Today we are heading to the far north of Norway to Tromso. This arctic playground is some 350km north of the Arctic circle. We land around 1:30pm and it feels like it is 8pm at night. At this time of year the sun doesn’t rise, although there is twilight for about 4 hours on the middle of the day if you are lucky. The girls were very confused and asking if it is day or night. Once again we land in the snow with quite a bumpy landing.

We catch a bus into the city and deep snow lines the roads and cars parked in driveways are buried. The girls think this is fantastic. Our hotel is the Scandic Ishavshotel and our room has a view over the harbour where we can see the Arctic Cathedral and some large ships are docked right outside our window. We start getting ready for the night ahead and as excitement builds we prepare to go and chase the northern lights!

We have never been more prepared for the cold ever, dressed with thermals, merino, fleece and then ski jacket. We all feel like michelin men walking out of the hotel. Our guide for the night was Marcus from Greenlander Tromso. As it turns out he is also the owner and has many years experience chasing the lights. He picked us up in an old Land Rover that we squeezed into along with a couple from Italy. It took a long time for Marcus to decide where we would head, many calls to other guides, lots of apps on his phone with weather maps, satellite pictures and aurora predictions. We head towards the coast and our first stop was facing north across a fjord with some beautiful mountains in the background. We waited a little while and the girls played in the snow and bus after bus full of people drove past chasing the lights. We waited a little longer and eventually a very faint aurora appeared. It lasted maybe 1 minute and then it was gone. Just long enough to get a couple of pictures of us with it. After that Marcus built a fire and we had some home made vegetarian soup before setting off again.

This time we drive south for maybe 2 hours with a lot more consulting with his apps and phone calls to his friends along the way. Eventually we stop in a valley with a beautiful view looking north. There is still some cloud around but he has found us another window to the sky for maybe an hour or 2. After about an hour we start to see something low on the horizon, not the bright green we were expecting but a dirty grey/green colour. It starts to move a little and then it starts to get stronger and stronger. It turns out to be a beautiful showing of the northern lights right across the sky. It doesn’t look like much to the naked eye but certainly on camera it shows up a vibrant fluorescent green. Then just as quick as it had come it was gone again. In total it lasted maybe 2 minutes in total, just like the first one but much stronger this time around. It really is a once in a lifetime experience and we feel extremely lucky to have seen them. As we found out over the next couple of days that a lot of people don’t get to see them. We overheard a group of Americans 2 days later and they were heading out for their 3rd attempt to set the lights. They were also out the night we went but didn’t have the same luck. Marcus certainly bent over backwards to give us every opportunity to see them. This is something the big bus tours can’t do, they just don’t have the same flexibility to quickly pack up and change location. We are very thankful and would highly recommend contacting Marcus if you are in Tromso chasing the lights.

The next day was a little slower for us after getting in at about 2am the night before. We went out eventually and caught the cable car to the top of Fjellheisen. The view back across Tromso was spectacular. That night was our first real night eating out in Norway and it was expensive! A family sized pizza starts at $50 and a beer or wine to go along with the pizza is $15. Suffice to say there won’t be too many drinks had out with dinner! The girls however loved the pizza, it was delicious and that’s what counts. After this we went and visited the Tromso library, a nice warm retreat and to the let the girls explore some of the different books. It is quite large as they have a big university and also big student population. I just don’t know how students afford to eat in Norway.

On our last day in Tromso we went on a husky dog sled tour. There were about 300 huskies to meet including a litter of puppies. They were super cute and Ella and Abbie wanted to take one home in their suitcase! Somehow I don’t think our weather in Queensland would suit them. After the husky ride they gave us a traditional meal and a hot drink in a Sami hut, which is a traditional hut the Sami people used to live in. The girls absolutely loved the Husky sled ride and getting to meet all the dogs and the puppies. This was a great way to conclude our adventure packed 3 nights in Tromso, tomorrow we depart early on a ferry for a truly spectacular part of Norway, the Lofoten Islands.