Goodbye, "Summer"

It's been no tropical paradise the past couple months in Norway, which maybe doesn't surprise you, but just in case you were wondering. People around these parts dream about summer the rest of the year as a time that makes up for the cold and dark days of winter (and autumn and spring). And normally, so I'm told, summer can be be pretty nice, with long stretches without rain and temperatures into the 80s. But not this year. Oh no. I traveled around the country a fair amount and summer days were few and far between. Or maybe the crappy weather just followed me, hmm... 

Despite the overall trend in the weather, there were, in fact, a few days that felt tropical. Keep in mind that I've been living here for a year so our definitions of "tropical" are bound to be a little different. When the sun was out and the temperature got above 70 degrees (it was never above 75, mind you), I was outside soaking it up. My favorite place to go was Lade, a beautiful and popular beach in Trondheim and not too far from where I live now. I went swimming in the fjord a couple times, and that made it feel like summer, especially when I could sun-dry afterward (only happened once). 

I don't want to bore/depress you with un-summery pictures, so here's a few of those rare, glorious days, now just fleeting memories as I dig my wool underwear out of the closet:

Korsvika beach at Lade

My beach buddy, Rannveig. It's obvious only one of us went to Greece
this summer... but I am pumped for Trondheim sunshine!

We were not the only ones who thought this was a good idea.
It warmed my heart to see so many Norwegians enjoying
themselves at the beach in weather that most people
(including me, in another life) wouldn't
consider warm enough.

Side note: It's not uncommon for little boys and girls, I'd say up to age 8, to play at the beach completely naked instead of wearing a swimsuit. That took some getting used to and I tried not to feel like a big creep whenever they ran by.

Otherwise, I've had a good break from school and time to relax and explore new parts of Norway. But it's good to have some routine again as I get started on my master's project and to have more friends and family in town. However, it looks like I will be hanging out in the lab a lot more than at the beach this fall. So goodbye, Summer, og takk for meg!