29th April '23 | Postcards by Fabienne

Coffee by the fjord

Hej, hej,

I am currently in Tromsø – high up in the Norwegian north and once again above the Arctic Circle. It is still kind of winter here. The mountains are still snow-covered, and the temperatures range around 0°C.

But there are undeniable signs of spring up here, too. Since I arrived two weeks ago, snow and ice have been melting, and people are sitting outside in cafés (although I think Norwegians do all year round as soon as the sun is out). Some tiny buds are carefully checking if hibernation time is over. And I wonder if I am ready, too. We are approaching May, even though I am experiencing what I am used to as "winter" since I left for Svalbard last year. So there is one part in me longing for warming sunlight, wearing shorts and Birkenstocks, and another part secretly hoping to stay in this somewhat socially accepted stage of what we call "einigeln" in German. "Hedgehog-ing" – snuggling up to remain in a safe space of isolation, protected by a suit of spikes to ensure nothing and no one is getting you out there. But there is something wrong with the metaphor. Hedgehogs intend to get out of this stage once the danger is gone – or at some point, will try to get out of the situation differently.

Though the past year since I left Sweden was very exciting, I have hedge-hogged from quite a few things I should have processed. I am a highly sensitive person – but I am also a wizard in suppression while staying high-functioning. And at some point, considering facing any of these lurking creatures trying to come after the poor hedgehog feels impossible. And so it remains "hedgehog-ed" and transitions to the stage of natural hibernation. But even in the most northern parts, winter is eventually over. And the hedgehog has to get out there for food, mating, and simply enjoy its little hedgehoggy-life. And as she starts carefully un-snuggling, she realises that a beautiful bunch of other hedgehogs are waiting for her to help her face some of these daunting creatures one after the other.

Okay, but what is she doing up there? My master's thesis is related to a research project called "Sustainable Development of the Arctic Ocean", and I have not only one but two incredibly skilled and amazingly caring supervisors within this project. So it was finally time to connect in person while at the same time attending a workshop, conducting interviews and preparing for the fieldwork that I am going to carry out in June (so exciting!). I have to confess that these past two weeks were super intense, and I naturally focused as much as I could to make the most out of them concerning my master's thesis.

Fram Center, Norwegian Polar Institute

But as the days of my stay were getting fewer, I once again ignored another need and intention – to spend some time in nature, reconnect with myself and recharge after a draining personal situation in the past months. I tried multiple times half-heartedly, but since I did not feel I could do it, I went back to "do something meaningful for my thesis". Until yesterday. What was supposed to be another packed day between the Norwegian Polar Institute and going to the University of Tromsø, the supervisor I was supposed to meet at the university called me in the morning: "Is it okay if you do not see the university today? Do you have your camera? I thought you spent so much time at the desk now and we could also sit at a cosy café overlooking a fjord. I will pick you up." And there she was – the unexpected other hedgehoggy waiting there in the most genuine and loving way. And so there were two hedgehogs, driving through the breathtaking landscape of the northern Norway fjords, through roundabouts in tunnels deep inside a mountain (!!!), out into stunning views, passing cosy cabins, and grazing reindeers right next to the road (they are taller and not as "sturdy" as their relatives we know from Svalbard). They stopped at a coastal café with the cosiest and warmest atmosphere, and the hedgehog's heart lightened up even more. They had coffee and cardamom buns. They talked a bit about the thesis but then about so much more – including how to deal with some lurking creatures – while going on a walk to explore the fjord.

Ersfjord

Tusen takk to the other hedgehog and those I know who are there for me on this journey we call life.

/ Fabi ❆⇞