Environmentally conscious?
Bergen Bus station
These days Bergen city is under the influence of politicians with an environmentally bad conscience!
Winter in Bergen the past 15 years (the time I've lived in Bergen) has been a wet affair. This year however most things have been different ... very different! Snow has covered the city for several weeks, and created a situation where people actually have started to enjoy being outdoors during winter as well.
Only problem is that nice blue skies, little or no wind and temperatures below zero creates a situation where air pollution increases, creating "a lid" of polluting compounds (e.g. carbon and nitrogen dioxides) that hovers above the city. As a direct effect of this the municipality of Bergen decided to take immediate action, and only allow certain cars to drive (i.e. cars registered with even numbers at the end drive on even dates, and conversely).
Frustration was high amongst most people, and officials needed to explain. IOW, something that seemed to be a simple "rule of thumb" was not that simple. Exceptions were of course made with the effect that most things seemed not to be properly thought through in advance.
So, what was the effect of this rather hasty decision? Most people did as they were told, and those that did not probably had good reasons for not doing so, and so on. What happened to those who were unable to utilize their cars? They took the bus or hitched a ride with those who could drive. Everything seemed to work out fine ...
But what actually happened? Yes, people took the bus and drove more than one in each car. Extra buses were put in service, extra buses that most of the time when they were not actually doing anything were parked at the bus station with their engines running ... effectively spewing out the same compounds the cars were prohibited from doing!
I'm sure the intentions were good, however, I am also sure that next time around these things should be thought through in advance. Maybe they also need to have a proper plan created for these excact situations. One thing that should be added to the list is of course that people should shut their engines while parked! That includes buses too!!!
PS: Sometimes it is better that the bus station is empty, rather than having 30 buses in a stand still, engines running, and spewing gases!
Sled riding slope style!
This weekend we bought our kids a couple of new sleds/boards for sled riding, and what a fun weekend we had! It started out as a simple thing were we just rode down the slope in the backyard. As the kids went up and down, the slope took more and more shape with a little help from me ... We created some fun curves for the kids to get more out of their new boards. Take a look at the pics below and you'll see what I mean.
We spent 7-8 hours outside (Saturday and Sunday) in -10 below zero (Celsius), and in between the fun some of us also went inside to recharge the batteries and to get a warm cup of cocoa.
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O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
We (as in my family) do not have a particularly strong traditions when it comes to how we obtain Christmas trees for ... well, Christmas. Anyways, yesterday was a good start at creating a new tradition, and "while" living in Bergen it is also safe to say that one time is enough to establish a tradition.
This weekend we were also blessed with a rare visit by our kids' grandparents (my mom and her boyfriend). They took the trip over the mountains in a snow storm. It took them "forever" to get here. Finally in Bergen, the first thing on our agenda was to get a Christmas tree.
We had looked up a place outside of Bergen called Frotveit where they arranged for people to chop down their own Christmas tree. They also offered us a lift into the woods on a wagonette or sled. At the site the kids could do horse-back riding, eat hot-dogs and more, warm themselves by the camp-fire, and of course walk into the woods to find their own Christmas tree.
All in all it was a beautiful experience, and something we will do again next year. The fact that it snowed made the whole experience a magical moment for all of us.
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Photo shoot!
The other day I took the whole family with me to work. Not to work during regular office hours, but on a Sunday evening for a Xmas party we set up for the kids of Vizrt. Part of the agenda I had was also to make use of a personal invite I had from a colleague and friend of mine to shoot some family pictures.
This friend of mine is a fairly good amateur photographer, and enjoys it so much that he has invested in his own portable studio with professional studio equipement. The result of the photo shoot you can see here ...
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A night with Santa on Fløien
Today we went for a hike to Fløien, and into the woods. The event was arranged by Barnas Turlag which is a subdivision of the Norwegian Trekking Association in Bergen for children. Anyways, we ended up by Skomakerdiket where they had lighted a path further into the woods. At the end of the path they had started a fire, and served everybody porridge and something to drink.
Also on this trip were my in laws; however, they were not quite prepared for the hike they ended up getting a bit soaked by the rain and the mud. Anyways, the whole event was nice, and especially for the kids ... Santa was there!!!
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