More than one and a half years passed by that I set foot on a plane. Oh, how much have I missed this feeling of excitement and joy to be able to just board a plane and go somewhere. And so I just decided to do it. It was about time that I got away for a long weekend adventure to the Arctic Circle to chase some Northern Lights and breath in some icy, brisky fresh air, refresh the mind and ease the soul.

Northern Norway offers it all; dramatic mountain views, scenic forest trails, fjords, snow-capped mountain tops, reindeer and husky sleds in the open nature and of course, night skies with the chance of experiencing the fascinating nortnern lights aurora. With this trip, we were in for a real adventure. It didn´t need much convincing when I told my sister I wanted to fly to Northern Norway to see the Northern lights for her to join me. We spontaneously booked our flights two weeks ago and informed our family friends that we would be coming for a visit. Sadly after not having returned to Norway in over 3 years I had to realise how much more expensive flight tickets are to Scandinavia when you are not eligable for the Under26 year-old discount anymore. However, any money spent on this trip was still so worth it.

Unfortunately, just shortly before we embarked on our adventure our family friends told us that they had cought covid and won’t be able to be our host for that trip. Long story short we ended up booking accomodation and hired a car a night before we flew out from Berlin. This was the first real vacation my twin and I have ever taken, just the two of us. I wasn’t sure how it will go, but I can happily say – she was a great travel buddy and masterpiece behind the car wheel. While I took care of all necessary travel planning and booking, she took care of most of the driving so that I can take photos. Now technically, this trip wasn’t as spontaneous or unknown to me as it might sound. When I was still working for a travel company in south Norway, I had worked on designing short getaway self-drive trips including one similar above the Artic circle. So I had done my research a few years back, and ever since I left that job I still had the urge to experience one of my creations. Although it was sad that the timing was off to visit our family friends, it was still a great opportunity to jump into some kind of spontaneous but still familiar habitats and showing my twin what it is that I love about Norway so much.

We started things off in Tromsø, often referred to as ‘The capital of the Arctic’. It is an ideal gateway to the Arctic and offers a great mix of modern comforts and Nordic culture. Because late airport rental car pick-ups were so expensive on short notice we decided to go with a private car rental option ttrough getaround which I remembered from back when I was living in Norway it was nabobil (Neighbourhood car rental). Never done it before, but thought it would be worth a try and it worked perfectly well and we can only recommend. The car was dropped off just when we arrived at the airport, and picked up on time when we flew out again. We booked a night in a Hotel in Tromsø city. On our drive into town my sister already wondered why everyone was looking up to the sky. To our susprise we were greated by the Aurora in Tromsø that very first night of our trip. Green strands of the aurora danced across the sky, a truely magical experience that had us hunting for more during the next couple of nights.

From Tromsø, we took off on our roadtrip to Sommarøy (norwegian for “summer island”) which is placed about an hour and a half drive away on the west coast. We stopped here and there for photos spots and small walks before we enjoyed a coffe at this cute little cafe Bryggejentene AS at the edge of the Ersfjord. We spent all day driving along the coastal lines of Kvaløya, just exploring and taking in the breath taking views during the short daylight hours of the day. After a few detours and one of only two available roads on this island we made it to the accomodation for the evening. Unfortunately we weren’t too delighted by the accomodation and decided that we did not feel comfortable staying there. In a matter of seconds we decided to treat ourself and checked in to the 4* Arctic Hotel Sommarøy. My old work had already arranged a nights stay here for us for the next night, however we decided that we might as well spend two nights at this beautiful spot.

The Hotel was the perfect base for our next two days. During this time of the year, daylight up North is limited between 9am and 3pm so we spent the days going on a small mountain hike for some beautiful views of the scenery and the island look out. When the sun was gone we relaxed in the early evening hours to regain some energy for our northern light hunt. In order to know when the aurora northern lights are best visible I am using the Aurora app, that not only shows the KP Index but also gives statistic data about the weather conditions and a longterm forecast. Seems like we picked the perfect weekend for this spectacular natural light display. I was determined to take some great photos, yet was quite disappointed when I saw how easily my sister was able to catch some good snapshots just on her Iphone. However, I am happy to annouce that after looking trough my photos when I got back home, I do love and dearly recommend a tripod and the right camera settings to be able to catch this magical experience that one will definately not forget!

On our last day we decided to head back to Tromsø to explore the city a bit more. On our drive back to Tromsøya we once again just took time to drive around and explore, stop here and there where we wanted to and took an extra loop towards another small island. We even saw some reindeer and people on a dog sled tour. We checked into our cabin near the city, enjoyed a nice evening meal at an italian restaurant and spent the last evening writing postcards and reminiscing about how incredible this trip was.

I wasn’t sure about how I felt about travelling while covid cases were rocketing once again. I checked all necessary websites for what to do when we get there and when we return. Information given online was somethimes not clear enough on what would be the rules when entering a country or reentering, and yes sure, I was worried that I would have to quarantine when we get back, but then I told myself – even if so, it will be worth it. I havent left the country for over 1,5 years and I was so exited to finally take this trip. And then I just decided, it is about time I just did it and see how it goes. And it all worked out fine. I self-isolated a few days and tested regularily and took the time for a time-out from day to day business and the feeling, that somehow my daily life was getting so frustratingly boring over the last year that I needed to change something. I took the time for a getaway, recharge and make memories of a life time and I am so damn happy about that, that when I scroll through my gallery I get this feeling of happiness and adventure and I just want more of it. I am making a bucket list of taking a micro adventure at least once a month, to go somewhere new or try something I haven’t done before. I am getting my old adventurous self back out there, because I want life to go back to some kind of normal.

“Taking time to rest, renew, and refresh yourself isn’t wasted time. Recharge. Choose what energizes you.”

– Melody Beattle –