Aurora Borealis Sighting

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fountainhall

Aurora Borealis Sighting

Post by fountainhall »

As requested by GB, attached are just a couple of photos of the Aurora Borealis as sighted from about as far north in Finland as you can go without hitting the Arctic Sea. It was a trip I took in November 2014 starting in Bergen on the Norwegian Coast, then taking the daily ferry up the coast for 4 nights to the quite lovely village of Tromso, where it snowed all night. So no sighting there. Then a roundabout way through Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki before flying to Ivalo and then an hour's drive to the lovely Nellim Wilderness Lodge Hotel. The first night, I was the only guest and was left on my own after 9:00 pm. Having stood on a frozen lake for a couple of hours to sight the Aurora, all I got was a very weak glimpse. Then I couldn't get the key to my cabin to work! I thought I would be found frozen in the morning. But eventually I got into my lovely warm room. The next night the only other guests were a Chinese couple from Hong Kong!

The following two nights saw low cloud with zero chance of sightings. Just as I was beginning to think the whole trip would have been a considerable waste of money, on my last night I parked myself again on the frozen lake and waited. Around 11:00 pm the first sharp image appeared. For the next two hours I was treated to an amazing light show despite some wispy cloud. In Finland, the Aurora is only green. In some other parts of the world, it appears in several colours. But I was thrilled I finally saw it.

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fountainhall

Re: Aurora Borealis Sighting

Post by fountainhall »

I have been asked if I can post some more information and photos about my Scandinavia trip at the end of 2014. Although not related to gay Thailand, I will add to my earlier post. Thereafter I shall return to posts about travel in Asia.

The intention was to try and see the Aurora Borealis. I had read somewhere that the end of 2014 up to March 2015 would be the best time for several years. So I arranged the trip to start in mid-November. I had miles available on British Airways but I loathe the tired old 777s BA use on the BKK/LHR route. So I went via Hong Kong where I could get upper deck on the A380s. I purchased the cheapest upgradable ticket and then used the miles to get into business class.

Having booked the tickets about six months in advance, BA then screwed me by cancelling the morning flight to Bergen. That pissed me off as it reduced my time in the city to just one day. So I arrived in Bergen around 7:30 pm in lashing rain. I had hoped to get the airport bus but I had no idea if I could then get a taxi at the bus terminus. Since the trip was short, I just took a taxi from the airport. Well, as anyone who has been to Norway knows, it is not just expensive; it is very expensive. I had picked up some kroner before departure, but at the rate the meter was clicking over I was afraid it would all be used up. It wasn’t – quite!

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Bergen is a pleasant colourful little town. Far better in the Spring I was told. But seeing around was a good way of walking off part of the jetlag. In the early evening, I took a taxi to the pier to catch the coastal ferry. These run daily up and down the coast to the furthest north point well beyond the Arctic Circle. My cabin was tiny. 7 sq. m. for two people! But I was on my own and so there was enough room to put my bags on the other sofa-bed and the Shower Room had all the usual amenities.

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These are working ships with between 300 and 500 passengers. They stop all along the coast and for many of the communities they are literally the only way of getting north or south. Sadly, the weather on my four days/nights was mostly lousy – low cloud and precious little sunshine. The ferry captains were excellent, for during the various night dockings I never once woke up. At a few stops we were able to get off for a few hours. I enjoyed the town of Trondheim but rain prevented more shore excursions.

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Trondheim
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One of the few times the sun came out was the ceremony for crossing the Arctic Circle. Having ice cubes put down your back when it was so cold anyway was not my kind of fun and so I skipped the certificate of proof! The rain continued all the way up to the loyely town of Tromso. Tromso is situated on a small island. My intention had been to take a taxi at night up to the hill across the water where Aurora sightings are quite common. But the cloud made that impossible. Still, I loved the little Viking Hotel. In addition to on tap coffee and tea all day, at 5:00pm they put a waffle maker, waffle mix and fresh preserves out in the foyer so we could make our own snacks!

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Overnight the rain had turned to thick snow. I managed to walk around the quaint town but again there was no chance of getting across to the mainland. So I just passed the time before getting the bus to the airport and my long roundabout trip to Ivalo as far north as you can fly in Finland. About an hour to the north east is the little village of Nellim and it was here at the Nellim Wilderness Lodge Hotel that I would spend four nights.

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The snow had arrived only a few days beforehand, but it was everywhere. The peak season started about 10 days after my visit and so the winter activities like husky sledding had not started – although I could hear the huskies howling at their farm in the distance. But it was lovely walking around in total peace and quiet apart from the crunching of the snow. Despite the clouds, there were some lovely winter scenes and a couple of stunning sunsets.

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On my first night I was the only guest in the Lodge. Around 10:00 pm I parked myself, camera and tripod on a frozen lake waiting for the light display. Nothing! After an hour, I moved up to the driveway to the Lodge. Soon I caught a glimpse of the greenish Lights, but it did not last long and was weaker than I had expected.

The frozen lake
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The cabins at the Lodge were large. Mine had a sitting room with a lovely log fire, a big shower room (how I wished there could have been a bathtub!) and a twin bed room. Meals were taken in the communal dining room just a few steps away. The cuisine was local, filling but far from cordon bleu!

It was on my last night that I again parked myself on the frozen lake waiting and hoping. The clouds had partially lifted and the daily guide to likely sightings placed in the dining room had indicated a high likelihood of Aurora sightings that night. For an hour, I could only make out scattered clouds and the swish of the wind blowing through the trees. About to move back up to the driveway, I suddenly noticed a comet flare-like streak in the sky. At last! It took another 10 minutes of “Will it? Won’t it?” guessing until the full brightness of the Aurora finally appeared. It was magical. I really had no idea how my photos would come out and, as I stated in the earlier post, I busked it for well over an hour. Battery life in bitterly cold weather runs out a lot faster than in warmer climes. So I had three with me – and I needed them. When the display seemed to be over, I was walking up to my cabin when I noticed another display starting to the south. So I stayed up until 1:00 am happily snapping away and in awe at what I was seeing.

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If you plan on seeing the Northern Lights, I do thoroughly recommend the Nellim Wilderness Hotel but there are quite a few hotels to fit different budgets in the area. Ideally I’d recommend going in early December or perhaps in February when there will be more activities to participate in. The Christmas/New Year period is too expensive!

The following afternoon I flew from Ivalo back to Helsinki. I had been to Helsinki before and so only spent the night at an airport hotel. The only other major highlight of my roundabout trip was to go to the most visited Museum in Scandinavia. The Vasa Museum in Stockholm is a definite must-see! The Vasa was a warship that had the misfortune to sink on its maiden voyage out of Stockholm Harbour in 1628. It lay on the seabed for 333 years before a major salvage operation and treatment to the wooden structure. It can now be seen in the Museum specially built around it.

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Finally, no visit to Scandinavia would be complete without seeing one of those pesky creatures who inhabit chat rooms from time to time – a troll!

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