Aurora borealis - Dance for us!

I have seen the northern lights!

Found a tour that I liked the look of. Mainly because they provide spare equipment - including the Tripod that I completely failed to dig out! The tour took us on a long long drive south to a little Lavvu (A Sami teepee like tent) in the middle of nowhere.

It was not a perfect night for it. The full moon makes the sky a bit bright and there was a haze in the air. The view was nowhere near as vivid as the photos would suggest, but I did see them! Slowly changing, and dancing almost too slow to see. I think it was the only night I'd get a chance to see them so I got my money's worth, and managed to see what I came to see.

There are always such lovely people on the tours. Everyone was in a good mood and happy to chat. We had hot chocolate and coffee and cake, and most importantly a roaring campfire in the Lavvu.

I am particularly pleased with my photos. The 5-15 second exposures required a little trial and error, but I think the photos speak for themselves.( Click to see! )

Goodbye Tromsø

I'm now sitting in the tiny departure lounge in Tromsø's tiny airport waiting for the plane to Oslo.

Another quiet day. Mostly a case of killing time until I had to leave for my flight. Decided to look at the various art exhibitions, because they're free. Ultimately though, I've seen everything I want to see and done all I want to do. Saw some nice photos. Am sick and tired of the ice. Repeatedly almost slipping and having to tread very carefully as I walk anywhere gets tiresome very quickly.

Decided to find lunch, and found a place offering all you can eat pizza. I didn't quite have the time to take on the challenge but managed 7 or 8 slices. So it is possible to eat here for economically, as long as you only want to eat on the days they do the buffet. Then caught the bus to the airport. Mostly seemed to be underground through a maze of tunnels.

Not sure I can work out this airport. Seem to have gates 16-25 but no gates 1-15

And Hello Oslo

So, I arrived in Oslo. Underestimated how long it will take to get from the airport. 18:30 landing, by the time I'd collected by bag, got to the station, and worked out what I wanted in terms of ticket, it was 19:20, and my train didn't come until 19:43. Got to my destination station at 20:10, and after slightly roundabout walk to hotel, sitting down, and chilling out, and unpacking, it was getting pretty late. Walked into town to see if I could find something to eat but Oslo is dead on a Sunday night. And, apart from the burger places, and 7-11, getting a light snack is out of the question. I'd loaded up on all you can eat pizza at lunchtime so didn't really need a lot.

Considered stopping at a bar but there's no life anywhere and I didn't really fancy paying Norwegian beer prices to it in a lifeless bar.

So bit of a disappointment so far. Probably chose the wrong time to arrive. Still, I expect there will be some nice things to see tomorrow. I have no idea what I want to do here, of course. I just thought I'd visit whilst I was passing.

Anyone have recommendations for things to do with a morning and afternoon in Oslo?