Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær. There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. (Norwegian saying)

Well you might not call snow and -20°C temperatures ‘bad weather’ (I do love the snow, and if it wasn’t so bloody cold in my flat I wouldn’t even mind the invigorating temperatures outside so much), but I’m not sure about the clothing bit. I mean, how many layers does one need to keep warm? Short of donning a kjeledress? *

By the way, just to put things into perspective. This week’s been the coldest recorded here in a long time. On Friday it was just as cold in Østfold as it was on Svalbard (the island half-way between northern Norway and the North Pole)! A 40-year old man was found dead in Sarpsborg –  it is believed he froze to death. The graveyard just outside Gamlebyen had to use special equipment to dig up graves as the soil was frozen solid. Even the ski slope at Middagåsen had to be closed because of the extreme temperatures.

In the midst of all that, a power failure meant that residents in the Hvaler archipelago were left without electricity for a few hours on Wednesday. Bad timing indeed, when you know that most people in Norway use electric heating to heat up their houses. What a contrast with the winter of 1999, when local farmers were actually complaining that it was too warm (it was 10°C) and that their crops might suffer later on in the season as a result.

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* Kjeledress: A kind of thick boiler suit, or overalls, made of a insulating material, usually a  mixture of either nylon and polyester, plus cotton. Best protection against the cold, and ideal if you want to go frolick in the snow, but unpractical and ungainly. Popular in Norway this time of year.