A little bit of Norway, a lot of fall

Just because this was the coolest rainbow ever....

Hej everyone,

I believe I promised some (now long overdue) pictures of Norway. While I could go on and on about the short weekend trip I took with my lovely roommates, these pictures will do a lot better job. I will say, however, that even in dark, cold, windy, and rainy weather, Norway is a truly unique and amazing place to be. In three days, we were only able to scratch the surface of the multitude of natural features and quaint towns that Norway has to offer. Just enough time to add about 100 things to my travel wish list. Needless to say, I will find my way back before my time here is up.

Stormy and spectacular

 

A small fishing village located in the Lofoten Islands

Blue skies and sunshine (that, of course, came on our way back home)

And in other news, while everyone back home has been celebrating the start of the autumn colors (and Dunk’s Pumpkin coffee), here in Abisko, we are appreciating the end of it. I used to think that the fall colors in the Rockies came and went too fast, but up here, fall comes and goes in the blink of an eye. The lush green valleys and hillsides that first greeted me six weeks ago are long gone. In their place stand only the skeletons of birches with small hints of the leaves that used to dominate the landscape. And it all happened so fast. At first, the green leaves of the birch trees were just barely touched with yellow tips, but like a titration with just one drop too much, the apparent slow addition of splashes of yellow hit a tipping point, and in what seemed like only a night, the entire landscape turned yellow and faded to orange. 

The green of summer 

The orange of autumn

And just as the green had to give way to yellow and orange, the golden leaves are now on their way out too. Luckily, I was able to see the end of fall from a pretty good view point…  

:)

While autumn, to me, will always mean aspen trees, football games, and freshly baked pumpkin bread- birch trees, kanelbullar (yummy, yummy Swedish cinnamon rolls), and berry picking aren’t bad substitutes. Now I am just waiting for the slowing approaching snow line to make its way down from the mountain tops... 

Next up, it's a science blog (part 2!).

Cheers,

Kenzie