Tromso #1 - There's magic in the air

I am quite confident when I say that I know the 1 thing everybody wants to see when they’re paying a visit to Scandinavia: the Northern lights. Even the people that do not really like winter and cold, tend to break their habit of sunny holidays to witness this magical miracle at least once in their life. Fun fact: Chinese people believe that seeing the northern lights brings them luck for the rest of their lives, which makes it even more attractive to go there. And somehow, I think they are totally right. Because what makes you more happier to be alive, than the ability to witness something so incredible ?

Although I often see Iceland being presented as the place to be for the northern lights, this surprises me. Because the town I am going to talk about now, one of the most northern cities in Europe, with even the most northern university in the world, can basically guarantee you’ll see them. Also: they’re on their way to become a certified, sustainable city. That of course is of interest to me as I really value this, thank god, growing concept. Some people might have heard of it, some people never did: I am talking about nothing but magical Tromsø. It was February 2018 when me and all of my excitement hopped on the plane to Northern Norway, a very beautiful flight which takes you on a journey over the snowy silver mountaintops, rising up out of the ice cold, pitch black lakes. The airport itself is very small and does not at all give you the feeling that you arrived at a tourist destination, and that feeling was emphasised by the fact that there wasn’t a single MacDonalds present, only Norwegian shops. We took a peaceful bus ride besides black, most certainly icecold lakes, majestic mountains covered in mysterious fog, and every now and then: a little wooden house. There was not that much snow here in the city centre, it was a pleasant surprise that it wasn’t that cold either, or maybe the sight of all this majestic nature made me feel warm. I always get very happy when visiting places that basically wrap their culture in your face. Emerging within a new culture, to me, has always been the beauty of travelling.

After the warm bus ride took us on a trip through the city centre, that was very small yet historical, and existed out of those typical wooden buildings with some colourful painting, we spotted the beloved ice cathedral. This is a very modern, snow white cathedral at the end of the bridge, gazing over the river as the proud symbol of the city it became. With its white stone and glass it looks like a glacier, the style fits this city perfectly. We arrived at our Airbnb in Tromsdalen, a little island connected to the centre by a huge bridge. Oh, how I love Airbnb, it matches my desire to experience the true culture of a place, and our host was such a friendly woman, she and her dog made our visit complete. That same night our hunt for the northern lights had been scheduled, we did not want to take any risk of looking for them as amateurs. So, we hiked towards the city centre with she snow cracking beneath our shoes, protected from the icy wind racing towards the city through the fjords, by our 4 layers of clothing. As the tiny orange lights of little Tromso city started to create this orange glow in the pitch black sky, between the pointy mountains, we entered the cosy-ness of the centre at the end of the endless bridge, connecting Tromso to Tromsdalen.

After passing some very tempting, warm, wooden bars in the quiet peaceful streets, we arrived at the bus. During this bus trip we were already extremely excited about all the mystery that the nights in Northern Norway had to reveal, due to the very promising forecasts of the Northern Lights on this dark, cold evening. This bus took as all the way to a little farm, over slippery snowy roads besides some wooden houses covered in snow. Once we arrived upon a hill where we saw nothing but silver trees, as they were covered in snow completely, my favourite sound appeared: the barking of a loyal group of huskies clarified that we could not surprise them with our visit any longer. They demanded some attention, best be right now. So while the group gathered, me and my friend did not mind at all spending some cuddle time with the beautiful wolf-alike giants, hidden away in their adorable little wooden houses. As everyone already started to stare into the pitch black sky, lit up by the sparkling stars, the guides made us a very welcome fire and started telling some northern light legends. Fun fact 2: people used to believe the northern lights were a sign of hell, a hellfire, and seeing it meant you’d die very painful very soon. Funny how those legends can be so contradictory. Cause here we all are, gazing at the sky, waiting for our bucketlist-item to appear. Although my toes started freezing and I couldn’t feel my hands after a short while, I never left my spot at the wooden bench by the fire. I kept painfully stretching my neck to search through the endless sky for anything other than the sparkling stars.

Finally all the effort seem to pay off: some sort of fog started to appear in the sky, a white glow that was slowly trembling through the darkness. Not to sound like the bravest woman ever, but yes, I was the only one still waiting outside as the rest of the group went to warm up with a lovely fish soup in the comfy cabin where the storytelling continued. Like a little kid that just found more candy, I went to get them, and by the time we returned, the stage had changed completely. The sky was filled with a green light, as if somebody had just turned on the spotlights behind a dark curtain. Like a mysterious fog, like a blurry curtain, the green lights were trembling their way towards us through the sky. It was as if someone just put on a show for us, as if we were at some expensive theatre. But the beauty was, that this was all nature, and it didn’t ask for anything in return. Let me warn you, taking a picture of the northern lights is not easy. If you have a good camera you need to prepare it properly, if you have a phone: the pictures will be made very easy, believe it or not. The quality is of course 453 times better with a good camera, but I simply didn’t have the patience for it, and a sight like this is so hypnotizing that it is very hard to take the time for pictures. I just feared it was going to disappear anytime, I was addicted from the start. I could have laid down in the snow for hours, not noticing that I was slowly freezing. Staring at something so beautiful and magical, so mysterious, makes you feel warm on the inside no matter how cold it really is. The northern lights aren’t as magical as they say it is: it’s better. All those people becoming quiet all of sudden, emotional even, everyone is smiling with a hypnotized look on their face, gazing at the same miracle as everyone else: a mysterious, magical beauty of our world.

- It's an amazing life