‘”You’re going where?” was my friend’s response when I told him of my plans for the weekend. “Tromso” was my reply. The look of confusion remained on his face.
Few have heard of Tromso, or even know where it is. Tromso is, of course, in Norway. Most people know Norway: land of fjords, Vikings, trolls, the Kontiki, reindeer and, more importantly, Aurora Borealis, or in layman’s terms, the Northern Lights.
However, as much as people may claim to know about the Northern Lights, not all know that Tromso is one of the best places in the world to view this breathtaking phenomenon. In fact, only Alaska is more consistent in sightings of the Aurora Borealis.
Tromso is a remote city on Norway’s north-west coast, 300km north of the Arctic circle and some 2 000km away from the north pole. In fact, Tromso prides itself on being known as “The Gateway to the Arctic”.
It was snowing heavily on our arrival, and as we started our descent over the snow-capped mountains, I couldn’t help but get the feeling of arriving at a remote Arctic outpost, half expecting to be greeted by Eskimos and polar bears.
In reality, however, Tromso is a modern, if remote, city, and it was not polar bears that greeted us, but a friendly bus driver.
It is a busy town with lots of history and a surprisingly large population of about 65 000 people, not to mention the northernmost of almost everything relevant on the planet, from northernmost universities to northernmost pubs and northernmost golf course (probably best taken advantage of in summer, though).
The outside temperature of –2ºC (which is quite mild apparently) was soon forgotten when we arrived at our warm hotel on the waterfront and were greeted by the very friendly staff. Norwegians are ultra-hospitable and go out of their way to make you feel welcome.
The view from our room was fantastic – the harbour, Tromso Bridge, and Mount Storsteinen.
Of course everything was bathed in the bright lights of the city already but it was only 2.30pm in the afternoon. One thing I didn’t mention is that being mid-January, daylight only lasts a couple of hours, and even then the full light of day is merely a change over from dawn to dusk, without even a single glimpse of the sun. Another great reason to visit – how often can you say you’ve experienced a 24-hour night? You can experience this 24-hour darkness between November 21 and January 21 and these days are known as polar nights. On January 21 the locals even have a festival to celebrate the first sighting of the sun in two months.
Now on to the main reason we came to visit this remote yet modern city in the Norwegian “wild west” – the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.
Although there is no guarantee of seeing the lights, a few important factors will increase your chances. A clear night is an absolute necessity, cold temperatures of –5ºC and below, solar storms or activity on the sun’s surface, and time of year.
We were in Tromso at the end of January, and this time, through to mid-February, is apparently the best time of year to see the lights.
So what are the Aurora Borealis? Not being a scientist I will do my best to explain the phenomena.
Factor 1 is solar activity or solar storms. Very simply, this is increased activity or storms on the surface of our source of light and warmth, the sun. During these explosions and flares large amounts of solar particles are thrown from the sun into deep space in the form of plasma clouds.
When these clouds (which have travelled through space for two to three days at speeds of over a million kilometres an hour) get close to Earth, the earth’s magnetic field attracts them and guides them to the two magnetic poles. As these particles collide with the earth’s atmosphere they are turned to light particles or Aurora, creating a magnificent colourful light display in the sky.
The conditions still need to be perfect and it is near impossible to see the lights in the confines of a city or a well-lit area, unless it is an extremely strong display.
We took an evening trip to the Tromso Wilderness Centre, about a half-hour drive out of Tromso. On arrival we were issued with warm suits and boots and then taken up to the viewing area, surrounded by traditional Sami tents.
The Sami are the indigenous people of the area and are often mistakenly referred to as Laplanders.
We sat there in the darkness on benches covered in reindeer skins for extra warmth, around a bubbling hot tub (no one plucked up the courage to jump in). Inside the tents, fires crackled, and coffee, hotdogs – Norwegian style, stuck on the end of a stick and cooked on an open fire – and chocolate cake were served.
When we had first arrived, a staffer from the centre pointed to a green smudge in the sky and said the lights had started. It was exciting to see, but admittedly no-where near as impressive as photos I had seen.
However, as the evening progressed, Old Father Aurora really began to put on a show. The green smudge transformed into a patchwork of larger smudges, becoming large streaks above the city lights on the horizon. Then it faded to nothing.
Then there were green horizontal streaks to our left, lasting for five minutes, all accompanied by a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” from the observers, then more green streaks across virtually the entire horizon. Then nothing. Back to the warmth of the tent, and coffee, hotdogs and cake.
Suddenly, there were calls from outside, “Aurora, Aurora.” Some pinks among the greens this time. More horizontal streaks. Then horsetail-like shapes in the sky. This was better than any picture, and I clicked away on my camera.
It was awesome – nature at its most beautiful, with the best saved for last.
Like the encore of a great theatre production, the lights awoke again and lit up the sky just as we were getting ready to leave the centre.
They danced and gyrated, moving from east to west and north to south in a magnificent show of luminous pinks and greens for about 10 minutes. Then just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone, as if a black curtain had fallen across the stage and all that was left in the sky were the stars.
I have seen many amazing things in my travels, but this was the most awe-inspiring display of nature I have seen. According to the staff it was the best display they had seen for some time.
During the day, Tromso has a lot to offer too. The Polar Museum is an interesting visit. Predominantly about the fur trade, which is interesting yet disturbing at the same time, there is almost a sense of pride about how the fur traders slaughtered hundreds and thousands of Arctic wildlife, including the polar bear.
Fortunately this no longer happens, but is a bleak reminder of how mankind cut a swathe of destruction and bloodshed, on our path to “civilisation”, at the expense of our fellow animals.
That said, though, the polar museum has a lot of Tromso’s other proud history on display including their most famous son, Roald Amundsen, the first man to the South Pole.
On the other end of the scale is an institution that teems with life – the aquarium, Polaria, at the opposite end of the harbour.
About a 20-minute walk from the museum, it is not a big aquarium but has a great show of the Arctic projected on four massive screens.
Looming large over the aquarium, and the city in fact, is the Mack brewery, the world’s northernmost brewery. At 1pm every day there is a tour of the brewery, which ends in O’Hallens pub, which is part of the brewery and also Tromso’s oldest pub. O’Hallens only serves Mack beer, but there are about 22 varieties, and according to the bar tender, the company comes up with 21 new beer recipes every year.
Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – we were unable to sample all the flavours.
Leaving the oasis of warmth that was O’Hallens pub, we meandered through the city, which is filled with modern shops, including a massive shopping centre.
Yet, you can turn the corner into a side street, with its old-style Norwegian wooden buildings and locals chatting outside their front doors, and feel as though you’ve stepped back in time.
We took a stroll (which turned into a hike) over the massive Tromso Bridge, which offers great views of all sides of Tromso.
On the other side of the bridge is the Arctic Cathedral, built in 1861, and it is… you guessed it… the world’s northernmost cathedral.
It reflects all the important aspects and elements of the area by taking its architectural inspiration from the traditional Sami tent and from glaciers or giant ice sheets.
Our last adventure was on the final day: dog sledding. The bus picked us up and took us out to the Tromso Wilderness Centre again.
Once again, we were kitted out in the necessary warm clothes.
It was sunrise when we arrived at 10am – and to make it even more special, it was the first day the sun actually rose and set.
So with this spectacular setting of snow-capped mountains draped in a pink hue, and dogs howling in anticipation, we clambered aboard our sleds.
The sleds set off one at a time, and we patiently waited at the end of the queue.
The dogs howled and tugged and jumped in the air, eagerly waiting to drag us up the icy slopes.
They obviously thoroughly enjoy it, which eased my initial concern that it might be cruel.
At last, the moment came. The brake was released and with a jolt we set off. We steadily climbed a hill towards the rising sun.
The team of huskies then increased their pace as the track levelled, and then they broke into a full sprint on the downhills.
It was icy cold but an exhilarating experience. After about half an hour, we made a long loop and headed back towards the setting sun.
Sunrise to sunset within an hour. We looked out over a large lake so pink-hued it seemed filled with strawberry milkshake. It was a surreal and amazing ending to an unforgettable weekend.
As we flew out of Tromso that night, I gazed out of the aeroplane window and hoped I would one day be able to return.
* Brendan Nolan is from Durban and runs a fishing magazine. He travelled extensively while living in the UK. - The Tribune