When Dan found out that this year was an especiallly active year for the solar activity that results in the Northern Lights, he was determined to go see them. So, he did some internet sleuthing and found a cruise up along the coast of Norway all the way to the Northern Cape, above the Arctic Circle. Normally, we agree on where we want to go, Dan looks up “things to do” and Lisa finds the way to get there, and how to get around. But, when presented with a “I want to take this particular trip” it made that bit of planning so much easier.
So, without much further acknowledgment of the fact that we would be spending early January in the Arctic, we booked the trip!
A Guard at the Castle. We weren’t actually headed there, but wandered through a Christmas market and found ourselves on the grounds. Oslo is a lovely city, and was bustling with activity leading up to New Year’s Eve.The Holiday Lights were still shining, especially with the early sunsets.The Oslo Skyline.A Norwegian Sculptor wanted to create a park to display his ambitious plans for a series of sculptures he had planned. The country didn’t have much money coming out of World War Two, but land was set aside and he began his project. The Vigeland Park remains a popular place in the city all year round. The many sculptures depicting birth, growth, childhood, parenthood, aging, and death are spread around the lovely grounds.The iconic Olympic Ski Jump. It sits high on a hill overlooking the city, surrounded by ski trails and even a biathalon training center. There were some folks taking shots at the targets. It was also very windy and was good preparation for what was to come!We were on a Hurtigruten ship, this one was recently refurbished and is more of a cruise ship than the passenger ferry model some may know about the line. Although it still has an area for cars.The mail delivery vehicle, with an unexpected postal carrier!As we progressed up the coast, snowy weather greeted us.This is a bad photo of the lighted globe that marks the boundry of the Arctic Circle! It was a bit windy on the deck, but we all rushed out there to get our proof!The entrance of Trollfjord, the namesake of our ship. In winter, there is sufficient concern about avalanches that you cannot venture too far in. In the summer, ships are lined up to take folks in.The sun doesn’t officially rise above the Arctic Circle, but it does paint the horizon and light things up for several hours in the day.One of the bridges over the water along the shore. We hadn’t yet seen any Aurora, and I may have made a few jokes about this being our best option.Then, the next night, we had Northern Lights! Again, it was windy and cold on deck, but we all ran out for photos. These were the level where you get a much better sense seeing the lights through your camera lens. To the naked eye they were more gray and whispy. We will likely use that as an excuse to chase them in the future.But, we got some nice motion! The camera adds a fair amount of light, but between the snow, the aurora, and the moon, arctic nights are remarkably bright.Another view of the light you get, even without a sunrise. This is at the North Cape, the northern most point (on a road) of the European Continent, at about 11 am.In the North Cape Visitor’s Center, they have several dioramas of early visitors. Before the road was completed, you had to take a boat and climb up the cliffs. She looks much happier about having to hike up in that crazy get up than I would have!This is as far North as Lisa has made it, Dan has been to the Northernmost city in Alaska, which is a few tenths of a degree higher. Yes, he looked up the coordinates so that could be included here.Walking around at one of our stops, we went came across a cemetary. Some of the paths were cleared, so we took a look. The gravestones in this area were about the same height as the 24 or so inches of snow.This family, however, choose a higher stone. A number of the plots did have lights and lanterns. The church and cemetary were across from a school that was letting out and kids were sledding down a hill as they waited to be picked up. So, we had hoots of laughter and joy to accompany our visit.Another picture that does not come anywhere near doing justice to the sight. This is a nacreous cloud, which occurs sometimes in polar regions where the cloud cover is just right to reflect the sunlight coming over the horizon. Several members of the crew commented that is is more rare than the Aurora. We had the effect all day, and many attempts at photos were made. I hope the ship’s photographer had the right equipment with his camera. He seemed pretty excited to spend the day photographing the sky.Another attempt. If you squint, you can see there is pink, blue, and green up there! We did hit some rough seas one day, this is the library the next morning.Our lovely bartender set up a quick Aquavit tasting after we admitted we had never tried that Nordic apertif. Lisa chose to have a full serving of one made by a distillery founded and run by women. Delicious.
Our trip up the Norwegian coast was a real treat. We found the scenery, the food, the people, and even the weather to be delightful. We both agreed that having 20 days of snowy, cold winter was about perfect!
When the boat broke down the nice lady from England exclaimed "oh goody, an adventure!" That changed the possible problem into a great story and improved attitudes. It has become the motto for our travels. We hope you enjoy the stories as much as we enjoyed the adventure.
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Oh Goody! An Adventure 