My review of 2022
2022
The 2022 year had different sides for me. One was very sad. In February, it began a war in Ukraine just behind the border of my home country Poland. I saw a lot of moving and striking relations. In the photos and videos, I saw a lot of struggles, fights, pain, suffering, blood, deaths… However, I also saw and heard about the brave, heroic actions of unbreakable Ukrainians. I support these brave people by sharing reliable news and by supporting trusted organisations providing military or medical equipment (for more details posts ‘Support Ukraine’ and ‘Holiday Support’).
2022, however, also had several nice sides. After two years of the pandemic, I was finally able to travel. I visited Poland several times and for the first time, I went to Italy. Furthermore, I attended several concerts (i.e. Wardruna, Rammstein, Kalush/Kalush Orchestra). I discovered numerous wonderful Ukrainian artists (see posts ‘Support Ukrainian Artists’ and ‘Photographers of War’). I kayaked in Oslofjord as well as I walked, ran, in-line skated to different parts of Oslo and Rzeszów. For the first time ever, I shoot with a gun and rifle at the rifle range. I learned the basics of Ukrainian language. I also took numerous photos showing mostly landscapes of Norway and Poland. I also took photos with my mobile phone which I posted on my Instagram and in Instagram highlights ‘I Oslo’, ‘Rzeszów 2022’, ‘Poland 2022’ and ‘PL 2022/2023’. Finally, on the 13th of October, I submitted my PhD thesis.
It happened a lot from January to the end of September, I described events of these months in the post ‘Third Year of PhD Project’ on my research blog ‘Viking Age Birds’.
October
In early October, I corrected the manuscript of my PhD thesis to submit it before the deadline. In the early morning of 13th October, I submitted my thesis to the University of Oslo. I devoted the post ‘Submission of the PhD Thesis’ to this matter. Remained days of October, I spent preparing for the tasks in the fourth year of PhD studies. I also went on numerous short walks during which I took photos with my mobile phone.
On 29th October, it was a beautiful, autumnal day. Therefore, I decided to go on a photo walk. During this pleasant walk, I took numerous photos of several beautiful parts of Oslo. I included these in the post ‘Høstlig Oslo’.
On the morning of 30th October during breakfast, I broke part of my tooth with an old fill. Unfortunately, I was not able to go to a dentist in Oslo. I decided to manage this in Poland. I consulted the Leader of the Archaeological Section and I booked a plane for the next day. During my flight to Poland, I took photos of Poland from above that, I included in the post ‘Unplanned Travel’.
November
I planned to start part of my tasks related to the fourth year this month. However, due to an incident with my tooth, I had to postpone them. During my stay, in Poland, I was occupied with checking and editing text which will be published in the book related to the EAA session that I co-hosted (more details on the session in the post ‘EAA 2021: Session 141’).
During my stay in Poland, I also went on numerous walks alone or with my dog. During one of them, on the 7th of November, I had the opportunity to observe beautiful sunrise over my home city Rzeszów.
On the 12th of November, I visited the nice city Łańcut. I went there for a short walk with my mum and dog.
In the early morning of 18th November, I took a plane back to Oslo. During my travel, I had the opportunity to observe, beautiful sunrise over clouds (see post ‘Sunrise above Clouds’).
On the 21st of November, I went for my regular daily walk. However, beyond seeing nice Christmas decorations in the centre of Oslo, I observed something unusual. In the harbour, was an aircraft carrier. I observed this impressive ship from distance. After my walk, I checked the news. It turned out that this was the British ship named HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08).
On the 22nd of November, I walked to the harbour of Oslo to see the HMS Queen Elizabeth closer. I took several photos of it. I also documented ships that assisted this aircraft carrier.
During several of my daily walks, I observed that there are removed scaffoldings around ‘Oslo Treet’ (a nice art installation). On the 30th of November, I took several photos of it and made a short video.
December
In the last month of the year, I spent in Oslo and Rzeszów. On the 5th of December, I took a plane to Kraków. In the terminal of Oslo-Gardermoen airport, I observed several nice decorations.
Furthermore, during my flight, I had the opportunity to observe the nice sunrise and beautiful landscapes of Norway and Poland (see post ‘Clouds and Mountains’).
On the 8th of December, I participated in the World for Ukraine Summit (W4UA) at G2A Arena in Rzeszów. During this interesting event, I had the opportunity to talk to several people from different humanitarian organisations. I also saw a photo exhibition showing the cruelties of war in Ukraine. In the evening, I participated in a fantastic concert by Kalush and Kalush Orchestra.
In December, I went for numerous alone walks as well as with my dog. During some of them, I was able to take photos with my mobile phone.
On 18 December, I celebrated my 31 birthday. In the morning I went for a 10 km walk to the centre of Rzeszów. I went to my favourite coffee Powoli Café where I tasted amazing coffee and rested after the walk.
Later, I had dinner in a nice restaurant. After a good meal, I went to the rifle range. It was a very productive and fascinating time. I am really happy that I could try different weapons and shoot for different distances.
On the 19th of December, I went for another nice walk with my dog.
On the 23rd of December, I was on another walk with my dog.
This year, after nearly three years of break, I was able to spend this special time together with my family. On 24th December, I had a festive dinner with my family. We had inter alia sour soup ‘żurek’ with mushrooms which we always eat on this day. In the glasses is a traditional drink: compote made of dried fruits (pears, apples and prunes). On the morning of the 25th of December, I went for an 8 km run in the rain. It was a really nice experience.
On 28th December, it was nearly spring weather. Therefore, I used this opportunity and went for another walk with my dog.
On the 30th of December, I took several photos of my dog while she rested after a walk with my mum.
I decided to spend the last day of the year actively. Therefore, in the morning I went with my dog for a walk. This time we walk to the centre of Rzeszów. After 9 km kilometres, we took a break in my favourite café in my hometown – Powoli Café. In this very cosy, dog-friendly place we spent some time resting and enjoying the nice atmosphere. I tasted tasty coffee and my dog get fresh water. After this pleasant time, we returned home in a car with my mother.
In the early afternoon, I tasted nice Ukrainian borscht (Борщ) which was made by my mum. The rest of the day and night, I spent relaxing, watching movies and listening to my favourite music.
If you ask me how I spent the last minutes and seconds of 2022, I answer you I spend them watching moving New Year’s address by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
If you ask me how I spent the last minutes and seconds of 2022, I answer you I spend them watching moving New Year’s address by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I cried. I thought while watching it, about all these people who are at this moment in shelters, who are separated from their families, who lost their relatives and friends, who are now in captivity, who bravely defend Ukraine, who rescuing lives at the frontlines and in hospitals, and about all other Ukrainians who in different ways fight russian occupiers. From the bottom of my heart, I wish Ukrainians:
перемо́гу у 2023 році!
For the end of this post a little summary and stats of 2022
Countries Visited: Italy, Poland.
New Skills: Basics of Ukrainian language, basics of gun and rifle shooting, knowledge of basic military tactics.
2022 in Music: This year was dominated by Ukrainian music. I started to listen to artists from this country in late February to express my support for brave Ukrainians during the war. However, day by day, month by month, I discovered more and more wonderful songs. I created several playlists on Spotify to return to these pieces. My favourite Ukrainian bands and soloists are Antytila/Антитiла, Kalush, Okean Elzy/Океан Ельзи, Колос, Kalush/Kalush Orchestra, Go_A, Fiolet/Фіолет, BoomBox/Бумбокс, Krutь, and Skofka. On the last day of the year, I can say honestly, I fell in love with these sounds and lyrics. Below is a Spotify playlist which includes Ukrainian songs which I liked the most.
2022 in Sport: In the matter of sports this year was very active for me. According to apps that I use, I walked 2.479 km, run 39.30 km, cycled 335 km, paddled over 30 km, in-line skated 143 km, and spent over 2000 minutes on various workouts. In total this year, I devoted 37.676 minutes to various sports activities.
Hrafn Photography 