I originally planned for these three posts to come on three consecutive days. But my brain was not working properly after the flight last night. I had plenty of time to write, since I made it home early evening and cancelled the plans I had to just stay in. But I cancelled those plans for the same reason I didn't write. Plus now I can just write on Saturday and Sunday instead, which is also good.
After Stockholm we flew to Tromso, Norway, where we were spending a few days trying to see the Northern Lights. We had like a 7 hour layover in Oslo on the way, though, so took the chance to go into town for a few hours. The plan was to go to City Hall first. I think it's where the Nobel Peace Prize is actually awarded, and if it's anything like the Stockholm one it's gorgeous. But we got there only to find out we couldn't get in because they were filming a movie in it. So our second stop was the Viking Ship Museum (after a detour thanks to getting on a bus we were told would take us there, but which took us far away from there). It's a small museum, but they have 3 reconstructed viking ships from like the 7th century, which after being decommissioned were used as burial mounds for rich and important people. So they've got 2 of the ships in amazing condition, thanks to the way they were buried, plus a bunch of other really cool viking stuff that was found in the ships. The weird part about it was that everything they wrote seemed to be conjecture, as if they didn't have any written Viking records that would tell them about customs back then. So now I want to read more about Vikings, mainly to find out if they had a written language or not. I guess that would be easy enough to just Google, though. As fun as all that sounded, I have to say I'm not a huge fan of Oslo (based on only like 5 hours, so I guess I can't really talk). The weather was pretty terrible (in fact, it snowed pretty hard from the time we entered the museum until we left Oslo, and it was kind of rainy before that), and the city itself just isn't very pretty. Especially coming from Stockholm, which is. But we made the most of it, and then hopped back on a plane to get to Tromso.
Tromso is in the far north of Norway, up in the Arctic Circle, and is supposed to be one of the best places to see the Northern Lights. It's on most top 5 lists, and I chose it for two main reasons. First, all the glass igloo hotels were fully booked, so I wasn't going to go to one of the towns with those, and second because they actually have a lot of activities to do in case we didn't see the lights. Our first night we sat grumpily in the hotel because our luggage got lost on the way, but from the next day the fun began. My friend Min was also up in Tromso, so we met up with her and did a little bit of exploring in town. It's a tiny place, but very cute. And then we had our first excursion booked to go and try to see the lights that night. We got driven about half an hour out of town to a campsite where we basically sat around and our guide told us about Norway and the lights and we waited to see them, which failed because the weather was terrible and completely overcast. So it was a pretty disappointing night, except for the fact that it was at one of the largest husky breeding sites in the world, so we got to see all the huskies (including some adorable 2 week old puppies).
Day 2 was much better. We started with a cruise through the fjords, which was gorgeous. We wanted to do it just to go see the fjords, but as it turned out we caught the end of whale watching season (which I looked up and was sure was over, but luckily the internet was wrong!) and managed to see some whales, which was pretty sweet. The cruise was awesome, and was followed by our next night activity. This time we went like 90 minutes outside town to try and get to a different climactic zone, and we had a bit of luck. We went reindeer sledding (but only because dog sledding was fully booked already), which was pretty slow and not as exciting as I thought, but the reindeer were nice and we did manage to see just the tiniest bit of lights. We actually didn't even know we were seeing the lights at first because they were so weak, so they just looked like glowing white clouds. But they were in fact the lights. It was Min's last chance to see them, so she's glad she did, but after that experience she says she needs to go try again next year. I would agree.
The next day Min left, and we ended up having a very quiet day because it was snowing pretty hard all day. In fact, we didn't even try because the weather was so bad. So we just went to the Arctic Museum, which is about Arctic hunting, and hung out. Nothing too exciting. Our last day was much better weather-wise, but we had no day activities planned. So again mostly just hanging out and we went to Polaria, which is a museum about the North Pole and also an aquarium. It was pretty fun, and we got to watch the seals get fed and do tricks. Then we had another excursion planned to try and see the lights our last night. We did one of the Northern Lights chaser tours, which is probably my best recommendation if you go try to see them. There are companies that have a van, and basically just call around to weather stations to find out where the best weather is, then they take you there. If you don't see the lights or the weather is bad, then they move on to another spot. So you're literally just chasing the lights all night. Luckily for us, there was minimal chasing and maximal lighting. They took us to this placed called Sommeroya, about an hour from Tromso (and actually where we'd been to see the whales). We got to this spot and just had amazing, clear weather the entire time. And the lights were just starting up as we arrived. Similar to the previous attempt, they were quite weak, but this time we knew what we were looking for so could tell they were the lights and not just clouds. And as we waited they started to spread out and there was a lot more. And for the next 2+ hours, they just kept going, spreading all over the sky and flaring up in intensity from time to time, which means we actually got to see green and see them dancing when they were stronger. It was pretty awesome to finally see, and we were very lucky to have it going for that long. Normally they only last for like 15 minutes or so. So I don't feel like I have to go and try again, but I definitely will. I know they can get better, and I want a big, bright show. So maybe next time in Iceland or Alaska or something...
That was pretty much it for Norway, because we left the next day to fly back to Germany. Which I'll tell you about tomorrow.
All that's left for today is music, and today's music is Escapists. This is another band whose newest album, Only Bodies, I also got during the trip. It's from 2014, and I actually first heard them on their newest single, Pyramid Scheme, which I assume is from an upcoming album. But I also liked the last album so I bought it. I don't think it's anything really amazing, but I like the sound a lot and it's somehow nostalgic for me. I feel like when I was starting to get into non-mainstream music towards the end of high school, I was listening to a lot of bands like this, and a lot of singer-songwriters. I can't think of who they remind me of, but they remind of someone and of that time. So I'm a fan. Blood is the stand-out track on Only Bodies for me, hopefully you enjoy.
After Stockholm we flew to Tromso, Norway, where we were spending a few days trying to see the Northern Lights. We had like a 7 hour layover in Oslo on the way, though, so took the chance to go into town for a few hours. The plan was to go to City Hall first. I think it's where the Nobel Peace Prize is actually awarded, and if it's anything like the Stockholm one it's gorgeous. But we got there only to find out we couldn't get in because they were filming a movie in it. So our second stop was the Viking Ship Museum (after a detour thanks to getting on a bus we were told would take us there, but which took us far away from there). It's a small museum, but they have 3 reconstructed viking ships from like the 7th century, which after being decommissioned were used as burial mounds for rich and important people. So they've got 2 of the ships in amazing condition, thanks to the way they were buried, plus a bunch of other really cool viking stuff that was found in the ships. The weird part about it was that everything they wrote seemed to be conjecture, as if they didn't have any written Viking records that would tell them about customs back then. So now I want to read more about Vikings, mainly to find out if they had a written language or not. I guess that would be easy enough to just Google, though. As fun as all that sounded, I have to say I'm not a huge fan of Oslo (based on only like 5 hours, so I guess I can't really talk). The weather was pretty terrible (in fact, it snowed pretty hard from the time we entered the museum until we left Oslo, and it was kind of rainy before that), and the city itself just isn't very pretty. Especially coming from Stockholm, which is. But we made the most of it, and then hopped back on a plane to get to Tromso.
Tromso is in the far north of Norway, up in the Arctic Circle, and is supposed to be one of the best places to see the Northern Lights. It's on most top 5 lists, and I chose it for two main reasons. First, all the glass igloo hotels were fully booked, so I wasn't going to go to one of the towns with those, and second because they actually have a lot of activities to do in case we didn't see the lights. Our first night we sat grumpily in the hotel because our luggage got lost on the way, but from the next day the fun began. My friend Min was also up in Tromso, so we met up with her and did a little bit of exploring in town. It's a tiny place, but very cute. And then we had our first excursion booked to go and try to see the lights that night. We got driven about half an hour out of town to a campsite where we basically sat around and our guide told us about Norway and the lights and we waited to see them, which failed because the weather was terrible and completely overcast. So it was a pretty disappointing night, except for the fact that it was at one of the largest husky breeding sites in the world, so we got to see all the huskies (including some adorable 2 week old puppies).
Day 2 was much better. We started with a cruise through the fjords, which was gorgeous. We wanted to do it just to go see the fjords, but as it turned out we caught the end of whale watching season (which I looked up and was sure was over, but luckily the internet was wrong!) and managed to see some whales, which was pretty sweet. The cruise was awesome, and was followed by our next night activity. This time we went like 90 minutes outside town to try and get to a different climactic zone, and we had a bit of luck. We went reindeer sledding (but only because dog sledding was fully booked already), which was pretty slow and not as exciting as I thought, but the reindeer were nice and we did manage to see just the tiniest bit of lights. We actually didn't even know we were seeing the lights at first because they were so weak, so they just looked like glowing white clouds. But they were in fact the lights. It was Min's last chance to see them, so she's glad she did, but after that experience she says she needs to go try again next year. I would agree.
The next day Min left, and we ended up having a very quiet day because it was snowing pretty hard all day. In fact, we didn't even try because the weather was so bad. So we just went to the Arctic Museum, which is about Arctic hunting, and hung out. Nothing too exciting. Our last day was much better weather-wise, but we had no day activities planned. So again mostly just hanging out and we went to Polaria, which is a museum about the North Pole and also an aquarium. It was pretty fun, and we got to watch the seals get fed and do tricks. Then we had another excursion planned to try and see the lights our last night. We did one of the Northern Lights chaser tours, which is probably my best recommendation if you go try to see them. There are companies that have a van, and basically just call around to weather stations to find out where the best weather is, then they take you there. If you don't see the lights or the weather is bad, then they move on to another spot. So you're literally just chasing the lights all night. Luckily for us, there was minimal chasing and maximal lighting. They took us to this placed called Sommeroya, about an hour from Tromso (and actually where we'd been to see the whales). We got to this spot and just had amazing, clear weather the entire time. And the lights were just starting up as we arrived. Similar to the previous attempt, they were quite weak, but this time we knew what we were looking for so could tell they were the lights and not just clouds. And as we waited they started to spread out and there was a lot more. And for the next 2+ hours, they just kept going, spreading all over the sky and flaring up in intensity from time to time, which means we actually got to see green and see them dancing when they were stronger. It was pretty awesome to finally see, and we were very lucky to have it going for that long. Normally they only last for like 15 minutes or so. So I don't feel like I have to go and try again, but I definitely will. I know they can get better, and I want a big, bright show. So maybe next time in Iceland or Alaska or something...
That was pretty much it for Norway, because we left the next day to fly back to Germany. Which I'll tell you about tomorrow.
All that's left for today is music, and today's music is Escapists. This is another band whose newest album, Only Bodies, I also got during the trip. It's from 2014, and I actually first heard them on their newest single, Pyramid Scheme, which I assume is from an upcoming album. But I also liked the last album so I bought it. I don't think it's anything really amazing, but I like the sound a lot and it's somehow nostalgic for me. I feel like when I was starting to get into non-mainstream music towards the end of high school, I was listening to a lot of bands like this, and a lot of singer-songwriters. I can't think of who they remind me of, but they remind of someone and of that time. So I'm a fan. Blood is the stand-out track on Only Bodies for me, hopefully you enjoy.
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