The real mission of our Norwegian trip was to see the Northern Lights. But, there is no way to guarantee that we would. That is why all the websites talk about “chasing the lights”, to romanticize the notion that one could travel a very long time to see absolutely nothing. Our best chance was to spend two nights in Tromsø (referred to, in Norwegian tourist books as the “Paris of the north”. I don’t think those writers have spent a lot of time in Paris). So, we would spend six hours a night on Northern Lights’ trips, where we would hope for good weather, which, for viewing the lights, means really cold and really clear. Those are the two key characteristics that make viewing the lights possible. We kept an eye on our weather forecasts and it looked impossibly positive that our two nights in Tromsø would be the only two clear, cold nights for weeks.
I finally found out what the Northern Lights really are. They are caused by electrons from solar winds. They are attracted to the poles by the magnetic fields found there. They mix with gases in the atmosphere causing the gases to glow. Solar flares can also cause the Northern Lights to appear. Mind-blowing fact, the northern lights are actually mirrored identically at the same time on the southern pole. Fun fact, no two northern lights are ever the same.
So, back to earth, we loaded into a little bus, heading towards a camp 40 minutes outside of the city. That is because the lights are much more vibrant without the lights of the city. But as we got on the bus, three fingers of green licked clearly over our heads, in town. Oh boy, we knew that was a good sign. As we drove over a bridge to one of the outlying islands, our driver said that we were going to pull over because the show was already so good. We could see glimpses through the windows. But, nothing could prepare us for what we were about to see.
We stepped off the bus (into the freezing cold), and there they were. I can not even describe how beautiful it was. I can say I started crying and laughing at the same time, which only happens to me when I am utter awe of nature (or I have a baby). I started babbling to the kids and saying things like “Please, please, I know you are young and can’t remember everything cool that happens when you are a kid, but PLEASE remember this”. The sky was changing so fast, and there were so many patterns and shapes and colors that none of us knew where to look. I wish I could describe the feeling. This comes close:
“The sight filled the northern sky; the immensity of it was scarcely conceivable. As if from Heaven itself, great curtains of delicate light hung and trembled. Pale green and rose-pink, and as transparent as the most fragile fabric, and at the bottom edge a profound fiery crimson like the fires of Hell, they swung and shimmered loosely with more grace than the most skillful dancer.”
-PHILIP PULLMAN, The Golden Compass
We made it to the camp and spent the next three hours trudging down/back to a beach through knee-high snow, standing next to the water and gazing up. By the way, did I mention that there were shooting stars, and bioluminescence in the sand?! I would not have been surprised if a genie shot out of a lamp and offered to grant three wishes. Once we all got too cold on the beach, we would go back to camp, which was a yurt called a lavvo- the indigeneous Sami people’s old school tents- with a campfire, hot drinks and marshmallows for roasting. Each kid ate at least four. Reindeer skins were put out in the snow so we could lay on the snow and just stare up. Our guide declared it the best night of the season. My face ached from smiling so much. Or maybe from the cold. I didn’t care.
We could barely drag ourselves back to the camp from the beach. We were so mesmerized and the sky was changing so fast. Josh was madly rearranging the tripod and testing his new-found aurora borealis photo technique. The kids were running around on the beach, somehow impervious to the cold, discovering a huge patch of ice where they “skated” happily under the dancing skies. Sylvie announced that it was the “best forty minutes of her life”. For me, the only thing better than seeing the northern lights was to experience it with my family, freezing and laughing together.
We had one more night in Tromsø, so the next morning, we booked another evening with a different company. We knew we would be in a bigger group, with a bigger base camp, but thought it would be an interesting contrast. The night was even colder and windier. And we lucked out. The lights shimmered across the skies and we were in wonder once again. It was definitely more fun to go with a smaller group, as the base camp was more of a ski refugio feel with working electricity, than a magical little lavvo. But, we went to be OUTSIDE, not inside. The moon half moon was right in our view that night. The moon has never looked more like an ugly stepsister than next to those lights.
Josh was becoming a pro at photographing the lights, and we played with the time lapse as we did family jumping jacks and giggled at the camera. I would say that it was a once in a lifetime experience, but we got two incredible nights. Cue jealousy now.