Hosting a blog about Norway and the Nordic countries, including the significant four seasons, its time to report about real winter – at least a good taste of it: When I opened the door last Thursday morning this was the wonderful scenery that met me! This first picture is taken from my front steps (click all pics to enlarge and enjoy):
Finally snow and the Winter Wonder Land are back on track. Some might find it a bit cold, to me it a sign of clean nature and freshness. It also gives a brighter look to the otherwise dark start and ends of the day even helps a clear, full moon an atmospheric light.
We are close to winter solstice Norway (21st of December) the shortest day of the year in Oslo, the sun rise is then 9:19AM and sets 3:12PM. My regular readers know I love winter and snow and have learned the joy of living up north from since I was a child. The snow in itself made a wonderful playground especially with the philosophy: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes! There is no reason to sit inside on these winter days, just the opposite. The children can’t wait to get outside and play on a lovely day like this. So I went crazy with my Nokia mobile phone (well, at least in a couple of minutes before I had to catch the bus) and was thinking: I just have to share this with my blog friends:
It’s not that much – yet – just a few inches, but since then King Winter has arrived and the temp has mostly stayed below freezing. We are living at the height of 110 meters or 360 feet above sea level, which is just enough to make a difference in temperature so that we get snow when others get rain. So when I came off the bus to work in the Oslo city (at sea level) there was more like rain and no snow. I managed to capture another sign of the winter season however:
A nice, Christmas decorated shopping street in Oslo.
As you well know, I often use my mobile phone to document posts about my daily life. This time it still is a Nokia, but a new one: N82. I got it from my son as a birthday gift before he went to India to work for some months on an ecologic farm. Consider the lightening conditions; I’m fairly happy with the result :-)
Christmas is just around the corner now, with just two weeks to go. Are you expecting a White Christmas where you live? What are signs of the season for you? Share with us so we can learn from each other ;-)
love your snow’s pictures! So you live in the middle of this marvellous nature and work in the center of Oslo! No snow for me and I don’t think we’ll see it this winter in South of France, ot is so rare! Love the Christmas decoration too! thanks to show us a view of Oslo at this time! I must take pictures of Christmas decoration in Ollioules as soon as possible during the night!
RennyBA
Thanks! Yea, I live in a suburb, but only 20 minutes by bus to the city.
Looking forward to see your Christmas decorations too!
It’s beautiful Renny. The new phone takes good pictures too. I love to look at the snow, but I wouldn’t want to live in the snow. Just saying.
I do have one complaint…NO FOOD!
Have a terrific day. Big hug to you and Diane. :)
RennyBA
Thanks Sandee and you don’t have to live in it (its warm and cosy indoors you know – just play in it :)
I can’t feed you all the time!
You too and tons of hugs back :)
I wish I was in Norway now. I enjoy the snow and the magic it seems to bring with it.
Maybe Santa will let me hitch a ride on his way there this year. I’ll even bring the hot chocolate and mull up some spiced wine for kicking it around the fireplace.
:D
* Hugs!*
RennyBA
Your welcome any time and of course since Santa comes from Norway, I’ll give him a hint as I like the around the fireplace idea :D
Hugs back to you!
You guys got more snow than we do. Pleez keep it there :)
RennyBA
Then you don’t have much – we’ll keep it :)
Those photos are beautiful, Renny. Although if we had a white Christmas, we’d probably think it was the end of the world as we know it, here.
RennyBA
Thanks Robyn.
I know a white Christmas in Australia would be kind of odd, but hope you’ll have a wonderful season anyway!
Awesome pics! Do people really just walk around there? Aren’t there cars also? I’m clueless.
RennyBA
Thanks!
We do have cars of course (you might see some in the third pic), but public transportation are preferable, at least to work in Oslo city in peak hours.
Oh wow -how beautiful. The forecast is calling for snow soon here. We desperately need snow in the mountains/ski hills on all of the west coast. There really isn’t enough for anything yet… Hopefully they will get it and not so much us! Love seeing your photos as always..
RennyBA
So then there is hope for a white Christmas for you too – great!
Oh my ! these are very short days ! I already complain here but we have 2 h more of daylight. I have nothing against cold, dry and sunny weather, it’s the lack of light I miss so much and it is hard to support. Since I am back from Egypt nearly 2 weeks ago, I have seen sunshine only TWICE ! Imagine !
RennyBA
Well, the other side of the coin is the very long summer nights during summer you know.
Oh Lovely snow! We got an early winter here in Ontarion Canada. We too have snow covered streets and very cold winds.
It is so pretty to see the virgin snow!
RennyBA
I know we are two of a kind in this and I so much agree with you!
I love snow if I don’t have to shovel!! we will be heading to the French Alps to go skiing over the holidays. There is plenty of snow this year !
Your pictures are beautiful, Renny!
RennyBA
Yea: Shovel free snow fall should be invented :lol:
Have a great time in the Alps – you know I envy you!
Snow just makes Christmas so much cozier doesn’t it! Love the photos Renny – thanks for sharing.
RennyBA
One can tell you have lived in Norway Caroline: Cozy is the right word!
Great photos Renny! Your cell phone pics amaze me. Is there a flash on it? It looks like some of the snowflakes are catching a cameral flash.
Here in Wisconsin we just got about 4 inches (10cm) of snow on top of some previous snows. There are spots in our yard where it’s almost knee high. A white Christmas here for sure. It is pretty. Thanks for reminding me of it.
RennyBA
Thanks – I’m pretty happy with the phone too and yes, it has flash so your very right about the lighten snow flakes.
Great to know you have some snow too and lets hope for white Christmas at your place too as it is pretty.
Oh, you are so lucky having all that snow! We were supposed to get some last week but it never came!
RennyBA
Well, there is still some days until Christmas, so lets hope for you too!
I am expecting to be back home before Christmas but I had to wait a little bit towards January but good thing it is still winter. I miss winter and of course I miss my loving home of Norway.
Here in Oklahoma our typical snow fall is 2 or 3 inches which melts soon. Snow today, slush tomorrow. It generally snows several times during the season but snow that stays around for more than a few days is rare. What we get more often is freezing rain that coats the streets with ice. Not so good.
Congratulations on your new phone, Renny! That’s a nice gift!
Here in Atlanta we’re lucky if we get a dusting of snow one day each winter. But already we’ve had much colder weather than usual, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we DO get some snow. I hope so. We will go to Michigan for a few days after Christmas, during which time I expect to see lots of it.
This is like a postcard picture, Renny! I don’t like to be cold, but this is beautiful. I love the way it covers the trees.
Have a wonderful weekend.
It is a winter wonder land where you are living, renny! I wish to see some snow again :)
We are now busy pretty much in the coming days with our upcoming travel plans, so sorry that I was not visiting so often and maybe not will be around so often in the future too.
Sue’s Daily Photography
Where is the food? I love the food. These pictures are just beautiful and your camera takes very good pictures too. I lived in the snow for a year and a half and I would rather live where it does not snow! I live in Los Angeles, California, we do not get snow but sometimes we do get rain, not much but it is still weather, not like yours though. LOL! I still want to know where the food is? What did you eat? I am just kidding, well maybe.
Love and Blesings,
AngelBaby
You should make a post card and send it to me! I can only see such scenes in pictures and books.
Another Nokia!! This one has a greater value since it is from your son. :)
Nope, Olga hasn’t arrived yet.
You’re more than welcome to come visit for other reasons though. ;)
Wow, those are some great pictures! They should get us in the Christmas spirit if we aren’t quite there yet :) I’ll be spending the Christmas in the UK, so I guess I’ll miss the white Christmas this year…
My dear friend,
you have captured what’s like here in the Oslo area just now.
Fabulous post.
congrats on your new phone!
i always hear “no bad weather only bad clothes” from you. it’s you i’ll remember if i hear that. anyway, i think there are still bad weather. those are during typhoons. coz even if you’re just inside the house, it’s still scary. hehe
how do you know it’s the change of season, or christmas already here in the philippines? it’s becoming cold (no need to switch on the aircon at night), and you’ll see christmas tress and decors all over. and traffic!!!!! hehehe ;p
i really love to experience snow someday…perhaps when i visit norway :P
Beautiful pictures, Renny. Here everything is white, but with ice! We are lucky that we only lost power for about 12 hours (we have a generator for such times) but some parts of New Hampshire will be without electricity until the end of the week! I had a good time with my sister in Connecticut, and hated to leave her.
Well, we woke up to 6 inches of snow this morning here in Rodez and there is quite a bit of snow all over France at the moment — which means we probably will NOT be having a white Christmas.
Despite living in two areas prone to snow (the Pacific Northwest in the USA and Aveyron in France) my White Christmases have been few and far between.
I just love a white Christmas Renny but as you know being hot and sunny all year round…it is now a wet Christmas during the months of Nov & Dec 2008……Happy Holiday soon Renny.
Hello!Saw your entry on FMB and decided to come over! I would love to visit your country but I suffer a lot with cold!So I never really thought about going there.But I think it’s beautifull over there!I live in Portugal.Small country.We have snow in Serra da Estrela during winter.It’s a small mountain!Usually we do not get a lot of snow but this year it was different!
Take a look!
snow in Portugal
Wowzers! You make Norway look so good I wanna visit! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back for a visit–this season is always such a busy one! And in answer to your question, it’s warm and beautiful outside…nearly Heaven on Earth!
Hi again!Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed my collages!:)You have an interesting blog and I will be back more times to learn a bit about Norway.I went as far as Amsterdam and it was too cold already! But you are right,during Summer time it must be pleasant!
wow! the 1st pic is so nice. like a scene from a movie.
i want it to snow in the tropics, too!!! haha.
Wow! What lovely shots with your Nokia phone! :P
RennyBA, I say IT all the time now…NO SUCH THING……
I noticed there are no cars in the town! That is cool. I wish we had more streets like that in America.
Have a lovely holiday RennyBA
~Sigh~ Now I am terribly homesick :( The weatherman keeps telling us that we will NOT be having a white Christmas, but there is a little part of me that hopes he is wrong!
So you live in the middle of this marvellous nature and work in the center of Oslo! No snow for me and I don’t think we’ll see it this winter in South of France, ot is so rare! Love the Christmas decoration too!
Nice shot! We have tons of snow here now and are getting more this week…same as last year so far!
How beautiful! Enjoyed my visit. No snow here in Central Florida but that’s okay with me. Renny, please check out my new blog if you get a chance – http://m8malone.wordpress.com – All About People
May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
I live in Idaho presently and am looking for a garden tool that we bought in Norway while my Husband and I were stationed there 20 years ago.
the tool is a large ground level scoop (dark red) that was used as a wheal barel to move larg amounts of leaves,compost etc in the summer but the wheels could be removed for winter use to scoop snow off of walk ways
Mine has finaly broken and I miss not having it. I am tired of shoveling 55 feet of frivewaysnow with a small shovel (teaspoon)
Could you lead me in the right direction so that I could buy another one and have it shipped to the USA.
Thank You in advance.
Lela
RennyBA
Hi Lela, thanks for your visit and comment!
I know what you mean and it’s a great garden tool. You might like to take a look here!
Since you where stationed in Norway, I assume you understand Norwegian. If not, you can always start on there firstpage and search: http://www.fiskars.com
Hope this is a bit of help, if not, don’t hesitate to ask again.