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Birch trees

Birch must be my favourite tree. These trees have a speciality in every seasons.

In spring, birch leaves often appear around the time of the 17th of May, the National Day of Norway. During the first days, the leaves have a bright yellow colour. The leaves are showing that life is back. It is so beautiful.

In the summer the leaves turn green, much like most trees. Birch trees are still a special sight because of their white stems.

In autumn the yellow colour returns, but with a more orange tone. In the autumn sun, the birch trees look like they are lit on fire.

And in winter, when the leaves have fallen off, and the trees are resting again, their white stem shines in the snow.

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Damgårdsfjellet

Last weekend was nice but very cold and windy. I still had to go for a walk. I decided to hike to one of Bergen’s 7 mountains I still have not been to. Damgårdsfjellet.

It is the smallest of the 7 mountains and the hike is short and easy. The top reaches just above the tree line and the view is fantastic.

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Camping in the fog

It was supposed to be sunny. So, we set out to camp on the mountain to have a view over the city. Even before we started of dense fog crept up the mountain. And we never saw the sun. We found ourselves a pretty spot by a lake, set up the tents and lit a fire in the mystical fog.

Takk for turen!

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Platåfjellet

Today is our last day in Longyearbyen, well actually the last three weeks have been one long day. The sun does not set here at this time of the year.

We’ve had blue sky and sun the whole day. We hiked to Platåfjellet and back to Longyearbyen via Tverrdalen.

Thank you Svalbard for a wonderful time. I want to come back!

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Boat trip, glacier and Pyramiden

Last Sunday we went on a boat trip to see wild life, a glacier and the ghost town Pyramiden. We saw birds, reindeer, polar foxes, unfortunately now polar bear.

Pyramiden is a coal mining Russian settlement on Svalbard that was abandoned in 1998. 10 years later they came back and tourists can visit the town. Pyramiden is now inhabited by 12 people in summer and 2 in winter.

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Longyearbyen, Svalbard

We arrived at 3 am in Longyearbyen this morning. It was difficult to tell if it was day or night. It’s always light at this time of the year. We are here to teach a plant functional trait course, the same we did in China and Peru. It’s the first time for me to be in the arctic, and it is exciting, a bit grey, cold and windy.

Today, we first went to UNIS (the university in Longyearbyen) to organize a few practical detail for the course next week. And then we had a look at the ITEX site in Endalen. There is not much vegetation, but if you look closer there is a diverse plant community growing in these challenging conditions. I’m looking forward to see more places and look more closely at the plants, vegetation and traits.