First half of Easter break
I`ve just gotten back home from spending some days up in the mountains at our cabin along with my dad. It was good to get away from home for a bit and get a change of air. I`ll admit to being apprehensive at the beginning though. We started sharing the place with another family (the son of the man we bought the place from and his family) and I haven`t been there since before that. I was sort of scared that it wouldn`t feel like our cabin anymore. There were things thwt weren`t ours there now and some changes, but all in all the place still felt like the one I had left a few years previously.
We drove to our cabin after that. It lies a good walk into the woods, and this late in winter it can be quite a challenge to get down there, because when you are loaded with luggage you sink thigh-deep into the snow for every step, and sometimes you even get stuck. With a pleasant mood and some patience it isnt much of a challenge though. (On a random note, am now listening to some metal and realised that apart from a shower that is the only thing I have really missed up there.)
The bottom picture is our cabin complete with my dad in front of it, and at the top is the shed where we have the firewood and our fashionable toilet. Its a very nice place, quiet and quite lovely when the weather is proper. If the weather is crap you go inside and light a fire and play cards or something of the sort. We have actually gotten a small TV with a DVD player to it now (revolusionary!) so we can watch films when the night sets in.
Just for fun, here is a picture of traditional footwear in the Norwegian mountain regions. Theese are called lobber and are very warm and comfortable to wear inside and/or outside.
Tuesday morning I went ice-fishing (properly) with my dad. Now, proper ice-fishing includes getting up at 4-5 AM and dress very warmly and fill your thermos with whatever keeps you warm, get some breakfast down and pull your pack on your back and leave long before the sun even contemplates rising. Me and dad were wandering out on the ice just as it started getting light outside and we could see the eastern horizon get faintly pink. It is quite beautiful when you combine it with the magnificent nature, the fresh cold air and the silence. That alone is an experience that I fail to describe in words.
It was cold at first (though walking out there kept us warm) but thankfully there was no wind, and that makes everything much easier. Temperature itself isn`t so bad, it`s the wind that gets to you. Wind can make a couple negative degrees feel ten times worse than it would without it. But it wasn`t too cold that morning, and no wind – so all in all it was very beautiful. We started fishing somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45 AM and the first fish bit just before 7. I got it! I can`t describe the feeling you get when you feel the fish biting and hangs at the end of the line and pulling it up, hoping it won`t drop. And the feeling of success as you pull it up. And it tastes wonderful too. Just for the record.
Easter in the mountains is supposed to be a very enjoyable affair, and it really is if weather is on your side. There are few things in this world more likeable than sitting in the sun reading something and feel that the warmth of spring really is setting in. Ideally that is what you want to do when you come back from ice-fishing for 6-7 hours. You want to take a cold beer or something else nice out with you, sit down at your favourite spot, read a newspaper or a book or a Donald pocket in the sun and just enjoy being lazy. Me and dad did this, but the wind made it much less enjoyable than what it usually is. I shall demonstrate thus:
Okay. It was just a bit chilly with all the wind.
But it was still great to be there for a while and remember things from when I was a little kid and take life just as it came and not have to think or worry much about the things outside the little world one creates for oneself when you`re away from your everyday life. I feel quite rejuvenated, but at the same time I admit it will be nice not having to boil the water over a fire every time I want to wash my hands or face in warm water.
