The proverbial bucket list is full of different wonderings and wishes. Whom among us doesn’t have a short list either in your head or written down? For our family, it is constantly evolving and changing year to year, anything can inspire an idea for the bucket list. Yet, this one item continued to come up as a strongly desired opportunity, to see the Aurora Borealis or referred to as The Northern Lights.
One would think there is endless possibilities to take in the Aurora Borealis. Enthusiasts look to Iceland, Finland, Norway, Alaska and Canada as possible destinations to capture the glimpse of a lifetime. After countless hours of research one thing became very clear, go for the destination in hopes to see the Aurora.
What makes Aurora sighting so special? It is a combination of the Earth and Sun magic connectivity with the Earth’s magnetic field interacting with charged particles from the sun. Well, that is how science describes it at least. Each night the color of the Aurora will vary and the visibility is truly dependent on the weather at the destination. Further the Aurora Borealis is visible only in the northern hemisphere with the best viewing possibilities above the Arctic Circle. A similar phenomenon takes place in the southern hemisphere, near Antarctica, they are called Aurora Australis. The Aurora is always active, but the visibility is greatest in the northern hemisphere from September to March.
The other not so obvious aspect of sighting the Aurora is the weather. How winter hearty are you? Do you crumble at the sight of -5 Celsius during the day? How about -15 Celsius for a night time low? Brrr…baby it is cold outside! Yet extremely cold temperatures electrify the Aurora.
We decided on Tromso, Norway for a 3-day getaway in late February. We fully accepted that we may end up relaxing in our rental apartment as the weather took its course. Weather aside, Tromso has a lot to offer from interesting city scape to museums to a very lively restaurant scene and the mountains a very short distance away. Tromso is located 350 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and is the largest city in northern Norway.
During our short time in Tromso we toured the Polaria aquarium, which offered interesting regional sea life as well as a wonderful video on the Aurora Borealis. From there we meandered along the water, looking at the strong vessels awaiting their return to the sea and taking in the landscape further afield. We wandered through the downtown area taking in all the interesting sites, the centrally positioned square with an understated wooden church. Even in the winter this central square was full of activity as people crossed the city on foot or stopped to chat with a friend. The city has a wonderful restaurant scene that attracts some of the most talented chefs with a strong desire to use regional products for their gourmet dishes. Every meal was a gastronomic adventure for the senses, each restaurant was as strong as the previous in the variety of locally sourced food offered on their small menu, yet we were still negotiating who was ordering which dish!
As our visit to Tromso was centered on seeing the Aurora Borealis, we booked a tour company that ensures seeing them as well as learning how to use DSLR cameras to take photos of the Aurora. We set out early in the evening, at 17:30, in a modern well-appointed minibus. As with most tours, the guides and group were a wonderful mix of personalities and nationalities. The young guide from Belgium, who moved to Norway as he fell in love with the country, had a wonderful repertoire with the driver; who is from Poland and extremely friendly and attentive to the visitor’s needs. The tour group, 10 people total, journeyed from near and far – England, Dubai, Thailand and ourselves from Prague.
As we set off from Tromso the guide informs us they have researched the weather and knew of a few locations to set up camp for the evening. We had at least an hour drive to the designated area. It was a relaxing ride north of Tromso on a 2-lane highway. The road connected the northern most points of Norway to southern points in the country as well as Sweden.
We arrived to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Seriously, the moon, the stars, complete silence and beautiful glistening snow at a cool -20C. Winter perfection. We couldn’t wait to get out there! The rest were a bit more reserved and proceeded with caution. Luckily for all of us the tour company provides all the winter hardy jackets, ski suits and boots to survive the extreme cold.
The Aurora started off gently with a purple glow on the horizon. We didn’t see this until at least an hour into looking for it; by then, some had tired of the cold so they returned to the warm minibus to regroup. It eventually changed to a light green and intensified as the night went on. It was gorgeous. We frolicked in the snow while enjoying the Aurora.
Much to our surprise, our guides built a small fire for everyone to sit around and enjoy some bear stew. We enjoyed warming by the fire while we sat on moose skin that were laid on the snow. We shared stories of our lives and how this has been an incredible night. After a few more photos of the wonderful Aurora we set off around midnight, back to Tromso.
On our drive back, we encountered a tourist who decided to set up her tripod and camera in the middle of the road to catch the Aurora. The driver was so concerned he actually stopped the vehicle and went to talk to the tourist. Folks, this was one of the craziest things we have ever seen… driving a black car, all dressed in black clothing, standing in the middle of a road that has zero light and cars driving well over 120 km/hour.
About 30 minutes outside of Tromso the guide insisted we pull over as the Aurora was spectacular. Mind you this is now about 1am and we were all sleeping in the warm minibus. They identified a small road to turn off on and where we could safely view and take photos. The bright green color of the Aurora dancing in the sky was so incredible to take in. We were so appreciative the guide team insisted on stopping. We wished it would never end!
The 9-hour Aurora Borealis adventure was incredible, memorable and one we will do again. As we departed our Tromso apartment very, very early in the morning, we were fortunate to have yet one more beautiful glimpse of the dancing Aurora right above the apartment. So much love Aurora, you made our trip extremely special.
Travel Information:
Flight: Norwegian Airlines from Prague to Tromso with a connection in Oslo.
Hotel/Apartment: Enter Tromso Hotels & Apartments.
Northern Lights Tour: Chasing Lights
Kim, an IWAP member, has lived in Prague for several years with her family. An American who left her career for two years to give expat life a chance and still going strong 12 years later. Kim enjoys sharing her love of travel and exploring new countries with her family or venturing off by herself.
