1000 days at Zackenberg

Today, I am rounding 1000 days at Zackenberg Research Station. For the last eight years and a few months, Zackenberg has been a big part of my life, and I feel very privileged to have been able to spend so much time in what I consider the greatest little place on earth. I have met many wonderful people here and had some fantastic experiences with nature; most of them pleasant, many of them exiting and a few of them somewhat dangerous. Working and living for long periods in the world's largest national park is very special. What is going on in the outside world is no longer that interesting but the weather condition and the state of the nature certainly is; where the musk oxen are, how the foxes are doing, whether this year had more snow than previous years becomes hugely important. The senses are amplified and you live in "the now" and almost get a "personal" relation with the place. The more time you spend the stronger this relation grows. Some people may think it would be boring to spend so much time in such a moderately little place but every year brings new experiences; nature is wonderfully diverse and never the same.