Dear friends. Today I'm reviewing a memoir from fellow blogger Nicole Mölders. I've long been in awe of the multi-talented Nicole. She is an Emerita Professor of Atmospheric Science, an author, lifestyle blogger at High Latitude Style, and an artist.
In this autobiography Nicole shares how she and her husband left Leipzig in Germany to live in Alaska, US.
The story is quite surprising: the move was sudden. After interviews over 3 days Nicole was offered a job she had seen advertised in a scientific journal.
Her husband, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramm, readily agreed to the move, even though he had never been there and the couple knew little about the place, except that it was cold.
Soon they, their cat and worldly possessions were on their way to Fairbanks.
I enjoyed reading about Alaska, its extremes of temperature. and its differences from European habits and culture.
When Nicole moved there, in 2001, electric cars were a far-off dream, yet the cars in Alaska were plugged in. They had a form of heater which was plugged in to keep the engine and battery warm when temperatures plunge to below minus 25 Fahrenheit (minus 31.7 celcius). Every car had a plug hanging out of its hood.
Nicole has always been a dedicated follower of fashion so she was horrified to see the clothes and shoes in a big store which had been recommended to her. She was convinced she wouldn't need, or buy, the mukluk shoes and huge down coats, convinced the coats made her look huge. She eventually discovered that an insulated "skinny" skirt and down jacket would be a good solution.
If you're wondering about the title of the book, the first thing people ask at social events in Alaska is how many winters you have spent there. Anyone with less than 20 winters is considered a Cheechako in what's called "sourdough status". Once you have exceeded 20 years, you become a sourdough, hence the title of the book.
Social events in Alaska always have a fixed start and end time. If people linger after 10.30pm, the hosts may start talking about their sceptic tank to try to force an exit.
The ferociously cold weather means that people have to spend days on end at home because it's too cold to go out. As a result, many people learn how to play an instrument or take up painting, knitting, beading or quilting, with their output being sold in the summer at farmers' markets and hotel gift stores.
It's an insightful glimpse of an entirely different life, and the illustrations by Nicole, are charming.
Buy Coming to Alaska: A Journey from Cheechako to Sourdough by Nicole Mölders
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