Culture, Cuisine and Chasing the Lights

[amaroo]

No nut ban on Wilderoe



Plenty people live between Bergen and Tromso ... but it looked like a white covered wilderness the whole way.

 

[amaroo]

Welcome to Tromso!



We've come to Tromso for one thing and one thing only - Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.

Apart from good luck, you need clear skies to have any chance of viewing the lights - we had luck on our side!

Months earlier I booked a guide and car to chase the lights. No idea what the weather would be like, but I threw the dice and hoped for the best.

Forecast for tonight - our night for chasing the lights.



Cold days = Clear Sky

Aurora Forecast



Things were looking good!

We got a taxi and 10mins later we'd arrived at Tromso



Our hotel

 

[amaroo]

Clarion Collection Hotel With

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hote..._Hotel_With-Tromso_Troms_Northern_Norway.html

We booked 2 x Superior ... Nice hotel, but the only thing superior was the view.

 

[get me outta here]

I'm staying there too. Did you bring/buy the reindeer on the bed? Is this the place that has brekky and 'dinner', I've booked so many.

Clarion Collection Hotel With

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hote..._Hotel_With-Tromso_Troms_Northern_Norway.html

We booked 2 x Superior ... Nice hotel, but the only thing superior was the view.

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[amaroo]

I'm staying there too. Did you bring/buy the reindeer on the bed? Is this the place that has brekky and 'dinner', I've booked so many.

Yes. They offer breakfast (even bacon ), afternoon waffles and dinner - pretty good offer that attracted big numbers. We indulged on the last night... combination of big lunch, tired from the night before (light chasing), -19 outside and an alluring aroma. IIRC chilli con carne and big range of salads - tasty

The hotel was clean, well located and friendly service. The rooms are small and basic (they all were in Norway), and the view was absolute waterfront... both our rooms had the views posted above.

The reindeer is a ring in ... daughter got it in Bergen.

 

[amaroo]

We were getting picked up for our light chasing at 5.20pm therefore, we needed to eat. It was freezing and the paths were icy... walking distance was a must.

Skirri Skirri, Tromso - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - TripAdvisor

Have to agree with other reviews - the service was a shambles, food was decent, and it had a nice view. Not that you can see much passed 2pm. I don't think they've been opened very long.

We found somewhere better for lunch the next day









Pretty short days in Tromso - this was taken around 3pm

 

[get me outta here]

What's the name of this place, I'll go there! Thanks for doing all this advance scoping, it will help me a lot.

..... We found somewhere better for lunch the next day

 

[Flying mermaid]

BA Euro J is not greatly different to the others we have used, like AF, OS, AY etc. But for longer flights (i.e upcoming LHR-BUD) I still use them, for the service, food etc. Shorter flights whY is tolerable.

I was very unimpressed with the seats in BA Euro J - just Y with the middle seat not sold. When I came back I went looking for better options and there just don't seem to be any. I also like the BA food and service, so we will be sticking with BA J in Europe, but it really isn't a great experience for the price.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Flam looks so different in the snow! Just beautiful. We were there in summer and stayed overnight - all flowers and people and dogs outdoors. The hotel there was quite nice, but I think I prefer the snowy look.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Great photos, I think my summer trip may be a bit different. I am going one way OSL - Bergen and get on the Hurtigruten. Your map said you were doing a return? Will I miss out on much?

Do you really pay NOK10 to use the loo?!

We did Oslo to Bergen by train in 2005 and it is a terrific trip. They stop at a glacier for people to take photos. We got off and did a return trip on the Flam railway, staying overnight at Flam and then returning on it to connect back to Bergen.

 

[amaroo]

We were picked up right on time and taken to get suited out in thermal suits, winter boots ... you name it.

We headed for the coast and passed quite a few bus loads of "light hunters". The forecast was true, we were in for a real treat.

Our guide settled on a beach location and we set up for what turned out to be 5 hours of lights.

 

[amaroo]

A few hours in - we set up a beach camp fire, drank hot chocolate and ate a warm meal out of a packet:-|

 

[amaroo]

Totally satisfied we decided to head home to a warm bed.

About half way home our guide stopped the car - yes, there was more!





Unbelievable night! We got back to the hotel around 1.30am... completely satisfied and feeling extremely lucky given we only had two nights in Tromso.

 

[OATEK]

Amazing night and photos.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Wow - looks amazing!

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Amazing photos Amaroo! I think it helps having a professional take them for two reasons...
1. Give you the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the lights rather than get frustrated at your lack of skill with the camera :-|
2. You get photos like the above rather that the one blurry green shot I got below (the rest were pretty much just black sky)
Glad you had a great time Amaroo.. it was one of our best trips ever also!

 

[amaroo]

Amazing photos Amaroo! I think it helps having a professional take them for two reasons...
1. Give you the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the lights rather than get frustrated at your lack of skill with the camera :-|
2. You get photos like the above rather that the one blurry green shot I got below (the rest were pretty much just black sky)
Glad you had a great time Amaroo.. it was one of our best trips ever also!
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Could not agree more!

I'm so glad we hired a guide/car with photography benefits - worth every cent. It's not cheap, but neither is travelling to Tromsø, Norway - just makes perfect sense to cover all bases and increase your odds of a successful sighting.

The benefits of booking a professional guide..

1. Extreme weather clothing - absolutely crucial when it's -20 or lower. On the night we saw people with standard clothing ... they looked miserable, I doubt they made it past the first hour or two.
2. Local knowledge - we were lucky and didn't have to drive hours chasing the lights however, you still need to know a good spot. Our drive to the coast was around 1h 15m, and we got whales included If required our guide was prepared to drive 4hrs (that's 8hrs of driving) into Finland chasing the lights.
3. Catering - warm fire, hot chocolate and a surprisingly tasty warm meal in a bag. All of these things made the bitterly cold night more enjoyable.
4. Photography - the photos speak for themselves. Without the equipment, knowledge and your time - you're not going to get great images. We were able to spend all of the time enjoying the moment, not fiddling with cameras, worrying about how the photos will turn out. The amount of time it took setting up each photo was unbelievable, moving the tripod, focusing, mucking around with the settings... it all looked very stressful.

I'd also recommend a private car/guide over a bus/group. Our guide explained a typical group outing (8-12 people) - imagine the time it takes for the guide to help others take their photos... line everyone up in family groups to take photos (like our family shots)... then try to get photos of the lights... then set up a camp fire and make warm drinks and food for everyone. All the photos taken on the night were ours to keep, we ended up with around 40. They are all excellent quality and beautiful.

If anyone would like to know more about the company we selected - happy to pass on the details.

 

[amaroo]

I was very unimpressed with the seats in BA Euro J - just Y with the middle seat not sold. When I came back I went looking for better options and there just don't seem to be any. I also like the BA food and service, so we will be sticking with BA J in Europe, but it really isn't a great experience for the price.

IIRC the price difference for the 4 of us was ~ €2,000 ($3k) ... made much better use of that down on the ground

Could have used points however, I couldn't bring myself to waste them on BA J, lol

 

[amaroo]

After sleep and a pretty decent breakfast we decided to walk over Tromso bridge - check out the Arctic Cathedral, and see what the conditions were like to climb Mt Storsteinen. Unfortunately, the cable car was out of service.

You can see the Cathedral on the left and the top of the cable car above the Scandic hotel.



About halfway





The top of cable car is just to the right of the Cathedral.



We didn't go into the Cathedral as a service was underway, and given the difficulties crossing the road (slippery) we decided against walking up the Mountain. Not much else to do on this side - so it was back over the bridge for us.

It was freezing and very windy - not the most pleasant of walks. On the far right you can just make out the ski jump.

 

[amaroo]

Back where we started, freezing and just wanting to get inside. We stumbled upon a museum amongst the various ships being worked on.



Polar Museum Polar Museum in Tromsø

I was that cold - I would've paid to enter the museum of grass growing. Anyway, the museum was pretty interesting... and very warm

Thawed out, it was time for lunch.

Emma's Under

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Rest...s-Emma_s_Drommekjokken-Tromso_Troms_Northern_

Don't be fooled by the candle - it was around 2.30pm and almost pitch dark outside.