Northern lights in cold weather

Lakmin Wickramasuriya

I cannot recall the moment I first discovered my aversion for cold weather. I can remember struggling and freezing in Nuwara Eliya whilst on holiday as my sister slept peacefully. I don't think that was the defining moment, though I'm sure it played some part. But one thing was for certain. I knew I couldn't come to Norway without a journey to see the Northern Lights. "Did you see the Lights?" they would ask."No, "I would reply rather meekly."Why ever not?" the inquisition would continue."Err, I didn't want to be in the cold weather." I could hear the sniggering even now considering I was in a cold country in either case.

It was chilling to even consider it as winter was pretty much in bloom all over Norway including Bergen, probably the warmest city in the south. However Aurora Borealis which could be seen, way up North in Tromso, the capital of the Arctic was enticing. Whilst it only held roughly 100,000 inhabitants it was still one of the largest cities in all of Norway.

It was considered crowded for this lovely nation. This was definitely much more of a plan of my friend Maria as she had always wanted to see the Northern Lights growing up in Germany. In contrast I preferred the heater in my dorm than shivering in my boots to see the sky light up like a fireworks display. She finally won me over and took care of the arrangements including gathering a few more of our academic colleagues who were as excited as she was.

We awoke at 6 am as we had to catch the train to Oslo (Norway capital). It was a six hour ride from Bergen. The train journey is one of the scenic rides in Norway during the winter as it goes through the famed fjords and snow covered hills, where little kids are tobogganing and walking on alpine skis (common sight in Scandinavia). The snow flakes fall from the sky like little crystal chandeliers. It is indeed a heavenly sight.

We finally arrived in Oslo. Though technically colder it is much drier compared to the damp atmosphere of Bergen. We have two hours to catch a domestic flight for which we need to take a high speed train from the station to the main airport.

After we arrived at the airport it suddenly occurred to me that I had forgotten to bring my passport which when found out led to a chorus of groans from my fellow travellers. However, Maria assured me as it was a domestic flight they would not even probably ask for it and lo and behold was she right. The journey by air was short and fairly pleasant. Another person might have said dull as ditchwater and he may not have been wrong either. Nevertheless we landed in Tromso at about noon. We needed to catch a special evening bus to the place where we would be staying, an hour from the city centre. Therefore, we decided to take in the sights before then.

We walked around the city centre which was not very large and was literally devoid of tourists unlike during the summer, when it would be packed to the rafters. It was only minus three degrees but due to the wind chill we were still shivering. I managed to go into a candlestick shop and observe the production process which was extremely enlightening and warm at the same time which was my first thought.

Later on we walked along the main suspension bridge towards the Arctic Cathedral. It is the city's most visible landmark and has an original glass mosaic. It reminded me slightly of the Sydney opera house. There was a large overhanging tree which gave it an extremely surrealist impression. Afterwards we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Polar museum which is housed in a traditional wharf house, and offers the history of Norway's and specifically Tromso's Arctic explorers which was extremely fascinating.

At six we got on the bus that was on the way to our temporary abode. The road was pitch dark and we were scared that we might miss the correct turn however our host, a gentle looking old gentleman was there in his car right next to the bus stop. Needless to say we were fortunate that Maria spoke Norwegian as though Norwegians generally speak good English it becomes slightly difficult to understand their accent the further north they are. However we faced a slight problem as his car could only accommodate four people at a time. Naturally we asked the girls to go first along with our bags and we stayed behind until he came to pick us up.

The temperature had fallen dramatically as we left the centre of Tromso and it was nearly minus eighteen degrees. We were hopping around trying to keep warm whilst counting stars and mindlessly droning on at each other in order to keep our mind off the freezing conditions. Polar bears would have found this cold was my honest opinion. Finally he came back and we were driven about fifteen minutes to an extremely cozy centrally heated two storey building. He was extremely helpful in letting us set up our gear and went on his way whilst we immediately flopped onto bed exhausted.

The next day the day was dark as usual. We would find out that it would be eternal darkness in this region. Our host had invited us to show his main business. He was a wood cutter and sorter. Basically he cut trees during the snow time with his main staff and stored the chopped wood. We were guided around the main shed where he stored the wood.

The determination of these people was impressive as at times they had to drive the snow plough and also wade through snow which would at times be Forty centimetres high. We wondered about the children and found that there had earlier been one school which had housed nineteen students from several grades but it had been closed due to lack of enrollments.

After this enthralling discussion we decided to take a hike to explore the wilderness of the outer skirts of Tromso. It was blisteringly cold and now I remembered why I should have bought ear muffs and gloves. Fortunately My Timberland boots were braving the weather in true explorer style. It was a bare landscape apart for the Snow Mountains as we walked on the main highway which was fairly clear of snow due to the snow plough being used continuously.

We walked for about two and a half hours and saw the bare leafless trees with branches leaning downwards creating almost a picture of a weary old man on his final legs. The sky was bright orange and would become slightly pinkish all of a sudden. We saw a couple of reindeer who seemed to be struggling with the weather as well. The tourist bureau in the city centre had told us that reindeer could live in temperatures up to minus forty degrees without being uncomfortable. Clearly the tourist booth had forgotten to mention it to these reindeer who were shivering in their hoofs.

After our walk we came back chilled to the bone and warmed ourselves in front of the heater whilst making ourselves some hot cocoa and warm scrumptious muffins. In the evening we went outside and stared at the sky through a skylight log cabin near our housing building and eagerly waited.

We saw the sky turn to a slight shade of green from the normal blue sky line and after about two hours or so it became red but Alas!

The sky was too cloudy and heavy for the Northern lights to fully light up the sky. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable time as we passed the time making snow angels in the snow as well as flinging snow balls at each other in good natured rivalry.