Tromsø, Norway

This is a small town in the northern most reaches of Norway. Boasting as a cultural hub above the Arctic Circle, it was easy to get lost in the icy beauty of Tromsø. Just a short plane ride north (approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes from Oslo) had me doing a quick clothing check upon realizing that it was a lot colder at 69.4º N, 18.9º E, than it was in Oslo at 59.9º N, 10.75º E! Good thing I had brought layers!

Grabbing a quick bus ride to my hotel located in the town center, Radisson Blu Tromsø, I unpacked and set out to explore the small town while the sun was still out and the weather wasn’t too bitingly cold. Wandering around, I came upon the gorgeous view of the Tromsø Fjord. While taking photos of the snowy landscape, a friendly Norwegian local stumbled upon me and decided to be my town guide and friend. We spent about 2 hours together wandering the town and (me) learning about the history and town attractions. Parting ways around late evening, I set went back to my hotel to visit the spa and settle in for the night, since the evening was too cloudy for northern lights visibility.

The next day, I enjoyed a wonderful free breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel before setting out for the day exploring. I managed to visit the Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen), Polaria (the world’s most northerly aquarium), walk the Tromsø Bridge, take the cable car (Fjellheisen) up Mount Storsteinen, and try a delicious reindeer burger at the restaurant Skirri.

That night, I set out to Prestvannet, a small frozen lake 20 minutes from the city center. I saw the northern lights around 11:30 AND CRIED BECAUSE OF HAPPINESS. It was dark, no lights, no people, no sounds. Nothing. Just me, in the middle of a lake/forest, jumping up and down squealing with happiness that I was experiencing such an incredible and rare (for us folk who live below the arctic circle) phenomena.

Heading back to my hotel, I was literally giddy with joy. Once back in my room, I happened to glance outside the window and released a mini shriek, because once again I was feasting my eyes on the dancing lights! I threw on as many layers as I could and ran outside with my camera to capture more of the incredible lights. One thing you should note about the northern lights is that they come and go, there is no rhyme nor reason to their appearance and if you seen them for any period of time, then you are one lucky son of a gun. So naturally in my excitement, I decided to head back out to the lake to get away from the light pollution of the town. Wrong choice, since they didn’t show up again for the rest of the night, and the public transportation had shut down until after dawn. So I walked back to the hotel, which wasn’t that bad considering there were a lot of people out and about (it was a saturday night) and the night was not too cold. I was actually able to get a lot of great shots of the fjord with the breaking dawn lights. That magical photography “golden hour” and whatnot 😂.

Putting my Tromsø trip down as a once in a lifetime experience, I headed back to Oslo with a full heart and a lighter step.

*Northern Lights photos posted here courtesy of my wonderful lab partner Marta V. (since my camera was not able to take as crisp of a photo as Marta’s camera was)