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Catching Northern lights
  • Herbert E
  • Meike Grothe
March 2022

Catching Northern lights

A 9-day adventure by Herbert & Meike Read more
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  • Trip start
    March 18, 2022
    Catching Northern lights

    Starting with beer tasting

    March 18, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    Finally, some holidays :) This time, we are off to Northern Norway. The plan is to do a snowshoe hike and hopefully catch a glimpse of those magic Northern lights.
    Everything started according to plan: the bus from Ingolstadt to Munich airport was on time and we had a beer at Airbräu. Our flight to Oslo, however, was a little delayed. We only had 1 hour to change planes in Oslo anyways. And we couldn’t check our luggage through to Thromsø, there was no chance to get our connecting flight.
    Luckily, this seems to be standard for this connection and the ladies at the SAS service desk did not seem surprised at all. They directly booked us (and several others) onto the next flight tomorrow morning and made a hotel reservation at the airport hotel. We also got vouchers for the restaurant, so we could continue our beer tasting ;)
    Let’s see how our trip will continue. The weather does not look very promising for a week hiking in no-man’s-land… :/    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    Leaving Oslo
    Arrival in TromsøTromsø harbour

    Finally in Tromsö

    March 19, 2022 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 3 °C

    Our day started with a huge breakfast at the hotel - thanks to SAS again ;) When we left Oslo, the weather was nice and sunny. Arriving in Tromsö, it was rainy and windy. But hey - there’s no bad weather, only bad clothes.
    So we went exploring: First, we hiked to a lake situated on a hill behind Tromsö. Then we walked around the harbour and the city centre. The houses here are usually colourful and made of wood - as you know from photos. However, with all the clouds it doesn’t look that picturesque, so we didn’t take any photos.
    We cooked dinner in our hostel and talked with our Australian flatmate Yvonne for a while. As the beer prices in a pub are ridiculously high (about 15€), we wanted to get beers from the supermarket. We were surprised when we found out that they don’t sell alcohol after 6pm on Saturdays anymore. Luckily, we could still get Radler which counts as alcohol-free here 😂    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    Tromsö Cathedral (left) and Arctic Cathedral (right)
    A wide white landscapeVery windy at the summitApproaching the cabinOur little shelter for the night

    Into the wild

    March 20, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    We started our hiking adventure with a coffee at church square, crossed the bridge to the other side of the fjord, stopped by Arctic Cathedral and continued hiking into a valley. This is where the fun begins!
    After some 6km into the valley, we had to decide if we turn left and go directly to the hut or continue straight and pass by some of the hills. As the sun was about to come out, we took the detour. Looking at the weather forecast, it may be the only chance to get good views this week.
    We climbed up one of the hills and went further and further as we enjoyed the scenery that much. It was super windy though and I was really happy to carry a heavy backpack. Otherwise, the wind would have blown me away in some occasion.
    At some point, we had to turn as we still had quite some kilometers to walk to our hut for the night. The wind was still crazy, at least pushing us forward from behind. We arrived at the little cabin and were really relived to have some shelter from the wind. We made ourselves comfortable, cooked dinner and are now waiting and hoping for the Northern Lights.    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    1The goal of our trip: see Northern Lights
    Back to sleep in our warm sleeping bagsLeaving for a damn cold hikeEven a glimpse of blue sky todayMore like the normal view todayHeating up the stove and melting ice for cooking

    Hikers in the storm

    March 21, 2022 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 1 °C

    It was already late during Herbert's shift to watch the sky for the Northern Lights. But finally, that green light appeared and we could enjoy this spectacular natural phenomenon. We were really happy to be so lucky in the first night of the hike!
    During the night the wind did not slow down. The hut was shaked from the storm and the fireplace howled all night long so we had a restless sleep.
    The next morning, the wind was even stronger and our hut was covered in a layer of ice. We decided to go back to sleep again after breakfast as it was just to cold outside with all the ice blown around by the wind. 2 hours later, the winds were still very strong, but at least the clouds had cleared a little. To me, today's hike is how I imagine an expedition to Antarctica 😂 luckily, it was only a 10km hike to the next hut. And as it was damn cold and we were tired of fighting side the winds, we didn't go any further, but lit the stove and cooked dinner instead.    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    Hiding behind the hut to be protected from the wind while putting on snowshoes
    Fjord viewTrying to smile while trying to not get blown away by the windMagical sun lightTrollvasbu HutWarming up close to the fireplace

    Snow, wind and rain

    March 22, 2022 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 2 °C

    It snowed and the wind had calmed down when we woke up this morning. Unfortunately, by the time we had finished our breakfast, the wind had picked up again and the snow was mixed with rain. Anyways, we geared up and left Nonsbu hut to hike further to the North of this island. The weather got a little better (meaning it almost stopped snow-raining), so we decided to take a detour and hike up a hill overlooking the fjord. Even the sun came out for a bit :) In general, the light is pretty amazing up here! Even though the weather is kind of rough, we really enjoy the color range and the landscape!
    When we reached our cabin for the night, we were a bit disappointed as it's relatively big (sleeps maybe 20 people). This also means that it takes forever for the room to heat up. That's why we spent the evening very close to the fireplace ;) Actually the best place as it started to rain quite heavily again...    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    Huddle in blankets to wait out the rain - we hoped...
    Leaving the hut to escape the school classTrying to find the right pathCrossing a bridge with the cabin in sightAt least a nice view from our cabinRelaxing with a cup of tea

    Too many people in no man's land

    March 23, 2022 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 2 °C

    When we woke up, everything was covered in a layer of 10cm of snow, so we were looking forward to a nice hike today.
    However, it didn't stay like this. Half an hour later, it actually RAINED and winds were up to crazy speeds again. So we decided to huddle up in a blanket and wait for the weather to improve.
    Again, things came different. Suddenly, we heard voices and a school class entered the hut. They were all wet of course and happy to find shelter. For us, this was a little too much after 3 days of solitude, so we left for the next hut despite of the rain.
    We hiked as fast as we could, got completely soaked and longed for a quiet cabin with a warm stove to dry again. But when we came closer to the hut, we already saw people and LOTS of skis in front. There was a second school class - imagine 25 people in a little cabin with 6 beds and 3 benches...! They were very friendly and moved together, so we could warm up at the fireplace. However, this was not really how we wanted to spend the night. So we had no other option but to continue to the next hut. With some detours due to bad sights and poor signs, we arrived there after about 2 more hours. Luckily, there was no one else here, so we could hang up all our clothes - pretty much everything was completely wet - around the fireplace. After dinner, we sat down to relax and have some tea.    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    Northern Lights again
    Our hut lit by the sun in the morningFjord views in winter wonderlandIcy, non readable signs on top of the hillWhite-out experienceSome more exercise to be able to enter the hut

    Powder Hiking

    March 24, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ -4 °C

    We were already cuddled in our sleeping bags when we realized the sky had cleared and we could see stars through our window. Straight away, we got up and went outside to check if we could see Northern Lights again. And indeed, we were lucky again! Not that strong green as last time, but kind of spread out instead.
    In the morning, we jumped out of bed quickly as well. It was sunny when we woke up and by now we've learned that the weather changes ridiculously quick here. So Herbert went outside and took a couple of sunlight pictures.
    And we were right, after breakfast, it was cloudy again and we left the hut while it was snowing. However, the hike was pretty cool. Winter wonderland next to the fjord, basically no wind compared to the past days and soft powder to walk on.
    We decided to climb up a mountain range to get some views. Unfortunately, the top was in clouds, so there were no views. At some point, we experienced a complete white-out for quite some time. All around us, it was just white. It's a bit scary as you have no idea where you are or where you are going, you lose your sense of direction and idea of distance and you can only feel from your exhaustment if you go up or down or on a flat terrain. We checked out the GPS on the phone like every 50 meters or so to check if we are still on the right route.
    I the end, we made it to the signed path as planned and headed to the hut we slept in the first night. It was covered in snow, so we had to shuffle a bit to get inside. Inside, once the oven was heated, it was nice and cosy as we remembered.    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    Sunrise at our hut
    Fjord views 😍Snowy Tromsö harbourLocal Mack beer with our dinner

    Back to civilization

    March 25, 2022 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    We woke up when the sun climbed up behind the mountains. So we jumped out of bed and took photos. After breakfast, we left in the direction of Tromsö. The scenery looked breathtaking today, finally we could see all the mountains around us! So after only a few hundred metres, we decided to take a detour and climb one of the mountains. It was definitely the right decision. We had amazing views over the mountain, islands and fjords around us - finally!!
    We thought about climbing another mountain on the way back, but decided against it as the clouds started to come very close. Another good decision, because by the time we arrived at our hotel in Tromsö, it was all cloud and started to snow.
    For dinner, we went to one of the restaurants at the harbour and enjoyed a local beer from one of the most Northern breweries in the world.
    The good thing about being back in civilization is definitely the hot shower. However, we definitely didn't miss all the cars up in the mountains.    Read more

  • Catching Northern lights
    2Main road in Tromsö
    Harbour viewsViews changing quickly: during and after the snow storm

    Final views of Tromsö

    March 26, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ -4 °C

    Sleeping in a hotel was weird. So many noises from other guests or outside on the road.
    In the morning, we were greeted by the sun shining on snowy roads. We went for a final stroll around the city center and the harbour before heading to the airport. Here, we could see again how quickly the weather can change in Tromsö. From nice views of the mountains to a snow storm back to nice views - all within one hour...
    When we started, we could enjoy some final views across the snowy mountains and fjords, before heading back to Ingolstadt with a short stopover in Oslo.    Read more

    Trip end
    March 26, 2022
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