Our First Stop In the Arctic Circle
We flew into Norway after a brief stay in Copenhagen. Instead of making our first stop at Norway’s major cities in the south, such as Oslo or Bergen, we landed in Tromso in the north, one of world's largest towns within the Arctic Circle. I had to admit, I just couldn’t wait to be in the Arctic Circle, seeing and photographing northern lights!
Segla peak, Senja, Norway
Day 1 - 3: Tromso
Northern Lights Tour, Finland
The weather forecast showed 90-100% chances of rain during our entire stay in Tromso. Not knowing the area well, I signed up an Aurora Adventure with Vidar from Creative Vacations for our first night. No one else signed up on the same tour, so we were the only clients. It turned out to be the best decision.
Northern Lights near Kilpisjärvi, Finland
What an adventurous 10 hours! We were picked up around 5pm at our Tromso Airbnb, and dropped off at 3am the second morning. We had to drive inland all the way to Finland, with a small detour to Sweden, to bypass the rain and clouds.
The following six pictures were taken by Vidar, a very experienced aurora tour guide for the past 13 years. They pretty much summed up how lucky we were and all the fun we had.
Although the aurora visibility wasn’t very high, I was super satisfied that we were able to see it on an originally zero-chance night.
For our two boys, it was better than heaven! Imagine. Standing under the big and bright moon at 1am in the middle of nowhere, roasting marsh mellows in the frozen temperature, when mommy and daddy didn’t even nag about going to bed soon. What on earth could be more fun than that!
Polaria, Tromso
As expected, the rest of our Tromso stay was in rainy weather. We rented a car in preparation of our upcoming road trip to Senja and Lofoten. But first, we needed to see more of Tromso.
Aquariums were among our kids’ favorite places. Since we missed National Aquarium Denmark in Copenhagen, the largest aquarium in Northern Europe, we couldn’t miss Polaria this time. Although Polaria was much smaller, our kids still loved it. There was a live performance by four well-trained seals, which was the highlight of the day.
Among the local spots recommended by our Airbnb host, we saw a long list of cafes. I always wondered where people would go in the winter without sun, perhaps cafes were the answer.
Roadside view near Bryggejentene Cafe, Tromso
Bryggejentene, tromso
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We visited several cafes in and out of Tromso. Our favorite one was Bryggejentene Cafe. It took 30 minutes drive from Tromso but was well worth it. The cafe was spacious, well-designed and super cozy. It also has a gift store where you could easily pick up souvenirs. Even better, it was right on the edge of a fjord with breathtaking view.
Husky Cafe, Tromso
We would love to try dog sledding but October wasn’t the right season. When I saw Husky Cafe in the recommendation list by our Airbnb host, I added it as our must-stop without hesitation. However, we only found out it was closed for the season when we arrived. Nevertheless, we took a distant peep of some of the 200 huskies that would be open to visitors in the summer from June to August. Similar to Bryggejentene Cafe, the nearby landscape was amazing. The beautiful surroundings made these cafes a lot more charming.
Day 4 - 6: Senja
Northern Lights on Full Moon Night
No experienced aurora photographer would go out to hunt northern lights on a rainy "and" full moon night. But when you had no choice, you just had to do it. (see how I photograph northern lights)
On day 4, we drove from Tromso to Senja, the second largest island in Norway (still in the Arctic Circle). It was a full moon night. There was a 3-hour rain break after 9pm. KP value was over 3 (nerdy term of high aurora activity). Given it was the first night without rain, even just for a few hours, I had to take the chance.
Northern Lights in full moon, Senja, Norway. ISO800, 24mm, f/1.6, 3.2sec
On the north-facing deck of our Airbnb in Senja, I set up two cameras on their tripods, leaving both on Timelapse (see the Timelapse created in Iceland 8 years ago). They took well over 1200 photos and didn’t disappoint! In fact, we could easily see the dancing aurora between the clouds despite the bright sky lit by the full moon. Sometimes, you just had to believe in miracles!
👆Note for the above:
Top 2 photos by Sony A7iv + Sony 24mm f1.4 at ISO800, 24mm, f1.6, 3.2sec
Bottom 2 photos by Canon EOS R5 + Canon RF15-35mm f2.8 at ISO1250, 15mm, f2.8, 6sec
Segla hike, Senja
Since we came to Norway, it has been raining everyday. Whoops! Did I talk about rain again? Yep, October was the rainiest reason of the year in Norway. I knew that before the trip, and still wanted to take this trip. Because if we were lucky, as it turned out most time, we could see both the northern lights and the fall colors, a landscape photographer’s dream!
Segla hike from Hesten Trail Head in Fjordgård, Senja
As our expectations for good weather were so low, we were escalated whenever there was a small window of no rain.
On day 5, we encountered our first small window during daytime. It was the perfect time for a 2.4-mile mountain hike to see the top attraction in Senja - Segla peak.
Our boys were both good hikers and easily outran us despite the mud and rocks on the trail. It took us 2-3 hours to complete the trip out and back. I couldn’t remember why I took all three RF Canon lenses, a tripod and a drone for such a hike (see my gear list). Fortunately, my 7 year old helped me carry the drone and my husband helped with the tripod.
When we got off the mountain and rushed to dinner, we found the only restaurant in our tiny town, Fjordgård, wasn’t even open on that weekday. So we had to call it a night. As a result, our kids finally were able to sleep before midnight since the beginning of this Scandinavian trip.
Senja Island Road Trip
I don’t know how many places were referred to as "Norway in miniature", Senja is one of them. The island's diverse scenery is a great reflection of the Norwegian natural geography. Because of this, and its location within the Arctic Circle, we chose to come here.
On Day 6, we took a road trip driving through different parts of the island. Due to road construction, the trip took much longer.
Our favorite spots included:
👇 Tungeneset Devils Teeth
ISO250, 15mm, f/9, 30sec
👇 Ersfjord
👇 Mefjordvær
Two long exposure shots below. The left one was 15 seconds, and the right one was 150 seconds. Apparently, the longer the exposure, the smoother the cloud movements and the waves looked.
While I stood in the rain to create these moody long exposure shots, the rest of my crew were much wiser staying in the car munching on snacks.
The following was a composite of 3 images taken in the blue hour. The sky was exposed for 150 seconds, the water and foreground 5 seconds, and myself (selfie) 1/160 second. It was pretty windy. Running back and forth on the slippery rocks wasn’t that much fun either. Plus, I had to wipe the lens and filter often due to the drizzle (see when and how to use filters). Nevertheless, I enjoyed the scenery and the photo creation process. Although I would much rather photograph my family and kids in action, I certainly wouldn’t ask them to pose for me in such circumstances. (see how to photograph landscape while traveling with young children)
This wrapped up nearly the first week of our trip in Norway. In hindsight, I have to take another trip and see more of Senja to make an more objective comparison between Senja and Lofoten, the highlight and my favorite part of our Norway trip.
See all my posts about our 2022 Norway trip.
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