Living in Italy

Considering the distance to Northern Italy is the same as to the North of Norway from my hometown I felt well prepared for the long ride.

The view over Lago Maggiore.

But the drive down here felt like an eternity, especially since my car was fully packed and I had to drive in the slow lane on the Autobahn all the way through Germany. Luckily the great view that met me once arriving to Ispra was awesome. During the first days here i got to walk around the area and take some photos.

A local farmer has been preparing for winter.

My reason for being by the foot of the Alps is through my job as a trainee in SVV. The Joint Research Center is under the European Commission and can simply be described as a research institution for the EU. I'll be a trainee her for 6 months working on the INSPIRE project. I will also be attending Italian classes and hopefully by the time I am leaving I'll be able to speak entire sentences.

Big fields of corn and industry is typical.

The area around where I now live is flat, moist and beautiful. Did you know that the biggest rice fields of Europe is here? The view of the Alps makes a awesome scenery and the snow of the peaks makes me dream for winter and skiing. There are two types of roads in Italy, you have the super fast Autostrada which are modern highways and then you have the local roads which are winding and narrow. Still it seems like the Italians prefers to put the pedal to the metal when they drive on either of the roads. The other day I was tail gated by this crazy driver, the car would stick to my rear no matter how fast I tried to pull away. When the speed slowed down in a roundabout and I got to see the old lady driving I was totally perplexed.

Arctic awesomeness

Ever since I was a small child I've traveled the 1000 km up north annually. Most of the times to visit my relatives with my family. To me it's been a place of freedom, to relax, stay up late at night and have fun. My latest trip was no exception to the latter.

My good friend Johannes lives in Tromsø with his wife Live where they have a small apartment. The large windows make up for the small space, viewing the harbour and the coast mountains. Anywho the day after my arrival we packed our backpacks and headed to the inland mountains just by the border of Sweden and Finland. On the way up to the cabin we had gotten distracted and it was getting dark fast, there had been no time for supper either. We stopped at a gas station to pay the hunting license and found to our great surprise they were having some kind of campaign and were giving away free hot dog meals. When we finally parked the car the darkness was ubiquitous and the next 3,5 hours or 11 km we walked in total darkness. The cabin was spacious and had all the utilities needed for a good base camp. We lit a fire in the oven and went to sleep. Around 3 in the morning I woke up feeling it hard to breath and I was soaking wet. The warmth was unbearable, I opened a window and I felt a flow of fresh air eas up my breathing. We left this sauna for one of the other bedrooms with a more human sleeping temperature.

The next days we started the day walking to where the three line start to find the areas where the grouse was likely to be. Walking win the shotgun ready to lift up and aim is while covering great distances makes two hunters hungry. Stopping once and again filling up on peanuts and chocolate. Walking in beautiful surroundings is much better than the ordinary stroll in the park kind of walk. If we stopped and listened we would only hear the wind and when the wind let go nothing else put silence. No people, cars, roads to see anywhere around us. Sadly we could say the same about the grouse, an absent we had to make stop.

Suddenly we see two birds flying up at a far distance, and a grin fill both of our faces. Carefully determined we sneak towards where the birds landed. We are ready, the Adrenalin starts pumping, focus is 100% and PANG. Johannes shot one of the birds the second one lands close by and I see my chance. I walk towards it with my gun held high aiming at where it landed. My heart is beating so hard It's like I can hear it. Suddenly, on a rock I see it. It's watching me coming closer, stretches the neck and prepares a flight. But before it could lift a wing I pulled the trigger and I had shot my first grouse.

Wild Berries

The sky is dark grey and it is as small streams are coming down pondering to the ground. There is a cold breeze coming from the window. The drag from the air smells like morning. It's time to get up although all I really want is to stay in bed and sleep. I think I could sleep for a week or even more. I keep thinking of all the happy and good experiences happening during the last years. It's been so good...

One of the things I like to do is to hike in the wilderness. This time I had just spent too much time at home and needed to get away. By myself I packed the backpack with the things I need for a good day out. Finding the first and best place to make some food I started up the burner, put the pan on and poured the pancake mix in it. Nothing tastes as good as outdoors. Sitting enjoying the view, the smell of fresh pancakes and picking blueberry and cranberry for desert. I am glad I can enjoy nature on my own. Feel the distress coming over me and everything is in my paste. But I can also feel the urge to share this feeling, this moment. It's so wonderful, energy is refilled and it's hard not to smile. Up here there are no worries.