#88. Back in the Netherlands After Two Years in Norway

And honestly, you adapt surprisingly fast. Sometimes it amazes me how quickly you fall back into an old familiar rhythm, almost as if you had never been away. Before we knew it, our calendars were full again. We started seeing friends more often, going back to the theatre, and naturally all the daily obligations returned as well.

But life does feel busier here. Fuller. As if something is constantly asking for your attention.

The Norwegian Rhythm Versus Dutch Life

I think that is the biggest difference we notice compared to Norway: the sense of calm, space, and focus on what truly matters.

In Norway, friluftsliv, the outdoor way of living, plays a central role in daily life. Because of that, life feels less rushed. People seem more patient and less driven by constant urgency and stimulation.

That calm is also reflected in practical things. Shops being closed on Sundays automatically creates a shared day of rest. And because almost everyone drives electric cars, even near roads the dominant sounds are often wind, birds or water rather than traffic.

Small Culture Shocks

That transition back to Dutch life often reveals itself in small details.

When we returned, Martijn immediately started picking up litter again during walks. In Norway, that was hardly ever necessary. We were genuinely struck by how clean nature remained there, even in remote places.

We both notice that we still miss Norway almost every day. One of Martijn’s former colleagues still regularly sends us photos of old Norwegian farms for sale somewhere deep in the wilderness, surrounded by mountains or fjords, just so we can dream for a moment about what it would be like to live there again.

And whenever I ask Martijn whether we will ever emigrate again, he always answers with certainty:

“We will go back someday.”

Bringing Norwegian Calm Into Dutch Life

Whether or when that will happen, I honestly do not know yet.

On one hand, that simple life close to nature still strongly pulls at us. On the other hand, Norway is an expensive country to live in and career opportunities there are more limited.

At the same time, I increasingly feel that opportunities are emerging in the Netherlands for my work in healing nature photography. In a busy country like the Netherlands, the need for calm and the restorative effect of nature may perhaps even be greater than in the vast openness of Norway.

Norway is definitely not a closed chapter for us. It is a place that changed us and showed us something about how we want to live and work.

Perhaps the biggest challenge right now is not moving back, but learning how to preserve a small part of that Norwegian calm and simplicity within daily life here, and passing that feeling on through my photography.

Do you recognize that feeling of quickly losing the calm of a holiday or period abroad once daily life takes over again?

And what helps you slow down again?