With its mountains, fjords and forests, Norway represents one of our planet’s many faces. This land on the western side of the Scandinavian peninsula has cold, dark winters. For a large portion of the year, the frost makes the ground go hard as rock – and snow and ice cover the surface. The further into the land you get, the colder and more snow-rich the landscape will be.

The winter has many downsides for the living beings struggling to survive; but with spring comes a wonderful transformation. As the sun takes hold, the snow melts and turns into water.

First it moves through the undergrowth in the shape of small creeks – coming from all corners of the mighty surroundings. From the top of the mountains, the creeks run, find each other and turn into streams, rivers and waterfalls. Faster and more furious they flow until they reach undulating plains – or find the ocean itself.

There have been years where drought has ruined the farmer’s crops, but they are few and far between.

However, through the centuries the Norwegians have also experienced famine and disaster. Usually, not as a result of the lack of water, quite the opposite. Spring floods have washed away whole communities. Summers full of rain soaked the ground and ruined the growth. Only a single calamity could take years to recover from. And if such blows came year upon year, then the people became weak and perished.

Despite hardship, through the millennia the Norwegians have come to love the sound of clean, running and life-giving water. Just like all the elements of the magnificent landscape they live in. It is part of their soul, and strong sense of home and deep-rooted belonging.