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Posts tagged ‘europe’

Northern Lights Tour Day 10

Day 10, Feb 07, 2025, To Tromso

We climb out of bed this morning at 7:00 AM. Breakfast is the usual buffet and is good. I’m getting addicted to European Coffee. It is very rich! This morning there are Forest Rangers in the restaurant. We don’t find out why. Then it’s back to the room to pack up the bags as we will be in a new city tonight. We load the bus and climb aboard at 9:00 AM. Here’s a shot looking from our room down at the breakfast buffet!

The scenery is fantastic today, driving to Tromso by the fjords. Bits of blue sky and green water assault our senses. Colorful houses and towns along the way. Our cameras are happy! We go through many tunnels and over bridges. Frozen waterfalls are in abundance!

It is a whopping 8 degrees C today! That’s 45 F! Quite the change from a couple days ago! The landscape continues to impress us and the sun even makes brief appearances! There is much less snow here and no more frozen trees. This country has more tunnels than we have ever seen.

We stop at ‘Pa Taket Kafe’ for lunch. The Cafe overlooks a small picturesque harbor. Then it’s back on the road through the countryside and our cameras purr like kittens. More frozen roadside waterfalls and tunnels to go through! We stop at Circle K again for a break! We must be officially members of the Circle by now! I take a chance with what appears to be a chocolate bar!

As we head out from the break, rain sets in as the afternoon moves along. But the scenery stays fabulous.

We arrive in Tromso and check in to the Clarion Collection Hotel. We walk around town in light rain and come across the world’s smallest restaurant and bar! It is a tiny kiosk on the street! It has a huge line and we decide we really want to find a place indoors out of the elements. We find a place and order drinks. It is then we are told they stop serving food at 4 PM. What??? They do have a small charcuterie board that we call dinner! I also find a wine I’ve never had before and add it to my growing list of wines I’ve tasted! I’ll be able to join the Century Club soon!

We stroll the few blocks back to the hotel and call it a night. But not before finding a few sights for our cameras and even a troll!

See you again tomorrow!

Northern Lights Tour Day 09

Day 09, Feb 06, 2025, To Alta, Norway

After getting up and dressed at 5, I go outside but there are no Auroras. So it’s back to bed. Then it’s up at 7:00 AM. We get on the bus at 9:00 AM. We see lots of moose today and reindeer. Someone calls out every 5 or 10 minutes. Photographing them is a different story through moving bus windows.

The temperatures top out at -4C today (26F). We will be driving to Alta today. I spot Some Sami girls in costume getting into a car. I playfully point my camera at them and they smile, hop out of the car and pose for our cameras! The Sami girls in costume are on their way to a celebration. It is National Sami Day!

The winds are strong. There is a “Truc Dies” flag at Circle K. The winds have destroyed the flag. We believe it originally read, “Truck Diesel”, LOL. We all agree that we would prefer -30C to the winds.

The terrain is different here. We see a lot of Norwegian Birch. They are scrubby trees, almost what we would call bushes. It never gets warm or sunny enough here for a lot of tree growth. On the other hand, it makes it easy to see wildlife. The animals we see are very difficult to photograph from the bus moving at 60-70 KPH (45 MPH).

We arrive in Alta and visit the Alta Museum. It tells us all about the Sami culture and sits overlooking a fjord. The views from the open deck are fabulous. We move on and arrive in downtown Alta. We stay tonight in the Scandic Alta Hotel. We arrive in time to take a nap before dinner.

Dinner tonight is at Erica Mat & Vinbar (food and wine bar). Tonight we indulge ourselves and have a Smoked Whale Meat Tapas appetizer. Add to that Reindeer Steak for the main course. Now before you get all upset, it is allowed in this part of the world to hunt a certain amount of whales, usually “Minke” whales. Minke whales are commonly in over abundance and are not on the endangered list.

The Smoked Minke Whale is on the top grey plate, Reindeer Filet on the bottom! It is interesting that the whale meat is almost black in color!

Then a walk back to the hotel for the night in the brisk air. There is a church outside the hotel that charges for entrance, but it is closed so we can’t go in. This is a new experience for us to see churches charging entrance fees. We are finding Scandinavia expensive, from the food to entertainment.

So it is to bed for us! See you all tomorrow!

Northern Lights Tour Day 08

Day 08, Feb 04, 2025, Karasjok to Nordcapp

Today is an early day. Breakfast at 6, on the bus at 7. It is only -12C to start the day, a Heat Wave compared to yesterday! There are 2-3 inches of fresh snow on the ground. The snowstorm last night warmed up the air. I remember this from my youth, it is always warmer in a snowstorm because the snow insulates. We drive away as planned. It is snowing. The snowflakes are pretty in the headlights. There is a brief shot of the rising sun but then it’s back to snowing. The road we need ahead is closed, it was closed yesterday also. We won’t know until 10ish if we can get through. Maybe by supervised caravan.

We slept well last night. Dinner was good. The Aussies are a friendly lot. Our bus is a 47 seater and we have only 25 people so we can sit wherever we want. We have been near the front of the bus for 2 days. Today we sit mid bus with close access to the side door. The front door malfunctioned 2 days ago so the side door is the only way in or out.

It’s a different world up here. It is cold and barren. But it is also mountainous and beautiful! We see the occasional house or cabin and wonder who lives there. We have earned 2 diplomas so far. One for floating behind an ice breaker and one for crossing the Arctic Circle. When we reach our planned destination of Nordkapp (North Cape) today, we will earn another for reaching the northernmost point in Europe. Then we’ll celebrate with champagne and caviar! We hope we can get there.

We have now crossed both Arctic and Antarctic Circles and stood on the Equator. What other lines are there to cross? Oh yes, the Prime Meridian! But we have been there too! Lines, lines, everywhere a line, ones to cross and others to stand on. You can see our location (blue dot) on the map and our destination is Nordkapp (North Cape) at the top of the map.

One hour and ten minutes into the drive and a snowplow blocks the road. The road is closed. We turn around. We are at the 17th parallel, equal to the top of Alaska. We drive a short mile or so back to a place to rest and wait. We spend 3-4 hours in a Circle K parking lot waiting to get road clearance. It never comes. But the Circle K has tables to sit 30ish people so we spend money and buy hot chocolate and snacks. Gas station hot dogs are cherished by some in the group. I have to admit they look increasingly tempting as the time passes. I get an ice cream smoothie. Yeah, I get it. But it’s good. Must be the cold air getting to me. Maybe I’m delirious, but it’s good.

Viktor drives us back across into Finland to the Alko. We see many moose. Several moose and even a red fox are spotted. Everybody in the bus are looking out their windows in hopes to be the next one to call out, “Moose! On the right!”

A bottle of brandy to spike my hot chocolate seems to be in order. Elee gets a bottle of Cloudberry Liquor to share with everyone. “Cloudberries” are a pale sweet berry that grows in this area and are absolutely delicious! We go back to last nights hotel in Karasjok and get new rooms. This time we have to carry our bags down a flight of stairs. But the hotel is comfortable.

I go up and sit in the lounge area and wait to see who shows up. Perhaps I’ll check out the sauna on the 3rd floor. I do go up and check out the sauna but decide against using it. Saunas have never held any attraction for me. It sure is hot and dry though!

Dinner is served at 6:00 PM and starts with Reindeer Soup. Then Salmon. Dessert is pudding with berries. All is good!

It is still snowing. But the storm clears before midnight and someone texts on WhatsApp in the group that the Northern Lights are spotted! We get our first sighting of the Aurora Borealis shortly after midnight. I jump up and pull on several layers of clothing, grab my camera and tripod, and head outside! A few photos are taken to figure out the correct exposure to use. By then the Auroras have dissipated. I do get one decent shot though!

Back to bed it is with the suggestion that the Auroras might peak around 5 AM. So at 5 AM, I’m back up and dressing. Outside the skies are clear and calm. No Auroras. Back to bed it is!

Northern Lights Tour Day 07

Day 07, Feb 03, 2025, NL Village to Karasjok, Norway

We wake up at 6:30 AM and walk across the Village to get breakfast in the hotel. We board the bus at 8:30 AM. This will be our longest driving day so far, we will drive 5+ hours today and end up in Norway.

After an hour in the bus, we stop at the Sodankyla Old Church. It is -36C, or -33F. Yes, you read that right! Walking around outdoors, we pull up our Neck Gators and pull our hats down over our ears! We have icicles forming on our eyelashes! The old church and adjoining graveyard make interesting sights for our cameras, which surprisingly work!

Driving on for several hours we come to the SIIDA Sami Village. The museum is interesting showing the ancient Sami culture. There is an interesting kilometer long trail to hike that shows the animal traps used and buildings the culture used. It is still -36C and I start out without my Gator pulled up. By the time I pull it up, I have icicles in my beard! The clever yet primitive animal traps are intriguing to see. There is even a courthouse and jail where errant residents were punished!

Moving on, we stop at a set of stores for sundries. It is interesting that in this part of the world, grocery stores cannot sell alcoholic beverages higher than 8% ABV (Alcohol By Volume). For reference, wine is normally 12-14% so wine is watered down here. There are separate stores for the good stuff and these are harder to find. But Mikael and Viktor find the “Alko” stores where the good stuff is found and a bottle of wine is purchased for the room.

The bus drives on through the night and the dusky view is eerie. We come to a sign announcing Norway and the bus pulls over. We all get out and Mikael pours shots of good Russian Vodka. We all drink to Norway!

Shortly ahead we make the actual crossing into Norway and arrive at our hotel, Scandic Karasjohka, for the night. It is snowing fairly heavily. We have 1.5 hours till dinner and settle into our room.

Temperature today stays around -30C to-36C. It feels good to be inside and get out of all the layers of clothing. Dinner comes with the Tour today and we are glad not to have to walk into town in this temperature! After dinner, we settle down for the night.

Northern Lights Tour Day 05

Day 05, Feb 01, 2025, Rovaniemi, Finland

It is not an early day and we get to sleep in a little. Viktor drives us to Santa’s Village. This is, supposedly, the official home of Santa Claus! It is very commercialized. But it is fun walking around and seeing reindeer and other attractions. We first go into a gift shop and are told to walk a circular hallway and get into a queue. We follow instructions and Mikael is there lining us up for a photo with Santa! We then get in line for a private photo with the jolly old elf by ourselves! Then we venture back outside to see the rest of the village. It is here we find the Arctic Circle and officially cross it! When we get cold we just go inside any given restaurant (and there are many) and have some hot cocoa.

Back on the bus, our next stop is Kemi Jarvi (Kemi Lake) where we have hot drinks and walk around the town. There are churches here that glisten in the sunrise light. Any time the sun is out in February, it is either sunrise or sunset. The sun never gets very high off the horizon!

Then it’s time to get back on the bus. We go back to the hotel and have about an hour to relax. Then Mikael takes us down the hill to the river. We go into a store and suit up in one piece insulated suits. Once we’re all dressed, we have a short briefing and climb onto snowmobiles (2 per machine) for the next couple hours. Elee drives first but has never driven one before! But it’s not difficult and we find ourselves enjoying a snowmobile ride. It is a fun afternoon and it brings back memories.

I used to ride and race these machines back 50 or so years ago! This afternoon’s ride is a bit different though as we are instructed to stay in line and follow one another. No deviating from the path is allowed! We ride for most of an hour where we get off the machines and have hot berry juice and cookies. The juice is very good! Then we switch drivers and Elee rides behind me. I break the rules a little and steer out into fresh untracked snow. It is much more fun and I am not yelled at or corrected. These machines have governors built into the keys. Ours is the ‘Green’ key and has a maximum RPM of 5000, which is low for this type of motor. I eek out 41 KPH and have to settle for that. Back when I raced these machines, that would have been a very slow corner! LOL

The one advanced addition to snowmobiles that I wished I had back in the day is Heated Hand Grips! That kept my hands nice and toasty! We go back to the store and change out of the snowmobile suits into our other clothing. After the ride, we stop at the earlier agreed upon pub and everyone joins us for some drinks. I find some IPA. My stomach is feeling good after 2-3 days of BRAT diet and I take a chance. We have some fun chats among the group as we are feeling like we know each other much better!

It is uphill all the way to the hotel and it’s dinnertime. So we walk to Gustav’s for dinner and have some local fare. Back into the cold and back to the hotel. I sleep well.