Mørketida ("the dark time") arrived last Thursday! However, that doesn't mean that the days are entirely dark, just that the sun does not rise over the tops of the the mountains. We left the house yesterday for church about 10 and the light was good; by the time we headed home, about noon, it was beginning to get rather dusky. We did get a couple of pictures of the beautiful colors of the twilight you see above. The picture of Mike with the polar bear (we call him "Paul") was taken at the weather observatory that we pass by on our way to the church at Elverhøy. We have a good bit of snow, and it's been cold (-5-ish Celsius), which actually makes the walking better because the snow is crunchy and grips well.

Mike has had a busy week at school. This was the first week he actually was in the lab, and he had a great time. In a couple of weeks another student will be departing, and then Mike will have his own hood full-time so that he can run more reactions. He's working on a couple of papers too, and will have final exams in just a couple of weeks. Next semester he will begin work on his thesis, so he will be choosing his topic soon.

Last week during our weekly grocery shopping we were chatting, in English of course, in the check-out line; a lady in front of us asked if we were from North America. Turns out there is a get-together for Thanksgiving among Americans and Canadians living here in Tromsø, so we are invited. The lady (whose name escapes me at the moment) was from Pennsylvania; her husband is Norwegian and she has lived here since 1993.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Love,
Mike and Mary

More Houses

There are lots of unique houses in Tromsø, we thought we'd share a couple more pictures that we have taken. We especially enjoyed the statuette of the dachshund on the ridge of the roof. Lots of people have dogs here, and you see people out walking all kinds of breeds of dogs at any time of the day or night. We've seen a few cats--in particular, the first day I was here, a black cat that looked just like our Mulliner ran out to meet us as we were walking to sentrum. It was like he thought we were old friends! Another day we saw a cat walking along a roof. He apparently had a "cat door" of some sort, just under the eave of the roof, because he ducked down and disappeared. The top photo is one that Michael took of our apartment building (second on the left) in the summer time.

Sunny Sunday

Yesterday was sunny and clear, meaning that the sun just cleared the top of the mountains before it started to set, so Michael and I walked down Storgata to torget (Storgata is a pedestrian shopping street--torget is the market square) after church and took pictures along the water. Tromsdalen is the mainland, where the Arctic Cathedral is located. The bridge connects Tromsøya (Tromsø island) to the mainland, but there is also a tunnel that many people use to cross.

International Food Fest

Friday evening there was an International Food Fest at the university. Students from different countries--Italy, Poland, France, Chad, Ghana, Japan, China, and many others brought dishes that were from their particular cultures. It was fun to have a chance to try out such a variety--there were about 80 students in attendence. The top picture shows girls from Germany, China and Ghana in native costume. In the photo with me are two girls from Germany and one from Poland. The two at the right are both chemists (Michael would say "real chemists" since they are both in his organic program).

White Halloween

Thursday, Oct. 30, we had our first real snow on Tromsøya, that is, on the island where the city of Tromsø is located. We have seen snow on the high mountains on the mainland and the neighboring island of Kvaløya for quite some time, but this is the first time we had seen the ground covered here. It was beautiful--and was a nice dry snow with good traction, which is nice when you walk everywhere! Michael took the photo directly above at the university. The two above that are taken along the paths that traverse the island--shortcuts for walkers and skiers. The top photo is the view of the university we can see from the end of the block of apartments we are living in. The snow seems to set everything in high relief.

Thursday evening, we walked over to Prestvannet, which is a lake at the top of the island, not far from where we live. There are paths that surround the lake, most are lit, some are not, but there is enough ambient light that one can see very well on any of the paths. We walked around the lake in the dark and the snow--it was like walking through an enchanted forest. Most of trees here are birches, but there are also many rowan trees (like mountain ash) with red berries. If you look at some of our pictures and see a hint of red in the treetops, it is the berries, which still hang on the trees.

Last evening (Saturday) it began to warm up, and the nice crunchy snow was replaced with a sheet of white ice. We had gone out to take an evening walk but soon changed our minds. This morning when we awoke, the snow and the ice had melted away completely. We walked to Domkirke for mass, figuring that there are probably not too many more times that we will make that trip down the hill this winter. Another church, Elverhøy, will be easier for us to get to in snowy weather, as it is up on the same level where we are here. We like the services at both churches, and understand more and more each time we are there. The churches all have wonderful music. Since yesterday was All Saints Day, the service revolved around that; names of those in the community who had passed on this last year were named. Mike tells me that all of the songs we sang were very traditional. There was a wonderful choir that sang several things--one was a round, "I himmelen, i himmelen, hvor Gud vår Fader bor ..." ("In the heavens, in the heavens, where God our father dwells"). It seems that all of the pastors have the most beautiful voices too--the services are so lovely.

Now that it is November, the days are shortening very quickly. The sun set today about 2:35, and will rise tomorrow about 8:15. We have lighted some candles and are listening to Joshua Bell, so all is very koselig here! Best to all!