I will start this blog entry by saying that I am going to talk about the weather. Now you have been warned! ;)
On my way to school yesterday I was listening to the radio. They were discussing the weather. Apparently it´s been an exceptionally dry November. Germany normally receive an average of 66 liter precipitation per square meter in November. So far this month the measurements say 0,4 l (!!)
For those rain-haters out there I´m sure you´re smiling and picturing yourself enjoying the sun while raking up colourful autumn leaves. Well let me tell you something about Ostfriesland, the area I live in. It´s one big marsh field! As any other good marsh field, Ostfriesland does an excellent job of producing massive amounts of fog! Don´t get me wrong, I have experienced my share of foggy weather. In fact, in Svalbard it comes and goes throughout the summer. In Harstad too, we are all familiar with the ocean fog rolling in from the sea if the wind happen to come from the "wrong side" (which it often does by the way). Clearly, I know how annoying this particular type of weather can be but I also know that the sun is never far away. It normally peeks through the mist and reminds us that the wind soon will turn as well.
In Ostfriesland on the other hand.. Well let me put it this way: in my 28 year long life, I have never experienced such long periods of NO SUN and such thick fog.
It has to be said that I find the weather in East Friensland fascinating. It´s so different from anything I´ve ever seen. However there´s only so much fog a girl can take. It creeps and crawls in everywhere no matter how well you pack that scarf around your neck or tuck the jacket around you. It´s so freaking humid and the air is nothing but raw. brrrrrr
To my great surprise I saw no fog when I pulled the curtains aside this morning :) Indeed the last three weeks have been so packed with the fuzzy stuff that I hardly remember what the sun looks like. Of course I saw no sun this morning either, but at least it was possible to spot more than just the neighbour´s house, which is an improvement if you ask me.
I´d rather like to show you what the landscape looks like on a beautiful sunny day. (Yes there was one last Thursday believe it or not) It happened to be on my day off. I got up, dressed in running clothes and set off to have a look at the country side along the "Ostfriesland Wanderweg" while working my lazy butt a little.
I did get a nice work out of the hour I spent outside, but so much more as well. I saw happy cows, pigs and goats running around on the green beautiful fields and wonderful autumn coloured trees. What a wonderful day.
On my way to school yesterday I was listening to the radio. They were discussing the weather. Apparently it´s been an exceptionally dry November. Germany normally receive an average of 66 liter precipitation per square meter in November. So far this month the measurements say 0,4 l (!!)
For those rain-haters out there I´m sure you´re smiling and picturing yourself enjoying the sun while raking up colourful autumn leaves. Well let me tell you something about Ostfriesland, the area I live in. It´s one big marsh field! As any other good marsh field, Ostfriesland does an excellent job of producing massive amounts of fog! Don´t get me wrong, I have experienced my share of foggy weather. In fact, in Svalbard it comes and goes throughout the summer. In Harstad too, we are all familiar with the ocean fog rolling in from the sea if the wind happen to come from the "wrong side" (which it often does by the way). Clearly, I know how annoying this particular type of weather can be but I also know that the sun is never far away. It normally peeks through the mist and reminds us that the wind soon will turn as well.
In Ostfriesland on the other hand.. Well let me put it this way: in my 28 year long life, I have never experienced such long periods of NO SUN and such thick fog.
I have not managed to take any good pictures of the thickness of it but the photo above was taken on a sunny Sunday. The family and I wanted to go the the dike to look at the setting sun. We left the house under a blue sky, drove the 5min ride (5 min if we encounter no trains at the train crossing, 15 min if we are on typical "Ostfriesen time," meaning the one controlling the boom is in no hurry to lift the damn thing even though there might be plenty of time for 20 cars to pass between the train arrivals) down to the dike and were met with the white fuzzy wall somewhere in between home and the river. Oh fun! :/
To my great surprise I saw no fog when I pulled the curtains aside this morning :) Indeed the last three weeks have been so packed with the fuzzy stuff that I hardly remember what the sun looks like. Of course I saw no sun this morning either, but at least it was possible to spot more than just the neighbour´s house, which is an improvement if you ask me.
I´d rather like to show you what the landscape looks like on a beautiful sunny day. (Yes there was one last Thursday believe it or not) It happened to be on my day off. I got up, dressed in running clothes and set off to have a look at the country side along the "Ostfriesland Wanderweg" while working my lazy butt a little.
Oesfriesland Wanderweg
The harvest has been brought indoors already
Happy pigs
and curious goats that let me cuddle them.
The fields are green and the cows are happy too
The pictures were taken with my mobile phone hence the low quality but I hope it still shows what a beautiful area Ostfriesland really is.
Being from Norway I find it quite amazing that I´m enjoying the landscape here so much. I normally miss mountains and the ocean quite quickly when being far away from them. I guess it means I find Ostfriesland to be home. Just writing that makes me feel so good that I believe it to be true. :)
