Norway? No Way!

With one night in Oslo before heading north to the Arctic Circle, I decided to head to the city centre. Passing through town I stopped at the Christmas Market, bought a beer, and sat watching people ice-skate. As the temperature dropped, I decided it was time to head back towards my hostel. Stopping in a couple of little bars on the way, drinking some local brews, I realised an early night would be a good idea. My stay in Oslo was short, however I had my heart set on going north with the hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis.

The approach to Tromso airport is the most amazing approach I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The frozen islands surrounded by snow covered mountains, bright blue lakes and a dark, deep blue sea, produced one of the biggest smiles I had ever had. As we touched down I realised I had achieved one of my child-hood dreams and was standing in the Arctic. Exploring the beautiful town of Tromso before checking into my hostel, I spotted a sign for a Whale Spotting tour, unfortunately it meant an early start the next day. The town it’s self is pretty, the mountains to the south shields the winter sun from the town, meaning the town only gets a few hours of twilight every day. As stunning as the town was, there was one thing that was putting a slight dampener on my mood, the sky was full of clouds. In order to see the Northern Lights I would need clear skies. After a quick pizza in the local pizza restaurant, I headed to a couple of bars. First stop had an open fire, was quiet and playing some classic 80’s rock songs, buying a pint of Mack (the local beer), I soon realised I had paid £11 for the pint…..Norway was going to be expensive. Moving to the next bar, The Bastard, I had another few Macks before moving to a more lively sports bar. After quite a few more drinks (and a lot of Krone), I decided to turn in for the night. Unfortunately keeping my eyes on the sky I was disappointed as the cloud cover appeared to be thicker than earlier in the day. It is difficult to get up when the sun doesn’t rise high enough. It’s tough getting up after consuming a large volume of beer, aquavit and whisky. It’s hard to get out of a warm bed knowing it’s freezing outside. However I was keen not to waste my time in the arctic, so got out of bed I did. An early rise the next day, I made my way to the harbour (via a coffee shop) and managed to go whale watching. Standing on a boat in the middle of the Norwegian Sea as the cold arctic wind cuts to the bone, sipping a hot earl grey and watching Orca and Humpback Whales swim and splash and breach, I realised that it was worth getting up early. That night I had booked a dog sledge tour. Thor and Odin smiled upon me that night. As I arrived at the kennels, the clouds disappeared. The dogs were beautiful, friendly and a delight to be with. However the Aurora was nowhere to be seen. Arriving back at the kennels, the tour group had organised tea and food. While waiting on the stew, I decided to go see the dogs. Suddenly, the dogs started barking, then the sky exploded. I wish I could explain it, however my words could never do justice to the sheer breath-taking majesty of the sky. “I saw it. It was perfect. I can’t believe how amazing it is. Photos can’t do it justice.” – Aaron (me) from my travel note pad.