Like many travelers, Norway was on my bucket list for a long time and I planned a thrilling itinerary in December, to fulfill my wanderlust dream.
Norway and most Scandinavian countries welcome travelers year round. Many people prefer planning their holidays during summer, when temperatures are warm and days are long. We decided to take a trip in winter, when days are short with frigid temperatures, an overwhelming barter for beautiful blankets of snow and majestic Northern Lights.
We first touched Oslo, the capital of Norway. Strolling around the city and around Waterfront, surrounded by modern establishments, and rising all the way up to the vintage buildings.
That street will get you on to Karl Johans gate; it is the main street of Oslo which leads to straight to the Royal Palace. When in Oslo, museums are an interesting part of your itinerary, we visited the The Viking Ship Museum and The Norwegian Folk Museum and not to forget Vigeland Park which has 200 sculptures. I was amused to learn that it is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist named Gustav Vigeland.
Our next destination was BERGEN, the city with Norway’s most beautiful fjord scenery. You will experience the scenic Bergen Railway, the breathtaking Flåm Railway, the Aurlandsfjord, and the narrow and dramatic UNESCO-protected Nærøyfjord. As long as your train, tram, or boat has windows — and, well, they all do — your views will be unendingly magnificent.
Bergen can easily steal a traveler’s heart. I fell in love with the small, historic and beautiful Bergen, the getaway to the Fjords. Bergen features two most famous sites; Bargen-, the World Heritage-listed Hanseatic wharf, whose brightly painted wooden buildings have been standing for hundreds of years, and Mountain Floyen, the Floibanen funicular with panoramic views and hikes through the forests.
Alesund was our third destination. It snowed the night before we arrived, which turned the whole city into a winter wonderland. Our hike up to the Mount Aksla viewpoint was about 418 icy steps, this being one of the most memorable hikes of my life. I was astound by the magical site at the, sprawling out from the ocean, dotted with towers, multi-colored houses and seemingly afloat, Alesund looked no less than a fairytale town! After being destroyed by a massive fire in 1904, the entire city was re-built within three years and in a contemporary 20th century Art Nouveau Style.
When in Norway, The Atlantic Ocean road drive is a must do for those who love taking road trips. From Alesund, it takes over 350km of the most beautiful and challenging rides in the world on the way to the destination in Kristiansand. The dramatic seascape, as the untamed Norwegian Sea lashes the coastline adds to the breathtaking beauty of the location.
Flying around 400 kms away from the Arctic circle, we reached Tromso; Norway’s northernmost town from Kristiansand. Tromso was the highlight of our trip. Most of the travelers come here in their quest to witness the Northern Lights and experience Artic adventures. The temperature continued to drop as we travelled towards the poles and by the time we arrived in Tromso, it was -30 degrees.
Our activities were already planned for the day and so we left for dog sledging in a mini bus, after a 40 minutes of drive, we arrived at the husky farm, gorgeously established in the artic valley. We were warmly greeted by the friendly staff and about 120 Alaskan huskies. We changed our outfits to thermal suits and gummy boots. We were briefly trained on dog sledging and soon were ready for our unique adventure.
During the ride of about 1 hour 30 min (15 kms) the adorable Alaskan huskies took us through the artic wilderness of frozen lakes, forests and majestic mountains and valleys. Parts of our trails were very steep and undulating terrains but to the dogs, it was like their way home. I was amazed to see the strength and their love for running in fresh and crisp air. By the time we returned to the campsite it was pitch dark and it was just 2 pm in the noon. After sledging, we warmed up in a Sami tent where we were served hot chocolate and cakes and soon headed back to the hotel.
After a quick nap, we were ready to for our once in a lifetime experience. We were excited for Northern Lights chase tour where we would be following the light activity and chase it for the best show possible. We were a group on 10 people in a mini bus hunting the Northern Lights. The best place for chasing the lights is outside the lights of city where the skies are darker and clearer. After 30 mins into our drive, we spotted a patch of light passing across the sky. The temperature outside was -20 degrees and so we all geared up with thermal suits, boots and headgears of course with our cameras. At first glance they looked like grayish-green clouds hovering over the mountains, but they kept getting brighter and stronger and were illuminating the mountains. Our guide for that night helped us set our cameras and also to get our photos.
The lights would get little stronger at times and would disappear randomly, just like they say. One hour into our chase we reached in middle of dark, empty, snow-covered road, were Aurora Borealis, exactly how they appear in pictures. I was so overwhelmed with the whole experience that at one moment I would want to capture it in my camera and another moment I would just wanted to experience it fully. Just stand there staring at sky something amazing happened.
The Northern Lights appeared dancing like a massive, long, silky, shiny green ribbon waving all around the sky. They were moving so fast, and I had no idea where they were going until suddenly I didn’t see so much ribbon anymore, but instead found myself looking straight up into the center of the Aurora Borealis, at what seemed like dozens of light columns reaching down towards me. In sometime I could not only see green but also streaks of pink and purple. At one point in the night there were northern lights all over the sky, from east to west & north to south, lights would just appear from anywhere move quickly and then run off in distance before another one appeared.
We took lot of pit stops which gave us many opportunities to see the lights as many times as possible and each and every time better and stronger than the last one. It was a magical evening and most memorable night of my life. I consider myself lucky to be able to see these rare and special Northern Lights so strong and actively dancing.
After spending amazing time in Tromso it was time to leave for our last destination in Norway; Lofoten Islands. We set out on sail with the Hurtigruten cruise, which sailed us along the coastlines. The Lofoten Islands are draped across the turbulent waters of the Norwegian Sea, far above the Arctic Circle. The strong winds and rains made our stay very wet and slippery we couldn’t get out of our cabins or see anything clear outside our windows. We still managed to take a drive to the fishing villages, fjords and small-untamed islands.
