Tromsø, Gryllefjord and Harstad (18.02.-21.02.2021)

First flight of my life

Sara and I were asked by our classmates if we would like to fly to Tromsø together to hopefully see the Northern Lights there. At first, I was very skeptical, especially because of environmental concerns and because the trip was only supposed to last four days. But everything changed when our teacher suggested that we could also stay there longer and do our self-organized forest field trip to the Lofoten Islands.

After planning, a tiring night of packing, and the drive to the airport, the excitement in me started to build up. I have only been on a small plane once in my life, and that was already a few years ago. Luckily, I had experienced travelers with me. Boarding started late due to poor visibility during landing. I sat by the window in the airplane so that I could enjoy my first flight. However, since we flew in the evening and there was a thick layer of clouds in the sky, I could see very little during the flight. The takeoff is actually the most spectacular moment, next to the landing. I had a bit of pressure in my ears, but overall it was a pleasant journey. We also managed to catch our connecting flight in Oslo without any problems.

The pilot of the second plane said during the landing in Tromsø that you can see the Northern Lights flickering across the sky outside. However, since we had no idea what to actually look for, we did not realize that even gray veils are already Northern Lights. In the first two nights, we slept in a hostel in Tromsø, which was quite run-down and had the classic feeling of a hostel. On the evening of the flight, we planned the next day and then went to bed.

City sightseeing, sunset and Northern Lights

In the morning, we explored the nice city center of Tromsø (church, library, LEGO store, and Ishavskatedralen (Arctic Cathedral)).

In the afternoon, we crossed the fjord to go up the Sherpatrappa (a path up the mountain in Tromsø that can also be reached by cable car). The path is very steep and dangerous in deep snow. But the views along the way are truly priceless.

Once we reached Fjellheisen (cable car station) at the top, it didn't take long for the sun to set. The view from up there is truly breathtaking and worth the slightly more dangerous hike. Why didn't we take the cable car? Because the round-trip ride costs €21 per person.

After enjoying a beautiful sunset, we went to the cable car café and had hot cocoa. There, we also planned the next day. Suddenly, a man came in and said something in Norwegian. When we told him that we only speak English, he said "polar lights!". Like crazy people, we grabbed our backpacks and ran out onto the terrace. And indeed, there were no longer just gray veils in the sky, but green streaks gently moving across the sky. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.

Since I really wanted to take a good photo, the game of adjusting the camera settings had just begun. After several attempts, I finally found the right settings and was able to enjoy photographing the Northern Lights.

Some time later, the lights started to dim, and we decided to take the next cable car down to the valley (€13 one-way). In the city, we decided to take a short rest at the hostel and then went to a lake (Prestvannet) in the city to see the Northern Lights again. The Northern Lights showed themselves in all their splendor. We lay on our backs in the snow and enjoyed the dance spectacle in purple and green. It was truly a magical moment.

Huskies and Gryllefjord

The next day, we went to the airport and picked up our rental cars. We received a "small" upgrade from the rental company and ended up with a Suzuki S-Cross and a BMW X1 instead of two VW Golfs. Both cars had all-wheel drive, spikes, and automatic transmission.

With all our luggage, we drove about an hour out of Tromsø to a husky farm, where we originally wanted to go on a tour. However, it was too windy, so we only cuddled with the dogs and talked to the owner. We decided to try again next weekend. We then drove through beautiful valleys and over mountains to reach Senja Island, the second largest island in Norway. We arrived in Gryllefjord after the sun had already set. Due to a booking error, the house was not heated, so we had to turn on all the heaters. However, the accommodation was very spacious, and we had a breathtaking view from the windows, which we only noticed the next morning ;)

We set off to see various viewpoints on Senja. First, we stopped at a troll park, which was unfortunately closed. Nonetheless, we were able to take a few photos. Then we continued to the next viewpoint. After a few kilometers, the visibility became worse and there were massive snowdrifts. We could hardly see a centimeter ahead, and even the orange posts were no longer visible. It is really a depressing feeling to drive in these conditions. We drove to the designated viewpoint, where we stopped to take pictures, foolishly. Since the strong wind was blowing from the side, I couldn't open my driver's door. Some other members of my group got out of the car but lost their hats and fell because of the wind.

We quickly realized that we should turn around, as the road would continue like this for several more kilometers. We arrived at Ånderdalen National Park a bit earlier than planned and went on a small snow hike through the enchanting nature.

Afterwards, we continued driving towards Harstad. It had started to snow, and the roads were extremely slippery even with spikes on the tires. We blindly trusted both the car's navigation system and Google Maps, so after three-quarters of an hour, we suddenly stood in front of a barrier. When we checked the route, we realized that we could only take the ferry here. However, that would have cost over €80 per car, so we decided to drive back on the narrow road with passing places.

The snowfall became stronger, and after three hours, we found ourselves once again in front of a barrier in the middle of the E6. We waited for over half an hour as a snowplow cleared the stretch of road ahead of us. After the oncoming vehicles were let through, we were allowed to follow the snowplow in a convoy.

We finally arrived in Harstad at 11 p.m. at a Den Norske Turistforening (Norwegian Tourist Association) cabin, where there was no running water, toilet, or preheated sleeping room. So we filled buckets with snow to have water for the next morning and turned on the electric heaters.

In the next post, the adventure above the Arctic Circle continues.

Until then, stay healthy.

Your Maike