Hi!

I want to tell you a little bit about one of my favourite places on Earth.I have only been there ones and I was only 13 yearsold. But I never forget it and that glacier lives for ever in my soul.

If you translate the word "Svartisen" to English it means Th Black Ice. ;-)

Here is a first photo of it:

Svartisen Glacier

Theres a story about how this glacier apeared.

"This is the legend of how Norway's second largest glacier Svartisen (literally The Black Ice) came about. The glacier lies in Nordland county on the coast of Helgeland, an area with wild mountains and a rugged coastline prevalent in Norse myths and tales. This particular legend is of a somewhat more recent date, explaining in a perfectly logic way (for Norwegians at least) how a 375 square kilometre ice patch at about 1000 metres above sea level comes into being.

Once upon a time there lived a priest in Rödöy. He was engaged to a girl in the faraway eastern parts of Sweden, but the distance was too great and the priest was unfaithful to her. The rumour of his adultery soon escaped across the border and the girl swore a gruesome revenge.

She heard of a same1) who was going to Norway  and made him an an accomplice to her evil plan. The same was given a box to give to the priest upon arriving in Norway. He was not supposed to know what was inside the box, but when he got far enough to see Rødøyløven², he could no longer restrain his curiosity. He opened the box lid ever so little and a blue-white spirit flowed out of the box. The spirit grew larger and larger and turned to ice, all while the same ran as fast as he could to try and escape. It was too late. The same and his woman froze in the ice and slowly turned to stone.

The glacier have become smaller in recent years, allowing the same and his woman to appear again. When you sail in through the Holand Fjord, you can see them siouettedagainst the sky.

¹ Generic Norwegian word for a lappish person.
² Literally The Red Island Lion, a mountain range resembling a sleeping lion that for centuries have been a landmark for sailors and fishermen.

More photos

 

Enjoy

Best wiches
Mandra

Hi!

And some more photos. As you ca see, the ice really is black on the surface and blue under that. You can, if you like, walk a bit under the ice andexperience the blue ice all around you. ;-)

Photos

Mandra