norway, my stupidly beautiful country

If you ask a norwegian what s/he is most proud of, you might find a usually quiet person prattling on endlessly about natural beauty. Waxing lyrically, this norwegian might go on and on and on and on (and ON) about snow, mountains, deep forests, long rivers, rolling farmland, dramatic coastline, the mad explosion of spring. Ad infinitum. Yawn.

I hear myself do it at times, I hear fellow countrymen do it at times, and it bores me. Often, the person on the other end of this probably does not understand the relationship norwegians have with nature (why would they!?), and it seems excessive. In a way it is.

Then, four intrepid friends from USA came over, to play and explore with L and me, and I got to see parts of my country with their eyes, as well as with my own. It is, as R said; stupidly beautiful.

She asked if I felt proud being connected to all that.

Not proud, exactly. But a wordless sense of being connected.

spring in the woods

Pictures from the mountainous lollygag that brought this on here