Tromso, Norway

Being located at the far north of Norway & about 2000 Km away from the north pole, Tromso is often called the capital of Arctic. Inhabited by only 75,000 people, the thriving city of Tromso is a wonder of nature having unspoiled spectacular wild beauties all around the city. One of the main reasons why Tromso is famous, it's one of the fewest places in the world from where you can see the Northern lights. That's why Tromso is also called as the "gateway to the northern lights". Thousands of people from all over the world come to visit Tromso just to see a glimpse of one of the amazing showcase of mother nature, the Northern light or the Aurora Borealis.

Norway was a dream for me. Honestly, I could never believe that I will be able to travel to Norway some day. So this trip was full of excitement only. Few months ago I had moved to Stockholm, & I wanted to use this opportunity to witness something that I had only read in books when I was a kid. Along with a friend from my lab, Seong, we chopped out a tentative plan to Tromso for 4 nights, which we believed to be good enough to get a descent window of seeing Northern lights. It's all about luck. It might happen that you spend one month & don't see anything at all, or you spend a night & be the luckiest to witness it.

Aurora Borealis is actually an upper atmosphere phenomena & there is usually a time window from September to March to see it. However, there is no guarantee. Even in clear sky aurora might not come out. Although there are forecasts & different apps, but still seeing aurora is mostly about luck. And we were giving a shot to our luck of seeing 'dancing green lights' in the dark sky of the land of midnight sun, Norway...  

8th March 2018: 

We will be flying with Norwegian airlines. Because of the morning flight (which I hate), I had to leave around 6.30 AM in the morning. I just hate travelling with sleepy eyes, moreover you can't eat much in the morning which makes you feel even worse. Whatever, I didn't have any choice this time. With the airport bus service of Stockholm, Flybussarna, it took little more then half an hour to reach Arlanda airport. Printing boarding pass, checking in through the security went smoothly & the flight was on time.

We had a stopover for an hour at the capital city Oslo. I grabbed a sandwich & was exploring the terminal. Oslo airport is nice, quiet & relatively small. I like exploring the quaint little shops in the airport (although they are usually expensive to buy anything).

Flight from Oslo to Tromso takes about 2 hours. Just after the flight took off, the beautiful Norwegian landscape came into the panorama from the window. Everything is under thick white blanket of snow. As the flight gradually went high into the cruising altitude, there was nothing to see outside & I tried to take a little nap, hoping to compensate my sleep deprivation from last night...

I dozed off, until I heard the pilot announcing something. Suddenly I turned to the window & became fully awake immediately by the views outside. The pilot was saying that we are on top of the glacier now. He was also saying that the weather is clear & there is a good chance of seeing aurora today. The sky was crystal clear & everything was visible till the horizon. It was astoundingly beautiful to fly over the glacier! The infinite plateau of white land & the mountains made my adrenaline to go high instantly. I really wanted to stand on top of this glacier!

Little towns in the valley surrounded by mountains were becoming visible as the flight was lowering the altitude. I can't believe that I am going to land on Norway!! :) 

As we were approaching Tromso, the little harbor towns were looking like plastic model cities. The weather was just perfect to experience the amazing landscape from the flight window (this is one of the fewest times you will feel to be lucky to get a window seat)!

After landing, we came out of the airport to take the airport bus to the city (which cost about NOK 100, & the tickets can be obtained from the machine at the airport exit by cash or card. If you buy ticket in the bus, that will cost more).

Ahh fresh Norwegian air that I had cherished for a long time :) The airport was located at a beautiful place surrounded by  the mountains. I have never seen such a beautiful airport before. 

The bus took about 20 minutes to reach the city. We got off at Polaria, from where our hotel Comfort Xpress was about few minutes of walk. The hotel location is pretty good, city center can be reached by few minutes of walking. They gave us electronic keys at the check-in counter. We got a room at 5th floor. Nice, cozy & budget room in an expensive country like Norway.

After getting freshened up, we went out for our first meal of the day (till then, we were filling our appetite with sandwich & light food items). A nearby Vietnamese restaurant Suvi, seemed to have okay reviews to try. I ordered 'Bun Thit Nuong', a combination of cold rice noodles along with grilled pork, spring rolls, cucumber, some herbs, carrot, nuts. The food was good, it cost NOK 209.

There was nothing to do in the afternoon, apart from strolling around. We were walking along the harbour of the beautiful town. The last rays of sun was falling on the mountain top at the opposite island, & the reflection was looking amazing on the water. I have travelled to many harbor towns before, but every time I feel that there is so much difference in the landscape, culture, the smell of the air, that there is no point in comparing with each others. Each city is best in it's own way & at the present moment, Tromso is the most amazing one! :)  

Although you can see aurora from anywhere in the city, but due to the city lights & pollutions, the best chance of seeing it is from a dark & less polluted place. That's why there are many "aurora chaser" companies that offer a few hours tour out of the main city, from where seeing aurora has the highest chance. We walked into the Tourist Information Center at the city center to get information about northern light tours. The tourist center was pretty helpful, they provided all the information about exploring Tromso including northern light 'chasing' tour, dog sledging, reindeer sledging, snowmobiling, etc. You can also get bus tickets, souvenirs from the store. We were asking them if today there will be a good chance of seeing northern lights. They advised to give it a shot, since the weather is pretty clear. There are many tour operators, from which we booked the Northern Light Hunter tour (NOK 1250).

The aurora tours typically last for 4/5 hours, usually starting around 7 PM or so. We were supposed to wait in front of a nearby hotel ('Clarion hotel the edge'), from where they will pick us up. Next few hours we didn't have anything to do, so we decided to go to the hotel & take some rest. I grabbed couple of heavy sandwiches from a nearby 7-eleven store for dinner.

After few hours we got ready with thick layer of woollen garments & went out for the tour. I was feeling very excited by thinking about northern lights. As we were waiting, they came & picked us into a mini van. There were 3 more people from different countries, who had also signed up for the tour.

First we drove to the south of the island to try our luck of seeing aurora. We went to the harbour side. It was extremely cold, below -15 degrees. They had offered extra warm pool-over, but those were pretty inconvenient to handle on top of our woollen garments, so I didn't take that. The place was just beside the ocean & the freezing wind was blowing heavily. I was walking constantly to keep myself warm, but still couldn't help to protect from the wind. The sky was totally clear & the place was pretty dark, but till then aurora never came out. The tour operator people were using a simple but effective technique to check if the aurora is coming out or not. They put the DSLR cameras on tripod & was taking photos of the sky using a long exposure. As a result, it will be able to detect even a slight trace of something happening at the dark sky, which the human eye can't detect initially. Unfortunately, our luck didn't favour & we had to wait. The tour guide was constantly encouraging us not to give up, because seeing aurora is a patience game.

After an hour, we decided to change our spot & try from somewhere else which is out of the city & more darker. We drove to the other island of Kvaloya. It took about 20-25 mins. During the drive, the tour guide was explaining the history of the area & about aurora phenomena. The guide was a very nice & friendly person. He was constantly asking if we need anything, or if they can do anything for us, or if we are feeling cold. They took us to a remote area beyond the city lights. By this time, the temperature has plunged below -20 degrees. We could hardly stand under the starry night sky in the open air!

They arranged some snacks & hot chocolates, which we were trying to enjoy while hoping for the northern lights to come out. Everybody was ready with their tripod & camera, the weather was beyond perfect. But the only missing part was the aurora. We all were starting to get depressed. After couple of hours, we realized that this time we are not lucky enough & may be it's time to give up. Moreover, the biting cold weather wasn't allowing us to stand for a long time in the exposed wind. We came back inside the van.

Suddenly, our driver came running to us & told that the aurora is coming out, he can see a slight trace in his camera! Almost in no time we jumped out of the van & came out. Yes! A slight greenish smoke is visible at the dark sky. Within a few minutes it became a bit more intense & started to originate from couple of more spots in the sky. It was exactly like a greenish smoke. Wow!!! This is it!!! I couldn't believe that I am seeing aurora in my own eyes!

However, it wasn't *that* intense. In fact, it couldn't be captured from phone camera or digicam (later I came to know that in order to capture aurora, you will need a tripod & a long exposure shot, otherwise you can never capture it, no matter how strong is it). All the photos are taken from long exposure shots using DSLR placed on a tripod. Thanks to the tour operator for taking photos & sharing those with us, otherwise I wouldn't have any photo of Northern lights. 

Although it wasn't what I was expecting to see, but I was happy to experience what I have seen just now. After spending some time there, we started driving back by midnight. We stopped again on our way at a dark spot, from where we experienced aurora once again. It was simply amazing.

They dropped us at our hotel by 12.30 AM. It was a satisfying tour, although I had expected more intense aurora. But that was worth enough & I am happy :) 

Went to bed immediately & fall asleep in no time. 

9th March:

A beautiful sunny day. Woke up around 9 AM, got freshened up & took a quick shower. We went to a nearby restaurant Mathallen for brunch. They had a special dish for the day, Salmon pasta. It was the cheapest meal that I had in Norway (NOK 100). Fresh Norwegian salmon... ahh it was delicious!

The plan for the day was to explore different parts of Tromso. We had to buy bus tickets, for which we headed towards the tourist center. The bus tickets are so nice looking, I have kept all of them. Each single ticket is a colourful plastic card with magnetic access.  The first plan was to visit the famous cable car Fjellheisen located at the other island. We took a bus from the city center, which will drop us at the cable car.

Norwegians are famous for their architectures of building bridges. In general, bridges connecting different islands in Norway look spectacular. As the bus was heading towards the other island, we were crossing the main bridge of Tromso, which is about 1000 meters long. The bus ride was indeed beautiful. We were passing by the little local neighbourhood consisting of little wooden houses at the bottom of the hill. 

It took about 15-20 minutes to reach the cable car stop. The cable car mountain wasn't that high, in fact you can hike to the top through the specified trail. But it's steep. There is a ski track too. 

We booked ticket for the cable car, which cost NOK 200. The cable car can fit about 15-20 people & takes about couple of minutes to reach the top. As the cable car was moving upwards, the city was looking like a valley covered by snow.

At the exit of the cable car, we found a nice cafe where we decided to come a bit later. The weather was pretty cold along with the windchill. The panoramic view of Tromso from the top was beyond imagination. In a crystal clear sunny day, islands of Tromso was looking picturesque like a postcard picture.

I was walking around at the hill top. Nearby mountain peaks were provoking enough to attempt climbing to the top. The beautiful city of Tromso at the base of mountain ranges surrounded by blue ocean water was more than enough to represent a glimpse of what Norway has to offer to the world... 

What else can be better than sipping a cup of coffee sitting by the window of a nice cafe, from where you are watching pure unspoiled Norwegian natural landscape? 

I ordered a latte & a delicious waffle with chocolate sauce (actually this is a specialty of the cafe). I hardly had coffee before in such a beautiful place! You can spend a whole day by sitting there.

While going back to the city we decided to walk, mainly to "feel" the beauty of the surroundings (which you can't by travelling inside air conditioned bus). The local neighbourhood was looking quiet, peaceful & picturesque, as if people living in these houses don't have any problems in their life...

Just at the beginning of the bridge we came across the famous Arctic Cathedral of Tromso. This is also known as "Iceberg Cathedral" because of it's shape like an iceberg. We didn't go inside, but the cathedral was looking beautiful from outside due to it's special architecture surrounded by natural beauty. 

We were walking over the bridge while coming back to the main island. Amazing architecture. I am so impressed about the bridges of Norway! By that time the sun was setting down, & the view from the bridge was so mystic!

We explored the harbour side a bit, had some light food & came back to the hotel after sometimes. The plan was to give another shot to aurora. The Kp index was showing pretty high today & the weather was totally clear. We realized that this might be "the time". Got freshened up & went out for dinner by 8 PM at a nearby restaurant Egon. The restaurant had a beautiful ambience, which I really liked the most. I ordered "Fusili Dell orto" along with Laks (salmon). I believed that salmon might be one of the best thing to try in Norway. It was basically kind of pasta & veggies along with salmon. It cost about NOK 200. The food was pretty good, I liked it!

By getting filled up, we were ready to "chase" the aurora :) No, this time we didn't sign up for the tour, rather thought of trying from an "aurora viewpoint" nearby. Actually it's a frozen lake Prestvannet, located about 20 minutes of walk from the city center. We started walking gently. After sometimes, something bright in the dark sky grabbed my attention. I knocked Seong & both of us realized that it's the aurora. Yes, today is gonna be our day!! Immediately we started to run. We wanted to be at the viewpoint as soon as possible before it gets fade out. Gradually the aurora became intense enough & we could clearly see it even there were lights around. Slowly, the whole sky got covered with "green smokes" raising from different points. OMG I just can't believe it!!! We just stopped & started absorbing what we are seeing right now. In a few minutes, the intensity started to fade. By that time we had just reached the lake area. Then it was a patience game, standing on a frozen lake & looking at the sky. After about half an hour, aurora again came out. This time it was visible clearly & we literally witnessed the "dancing aurora". Greenish smoke started originating from couple of more spots. I was feeling so lucky, so lucky that I could leave everything for this dancing queen dressed in green costumes :)

By 12 AM, aurora started fading again. We are also satisfied to the fullest & could happily get back to the hotel. I couldn't believe what I've seen just now. Unfortunately I couldn't capture in my digicam or phone camera, but everything has been recorded in my eyes that I will never forget...

That night I had probably one of the best sleeps of my life. I wish if I could be dreaming aurora... :)

10th March:

Another beautiful sunny day. The plan was to go for hiking & witness the real Norwegian wild nature. For breakfast we went to the same restaurant like last night. After having a quick brunch we went to the tourist information center to get some info about some hiking trails.

I was looking forward to some interesting hiking routes that I read form a blog. However, seemed that the tourist information center doesn't have information beyond Tromso area (some of the hiking routes in this blog are not in Tromso main island & needs to take a long distance bus). We tried to get information about the bus routes & timings, but didn't get any useful information. Instead, they suggested the famous Rodtinden hiking. This is a pretty popular hiking route from where you can see some spectacular beauties of Tromso islands.

We took bus #42 from the city center. It took about half an hour to reach the stop "Storelv Snuplass", which is a local school in the area. Basically the trail starts at the back of the school (I wish if I would have studied here when I was a kid ;)). The hiking route in winter is mainly used by the skiers. In fact it's a perfect place for skiing due to the nice snow condition.

We started to walk slowly, without any knowledge of the end of the trail. Gradually the snow was getting much thicker. Beautiful scenery all around, especially at the bottom, the view of the water surrounded by the mountains.

The route became steeper & the snow condition became pretty deep to walk on. 

Expert skiers were skiing down smoothly around us, some people were taking their dogs with them. Don't know if they had plans to take the dog while skiing down. But I was feeling jealous to them for not having a dog with me ;)

After some point I realized the end of the route. Actually it's the mountain top from where people are skiing down. 

After 2.5-3 hours of hiking, finally we reached the top. Mesmerizing views around!! It's totally worth spending  the energy to reach the top. 

Did some photography, ate some chocolates & started preparing for hiking down. Actually climbing down is harder than climbing up, & that's why I decided to slide down, which is much easier & fun. 

We climbed down in less amount of time. I went to have a look at the frozen harbour opposite to the bus stop. Beautiful! The ocean water has completely frozen, although it's risky to walk over it. 

We came back to the city by evening. It was a very tiring day indeed. But there is no point in staying inside the hotel when you are travelling. After getting freshened up, I dragged Seong out to have a walking tour around the city.

The weather was becaming cloudy. We've been lucky to see aurora on the previous day. So there is no more attempt for aurora chasing. Due to the tiredness from the hiking, we called it a day a bit earlier & after dinner came back to the hotel by 9 PM. 

11th March:

Our last day at Tromso. Seong decided to relax the day & I went for more exploration. My plan was to explore the city by walking. So I needed a good breakfast. A typical english breakfast was heavy enough to start the day by walking slowly.

I started walking mainly through the harbour area & then strolled into different parts of the city. At some point I realized that there is nothing much to see & may be I should give a shot to the other island, which was looking really beautiful.

Visited the Tromso church. Nothing special about it, but I like exploring churches..

I needed a cup of coffee first. A nice cafe Kaffebonna was just perfect to sit & relax with a latte. 

By crossing the bridge, I took the path beside the iceberg cathedral. The route was indeed very scenic through the local neighbourhood of colourful tiny houses having mountains at the background. The harbour town remembered me about St. John's, Newfoundland... 

Frozen beauty always attracts me & drives me crazy to step on it. But sometimes it can be too risky & I couldn't afford to take the risk of standing on frozen water, without knowing if it's completely frozen or not. 

I came across a local cemetery in the midst of frozen beauty... the cold, quiet place of eternal peace...

I hanged around for the whole day. Came back to the main island by afternoon. I was really hungry by then. Had early dinner in a Chinese place Tang's restaurant near the downtown area. By that time it was dark outside & the weather was pretty cold. I was trying to explore more by walking along the harbour line, but realized that there is nothing to see & it's better to call it a day. I have explored enough of Tromso & most importantly I have been lucky to see the northern lights, which was the main reason for coming here. Came back to the hotel & started packing bags for the return journey on the next day.

12th March:

We had flight at noon. After checking out of the hotel, we didn't have much time for lunch. Also it was a bit early. We went to a nice cafe Riso, where I ordered a latte with omelette and bread. Nice ambiance and nice coffee :)

Landed Stockholm via Oslo by evening.

Although this was a very short trip, but I was fully satisfied with what I have seen, and I would be very much interested in exploring other parts of Norway in future. I believe that this country has so many things to offer that can't be seen in a single trip. And for a 'wild' person like me, what else can be better than exploring Norway? :)