A few weeks ago I finished my master´s degree in PR and Strategic Communications at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh and moved back to the Arctic city of Bodø in Norway. Scotland will always be in my heart, so I will definitely go back there some day.
Just like Edinburgh, Bodø has a mountain in located close to the city centre. The mountain plateau Keiservarden can be reached from the lookout point the locals call “Turisthytta” (The tourist cabin), where there is a track that first leads you to a lake.
Bodø is known for its strong wind. On my way to the top of the mountain, I could feel the wind trying to find a hidden entrance in my clothes with a plan of touching my skin. Luckily I was wearing a wind-proof jacket. This little fella, however, was not wearing a wind-proof jacket, and you could witness the wind creeping into her feathers.
A few years ago Bodø municipality invited sherpas from Nepal to build this staircase made from stones, which leads you to the mountain top:
The mountain really showed itself from its best side.
From the top of the mountain, you can see the the city centre of Bodø. With a population of currently 52 118, Bodø is much smaller than Edinburghs population of about 531 000.
When you reach the mountain top on a sunny, clear day, you can see the famous Lofoten Islands, which you can reach by a ferry from Bodø. You can see the Lofoten Islands in the distance to the left in this picture:
The island Landegode, is much closer than Lofoten:
It was even more windy on the mountain top. In this selfie, it looks like the sun is playing with my hair, but of course it is my old friend, the wind, who was teasing me.
Norwegians have a tendency of building cairns everywhere. They can be quite useful, as their purpose is to mark the tracks to make it easier for people to find out where they are/where they should have been. The path to Keiservarden is pretty easy to follow even without the cairns. At least on a sunny day. The mountain plateau Keiservarden actually means “The Emperors Cairn” in English. It got its name from the German Emperor Wilhelm II who visited the mountain plateau in 1891.
People in Bodø really love their local football team, Bodø/Glimt. Here some fans seem to have conquered the mountain by planting their favourite fotball club´s flag:
The mountain offered another surprise. I never knew that a tree could give advices:
What do you think about the birch tree´s advice? I think it is important to appreciate what you have. Especially your friends and family. At the same time, I believe it is important to follow your dreams, which is kind of what I have been doing through most parts of my life. But I will never forget my friends and family. I miss them more when I am far away from home.
Ina N. Moe 