have free concerts, outdoor art such as this, and other free events all year round. The Cube is one of my favourite sculptures, and I wish they´d bring it back permanently! It´s beautiful with the huge varied textures of metal, gleaming in the sunshine.
. Three photos of local beaches. The water is super cold most of the year, only slightly less so in the warmest summer months, but I enjoy swimming in the sea here whenever I get the chance. We live on a tiny island outside a larger Norwegian city on the West coast of Norway. I´m American. This is our Ordinary Norway.
I grew up in The South with warm water beaches that very slowly gradually took forever to get deep, so that one could walk out sometimes for ages before getting much over ones head. Here most beaches suddenly and almost immediately drop off to nothing as soon as the water begins: I find that a bit scary! Locally I try to find beaches which gradually level off to nothing, as I really don´t like the idea of absolutely nothing being under me, and being in the water. Let alone adding the kids to this mix!,) As in California, some beaches here might only exist during low tides, and the water can seem to come so fast in you don´t notice it creeping up til suddenly the beach is no longer, but all of it is undersea. The water here now is cold enough to kill you in a few minutes, and the wind is strong enough to wash you out to sea within a second of your stopping to admire the view too far out too close to the water! We´ve lost a few tourists and locals this way this year. The cold at night can similarly kill. Several locals have died over night from the cold, walking home and falling asleep somewhere on the ground then just succumbing to the cold. This was right across the mountain just a few minutes from where I live. It´s spectacularly beautiful here, but can be deadly in the most ordinary ways too!
