#76. Bye for Now: Between Norwegian Ice and Moving Boxes

A Farewell Coffee in Ski

Last week I shared a simple moment: a final cappuccino in our favorite coffee place in Ski. It was a small ritual before handing over the keys. A goodbye filled with mixed emotions. Transitions rarely happen in one grand gesture. They unfold in practical tasks and quiet realizations: packing, cleaning, sorting, and letting go. Sometimes, you find the weight of a transition simply at the bottom of a last cup of coffee.

A Week in the "In-Between"

This past week has been a transition in every sense of the word. After the whirlwind of packing and cleaning, our belongings arrived safely in the Netherlands. My husband returned home ahead of me, while I stayed behind in a small Airbnb. It was a temporary pause between two chapters.

It is a strange, quiet space to be in. Not fully here, not yet there. I used these days to work on my Antarctica project and to prepare for a final photography weekend in the mountains of Valdres. My husband gently insisted that I should go, knowing exactly what I needed. He was right. Before returning to the rhythm of Dutch life, I needed one more immersion in the silence.

Finding Stillness in the Norwegian Wilderness

I found myself standing on deep ice once more, surrounded by the vast silence of the wilderness. The deep turquoise and icy blues, the fragile cracks and flowing lines frozen in time; these are the elements that draw me in. Nature sketches these abstract shapes without intention, yet with perfect precision. I feel a physical need to photograph them up close. Not the grand landscape, but the hidden, intimate stories within the ice.

The Pull of Abstract Ice

I intended to focus on intimate landscapes, but as always, abstraction pulled me closer. The ice demands proximity. Its shapes are never the same twice: curves, fractures, and shifting layers of blue and white. There is something deeply comforting about these forms. Abstract ice does not explain itself, it simply exists. And in that existence, it offers space.

Roots of Earth Embrace

This quiet dialogue with ice lies at the roots of my work. What once began as Troostkunst, art that does not fix but accompanies, has naturally grown into Earth Embrace. This is a broader practice of healing nature photography grounded in stillness and emotional space. This transition was marked by a small but meaningful affirmation: the news that two of my images were officially published on 1x.com. It was a reminder that these intimate landscapes and abstractions speak a universal language.

From Norwegian Silence to Dutch Moving Boxes

Behind the lens, there was a constant duality. While I was capturing the stillness of the mountains, I was also saying goodbye. Goodbye to a country that has given me immense space, both physically and internally. Goodbye to friends who have become anchors, and to the endless white horizons that redefined my vision.

In Norway, we do not say farewell. We say: “Bye for now.”

Since Monday evening, I have been back on Dutch soil. The contrast is immediate and sharp. I moved from vast, frozen landscapes to rooms filled with moving boxes; from mountain silence to practical decisions. The transition feels abrupt, yet the stillness of the ice travels with me. It forms the foundation from which I continue building my projects here in the Netherlands. Between the moving boxes and new beginnings, I hold onto that turquoise stillness. I will miss Norway, but I am profoundly grateful for what was, and for what is unfolding next.

Bye for now.

Inspired by the stillness of the ice? These works from the 'Whispers of Ice' series are now available as Fine Art prints.