It's an early morning, and we are catching a flight to Bodø. I must say timing was on our side this entire trip. It started out with the storm that had hit northern Norway a few days earlier. We were slightly nervous as 15% or more of the flights were being
cancelled as we were sitting and waiting for our gate to be announced. Some were cancelled due to continued bad weather, others due to lack of crews from the previous
cancellations and delays.
Luckily we boarded the plane, arrived safely in Bodø & relaxed over a coffee hoping that our luck was to continue as we were to get on a boat in a few hours. It seems we were moving the opposite direction of the storm, and once aboard the MS Lofoten, we were giddy for our adventure.
With ghastly prices on board, we quickly decided to run out to town for some groceries so we can make sandwiches for dinner (story of our trip since the $60 burgers), and also to find its only Vinmopolet (state controlled liquor store) in order purchase a bottle of vino for our voyage. Well hidden it was too this liquor store, thankfully Bodø is not a very big town.
I highly recommend the Hurtigruten, pastel skies, icy waters, and fjords. We were reading, relaxing, and enjoying the view. Then came the itching for a beer to enjoy with all this relaxing. We decided we would share one as we were prepared for it to be pricey, but we were definitely not prepared when she said we owe her $17…for one beer!
Not long after we retired to our tiny cabin, the captain announced a sighting of Northern lights over the PA. I have never gotten dressed so fast in my life. Less than ten seconds later we joined other passengers on top of the windy deck, watching a light haze of green dance over the Norwegian Sea with snowy hills in behind. Unfortunately, strong winds and a moving ship prevented me from capturing this moment on film. Still, this being the first lights I have ever seen, I was buzzing with excitement and fiending for more.
I had a restful sleep on the ship; the humming of the engines and the gentle swaying of the waves putting me to bed like a baby. Lukasz - not so much. He is a very light sleeper to say the least, and quite the grumpy morning person. Breakfast was included in the ticket for the ship, which we welcomed with hungry stomachs and left with a few hardboiled eggs in our pockets J
Arriving to a windy Tromso, looking out the cabin window, and
seeing people bundled up with layers and fur, one would have thought that there
are sub arctic temperatures awaiting us. Bundled up we stepped off the boat into the fresh air to
find a milder version of a Calgary winter….thank you for preparing us for anything Canada.
Armed with the Aurora Borealis app for Norway, I was tracking the activity in each location. Tromsø looked promising for a glimpse of the lights up until our arrival, when clouds gathered in the sky. We checked in to our hotel, and enjoyed a stroll to the most Northern Brewery in the world to sip on their beer at the oldest pub in Norway.
We picked up a few more groceries for breakfast to avoid the gauging prices for food in the morning, and then decided with all these savings we had made over the last 24 hours, and a cloudy evening ahead we deserve a nice hot meal out (barely justified). Nestled into a cozy atmosphere with a fire crackling in the background, we enjoyed the most tender norweigen lamb shank accompanied by parsnip mashed potatoes, mint, and topped with candied apricots, almonds, and horseradish.
It was the perfect end to the day even though we had not seen the lights this evening.
