Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia) are known as the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora) because there is little light pollution and they are located above the Arctic Circle. It does not have to be cold to see the lights, that is just a happy coincidence because you must be north, above the Artic Circle, and it must be dark. The lights are there in the summer – but, you can’t see them when the sun never sets.
So off to Norway in February we go. Now, before we go further with this story, you may be thinking that the last two posts have said that we are moving to Amsterdam; we should be busy with that, we are. But a year ago when not much was going on during February in London, planning a trip to Norway a year out sounded like a reasonable idea. So yes, we took two weeks out of our moving timeline to go to Norway. We are still moving in a few weeks. Haaaa.
And, while we went searching for the Northern Lights, we found so much more. A few details are needed here. We did not go searching alone; unlike most of our trips, I did not ‘plan’ this, I made reservations on the Hurtigruten Astronomy Coastal Cruise which makes a round trip from Bergen in the south of Norway to Kirkenes in the north. (www.Hurtigruten.co.uk) The ‘Astronomy’ option included lectures and assistance from a renowned astronomer, Dr. John Mason (http://www.guildfordas.org/speakers/mason-john/). Dr. Mason is the teacher you always wanted; knowledgeable, fun, great analogies, and so much enthusiasm that it is contagious. He was teamed with a coordinator, Eva Stiegler; he handled the sky, she handled the earth. Eva is a born Norwegian, who better to share with us the eccentricities of these people and their lands. I still don’t know how a person so young could have so many stories and tidbits of information – and, lest I forget, great camera skills. Of the 480 or so people on board, 80 of us were part of the Astronomy sub-group; a wild and woolly group from all over the world, but especially UK, US, and New Zealand. Lots of ‘Bucket List’ items being checked off by many in the group.
We did find the Northern Lights. We also found new friends, from North Dakota! We found new appreciation for science (at least I did, Andy was pretty good in that department already). We found the cutest towns in the world. We found new gloves and even a pig-type of souvenir. (remember, the pig is my ‘spirit animal’; it only goes forward) We found fun! Snowmobiling, dog sledding, trekking, hiking, and marble mine exploring. The coast of Norway is amazing. What an adventure!
And, now, we are back. Time to focus in on getting ourselves to Amsterdam. We have confirmed the rental of a furnished apartment right on a canal; two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a Nespresso in the kitchen. Now all we have to do is complete our immigration paperwork, arrange to have our stuff shipped to either Amsterdam or the US and then get on a plane to start living in the Netherlands. That’s all we have to do.