Living Life With Passion & Purpose!
Pulling into Gjovik felt like arriving at the North Pole. The snow-covered station, wooden buildings, and quiet winter landscape gave everything a magical, almost storybook feeling. The energy felt completely different here — positive and uplifting. I spotted this woman and child standing on the platform as we arrived. I didn’t know if they were waiting to board or meeting someone, but they added to the peaceful, timeless feel of the moment.
My first impressions of Gjovik were that it was a beautiful, peaceful mountain village. Looking out over the snow-covered houses and rolling hills, everything felt calm and quiet. It had a very different energy from the bigger cities I had been in — slower, cleaner, and almost storybook-like in the winter light.
Gjovik had its own ski jump area, and Katrine took me to see it. Once I stood there and saw how high the athletes start from and how far they fly through the air, my respect for them increased exponentially. It was truly amazing to witness.
I couldn’t believe my luck — there was actually a ski jumping competition going on while I was there. Katrine and I joined the crowd of spectators and watched the athletes fly down the ramps and soar through the air. Seeing it live, with the snow falling and the crowd cheering, made the whole experience even more exciting. It was one of those unexpected highlights of the trip.
We climbed all the way to the top of the ski jump platform, and the view from up there was incredible. Looking down at how far the athletes launch and how steep the landing hill is really put everything into perspective. Each part of this experience gave me a new, profound respect for these athletes. Being up that high made me realize just how crazy and skilled they have to be to do what they do.
When I had the chance to stand right at the top of the ski jump where the athletes launch, my reaction was instant and unanimous. My head, my gut, my heart, and everything else all screamed the same thing at the same time: NO FREAKING WAY!!
I’ve always considered myself pretty adventurous, but looking down that steep ramp made me realize these ski jumpers are operating on a completely different level of crazy. This was the moment they officially became, in my mind, the most insane athletes I could think of.
Safely back down on solid ground after standing at the top of the ski jump, I took this photo of Katrine’s daughter. Instead of being pushed in a stroller like kids back home, she was happily being pulled along in a sled through the snow.
