Along the Frozen Lake

Snow, Ice and a Winter Wonderland

The winter bridge in Brekkedammen park.

Today the sun was shining and it was just a chilly -1˚C (30˚F), so no better time to get outside and take in the sunshine and beautiful snowy landscape.

View of Maridalsvannet.

I walked up along the Akerselva to Kjelsås, through Brekkedammen park, and around Maridalsvannet.

Maridalsvannet frozen lake.

The view of Maridalsvannet was absolutely stunning. Finally, the lake has frozen over, making it the perfect place to go ice skating.

View of the lake.

I had a nice walk through the forests, where now there are a couple of cross country ski paths too. Fortunately for me, there hasn't been much snow lately, so apart from being quite slippery in places, it was easy to walk the paths. Maybe later on in the season if there is a lot of snow, the trails will only be for cross country skiing.

Winter hiking adventure.

The nice thing about this time of year is that it is slowly starting to get lighter and lighter each day. By now the sun sets at 15:20pm which may still seem very early, but with the snow it doesn't feel too dark when you're outside.

Winter trails through Sander farmland.

Sundays are always so crowded in the city, so I enjoy trying to get out in nature away from the busy paths of the city center. The further I walked, the more trrails I had completely to myself which was nice.

Frozen plants.

The plants were lovely with the little spiky bits of ice and frost glinting in the sunlight.

Winter wonderland.

With the snow covered foliage, the land looked so beautiful and peaceful. 

Frozen landscape of Sander Gård.

The land was quiet apart from my boots hitting the frozen earth. In Norway they don't use salt on the roads, but rather have rocks, or nothing at all once you are out on the trails. It can be quite slippery at times, so it takes a bit to get used to the rhythm of having to walk on the ice.

Frozen river to Maridalsvannet.

Through one snowy farms and across the bridge to another. At this time of year even some of the rivers have frozen over, allowing people to ice skate up and down them.

Nes Gård.

All was quiet on the farm, as the hard work has been done until springtime. As I passed Sander Gård, I noticed two horses outside in the snow. They weren't moving at all, so I wondered if they were frozen. As I passed by, they moved slightly but remained mostly still just bathing in the sunlight. 

View of the lake from Nes Gård.

I had walked around Maridalsvannet once before back in November, but it was nice to get to see how everything now looked with the snow rather than the autumn leaves.

Sunset over the snowy countryside.

Besides taking in the fresh air and getting to explore new areas, one of the reasons I enjoy getting to go outside and walk around is that it gives me the chance to clear my mind, think things over, and get aware from the stresses of school and so forth. I absolutely love nature, so being outdoors is by far where I feel the happiest.

Sunset from the frozen lake.

I got so excited when I was up above hiking around the lake and noticed all of the ice skaters dancing down below. Because Maridalsvannet is the main drinking source for Oslo, there aren't many access points to that lakeside, so it took me quite awhile to actually get down to the ice.

Looking southwards over the frozen lake towards Kjelsås.

If you want easy access to the lakeside but don't feel like walking from Kjelsås through the forests, you can take bus #51 in the direction of Maridalen, and get off at the stop, Kirkeby, which is right after the ruins of St.Margaret's Church.

Footprints over the frozen lake.

Despite not having any ice skates, I didn't want to miss out on getting to experience the frozen lake so I braved the lake in my shoes. I just didn't have too much trouble walking, but just kind of shuffled along exploring the northern shore.

Sunset over Maridalsvannet.

The sunset over the lake was absolutely stunning and I just wanted to stay out all evening taking it in.

The thick ice near the lake shore.

In a couple of places the lake had some thick cracks in the ice where you could see the ice's thickness (at least a few inches in some sections). Even with these cracks, the ice was completely solid, minus some small areas along different sections of shoreline which were still liquid.

Sunset behind Margaretakirkeruinen.

As the sky was painted with rainbow colors, I basked in the beauty of Norway, of earth's natural wonders, and of life itself. With the last day of 2018 arriving tomorrow, I am reminded of how precious each and every day is. As this year comes to a close, I am grateful of all of the opportunities I have been granted this year, and I look for forward to exploring more and continuing to grow as a person come 2019.

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy new year full of many adventures!