Chapter 1 Vanlife begins
Thought for the day…..”If you count all your assets you always show a profit.”
“Life Always offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow”.
Chapter 1. Vanlife begins. Despite having previously owned a campervan, the urge was always there to try building one for myself. Buying a ready-made campervan is easy, but it is always a compromise. Compromises in the long run usually make everybody unhappy. And given that I have a non-standard lifestyle, then a standard campervan was never going to work…sort of round peg in a square hole type of situation. So the campervan (a VW Karmann) was sold last year even though it was modern and bright inside and had all the essentials, including a shower. But it was a compromise. For use all year, a campervan needs great insulation, and for somebody like me who does a lot of sport then it needs a BIG watertank. I also need a lot of storage space for the cycle and sports equipment.
Since then I had been looking throughout Scandinavia for a replacement van. But finding one that would tick all the right boxes and at the right price was near impossible. On that great online university, YouTube I had become fascinated by the number of people who had bought ordinary delivery vans (Mercedes Sprinters for example) and had converted the vans themselves. The results that some of them have achieved are incredible. That idea about building a van just would not go away. And the vanlife videos kept appearing on YouTube.
So last week I took the decision to get a van and to begin converting it myself. Found a VW Crafter van online in Stavanger, Western Norway and purchased it FAST, without seeing it or without even test driving it. Experience had shown me that the good vans and good campervans disappear almost immediately, and with coronavirus then there were even more people after them. So I had to act fast, and bought it within a few hours. Took the risk to transfer the money online to a seller whom I had never met and my only contact had been via the online website. Big risk, yes. But there is a saying in English “sometimes you have to jump first, and grow your wings on the way down”. So the van was purchased and the transfer fees paid.
Now I know that there is a risk of failure, especially as I have never done anything like this before. The fear of failure should not stop people from trying, and there is one way to find out if I can do it. That is to try. It may turn out to be a costly mistake, but at least then I will know. It may turn out to be a success, but until I try then I will never know.
So I hope to collect the van this Wednesday. Then the real fun will begin !! Watch this space for photos and updates and probably a video or two.
To be continued……..
One photo from the archives -matruska dolls from Russia at a market in northern Norway
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The positive side of coronavirus
Thought for the day…”Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Despite all the doom and gloom at the moment, there are some positive sides to coronavirus. Staff in shops and cafes have become noticeably better recently, and are happy to serve you now. Not only that but they have time to help and, with the lack of customers, are actually trying to help out. Shops and cafes have become more polite, with people waiting patiently in spaced-out queues. Cafes have started putting most items in plastic to prevent contamination, hand disinfectant is now common and for the time being, people are being very good at using disinfectants. And another bonus, the enforced free time is giving some of us some a great opportunity to catch up on things that previously we never had time for. So it is not all negative at the moment !! Stay safe.
The southbound Oslo to Kiel ferry passing the coast of Norway at Drobak.
and another photo from the archives….sunrise captured with the Fuji X-T30
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Oslo to Copenhagen ferry
Thought for the day..”Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.”
“It is not the strongest of the species which survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” Charles Darwin
Oslo harbour and the ferry which goes between Norway and the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Prices onboard this boat have gone up a lot, and the journey time has also been increased, making the trip now more expensive and also slower. This boat was previously owned by Viking Line, and sailed from Sweden to Finland. Whilst the ferry was previously a good option, with the high prices onboard and also with the improved road connections to Denmark, it is no longer a good option. Quite why the company thought that slowing the trip down was a good idea is a mystery, as is the logic of increasing the prices onboard. Just like the airlines, DFDS have started to charge for things (eg. internet onboard and the bus connections to/from the boat) that used to be included in the ticket price. It appears that nearly all the public seating onboard has also been removed, presumably to try and force people into the bars and restaurants onboard to spend more money. Sad to see the decline in standards on these ferries now, and the need to pay extra for so many things. The kayakkers had a great view of the ferry though……
and another photo…A dramatic sunrise over the hills of Pembroke, New Zealand. Great cloud formations are not unusual on the South Island of New Zealand due to the prevailing winds crossing the Southern Alps, which often leads to banding and wave clouds. Add that to the first sun of the day and the result is a great photo.
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An aviation classic – the Hawker Hurricane
Thought for the day…”I haven’t failed. I just found 10 000 ways that won’t work” Thomas Edison.
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadow falls behind you”.
Wanaka, New Zealand hosts the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow every two years, and was at one time, also home to a number of Warbirds, such as this Hawker Hurricane. This particular aircraft had an interesting history, having flown in 1940 and crashed in Preswick, Scotland, then after a rebuild was damaged several more times before being transferred to the Soviet Air Force in 1941. It crashed again near Murmansk, Russia in 1943 and was recovered around 1990 and partly rebuilt in the UK from 1992 to 1995. It was fully restored in Wanaka and flew again from Christchurch, NZ in January 2000. It was later sold to a French owner based in Cannes. The photo was taken in Wanaka about 2010 prior to the sale to the new owner.
And a photo from Oslo harbour in Norway. The DFDS ferry travels overnight down to Copenhagen, Denmark. Unfortunately, journey times have been increased now and prices onboard are very high, making it much less attractive than previously, especially when the highway down through Sweden is a fast alternative. Why management wanted to slow the trip down is a mystery, as the boat is now much slower and leaves both cities too early to be much use to business travellers or people wanting a full day trip.
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Thought for the day….”One fails forward toward success”
“Life Always offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow”.
Off to the Himalayas and to Nepal for the photo today. As usual, the porters were carrying extremely heavy loads, this time including the kitchen table. Unusually though, these porters had good footwear, instead of the more common flip-flops or sandals. Climbing up with such loads is even more difficult due to the thinner air and often harsh conditions. The photo is from a scanned 35mm negative.
and another photo from the collection….Oslo city centre, which in parts is dirty, run down and full of beggars and drug-addicts. Far from the image of Scandinavia that many people have.
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Norwegian coast at sunset by drone
Thought for the day…”Coffee is a hug in a mug”
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
As always, it is a few bad people who spoil things for the rest of us. Just been out with the new DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone but nowadays the word drone makes people think of spying and that they are ‘bad’. Increasing restrictions on drone use are appearing all over the place, yet the responsible people who fly drones safely are being penalized for the actions of a few stupid idiots. Very sad that every week further restrictions are being placed on responsible drone users. The results from drones are amazing, and there is no need for more regulations. Go after the idiots who fly near airports, but let normal, sensible people fly drones and take beautiful photos.
Beautiful evening sunlight over the coast of southern Norway, taken a couple of days ago with the Mavic 2 Pro drone. Amazing calm conditions and great light for photos…..
and another photo from the archives…. carnival time and a happy woman……
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Rich Norway but icy pavements
Thought for the day…”Every failure is a step to success.”
“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.” (Franklin Roosevelt)
Today’s photo is of some rare winter sunshine in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. One thing that you will notice if you visit Oslo in winter is how bad the Norwegians are at coping with snow, even in the capital. For some reason, the arrival of snow in WINTER seems to surprise Norwegians, leading to travel chaos. It is also very surprising that the local council in Oslo seems to be so bad at treating the pavements. On some days, walking around is extremely dangerous due to ice on the streets, yet the Norwegians seem very bad at treating the pavements. Compared with cities such as Helsinki in Finland, Oslo is a long way behind. So why is it that the arrival of snow causes so many problems in a country that should be used to it? As most of the country lies above 60 degrees north (and some parts of it are over 70 degrees north) then snow and ice should not be a surprise to them, but it is. And with all the money that rich Norway has, then why are the pavements so dangerous because the local councils have not cleared or treated them?? It is another surprise in a country that many think of as modern and advanced. As an example of how much money Norway has, the Opera House seen in the photo below cost around 4.1 BILLION Norwegian kronor, or about USD 700 million. Just to the left of the Opera house, the large new building being built is a new library. Estimated cost of that is 1.8 BILLION Norwegian Kronor. So, with all this money, why are the pavements being neglected when it is icy ???
and another photo from the archives….the legs have it…
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Oslo, Norway – Not the modern, organized place that you think…..
Thought for the day..”It is better to rust out than wear out.”
“We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.” (Charlotte Wilton).
One of the great mysteries of life is why in Norway, the arrival of snow in winter causes such chaos. Norway lies mostly above 60 degrees north (parts of it are over 70 degrees north) so is Artic or sub-Artic, yet the arrival in WINTER of snow seems to cause such chaos. Do the Norwegians not expect snow in WINTER? Are they not used to snow arriving in WINTER? It appears not. As anyone who has been in Oslo recently will have experienced, the streets have been extremely difficult to negotiate. Pavements have alternated between sheet ice and deep snow, all of this in the CAPITAL of a country that is rich and that is supposed to be modern. It sure shatters a lot of images when you work in Norway, those images that many people have of a modern, well-organized society soon change when you see how it really is. And I just cannot but help wondering what the local council in Oslo is doing (or rather, not doing). The one plus side to the chaos caused by the snow and ice is that is has forced many of the begging gypsies off the streets. Again, the gypsy problem is something that the Norwegian government and police seem unable to deal with, same as with the heroin problem in Oslo. Whilst drug sellers operate openly in the city centre, nothing appears to be done about the problem. Oslo has been called the “heroin capital of Europe’, with the statistics showing the big problem with heroin addiction and deaths in the city, but the authorities do not seem to be doing enough. Have a look at some of the videos of the problem on YouTube. So if you have any ideas that Norway is a modern, clean and well-run society, then a short visit may change your views !!
One photo of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, taken before the snows arrived…..
and another photo from the archives Rafsundet near Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
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Time to Delete…..
Thought for the day….”Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.”
“Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”
Autumn is a good time to get around to sorting the thousands of photos that are sitting on discs and hard drives. Those of us over about 30 years old will remember that at one time, you only got 36 pictures (37 if you were lucky) on a roll of film, and even on a long holiday, you did not come back with thousands of photos. But with digital cameras, it is far too easy to click away and end up with hundreds of photos. I am looking back at my earlier photos and putting them through a test. First question is “would I be proud to show this photo to somebody else? ” and the second question “is this photo special to me?” If the answer to both questions is NO then it is time to hit the delete button. Rather like pruning trees after the summer, it will result in a leaner, cleaner and better photo collection. Hit that delete button !
Classical buildings in the Frogner part of Oslo for the photo today, originally a colour photo that I have converted to Black & White.
and another photo, the lunchtime Wideroe Dash 8 Q300 aircraft arriving in Honningsvag, in North Norway. This is only about 30km from the North Cape, which is claimed to be the top of Europe at over 71 degrees north. That said, North Cape is actually on an island (Mageroya) so whether or not it is actually the northernmost point of Europe is debatable. 
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Think before you install……that app may not be so innocent
Thought for the day…”What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”
“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.”
It is amazing that so many people install apps on their mobile phones without any regard for just how much information those apps may collect. I recently wanted to install an app to control the flashlight on my mobile phone, but refused to install it when I discovered that it wanted access to my camera, email contacts and microphone. Absolutely no need for a glorified light switch to need access to my emails or the microphone on my telephone. And a second flashlight program proved just as bad.
Now there is the news on the internet about Amazon, and their plans to open physical stores in the USA. Apparently, they are going to monitor shoppers mobile phones, and will block their internet access if they attempt to check prices at other stores or online. So not only will Amazon be able to see what you are interested in, they will also be able to stop you comparing prices, and presumably, will also be able to see other sites on the internet that you are interested in. No doubt many people will quickly install a new Amazon app, without thinking about the loss of privacy. 50 years ago, people would have demonstrated against the idea of carrying something that gave authorities the power to see where they were within a few metres, and also what they were reading/eating/shopping/listening to. Even installing a flashlight app may now mean that somebody is listening to your conversations. Privacy is important, yet many people are now readily giving it up.
A photo from Spitsbergen of the Artic poppy flower, braving the cold weather…
and another photo….early morning in Riverton, in the far south of New Zealand. At one time, this port received freight boats from Australia before the estuary silted up. Now the railway and the larger boats have long since gone, leaving just the small fishing boats and a few tourists who pass through Riverton whilst driving the Southern Scenic Route.
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