European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Clockwise from upper left reporter Ron Jensen changes a tire after a fencer Bender a pause at a late night Gas station and Coffee shop the glazed surface of a stretch of the Arctic Highway and the View from a ferry South of Narvik where e-6 runs into a fjord. The Back end of the car changed places with the front. And then Back again. It was a spin that would make any Ballet dancer proud. Unfortunately it ended with us slamming into a Snowbank again ending for All time any plans for the Ron Jensen school of Winter driving. This time our rescuer was the Sno plow Driver who attached a Chain to the Back of our Volkswagen passant a the official car of the Winter olympics a and pulled it like a toy Back onto the Road i handed the keys to Gus and confessed defeat Quot Gus if we Are to get to our Mission you must get us  for the rest of the morning we crept along at 20 to 30 Kph pulling to the right to allow every norwegian car and truck to pass All four of our eyes glued to the solid Sheet of ice that was e-6. By Early afternoon we reached the Arctic Circle As if to live up to its name it was encased in Snow which the wind blew into drifts on the Highway and reduced visibility at times to Zero. To pass we had to form a Convoy with five other cars and follow a giant Sno plow for 30 Kilometres or so across the Barren landscape marked Only by boulders poking through the White cover. Just North of the Circle conditions changed again. The Road was suddenly As dry and Clear As Oklahoma in july. We stopped and removed the Snow chains. With a cheer Gus feeling like Chuck Yeager began driving at f 0 Kph. A a a we expected remoteness above the Arctic Circle. We expected infrequent settlements. We thought perhaps Trees would not grow that far North. Maybe there was electricity maybe there was t. Quot you expected igloos a said Peter Norvik senior air traffic controller at the Airport in Bardu Foss 250 Miles above the Circle. Well not igloos. But not discos either. Or pizza places. Or modern Village after modern Village. And definitely not so Many people. About 500,000 of Norway s 4 million people live above the Arctic Circle. One of them is Astrid Teigland who works in the hotel in an Selv. Tasked her if she planned to spend her entire life working there. Quot maybe a she said with a shrug not out of indifference to ambition a she wants to be an artist a but because life is Good. The air is clean. The scenery is grand. And the people have adjusted to the climate. What do you do in the Winter i asked when the temperature can be 30 degrees below Zero and the Snow depth is often measured in Meliv Quot we Don t sit around waiting for summer Quot Astrid said. They ski. They Cut holes in the ice and fish. They Hunt. They dance at the discos. In Short they live. People get around on sleds that look like baby strollers with Long runners. They push them like a Scooter and then place both feet on the runners to Rifle until the momentum wanes. Children ride them to school. Old people go shopping with them. Mothers strap babies to them while doing errands Winter is not Only it old there it is dark i rum late november until late january the Sun is a Rumor. During i february the Days Are eight to nine hours Long but the Sun rises barely above the mountaintops coming up in the Southeast and rolling to the southwestern sky before dropping irom sight Gus and i noticed that Light pours through nearly every window of nearly every House beginning at dusk. Lamps hang in the front windows of Many Homes Quot i ight is life. I Ighel is warmth Quot Norvik explained when we mentioned it. Continued on a age in March is 1990 stripes Magazine 11