The Stavdals

Who could have imagined that we would be trudging through the snow before mid-October? This past week, heavy snow and chilly winds have been causing havoc in Northern Norway. Although the snow showers are dying out, ice on the roads means dangerous driving conditions. From experience, though, the snow usually flies many times before settling for the winter. Forecasters have promised warmer, snow-melting temperatures this coming week. In the picture, Niklas took a brief pause for the photographer before wheeling his way through the snow down to the bus-stop.

The sudden weather change demanded finding all our winter clothing. It goes without saying that proper clothing is a necessity, particularly for the kids who spend a lot of time outdoors where they apart from having snowball fights, battle the snow and the ghusty wind.

Also, the car's tires had to be changed. But when examining the tires, I reluctantly realized they were completely worn out after four seasons of a gradually declining grip in the snow. Consequently, I had to swallow the bitter pill of buying four new winter tires. Came across a good deal at Vianor, though, where I luckily got a 40% reduction due to my part time job in the local bus company. Still, they weren't cheap, and since a large part of the inhabitants of Tromsø needed new tires at the same time, there was a three day delivery delay to have the tires changed. This resulted in the car staying put and everyone travelling by bus instead. Fairly hectic for a family of six considering the low bus frequency where we live.