By train to the Northern Lights - From Trondheim to Bodø

Published: 13.10.2023

I started my next adventure. It has always been a dream of mine to see the Northern Lights and now I thought to myself: When if not now? I immediately chose Norway, perhaps because Norway is the classic northern light hotspot. Well, and it's closer than Iceland or Canada. The city of Tromsø is probably the most common starting point for Northern Lights expeditions, but due to the city's light pollution you have to drive far out to see the lights in their full beauty. That's why I decided, among other things, to travel to the Lofoten, a group of islands south of Tromsø that extends far into the sea. I didn't think about how I would get there and get around until later. As always. And while it was fairly easy to put together an itinerary, it was extremely time consuming. During my research I also read about some interesting train routes in Scandinavia that were described as northern lights routes. So I had a plan. Fly from Berlin to Trondheim, then take the train to Bodø, from there take the ferry to the Lofoten Islands, continue north to Narvik and from there take the train to Sweden and to Finland, and finally fly back from Helsinki. That's the plan. The whole planning process took several days, but it was also fun. Normally I like to leave myself room for spontaneity, but due to the cold, the corresponding amount of luggage and the limited selection of accommodation options, I had to plan and book a lot of things in detail in advance.

So it went on October 10th. from Leipzig to Berlin via Oslo to Trondheim. I only stayed one night in Trondheim because I wanted to travel straight on the next day. And since I didn't arrive until the evening and my train left at 8 a.m. the next morning, I decided to stay in a hostel. However, this will probably remain an exception, as I rarely want to endure restless nights like those in the hostel. There was a lot of coming and going in my four-bed room and I woke up at night because someone else was arriving. He had probably specially booked a bed downstairs because he is quite heavy and I hadn't paid attention to any bed numbers, so I was probably lying in "his" bed. Luckily another guy swapped with him so I could go back to sleep in peace. I already had a similar situation on the plane when my window seat was occupied by a cello. I always book a spot by the window so that I can look out and, when I feel tight, give myself the illusion of space. But the cello, for which its owner had specially booked a seat, had to "sit" by the window for safety reasons. Luckily I got a free window seat a few rows further back.

In the morning I took a taxi to the train station in Trondheim. There I met a girl who was even more loaded than me. She told me that she was currently moving to another city by train. When I saw the train, I had a big grin on my face and was full of anticipation. The route from Trondheim to Bodø is the longest and probably one of the most beautiful in Norway. 10 hours past fjords, through the mountains and through forests. I had booked a premium class seat. Not much more expensive, but with large seats that can be reclined, plenty of space, free coffee and tea and even free fruit.

My train from the train company SJ Nord.

I had booked a single seat on the left side facing the direction of travel so that I could see the fjords.

Writing a blog, drinking coffee, eating, looking outside, taking photos and watching the series... the 10 hours went by extremely quickly.

I always take an extra cup with me and then it doesn't fit under any machine.

Fruit, water, tea and chocolate. And even a cozy blanket. We don't have that kind of luxury. And the premium ticket wasn't even that much more expensive.

At some point snow-capped mountains appeared. And I started to ask myself what I was actually doing here.

At some point there was snow everywhere. Shortly before, I had seen reindeer here, but had not been able to photograph them.

In the background is the only road that leads to the north. I was expecting more of a highway and not a small, lonely road.

Here the snow was only on the mountains. We had left the higher altitudes and the outside temperature rose again to 7 degrees.

The sun slowly set. But I was almost there.

The trip was really nice and totally worth it. I had planned to get some sleep, but I didn't want to miss any of the beautiful scenery. And so I kept myself busy writing a blog, eating, sipping coffee and tea, watching series and looking out the window.

My hostel in Bodo was right next to the train station so I didn't have to walk far after my arrival. At first I was alone in my room, later a Ukrainian and a Slovakian woman joined me. The Slovakian then told me in the morning that she is a doll maker and was at a workshop in the Lofoten Islands. She also lived in Indonesia for a year and worked with dolls there. Super exciting. The night was pleasant, only the remains of a security seal on my room door were a bit strange. I didn't ask what had happened here.

My accommodation in Bodø was right next to the train station and I could see the trains from my room.

Was that a police seal? Maybe it's a good thing I didn't find out.

The next morning I explored some more Bodø, but there wasn't too much to see, so I spent most of the time sitting around in a café. At around 4:45 p.m. my ferry left for the Lofoten Islands. I was excited...