nordlichthc Ulrike Heinrich

About me

I think by now I've been called "kind" more often than "weird", so yay. Usually happy to help out, but not a very social person. If you respect my need for quiet and alone-time, I can be up for long and funny/inspiring conversations. My main passions are nature and people(s) of the North and in general, and how to make the world a better place.

- For those who are wondering... "Nordlicht h.c." ("honorary Northerner") is a "title" awarded to me by a northern German friend.

Spoken languages

• German ^{Mother Tongue}
• English ^Fluent
• Norwegian Bokmål ^Fluent
• French ^Intermediate
• Finnish ^Beginner
• Icelandic ^Beginner

My interests

Hobbies:

long walks on the beach (bring a tent.), hiking in the mountains, skiing, rowing, sailing, activism, silliness, sustainability, wilderness, indigenous peoples, positive psychology, herbs and medicinal plants, improving myself and stuff

Books:

non-fiction on environmental and social issues, ask me for recommendations

Music:

Yes please, unless it's too noisy, cheap pop, or electronic... Indie, rock, singer/songwriter, punk, folk, bluegrass, oh it depends.

Films:

I know very few, but prefer funny and smart ones, or documentaries... Some examples: Mr. Deeds goes to town, Dogma, Soul kitchen, HAPPY... Weird Scandinavian comedies.

Organisations I belong to:

Framtiden i våre hender ("The future in our hands"), amnesty international, Greenpeace

Travel experiences

Past trips:

My idea was to discover the world by starting where I grew up (geographically and culturally) and then increasing my radius. So by now I've seen different regions in Germany, all of Germany's neighbour countries, the "old" EU, some of the newer EU members, and some of the rest of Europe. I feel most comfortable in the North, so I've lived in Iceland and Finland. I moved to Northern Norway in 2010 and this is where I want to stay.

Planned trips:

None, I don't feel like leaving this place at all. If there's a big enough reason (Christmas at my grandparents', exciting workshop...), I travel by bus and train, hitch-hiking, ferry, or sailing :)

Belongs to the following groups

Environmentalists

I love nature, and I'm intrigued by simple as well as sophisticated technology to make things more efficient and thus ecologically friendly. There are so many great inventions out there which could - to be dramatic - save the world - we just have to use them.

gluten-free travellers

I found out that it was gluten that made me sick in 2006, and I've been on a very restricted diet since then. I haven't let that keep me from doing an interrail trip all around Europe, sailing trips, staying with friends and strangers without causing much trouble, traveling through countries where no special diet foods would be available... but it would have been a lot easier if there was more information available.

Hitchhiking

I've only hitchhiked in Iceland so far, because a) I suck at orientation and there's no way to get lost on the Icelandic ring road... b) my mother always urges me to let her pay me flights so I won't have to "risk my life" as a single female hitchhiker ;) But... it's addictive.

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