Once upona time…

The story of how one lonely sock found its pair.

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Chapter one

Siberia

Our story starts where it’s snowy and very, very cold: in Siberia. Sergei was born in Chelyabinsk, and Evgenia somewhere even colder, where winter lasts half the year and minus thirty is just an ordinary morning.

Maybe that’s why we both love the north so much.

Siberia, in winter

Little Evgenia in a fur coat and a white fur hood in the Siberian snow — Little Evgenia, dressed for minus forty

Chapter two

Sergei

Sergei grew up and set off into the world. He travelled, worked from wherever he happened to be, and was forever looking for socks: the second one of a pair always went missing.

He didn’t know yet that it wasn’t a sock he was looking for.

Sergei in the forest — Sergei, somewhere on the road

Chapter three

Evgenia

Evgenia, meanwhile, had moved to Germany. She lived a quiet life there, until one day she decided she wanted to surf. And not just anywhere: in Morocco.

Somewhere at sea, with company

Evgenia smiling on a sailing yacht — Evgenia, before Morocco

Meanwhile, in Marrakech

Majorelle blue

Before the waves, Evgenia wandered alone through Jardin Majorelle, the garden Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with and later saved. Cobalt walls, yellow pots, cactus everywhere.

Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech

Evgenia in a long floral dress in front of the cobalt-blue and yellow walls of Jardin Majorelle — Evgenia, in Majorelle blue

Chapter four

Morocco

Ocean, boards, sunshine, and somehow Sergei turned up at the very same surf spot. So they started surfing together.

They thought about it, and thought some more, and decided: why not travel together?

Evgenia on a rooftop in Morocco — Evgenia, alone in Morocco. For now.

Evgenia and a friend in wetsuits next to a rack of surfboards, the ocean behind them — Suited up for the waves

Sergei with a surfboard and a donkey in Morocco — Sergei and a local fan

Chapter five

Turkey

Their first real meeting, in Istanbul. They went for a walk, liked each other a lot, and thought: what are we waiting for?

Istanbul

Sergei and Evgenia among the rock towers of Cappadocia — Cappadocia

Chapter six

Georgia

A couple of months later they met again, this time in Georgia. From then on, their roads were the same road.

Chapter seven

And off they went…

And so they travelled together. There were many countries, but we keep coming back to the north: the Nordic countries and the Baltics are where we feel most at home.

Selfie at a holiday concert in Kazakhstan, a singer on stage behind us — Kazakhstan, with a star

Selfie of Evgenia and Sergei above the tiled madrasas of Samarkand — Uzbekistan, Samarkand

Evgenia and Sergei at the crater rim of Mount Vesuvius, the Bay of Naples below — Italy, on top of Vesuvius

Chapter eight

Germany

Half the world later, they decided it was time to unpack. They chose Germany and settled down.

Prost! Moomin mamma and pappa at Oktoberfest

Selfie of Sergei in a yellow beanie pulling a face and Evgenia smiling, autumn hills behind — Germany, autumn

Evgenia and Sergei by an old brick canal wall in a German town — By the canal

Chapter nine

It’s a boy!

One autumn afternoon in Germany, a cloud of blue confetti gave the secret away.

So the third sock was going to be a small blue one.

Evgenia and Sergei under a shower of blue confetti — Blue!

And that’s how

the next chapter began

Hello, Vsevolod. Seva, for short.

Seva, 3 months

Serbia and Montenegro

Seva was barely three months old when the three of us set off for Serbia, and from there took the train to Montenegro. His first big journey.

Since Seva arrived, we travel even more. We’re looking for a new home.

Evgenia and Sergei with baby Seva on a terrace above the Montenegrin coast — Montenegro, the three of us

Sergei holding baby Seva’s feet in little grey socks while Evgenia holds him, under an olive tree in Montenegro — Montenegro. The smallest socks in the family

And then

Denmark

After that came Poland and Italy, by car and by train.

And then Denmark: in the little town of Tønder, the two of us got married. With Seva there, of course.

Tønder, Denmark

Evgenia in a white dress and Sergei in a turquoise jacket walking hand in hand across a bridge in Tønder — Just married

Seva, 6 months

Norway

At six months, his first ship. We sailed the whole length of Norway, all the way up to its northernmost point: Nordkapp.

Seva climbing up to a round porthole on the ship, looking out at the sea — Seva’s window on Norway

The three of us under the globe monument at Nordkapp, Seva in Sergei’s arms — Nordkapp. The top of Europe, at six months

Seva, 11 months

America

At eleven months, the next big trip: America. We landed in San Francisco, then went on to Las Vegas, Arizona, Yosemite, San Diego and Los Angeles, and came full circle back to San Francisco.

Seva, 1 year

countries by his first birthday

And we didn’t stop. By car, by train, by ship and by plane. And very often camping.

Baby Seva sitting in a green tent with a camping pot and a metal mug — Not yet one, already camping

Seva smiling in a wooden camping cabin, a snack in his hand — Camping cabin, snack in hand

Sergei holding Seva inside the big RIGA letters on Town Hall Square, a giant dog statue on top — Riga. Sergei and Seva, in the Baltics again

Now

Seva is two and a half

He’s a big boy now, and he loves nature, travelling and meeting new people. Just like the rest of his family.

By the time we head north he’ll be three, and he’s ready.

Evgenia, Sergei and Vsevolod

What we’re looking for

A home in the north

Since Seva was born, we’ve been looking for a place to put down roots. We’ve tried many countries, and our hearts keep pointing north: to the snow we grew up with, the quiet, the sea and the nature.

Norway is the place we’d love to call home. That’s why the Digital Arctic Nomads competition means so much to us. It could be the start of our next chapter.

Every thread we followed led north.

Coming next

Norway, again

Photos from Norway and the Digital Arctic Nomads project will appear here. The story goes on.