Friday was a long travel day. We were headed to our cottage in the middle of nowhere to try to get a glimpse of the northern lights. We were taking the train to the airport, then a plane to Tromso (with a stop along the way in Bodo), then collecting a hire car for the two hour drive to Overgard near Lyngseidet for four nights in the driest fjord in Norway (Linton’s research was meticulous; our stay also coincided with the new moon, so as to limit the chance of the moonlight spoiling our view of the lights!).
We checked out of the Trondheim Air B&B quite early and navigated to the local train station which the airport train handily stopped at...although only hourly. So we had quite a wait at the airport, but nothing a bit of wifi and YouTube couldn't fix from X's perspective. Norwegian prices struck again - snacks (three simple sub sandwiches) for the flight - $42; coffee x 2 - $13; chocolate milk x 1 - $5. Eeeek!
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| One of the more picturesque runway views in the world? |
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| Lots of ways to keep oneself fed, watered and occupied in Trondheim Airport |
We got to Tromso roughly on time at about 1.30pm. We sorted out the hire car, including super duper child seat, and set off for our remote retreat. Thankfully Google Maps was a reliable guide – apart from the main bridge over the fjord in central Tromso, which was closed to regular traffic for repairs. Perhaps unbelievably, the roadworks guy who told us we weren’t able to cross gave us clear instructions in fluent English about how to find the tunnel which would take us under the fjord instead. It seems there is some benefit in teaching children a second language from the first day of school; it certainly worked well for us!
We stopped at a supermarket on the outskirts of Tromso, on the off chance we would not find a well-equipped equivalent near our accommodation, and then got going for the roughly two hour drive. The scenery along the way, particularly early on, was amazing. The giant mountains, some covered in snow near the top depending on how much sun each got during the day; a constant view of quite still, very cold water; some orange and yellow foliage still visible on the trees (again, sunshine dependent); the endless expanse of trees; and the gently winding, almost traffic-free roads, made for a very memorable drive. As we got closer to our destination, the mountains seemed to get bigger, with a steadily more thorough coverage of snow, and you definitely got the feeling you were driving pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
We watched the thermometer on the car drop every so often and by the time we arrived at the cottage around 5pm, the sun had set and it was about zero degrees! After chasing X around the front yard for a while and him having a go on the slippery slide, Linton got the fire going and we enjoyed our home-supplemented (mushrooms and capsicum added) frozen pizzas. The cabin/cottage was brilliant. It was a kit-style, relatively new timber building, with a reasonable living space, three very generous bedrooms and, crucially, a stove/fireplace strategically positioned to heat most of the space. It was well-appointed, with dishwasher, washing machine and dryer and, more important than anything else, super fast internet! We discovered the TV reception was a bit patchy (in fact, that first night, it was non-existent) but were soothed by the ability to download and stream Netflix and You Tube (the latter for X) unendingly!
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| View from the front verandah early Saturday morning |
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| Internal view from living room |
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| View towards the mountains on the other side of the fjord |
Of course, our prime purpose for coming to this part of the world was to see the northern lights. As I mentioned earlier, Linton’s research and planning had been very thorough and it was predicted that we would have favourable conditions and a good chance of seeing them while we were here.
We took our cues from the relevant app (yes, there is an app for that!) and headed outside to see what we could see. The sky was patchy with cloud but there was fortuitously a substantial clear area above us. Unexpectedly, the five or six houses on our road seemed to have a penchant for strong exterior lighting, with each of them having at least one and sometimes two powerful porch lights burning. I was worried they would impede our chance of experiencing the aurora, as they produced a lot of ambient light. But, after waiting a time for our eyes to adjust, there seemed to be a feint, fog- or cloud-like band running across the sky. It wasn’t the trademark green associated with the aurora, but at the same time, we were fairly certain we were looking at something other than cloud. Taking a long exposure photo helped elicit the colour further and it was official – we were looking at the northern lights!! We alternated between inside (warm) and outside (cold) repeatedly until around 10.30pm, with the aurora remaining feint and a little elusive all the while. We called it a night after that.
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| No photo taken on a smartphone can really do them justice but this gives you an idea |
Saturday morning we decided to drive the 15 minutes to Lyngseidet to see if we could procure a coffee and check out the largest town in the area. It seemed we had the roads to ourselves for the very scenic trip and found the main shopping centre, containing a supermarket and cafe, fairly easily. The cafe was oddly (although perhaps normal for here) self-service, so I was sternly informed, and the coffee menu comprised ‘coffee’ (large or small); this was clearly a ‘no nonsense’ place! The initially brusque owner helped me shovel a piece of delicious-looking ‘
blotkake’ (very light sponge, with cream and jam filling and icing) onto a plate and I poured two large cups of coffee (in the American diner style), then handed over the equivalent of $20 for the pleasure.
We surveyed the supermarket and, with Linton deciding he and Xavier would cook our own blotkake that afternoon, acquired the packet mix and cream we needed to do so (we had the other ingredients already). Later that afternoon, we wandered up the road to see what was happening in the tiny hamlet of perhaps 20 houses, and came across some horses that seemed to be part of a trotting stable, as well as puddles of water that had frozen over and which we all enjoyed trying to crack by stamping, jumping and walking across them. Thankfully, only one wet shoe resulted!
Fajitas for dinner, X to bed, then time for some aurora spotting again. Tonight, the sky was crystal clear. This time, there was a much more defined, green-tinged display. It was brilliant. At one time, you could see the ‘waves’ of light dancing across the sky. For a while, it seemed the whole sky was lit up, with sheets of light seeming to emanate from the mountains on the horizon. Eventually, each intense display faded and it was really a matter of waiting for the next to materialise. While it wasn’t bitterly cold, there was a limited time you could stay outside without feeling uncomfortable, so we moved indoors and outdoors until about 11pm to watch whatever was visible in the sky. Handily, it seemed that activity had peaked earlier in the night, so as we retired for the night, we didn’t feel like we were going to miss anything more spectacular than we had seen.
Sunday morning was slated for a short hike, starting at the designated point along our road that we had discovered during our Saturday afternoon stroll. Setting off around 11am, we seemingly had the world to ourselves. The ground was covered in frost, despite the sunshine and perfect blue sky, and we travelled along the path beside the river that we had briefly explored Saturday afternoon. The route and destination we had chosen was 2.8km each way, although were weren’t bothered if we didn’t make it all the way, especially given X’s dislike, very regularly expressed, for walking! However, the attractions along the way, including the local horses and ice puddles which had frozen over again (and thickened) since we’d first explored them the afternoon before, provided adequate entertainment to keep him keen for about 700m. By this stage, we had climbed high enough to get some great perspective on the local area, particularly the snow-capped mountains that seemed to surround us and the verdant but relatively narrow strips of flat land between them and the fjord.
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| Intrepid explorer on the way...learning from the locals and their affinity for walking sticks! |
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| The ice didn't break!! |
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| View along the way, looking south-easterly |
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| Looking slightly north-easterly |
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| Happy campers! |
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| X spots an eagle |
Then the path got much steeper and X was transferred to the backpack carrier for the trip uphill. After much huffing and puffing, we reached a route marker and sign which indicated we had walked just 1km in about 1 ¼ hours! As we got there, the sun started to go behind one of the mountains and what had been a sunny, bright morning became much cooler. As we had climbed quite a bit, the breeze was also getting stronger. We retreated downhill a little, had a snack, then started back when X began shivering and crying about being cold. The change from quite pleasant to not occurred over just a few minutes and we were glad about our timing. As we climbed down, X was really upset and despite gloves and the best preparations, he really seemed to feel the cold terribly. By the time we got back, the breeze was evident even at sea level and we were all glad to be home. That afternoon was cold and windy and although the sun remained, it was without doubt ideal for inside pursuits!
To be continued...
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