Winter cold - some thoughts and pictures



Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the snow in the UK! I guess as usual, few have got snow tyres on their cars, and public transport is struggling. The UK I think is going to have to get used to the wet, white stuff - maybe it is climate change I don't know but you sure keep getting it every winter now!

As for Norway, well we haven't had much snow at all here on the west coast, although there is plenty at the ski places further inland.  What we have had though is week after week of freezing temperatures - so cold that all the water seeping out of the rocks freezes, as do massive waterfalls!

Icicles dripping out of the rocks at Hardanger fjord yesterday

Fossatun waterfall frozen solid!

We drove south to Hardanger fjord yesterday (Sunday), as it is usually good weather down there (relatively speaking). Hardanger has a micro climate which means that it can be a tad warmer than out on the coast, and is drier in the winter. What we had forgotten to take into account though is the fact that the sun doesn't really rise at this time of year! The photo below was taken around midday, and after that the sun was rapidly going down behind the nearest mountain!

It didn't take long before parts of the road were in complete shadow, which changes the feel of the pictures totally! I'm pretty impressed with my phone camera though - all the pictures apart from the frozen waterfal were taken with SE Xperia phone, and lightened a bit with Corel Draw!

Fish farming on the fjord - apparently one of the least environmentally friendly industries we have here. Lots of problems with the excess fish feed and waste polluting the water, and the farmed fish escaping and mixing with the wild trout and salmon,

Oh, and by the way according to Forbes, Norway is the happiest country in the world to live in, followed by Denmark and Sweden. Well done!  But according to Forbes 2012, not one of the Scandinavian countries got the accolade of friendliest country - the top ones were Cayman Islands, Australia, UK, Canada and New Zealand.

Actually, the survey about the happiest country was carried out by the Legatum Institute based in London, and they found it much too difficult to quantify 'happy' so they went for 'properity' instead. That is more interesting really - the richer you are the happier you should be? Only if there is enough democracy, freedom of thought and speech, and decent social services too by the looks of it!

www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelm/2013/01/09/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2/

Bye for now, off to have a thawing cup of tea. Am at work tomorrow, which involves standing outside for at least an hour while three and four year olds run around and keep warm - weather forecast is for -5 to -7 C. Brrrr.