Making room..

..for 28 new apartments and commercial space in the centre of Mjøndalen. A block of old houses must go, just like that. One house is already demolished, this one is gone soon and a third is awaiting the same fate. All the apartments planned on the spot are sold and I'm curious to see what new shops and businesses that will be established here!

Green = Allergy!

I saw it on Thursday, and I felt it on Monday. With all this green, allergy is not far away. This beautiful farm road with green birch along the side, release so much yellow dust you wouldn't believe it. My eyes and nose are no fans.

Green

It was on Thursday evening that I noticed: How green the lawn outside my apartment was that evening, compared to the the colour it had in the morning the same day. It litterally gets greener every second. Here's a bud on a cherry tree near!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday in the Norwegian countryside.

Happy (snow-free) Easter!

For most norwegians, the easter holiday is about spending the long weekend in the mountains, taking advantage of the last bit of snow and the warm sunny weather to the full. Just too bad the snow has already melted. This little patch of snow was here last Sunday, but by Tuesday it was gone. Happy snow-free Easter!

Et sikkert vårtegn!

A sure sign of spring, the Tussilago farfara, Hestehov or Coltsfoot! Spring is officially here! Last year's coltsfoot can be seen here

Cygnus

A northern constellation. A character in Greek Mythology. The genus of most swans.

Spark

The thing on todays photo is what we call a "spark" in Norway, a means of transportation used during the winter. The name is not pronounced like the english word and it obviously does not mean the same thing. In norwegian "ett spark" can be translated into "a kick" which is kind of what you have to do to get this weird sledge-looking thing to move forward. This is how you do it: You stand with one foot on one of the long iron things (in norwegian it's called "en meie"), supporting yourself on the handles and kick with your other foot down and backwards to make the spark move forward. (If this does not make any sense, check out this video). The spark is usually used in Norway, Sweden and Finland, but it is not a very common means of transportation. To be able to ride a spark the snow has to be hard-packed, and with perfect conditions one can reach speed up to 20 km/h, even more downhill. The first description of a spark dates back to 1872 in northern Sweden, and they became popular in Norway after 1900. It's said they were particulary popular amongst the youth. Since then they have been more or less used only by those who were the youth in the 1930's and 1940's, but this year, championships in downhill spark took place in Norway, a sign that the spark is increasing its popularity amongst the youth once again!