Northern Lights Adventure -

Tromsø

Wikipedia says Tromsø is ‘the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the third largest north of the Arctic Circle’. There is a bridge and a tunnel connecting the centre to the mainline and another bridge to the Island of Kvaloya.

Tromsø bridge as seen from Fjellheisen Cable Car station

It is supposed to be milder than other areas on the same latitude thanks to the North Atlantic Drift (which also keeps England and, more specifically, where I live wet and warm).

However, don’t be fooled. In January, it is still COLD with a ‘daily mean temperature of minus 3 degrees Celsius (26.6 Fahrenheit). So why would tourists venture here in the polar night . . . the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) .

Lights over Storsteinnes

Most people think of holidays as somewhere warm . . . perhaps to sit on the beach and chill . . . I mean relax, recuperate from life and catch up on a book or two. We were certainly ‘chilling’. . . feeling the cold through the thermals, thick jumpers, coats that make everyone look ten sizes bigger than they actually are, thick socks, walking boots and the occasional crampons (there is ice underneath that snow).

The previous year, we had been on a cruise giving us a tantalising glimpse of these natural lights caused by ‘solar particles colliding with atmospheric gases’. The ship had been damaged, therefore, didn’t get past Bergen. Disappointed, we decided to go on our own adventure booking flights to Tromsø – mid January.

Snow_covered_pedestrian_street_Storgata_in_Tromsø_with_shops_and_cafés_illuminated_by_Christmas_lights

Winter scene on Storgata in Tromsø with festive lights and snow and ice covered streets

Snow_and_ice_covered_Storgata_pedestrian_street_corner_in_Tromsø

Café_on_Storgata_in_Tromsø_with_outdoor_seating

Storgata – Main Street and table outside cafe

Excitement

So having arrived at the airport with cases (always a plus/relief), we grab a taxi, “Clarion Hotel The Edge” please. Now in England, once Twelfth Night has past, all Christmas decorations come down including (mostly) fairy/string lights; not so in Tromso.

As we are driven past houses, the darkness is lit by houses still in their winter regalia of lights; some with a single light in each window. Then came the chit-chat from the taxi driver. As he peered through the windscreen, he decides that, yes, there are Northern Lights over Tromsø. We both looked at each other and nodded. Both in agreement that this was the tourist ‘banter’ of someone earning his fare. That is until we arrive . . . and look up. There was Northern Lights overhead; visible to the eye green tracks dancing in the sky overhead. Our jaws dropped . . . we had heard that this wasn’t possible in large urban areas ie light pollution. The taxi driver smiled; tourists! What do they know?

Pictures of the Aurora Borealis

How long does it take to dump your bags (checking from the bedroom window across the fjord that they are still happening) and run outside with a camera?! No bouncing ship, no elbow to elbow with other passengers trying to glimpse something through a view finder (camera/iPhone). This was the real thing and the beginning of our week of adventure.

Northern Lights at Storsteinnes

Northern Lights over Oteren

Fjelheisen

What I hadn’t appreciated was the darkness. Here in the south west of England, it gets light around 8 am and the sun sets around 4.30 pm. In Tromsø, the sun does not rise until 21st January (and only for a brief moment on the horizon). For us as amateur photographers, this means you get a long twilight effect extending the ‘blue’/‘magic’ time . . . subject to weather conditions.

It still messes with you head that you only get an average of just over 3 hours of daylight. You notice the rush of locals out walking (some with/some without dogs) to get their daily dose of vitamin D. One day, we took the shuttle bus to the cable car (Fjelheisen – one of the recommended top 10 things to do) and happened on a day with clear views down to the city, across to the pink skies and mountains and down the valley to the west towards what would normally be a setting sun.