Norway is a country of walkers. On Sundays the countryside and the hills around Oslo swarm with people out walking. The coastal paths are crowded. We go for walks on weekdays too, but when Grete and I set out this afternoon at 4 o'clock we were pretty much alone in the woods and on the paths around our favourite peninsula Bygdøy.
We did not however watch the sunset today, because the days are much lighter and longer now! I got home at 7, still in daylight!
For me walking is a form of therapy, especially walking with someone AND talking. Conversation is always good when you walk. There must be a reason why they say to each other in films: "We can talk while we walk."
Walking through the coastal landscape in Portør, Kragerø - alone with nature
Walking in the rain with Grete in the hills of Oslo
Grete was in England over Easter, so I hadn't seen her for a while. When she asked me to go for a walk this afternoon, I immediately dropped my swimming and burnt my calories on a three-hour walk instead. Burning calories while indulging in uplifting conversation has got to be the ultimate form of exercise - food for both mind and body!
Walking in the Pyrenees with Sophie
Walking in the Pyrenees with husband
After eleven years of owning a house beneath the Pyrenees I have discovered the easy accessible paths and the enormous possibilities of this area - and I use them a lot - but what I've seen so far is of course only a tiny fraction of this majestic mountain range.
Walking in the Norwegian mountains in Telemark
Walking and talking with good friends on the island of Ildjernet in the Oslo Fjord
Grete and I walk through all the year's seasons. Once we walked in 17 degrees below for three and I half hours, and I for one had to thaw for a long time in a sauna afterwards. Our walk today was pretty cold too - there's still snow and ice in many places.
The summer photo above makes me scream for spring, which seems to be biding its time this year. But it's been known to snow in Oslo as late as May, so I won't take anything for granted. This is life in a northern outpost after all.
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
ReplyDeleteSøren Kierkegarrd. (And me :-)(Takk for turen kjære!)