I Saw the Light

"I saw the light, I saw the light. No more darkness. No more night. Now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight.   Praise the Lord, I saw the light." _{-Hank Williams}

I did! I saw the Light. Or should I say, the Lights. Of the Northern variety. I saw the Northern Lights. As in, the Aurora Borealis. And, not just any Northern Lights. I saw genuine inside-the-Arctic-Circle, hunkered down, freezing-my-bohunkus-off Northern Lights.

Now I can check that adventure off the ole Bucket List.

I have had the desire and the means to travel a lot recently. I'm always looking for the next best place to go. The idea for an Arctic Northern Lights trip was hatched when I read that unusually high solar activity would create prime conditions for exceptionally active Aurora Borealis in winter of 2024-2025. While my area of the southern US briefly flirted with some you-can-see-it-through-your-camera-not-with-the-naked-eye Northern Lights recently, I was determined to see legit full-on Northern Lights in the deep dark sky. Through research, I discovered Tromso, Norway as one of the top 3 places in the world for viewing Northern Lights. Tromso, lattitude of 69deg N, which is 217 miles (350k) above the Arctic Circle, on the northern tip of Norway. Tromso, a city that holds a record for the world’s northernmost university, and cathedral, and brewery, and McDonalds, and botanical gardens, and 7-Eleven, and TV studio, and tango club, and much much more.... A remote location that provided a very happenin’ town. (See map below--yellow star marks the spot.)

Do you know how they describe something that is inexpensive or affordable by saying that it won’t break the bank? Well, Tromso WILL break the bank, because Norway is an expensive country to visit. It just is. Tromso is a tourist destination, and visitors from around the world  clammer to enjoy the arctic adventures that await. We were willing to accept the fact that Tromso leans into tourism, costs would be high, tour buses would be driving around everywhere, and we would encounter many other people on this experience. We agreed to deal with all of that, so that we could search the New Moon skies for the elusive celestial display.

It paid off. Big time. We loved every minute of our trip to Tromso, Norway. My husband, sister, daughter and her boyfriend, and I ventured to the top of the world to see the Northern Lights, and so much more.

Due to its location on the Norwegian Sea, with mild Gulf Stream waters, temperatures in Tromso were cold, but not extreme. Don’t get me wrong, it was icy cold, often very windy; but during our stay, it never dipped below 24deg F (-4C). We were as prepared as we could be, with all the cold weather, snow, and ice gear that we needed. Polar Nights (when the sun doesn’t rise) had just ended a few days before we got there. During our week, there was about 4.5 hours of sunlight per day, with the sun hovering about 5 degrees above horizon. The sun rose about 9:30am, skirted across the horizon a little ways, and then set about 2:00pm.

We found Norwegian people to be very friendly, often blunt. Everyone spoke English very well. They shared their love for the spectacular surroundings. All were active, encouraging us to go places and do things in their homeland. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with each and every Norwegian we encountered. Throughout the trip, we were constantly on the go. We didn't get a chance to do some adventures we had hoped for, like Whale Watching, but there were only so many hours in a day, and we did all that we could with the time that we had.

The landscape was breathtakingly gorgeous. We visited fjords, outcroppings, frozen lakes, beaches, and tiny villages.

Our Airbnb was outside of the city and across the way. Even though there was a reliable public transportation network, we rented a car to give us the flexibility we were accustomed to. Because of winter driving conditions, we didn’t venture too far away, so as to avoid driving on challenging icy roads. Our first day in Tromso, we saw a small display of Northern Lights from the balcony of our Airbnb. The nearby city lights washed out the colors a little, but we were excited about our first sighting.

We spent several hours at an indigenous Sami tribe Reindeer Camp, where we mingled with and fed the reindeer. We learned about Sami culture, and (yikes!) ate Reindeer Stew. I wasn't a fan of the stew -- it was very gamey, but their Salmon Salad was the best food we had all week.

Our biggest meltdown of the trip was when we inadvertently drove into Tromso's intricate underground tunnel parking area, which we did not understand at all. After dropping and losing the parking ticket that the entrance machine spat out, our carload went into full chaos as we all shouted directions for traversing the complex side-tunnel mazes, trying to exit the tunnel and get the hell out of here. None of us had the slightest idea what we were talking about, but we managed to get ourselves out of the tunnel, and then begged the intercom attendant not to charge our ticketless car for our accidental ingress. Thankfully, he opened the exit gate and let us go.

After that blunder, we found an above ground parking space near our tour meeting point. When the tour ended hours later, as we walked back to claim our car, we noticed a police parking attendant pulling into the lot, so we hurried our steps and caught her just before she approached our car. Ooops, we were parked illegally.  But, the talkers in our group started conversing with the attendant, and soon she was pulling out her phone to show us pictures of her village and encouraging us to go and see the magnificent view of the fjords in that area. She admitted that she had been running late, and if she had arrived at the parking lot on time, she would definitely have ticketed us, but, now? Nah.  Whew! We dodged a bullet. Apparently, parking can be an issue, and parking fines for tourists can be quite steep in Tromso. We got lucky on that one.

Later, once we saw an actual map of the layout of the underground parking tunnels, it all made sense. Thereafter, we were able to confidently maneuver through the batcave, and park strategically, so that we walked out of the tunnel at just the right spot, close to our intended destinations in the city. And we all agreed that the underground parking tunnel was genius.

The city of Tromso was a bit congested, bustling with tourists. Restaurants filled up quickly. But, we had plenty of room to explore. Excursions took us to places that were expansive, open, and free. When we ventured away from the city, there were only a handful of co-explorers. We didn't feel crowded at all, because there was room enough for everyone to enjoy the environment and all it had to offer.

On the night of our Northern Lights excursion, we joined our tour guides, donned polar suits, and went way out in the wilderness, away from city lights. The night was clear and cold. Stars filled the vast sky, more stars that I have ever seen. As soon as the grayish-green Northern Lights appeared, we all rushed to photograph them. But then, the bright green colors came alive, and the lights grew and intensified, and grew and intensified, and grew and intensified, again, and again, and again. We turned our heads around and around to catch the lights as they appeared first over here, then over there. For four hours, the Northern Lights streamed and swirled and rippled and danced across the sky. The entire sky. North, south, east, west, up, down, and all around. Except for the little corner of the sky which Orion guarded with his star-studded belt and weapon. That small starry section of the sky stayed dark. But, the rest of the sky was simply brilliant. We all were giddy with excitement.

We were completely blown away by the magnificent lights. More than we could ever have imagined. Even our tour guides were gushing over the beautiful, beautiful display. They were rushing to be photographed among the colors, just as much as we were. The guides reminded us that people are often disappointed because the lights don't appear. They emphasized how really lucky we were on that night's excursion. By all accounts, the sky was quite exceptional.

Our trip to Norway had a few bonus adventures. Tromso isn't the easiest place in the world to get to, requiring many stops along the way. So, thanks to my clever planning, we were able to spent two nights (one coming, one going) in Zurich, Switzerland. Ohhh, that cheese fondue-- luscious and gooey! Then, thanks to Mother Nature's whimsical shenanigans, we got stuck, er, enjoyed a fun whirlwind overnight in Amsterdam. We made the most of that evening, too!

If you’ve read anything about me, you might know that I am a flipflop-wearing beach girl at heart.  Norway's winter wonderland was way outside of my comfort zone. It was darn cold, especially when the wind was roaring, and when we spent hours outside in the elements at night. I sacrificed my fingers and toes to weather the cold, but I was willing to suffer. (No frostbite, just tingly cold.) I was determined to have a Northern Lights adventure, and I had to face the frigid weather to do it. The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacular experience!! I will never forget the amazing beauty of the land. And, I could never replicate the overwhelming excitement of that magnificent Northern Lights display.

Norway will forever be in my heart.