I saw the Northern Lights from the plane. It’s the first time I’ve experienced this, but the pilot announced, just as we’d passed over Harstad, that he could see a great Aurora and that he was going to turn the cabin lights off so we could see. Apparently it was best on the left side, and I was on the right, but it was nice to see it. He also correctly predicted we wouldn’t see it after we landed in Tromsø due to cloud cover. The most amazing thing for me though, was that my friend Shirley was outside in Sorreisa watching the lights, when she saw my plane passing overhead. I wouldn’t actually arrive in Sørreisa until the evening after, but she was kind of with me before I even landed back on Norwegian soil.

It was deeply moving to arrive back. Because I lived in Norway for 15 years, it is somehow home, while quite different from the UK. The first thing I did, when I was through passport control, was to buy a hotdog wrapped in bacon. I didn’t apply the sauce very attractively, as you can see in the photo at the top of the page, but it was delicious.

After that, I caught a bus to get over to the Pingvin Hotel, where I was staying. The buses ran, reassuringly, until very late at night. There were signs like on the London Underground, telling me when the buses would arrive, and signs on the bus, telling me which stop was next, which made the whole process quite straightforward.

I had forgotten that the fast boat, that goes to Finnsnes from Tromsø and back, runs at different times at the weekends, so I was later getting to Shirley than I had thought, and will have to spend a night in Tromsø on the way back as well, but that is no great hardship. Staying in hotels up here has a wonderful familiarity about it too. I stayed away from home relatively often as a Veterinary Inspector. Triggering all those memories feels nice. Nobody does hygge/koselig like the Scandinavians.

Speaking of koselig, I had a lovely day in Tromsø.

So now I am in Sørreisa. It’s wet and windy and dark for much of the day. There’s snow forecast for next week, but there’s nothing I have to do. Living alone, I have to make myself cook, but with Shirley and Kai here, I’ve cooked or baked something nearly every day. They’re vegetarian, which means I don’t centre the meals around meat. We’ve had season pudding (like crunchy stuffing) with roast parsnips and delectable mushroom gravy, made from wine and stock and cream. We’ve eaten stuffed tomatoes, filled with breadcrumbs, onions, herbs and cheese, then creamy mushroom pasta with garlic bread. Today we’re having pizza, but I will cook a lentil and tomato sauce, to make lasagne tomorrow. And yesterday, while Shirley was out, I baked a light, fat free walnut sponge, and filled it with cream, laced with coffee. Delicious.

I have visited old friends from work and hope to see more this week. I want to go do some shopping and maybe buy some Christmas presents. Today will unfold as every day does. Chatting over coffee. A walk with the dogs. Home for breakfast. Kai likes to watch Heartbeat every morning and I sit and watch it with him. It’s a nice, gentle start to the day.

I’ll leave you with some photos taken on our morning dog walks. When they’re not swathed in mist, the tops of the hills are already white, though the snow line is advancing and retreating. Today, we were skipping between rainy squalls and the distant sound was strewn with white horses. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good week.