Seeing Northern Lights in Norway

From City of Lights to Northern Lights - this was something very special and could have not ended our journey together from Lapland to Northern Norway on a higher note!

It seems as if after landing in Tromsø, also known as the “Paris of North” and “City of Lights” time picked up speed. One moment we were city sightseeing and following on the arctic explorers’ footsteps, shopping for the last of souvenirs and taking in a midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral. And next, we were on a tiny island with four hundred inhabitants west of Tromsø, sitting on comfy armchairs of the Sommarøy Arctic Hotel by the fire, playing cards and listening to a winter storm brewing outside.!

Although Sommarøy, the summer island, didn’t show its summery side this time as expected, we got to witness the beauty of the white sandy beaches with corals washed on the shore in their winter suit, framed by the sharp edges of the fjord on the background. After a day out in the breeze, relaxing in an early evening sauna and wooden, traditional hot tub with views out to the sea before an exquisite dinner were the ingredients for a perfect day. Or so we thought until right after the dinner on our last day of the Nordic Winter Journey, the northern lights started their dance on the sky.

We could have not been in a better place at a better time to watch the Aurora. Right out of our hotel door we got to witness various shades of green with a hint of pink changing their shape and size on the night sky, sometimes teasing us by almost disappearing from the view before lighting up the whole sky again so that even in the darkness, our shadows were casted on the snowy ground. Although we had seen a taster what the northern lights could be on the first night of this winter adventure in Finland, this was something very special and could have not ended our journey together from Lapland to Northern Norway on a higher note!