Home » Norway » Tromso (2002) - In search of the Northern Lights

An account of our trip to Tromso, Norway in search of the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis.

Tromso (2002) - In search of the Northern Lights

Djb1166
2004-03-27 09:41:11

Displayed times (last time: )

Getting there

A straight forward flight, via Oslo, to Tromso. Don’t miss the scenery on the approach to Tromso, if the visibility is good the views are superb.

From Tromso airport we took the bus to the Radisson SAS , our hotel for the next few days. The fare is 40 Krona and the transfer time is about 10-15 minutes. We checked in to the hotel, dumped our stuff in the room and then went outside for a quick look around before grabbing a snack at the Charlette Lobbybar back at the hotel, the fish soup is excellent.

Sunday

Our first full day and we headed down to breakfast which was buffet style with just about everything you could want, and some things I didn't, well not for breakfast anyway! We stayed at the hotel on a bed and breakfast basis which proved to be quite a good choice as meal costs proved to be very high compared to the UK. The buffet style breakfast allowed us to "pig out" so we only needed a snack a lunchtime.

Sunday is a quiet day, the shops are closed but some of the museums are open and the buses run a limited service. We decided to take a walk even though it was snowing and the conditions underfoot were treacherous. We headed for the Arctic Cathedral which meant a walk across the Tromsobrua bridge. It’s an impressive structure but when you are in the middle of the bridge, with the wind blowing the snow horizontal, all you are worried about is getting to the other side as quickly as possible. I was going to take some pictures from the bridge but by the time we got to the middle visibility wasn’t good and it was so cold I didn’t dare take my gloves off anyway!!

Once across the bridge you are greeted by the Artic Cathedral and a drop in wind speed due to the shelter of the surrounding buildings. The cathedral is a great looking building although more impressive at night when it’s all lit up. ...