It has been a strange and difficult few days over here in Norway, almost like a bad dream that you are hoping you are going to wake up from soon.
To hear about the bomb in Oslo was shocking enough for this peaceful nation but to be closely followed by the horrific shootings of teenagers on the nearby island Utoeya really was beyond belief.
As a British expat living in Norway one of the most amazing things about living in this beautiful country is how safe you feel. The BBC described Norway as losing its innocence following this attack. Perhaps Norway has been a little naive with some of its security arrangements but as the perpetrator turned out to be a Norwegian I think it is much more tragic than that. Norwegians have such pride in their country that for one of their own people to cause such devastation and sorrow is almost like breaking some silent rules that have up until now been set in stone. 

Going round the supermarket yesterday was a surreal experience, the shoppers going about their business as usual but the normal background noise of chatter amongst shoppers was missing. We are most definately a nation in mourning.  
The horrific incidents of Friday 22nd July will take a long time to recover from, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends that have lost loved ones.

To add to the difficult time Norway is currently experiencing many of us here in the districts of Telemark and Buskerud awoke in the early hours of this morning to find that the huge amount of rain we have been suffering from has caused massive flooding of the lakes. Fields full of crops, roads, railway tracks, and houses have been destroyed by the extensive flooding, and the rain hasn't stopped yet. Here are a few pictures we took in our local area (Notodden) this morning:

With a further week of rain predicted it is worrying to think what the extent of the damage will be by the end of it.

One thing I am sure of though is that the Norwegians will remain strong and pull together to rebuild their beautiful country.