up to the north

Monday afternoon, April 16th: I’m walking out the door – my jacket and backpack full of camera gear already on – to go shoot some photos of the fields of flowers in the area. By chance, I glance at my plane tickets to Norway which were sitting on the table by the door and notice the date is for the 17th. 17th, 17th, 17th, hmmm, I thought. Shit! Todays the 16th, I leave tomorrow, not Wednesday, I realize in a sudden panic.

Tuesday, April 17th, Aprox 1:00pm: The flight left Munich on time, despite having a 5 hour layover in Oslo, I had still been worried about missing my connection (I haven’t had the best of luck with flights being on-time in the last year, in fact, I’ve come to expect that they will be delayed.). But now I’m planning on what to do with 5 hours in Oslo as I’m watching the beautiful colors of the German spring pass beneath me as we are slowly gaining altitude. Suddenly after around 20 minutes in the air, the plane suddenly makes a quick decent and we enter into a sharp turn towards the south. Hmmm, this doesn’t seem too good. A few minutes later the pilot comes on and says there is a ‘Technical Problem’ and we must now return to Munich. Well, I still have 5 hours in Olso, no problem. Well, the airplane cracked a windshield, which took 5 hours to repair, I arrive in Oslo as my flight I’m supposed to catch to Bodø is taking off. Luckily the airline was nice enough to put me on a later flight from another airline (as this was their last flight of the day), and once again I find myself walking out of the Bodø airport around midnight, looking forward to a night on the floor in the ferry terminal (which I’m now quite familiar with). At least its warm, which is more that can be said about the snowstorm outside.

Only a few pics for now:

lofoten norway

lofoten norway

lofoten norway

dead whale lofoten norway

drying cod stockfish lofoten norway

Down South, Up North

Took a little roadtrip to the French Riviera last week, what a beautiful place. On Wednesday I’m leaving the warm temps of spring and heading off into the cold of the Norwegian arctic.

only a couple pics for now…

French Alps near Annency. Cody Duncan Photography

Lake Annency, France. Cody Duncan Photography

Stormy weather on Mediterranean sea near Antibes on the French Riviera. Cody Duncan Photography

moped and old doorway in Sospel, Cote d’azur, France.  Cody Duncan Photography

Took a Little Road Trip

Headed up north over the weekend. After all this time in Germany, it was my first time on the autobahn and a bit of speed. Driving north on Saturday was cold and grim, but Sunday was just that, full of sun. On the way back we took a detour through the old east Germany; so many cool old towns and villages. I think I could spend several months in that area.

speedometer of car while driving at high speed on autobahn, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

Rural road to small town, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

Deutsche bahn train bridge, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

Return of Winter

Seems winter decided to make a final appearance during the last week, but a few days of snow and cold was all it was able to muster. Even Mr. stork has returned. And how long the days are getting once again!

Storke and nest on chimney in Bavaria, Germany. Cody Duncan Photography

Snow covered rooftops and cloudy skies in small german town. Cody Duncan Photography

Spring is Here

It seems I have survived my first winter in Europe. The days are getting longer, birds are singing in the mornings and I even went for a run in shorts and a t-shirt this afternoon. Had a good weekend on Franconian limestone, so I’m a bit sore. Got a trip planned for southern France in a few weeks, and then a trip back up to the Artic where the weather is still a bit sucky, but I want to try and catch some Aurora’s before I’m forced back to milder latitudes.

© 2007 cody duncan photography.  German farm field in spring

© 2007 cody duncan photography. plowed german farm field

© 2007 cody duncan photography. Rock climbing in Frankenjura, Germany

© 2007 cody duncan photography. Rock climbing in Frankenjura, Germany

© 2007 cody duncan photography. Rock climbing in Frankenjura, Germany

© 2007 cody duncan photography. Rock climbing in Frankenjura, Germany

Into the Frozen North

Curonian Spit, Lithuania:

Cold, Barren, Rugged. I walked south from Nida, thick fog rolling in and out of the dunes; the Russian border a short distance to the south. I crossed dunes and forest from the lagoon side (frozen) until I reached the barren shore of the Baltic sea.

© cody duncan photography. Ice fisherman walking on frozen curonian lagoon, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen curonian lagoon, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen curonian lagoon, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen curonian lagoon, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen sand dune on Curonian Spit, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen sand dune on Curonian Spit, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen block of ice from Baltic sea, Curonian Spit, lithuania

© cody duncan photography.  frozen sea ice, Curonian Spit, lithuania

Passing the Days Away

More from my last few weeks in this small German town. Ahh, how lazy I have become, havent even lifted my backpack in nearly a month now!

© Cody Duncan Photography.  Old Farm equipment, Bavaria, Germany

© Cody Duncan Photography.  Old mill, Bavaria, Germany

© Cody Duncan Photography. winter oak treel, Bavaria, Germany

© Cody Duncan Photography. winter trees, Bavaria, Germany

Czech Sojourn

I forgot to mention that I spent some time in Czech (not Prague) a few weeks ago. So much cool old stuff to wander around and look at. On a Sunday when I arrived, the streets were nearly empty and I thought I had come to some ghost town. I would spend hours a day sitting in this cool teahouse, just reading or talking or relaxing. Nights were often late and mornings too soon to arrive. It was a good place to relax after the noise and crowds of Vienna.

© cody duncan photography. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

© cody duncan photogrphy. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

© cody duncan photogrphy. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

© cody duncan photogrphy. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

© cody duncan photogrphy. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

© cody duncan photography. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

© cody duncan photography. Olomouc, Czech republic Photography

Better Late than Never…

It seems that winter finally decided to show up last week. Friday was the coldest at somewhere around 15ºF, but it was a brilliantly sunny day, so off for some cross-country skiing it was. The rest of the time I was cruising around on my trusty bike, trying to make up for lost time.

© cody duncan photography. cross country skiing, Germany

© cody duncan photography. cross country skiing, Germany

© cody duncan photography. cross country skiing, Germany

Saturday (above) was cold and windy. I was off on my own, high up on some open fields being blasted by a cold wind.

© cody duncan photography. sunset in winter snow, Germany

© cody duncan photography. sunset in winter snow, Germany

© cody duncan photography. Riding bicycle in snow, Germany

Stupid Idea of the Week

Riding a bike through a snowstorm. The normal journey time from town to the forest usually takes me around 5-6 minutes, in the snow it was around 35 minutes. Of course I wasn’t helped much by this girly little bike I had: seat too low, my knees hitting the handlebars, tires too skinny and half flat. At least the gears work (usually) and it has cool fenders.

© cody duncan photography. Riding bicycle in snow, germany

© cody duncan photography. Riding bicycle in snow, germany

© cody duncan photography. snow covered trees in winter, germany

© cody duncan photography. snow covered trees in winter, germany

© cody duncan photography. snow covered trees in winter, germany