A Love Letter to the North

Dear North…

I’ve been wanting to get to know you for a while now. For so many years, I thought you were too cold, too rough, too uncomfortable.

But through my years of traveling, I’ve learned that the slightly uncomfortable often holds the greatest beauty and growth.

Also, lately, I found myself wondering more often where home could be one day. And the more I thought of it, the more it seemed like you and me could be a perfect match.

So, I had to set out to get to know you. I fully expected to fall for you – but damn, you swept me off my feet more quickly than I expected.

The first thing I noticed about you is how quiet you were. Not everybody loves that but for me, it’s just right. Modern life is so noisy, many places so hectic. I feel most at peace in the company of other quiet souls. Not that much needs to be said out loud, sometimes, it’s enough to just be present with each other.

Then there’s your vastness. You are expansive enough to hold space for many people, yet, most of the time, it feels like it’s just you and me. Just like silence, solitude is underrated. As Kahlil Gibran once so wonderfully put it:

Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Even the closest relationships benefit from some spaciousness. And with all your vastness, I could roam for days, folllowing your endless trails, let my soul run wild.

Thank you, for giving me room to breathe and just be.

Usually, I pride myself in being someone who’s not superficial but I have to say: damn, you are beautiful. Great inner values, too, don’t get me wrong, but your landscapes… they are quite something. I could spend hours looking at you (and most definitely have).

Guess I do fall in love at first sight sometimes – the first fjell had me instantly.

Oh yes, the fjells… They’re my favorite part about you. I know, other people are always raving about your beautiful fjords, but beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Don’t get me wrong, the fjords are indeed nice but I’m a mountain girl, after all.

And isn’t that the wonderful thing about love that we get to appreciate even the parts of someone that are often overlooked?

Even now, I keep looking at pictures of you and it seems hard to comprehend how much sheer beauty you hold. Sometimes, I wish I had savored it more in the moment, but that’s how us little humans are. Too short-sighted to recognize the beauty that lies right in front of our eyes, distracted from the fleeting thoughts we perceive as important. Little things, yet often big enough to take us away from the moment.

Now that we are separated again, one could of course wonder: Am I romanticizing our time together?

Looking back at the photos, it all seems perfect. But I know I was also struggling. These months I spent with you were full of ups and downs – but that’s not all your fault, obviously. I brought my own emotional baggage into it, questioning a lot if how I am living my life still feels right.

Yet, you didn’t make it easy for me either. Still, that’s probably part of why I love you: you are not easy. You don’t bother making others feel comfortable.

A single day with you can contain a million seasons. Even on a summer day, you might find yourself frozen to the core with a sight of fresh snow on the peaks around you. You are most certainly not for everyone – there’s a reason why most people opt for vacations on the beaches of Spain or Greece instead.

But I love the rough and unpolished. It feels more raw, more real. I believe humans thrive when confronted with challenges.

When there’s a lack of challenge, we make up our own problems, which isn’t exactly good for our minds. It puts us into constant survival mode when actually, we are just suffocating in comfort.

The only time you overdid it a little was when we were nearing the end of summer on the West Coast – you really didn’t need to put me through weeks of non-stop torrential rains. Was it something I had done? Or just a ‚little‘ mood swing? Others had warned me you could be that way, yes, but one always hopes one’s worst dreams don’t come true, right?

I still tried to make the most of it but it does start to feel a little disheartening after a while, feeling like you’re the only one trying. There’s only so much you can do with yourself on 7 square meters.

After two months of bliss, it felt rough suddenly getting to see your ugly face. But we made it through, and I’m glad we eventually ended on a positive note.

Maybe it was simply knowing our time together would end soon, but you provided me with some real treats on my last days there.

Call me delusional, but remembering the good times makes me quickly forget about the rest.

Mornings full of foggy magic, sunny days that felt like summer all over again, a nightly spectacle of auroras. Did you know they were my first ever? They were barely visible to they eye but I caught them on camera. I’m really grateful you let me see a glimpse of what they could be.

Georgia likes you, too, by the way. I know, she doesn’t express her affections very openly, at least not with strangers. (But after 4 months, you are definitely not a stranger anymore.)

Georgia says it’s great you mingle with such few people because people scare her. She also appreciated the buffet – we have slightly different tastes in food, as you can guess. While I feasted on the endless supply of berries, she opted for mice (my apologies for that).

Just one little complaint: She asked me to tell you to grow more bushes in the highlands, please. She didn’t like that she had nowhere to hide. But other than that, she thinks you’re okay and she might tolerate you in the future, which is high praise coming from a cat.

As people in love do, I’ve been also trying to learn your language, so we could understand each other better. If you speak German and English, seeing how some Norwegian words are composed is quite amusing, actually.

I got a little lazy in my studies, however, when I realized I couldn’t say much more than „Jeg forstar ikke“ anyways and then people would switch to flawless English.

The only time I REALLY would have needed Norwegian was when that angry old guy chased me away. I even managed to tell him I have a cat I need to look for first but he didn’t believe me – once again, my native language and Norwegian were close enough for me to understand that was convinced I was bluffing. No, my good man, the cat is real and may you be blessed with better moods in the future.

Anyways, I’m rambling now.

All I’ve been meaning to tell you with this little letter is that you are magnificent. One of a kind, really. Like every traveler, I’ve had a few summer loves here and there – but there’s something about you that makes me want to keep coming back.

I feel like we have gotten to know each other quite well in those months – but I know there is still so much to discover. You, North, are multi-faceted and full of surprises.

It’s probably to soon to say that I want to be with you forever, but maybe we could see each other again some time soon? I think that could be nice.

For now, just know that I am very grateful for everything you’ve given me. It’s been a dream spending summer by your side.

Thank you for all the wonderful memories – they’ll remain with me forever. (Unless I get dementia one day. Then maybe send me a picture book to remind me of our beautiful little love story.)

Well, what can I say… I just got back home, but I already miss you.

With love

Anna

PS: If you’re reading this, Sweden, I’m sorry I had to make it all about Norway. You’re lovely, too. Maybe we’ll get to know each other better in the future? Call me superficial but I just couldn’t help but feel drawn to Norway’s massive mountains. 😉