Have List, Will Travel

In Search of the Northern Lights

"The icy cold will cut us like a knife.  And we may lose everything in the wind.  

But the Northern Lights are burning.  And they're giving off sparks."

Jim Steinman

Hello, Family and Friends.  We are off on another adventure.  Since last year we did not see the Northern Lights in Iceland, we decided to come to Norway and Finland to try our luck.

We left San Diego Sunday morning at almost noon flying to Detroit.  We had some concerns about flying into there but the weather reports said we were not going to have a problem.  We kept our fingers crossed because of a history of flight delays on our previous trips.  It is the nature of the beast and you have to live with it.  Fortunately, we had a perfect flight and we landed at 7:30 pm.  We had to wait a short time for our connecting flight to Paris which left at 9:05 pm.

Monday, 28 January

That was a long flight; we landed in Paris at about 11 am.  We had a nice jaunt through the airport, up and over, down and through to get to the departure lounge to catch the flight to Bergen, Norway.  That flight was scheduled to depart at 2:35 pm.  It was interesting when it came time to board the plane, they did not call out the zones for boarding, and it was more like a mad rush to get on the bus to get to the plane.  We were lucky; we fought our way onto the bus without any difficulty.  The flight was delayed for about 15 minutes.  It was only a 2 ½ hour flight to Bergen and we arrived at about 5:00 pm.  We collected our suitcases and caught a city bus into the city center.  It was the cheapest method to get into the town from the airport and the fastest which we found to be surprising.  The bus stopped about 20 yards from the entrance of the hotel so it was perfect.  We got checked in, and then went down for a quick dinner in the hotel bar.  We had a local beer and a hamburger.  We then crashed for the night at 8:30.  Neither of us had gotten much sleep if any on the plane.

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

We arose at 7:30 this morning quite a bit refreshed.  Laura had not slept as well as I had but that is normal for her.  We had breakfast in the hotel which was included with the room.   Then we layered up and ventured out into the town.  There was a little bit of blue sky so Laura decided that we should ride the tram to the top of the mountain and see the city from there.  It was good that we did because by the time we reached the top of the mountain, the sky had turned grey and it was starting to snow very lightly.

We wandered around for a bit in the area of the tram station and on the main plaza.  One problem that I had was that my watch battery decided to give up the ghost on the airplane flight and I felt that it was important that we knew what time it was so we would not miss our connections in the upcoming days.  I got directions from a friendly bartender and we trudged off up the street to a shopping arcade.  We found a watch store and 20 minutes and about $20 later, I had a working watch. 

We wandered back towards the hotel, checking out the various shops along the way looking for just the right souvenirs for the trip.  It was unfortunate that George was mauled by a polar bear but he did survive.    

We returned to the hotel to rest until dinner.  After a few hours, we ventured out. It had started snowing a bit harder and the wind picked up.  We walked up to the Fish Market for dinner.  It was about a quarter mile from our hotel so it was not too difficult a trip.                      

Dinner was quite nice.  We split a plate of Langoustines as an appetizer.  Laura had the mussels in white wine sauce.  I had fish and chips.  The fish was cod and was very flakey and flavorful.  We had a glass of a Hansa beer that is brewed in Bergen and even better than the beer was the fact that I got a new glass for my collection.

We slipped and slid our way back to the hotel.  It has accumulated about an inch of snow since we first left the hotel this morning.  We made it back to our room without incident other than Laura’s attempt to pelt me with snowballs.  We packed up for an early morning departure and turned in for the night.

Wednesday, 30 January

By 8 am, we had breakfasted, checked out of the hotel and were waiting for the taxi to take us to the train station to begin our Norway in a Nutshell tour.  The train left for Voss at 8:39 am.  We had assigned seats but when we got on the train, I found that someone else was sitting in the seats.  Another minor problem was there was no place for our suitcases near our seats. I took a seat near the train doors with our bags and Laura went back to claim our seats.  There were a large number of teenagers who were going on a skiing trip.  They entertained me by sitting on the floor between the rows and braiding each other’s hair.  It was only an hour on the train until we reached Voss where we boarded a bus that took us to where we would board a ferry for a 2 hour cruise up the fjords.  

In several places on the fjord, it had frozen over so the ferry broke through the ice which was a different experience.  The beauty of the landscape is hard to describe.  It is a lot like our Alaskan Cruise – very monochromatic – shades of white, gray and black.  Most of the trees appeared to be a birch or willow variety with a few stands of conifers.  As we cruised along we would pass small clusters of homes and a few very small villages.

When we reached the end of the fjord at Flam, we traded our ferry boat for a cog train.

Laura had stopped at the Flam Bakery and purchased two “small” cookies for us to eat on the trip up the mountain to Myrdal.  The railway is the steepest normal gauge railway in Europe.  It took us about an hour to make the trip. 

We stopped for five minutes at Kjosfossen Waterfall which had a 305 foot free fall of water, most of which was frozen now.  We also learned what happens when you leave your troll outside in the cold.  When we got to Myrdal we had a 2 ½ hour wait in the train station for our connecting train to Oslo.  It was getting dark, it was cold and we were tired so we camped out in the station until the train arrived.  The train for Oslo left at 5:53 pm and we travel through the dark countryside with a few stops along the way until we reached Oslo at 10:25 pm.  Our hotel was just around the corner from the train station so we were checked in and getting settled by 11 pm.

Thursday, 31 January

It is a wonder what 8 hours of good sleep can do to revive you.  We went down for breakfast and then returned to our room on the 14^th floor to plan out our day’s expedition.  We headed out walking towards the main shopping street stopping along the way to visit various shops that caught our eye.  It was cold out but there was not a wind and we stayed bundled up.  We saw a lot of the multi-national chains along the way - McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, H & M, Victoria’s Secret and others.  What did surprise me was the number of small restaurants serving Mexican food or just Tacos.  It seems Norwegians really like the south of the border flavor.

As we walked down the street, we saw a statue of the “Fearless Girl”.  I think a copy of it stands on Wall Street in New York.  As we continued down the street, we came to the Royal Palace and then we turned and walked towards the harbor. 

At the harbor, we saw the Nobel Peace Center which had a photo exhibit entitled “The Body as a Battlefield”.   We did not go into the exhibit but did wander through the gift shop and then stopped for hot chocolate/café mocha.  Across the street from the Center was the City Hall where the Nobel Prize is presented.  

Nobel Peace Center

By now we were getting tired of walking and decided to head back to the Radisson Blue.  Walking through the snow sounded like we were walking on corn flakes.  At times it was a challenge because of the ice underneath it, but we were very careful because old bones break easily.  The temperature was -7 degrees Celsius or 19 degrees Fahrenheit.  

We ended up with quite a walk.  We could see the Radisson Blue sign so we headed towards it.  Finally we got there only to find that there are 4 Radisson Blue hotels in Oslo and we were not at the one where we were staying.  So we got directions and headed out.  After several wrong turns which resulted in us making a large circle we got oriented and headed in the right direction.  A 25 minute walk from the wrong hotel to our hotel ended up taking about an hour.  We were tired.  The upside of it is that Laura’s Fitbit reported that she had taken 13,151 steps since we woke this morning.  It is her best ever so far.  

We decided on having dinner in the hotel rather than venturing out into the cold and dark.  There was an Irish Pub off the lobby so we stuck our heads in there to see what they had to offer.  I ended up ordering a cottage pie and a local beer while Laura had the fish and chips.  Both were very good.  Now it is back in the room to repack for our departure from Oslo in the morning.

Friday, 1 February

We were up, ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel and caught the 7:40 Express Train to the airport.  Our flight to Stockholm was without incident but our connecting flight to Helsinki was delayed an hour.  We arrived in Helsinki at 3:20 PM but then had to wait for the guide from Collette Tours to find 4 other passengers.  He finally found them.  They had been filling out the paperwork because their luggage did not accompany them on their flight from Paris.  We have been so very lucky this trip, everything has worked just perfectly unlike some of the other trip reports of the past.

The first thing I noticed in Finland was that there is a lot of snow.  Deep snow on the ground, cars buried with two feet of snow on their roofs and snow in huge piles in parking lots and along the street.  Some of the city streets that we drove on were changed to one lane roads because of the snow buildup.  That did not stop drivers from driving both ways.  They would pull over to the side when they could to let cars pass the other way. 

Helsinki Cathedral at night

We got to the hotel only causing one major traffic jam where we were trying to go up the street to the hotel and a dozen cars were trying to come down and turn past our bus.  We got checked into the hotel and went almost immediately to a Welcome to the Tour meeting.  There are 21 people in the tour and only three of us are male.  After the meeting we were sent to our rooms to get our coats and we walked about 10 blocks to where we had our first dinner.  It was a bit on the chilly side.  It was 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).  The sidewalks at times had icy spots.  We had only one member of the group fall before we got to the restaurant.  It was a very old restaurant in a very old building.  The building was built in 1760 and once served as a police station.  Dinner was delicious.  Laura had lamb and I had the salmon.  Now we are back in our room unpacking for tomorrow.  

Saturday 2 February

Entrance to the library

After breakfast, we boarded the bus and they took us on a rolling tour of the city which lasted 3 hours.  We stopped at various sites along the way for photos or the every so important potty break.  When we left the hotel it was 3 degrees Celsius and there was a light snowfall.  One of the interesting places in the city was the library which was spectacular.  Not only was it a nice library, it was a meeting place for the residents of the city.  There were work rooms where you could use a 3-D printer, sewing machines, power tools or just the ordinary computer.  They also had a restaurant and a coffee shop.  There was a sign near the entrance of the library that stated “Loitering is allowed and is encouraged”.   I thought that was appropriate.  


We made a stop at a unique memorial to the Finish composer Jean Sibelius.  Laura enjoyed taking some different pictures from underneath.

 The bus took us by the US and Russian Embassies and through some of the expensive neighborhoods before taking us to the Rock Church.  It is an active Luthern church that the architect planned by hollowing out a granite hillside.  The organ is made of copper and there are copper coils circling the ceiling.   It was an interesting place of worship.  

Inside the Rock Church

While we were inside the church, a young man was playing the Hallajuah Chorus on the piano.  It was just perfect for the setting.  

Afterwards we boarded the bus to return to the hotel.  Near the main shopping street, they offered to let anyone who wanted to walk back to the hotel on our own the opportunity to get off the bus.  Only 4 of us took them up on the offer.  Laura and I walked down the street not sure exactly where we were going but enjoying the sightseeing.  We stopped at Stockman’s which was an 8 story department store and looked around briefly.  We stopped at a Starbucks so I could get my Starbuck fix.  While I was having my drink, Laura crossed the street to go to a grocery market to see what interesting things they had to sell.  She found Licorice and Chocolate!

We now knew where we were in relation to the hotel so we headed off for it.  The weather was warming.  It was now 2 degrees Celcius and the snow flakes were now rain drops.  

We got back to the hotel by 2:30 pm and rested until it was time to go for dinner.  We are on our own for dinner tonight and unfortunately the hotel resturant is closed for a private event so we will strike off in look of a place to eat. 

We ended up just walking across the street to the Petit Pastis where we had a bowl of french onion soup and the french equilivent of a toasted ham and cheese sandwich which I could not spell let alone pronounce.  Afterwards we came back to the hotel bar for an after dinner drink.  Today was another 10,00 step day for Laura although in all honesty the last 300 steps were chasing me around the hotel room.

Tomorrow, we depart for north of the artic circle to the region of Lapland.  There we hope to see the Northern Lights so it is off to bed to rest for our upcoming adventures. 

Sunday, 3 February

Today was a travelling day, we were up, suitcases outside our rooms, breakfasted and on the bus by 9 AM to go to the airport to fly north to Lapland, Finland.  It was only a short flight only a little over a an hour and a half.  When we landed in Ivalo we stepped off the plane into a crisp -15 degrees Celisus (5 degrees Faranheit).  It was bracing.  After we claimed our luggage, we boarded a bus for a 40 minute trip to the Kakslauttanen Artic Resort.  

Ivalo Airport

We drove through the snow covered countryside.  It certainly puts you in the Yule time mood.  I guess tomorrow we will visit Santa’s home.  We arrived at the resort at about 3 PM and had a light lunch while they were transporting our bags to our cabins.  

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

The lodge is quite rustic as are the cottages.  After a quick bite, we went to find our cabin and to get settled in before going back to the lodge for dinner at 6 PM.  This is the big dinner with all sort or Lapland taste treats.  After dinner we are scheduled to go look for the Northern Lights.  When we first arrived in our cabin, Laura complained of a high pitched buzzing sound.  I walked back to the lodge and found that what the noise was the Aurora Alarm.  Last night the staff alerted all the cabins that the Aurora was visible and whom ever was staying there had not reset the button.  It was a quick fix and now we know what is happening if it goes off again.

Our cabin, with its own sauna

Our dinner was very nice and typically Laplandish.  We started with a salmon chowder, main course was diced reindeer meat (no more Rudoloph) served over a pile of mashed potatos with a side of a winter berry sauce which was sort of like cranberry sauce.  Dessert was a ramakin of sweet, creamy but chewy cheese dish.           

After dinner we visited with others in the main lodge until we got on the bus to drive out to see if we could view the Northern Lights.  It was cold.  The guide told us it was -29 degrees farenhait.   I know that trying to help Laura with her camera and the tripod with no gloves on was brutal.  We did see the lights but learned that Laura has to work a little bit on her using her tripod and remote so she knows what she is doing.  We only got one fairly good picture last night.  We will try again tonight.          

                                     

When we got back to the cabin, we brewed a cup of hot chocolate while waiting for the sauna to heat up and then climbed into it to take the chill off the bones.

Monday, 4 February

Today’s morning adventure was a walk up to Santa’s Village guided by Aurora, Santa’s very bubbly elf.  We got to meet Sampo the Granter of Wishes then we walked past the Elf House, stopped to feed the reindeer and finally to meet the old man himself.     

Afterwards we went to the Celebration House which was a large hall where they have receptions, parties and such.  Aurora served us a cup of hot berry juice and ginger cookies which was very nice.  We then returned to the cabin to rest until our afternoon outing. 

At 2:30 we met the group and walked up to the Art Gallery/Gift Store and to go to the Igloo Tower to watch the sunset.  The gallery gift shop had some very nice and equally expensive art pieces.  Laura was able to find her Christmas ornament for Finland, so she is a happy traveler.  The Igloo Tower gave a very nice 360 degree view of the resort but sunset was a bit of a disappointment as it was cloudy on the horizon.  We then returned to our cabin to await dinner at 6 PM and our evening adventures.

Dinner was a baked white fish with a cream sauce along with white potato and some boiled veggies.  Dessert was a berry cake with a little dollop of applesauce and whipped cream.     While I am not a fan of white fish is was alright.  When we finished dinner, I went to the bar and ordered a beer for myself and a glass of Reindeer Kick for Laura.  The Reindeer Kick turned out to be like a Gin and Tonic with some berries in the bottom of the glass.  The beer was Karhu which is the most popular of the Finnish beers.  It was very good and I was able to score a glass to add to my collection.  After dinner they marched us up the way to don snowmobile suits and other pieces of warm clothing.  They also issued us a piece of thin wool blanket to cover ourselves with while we were on the reindeer sled.

It was cold, cloudy and with a light snowfall.  It was enough that we were dusted with snow when we got out of the sleigh.  Did I say it was cold?  When we got back to the lodge, it was - 36 degrees Celsius (- 38 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Getting dressed was an adventure in itself.  Remember you start with your underwear, then your thermal underwear, cover that with your jeans and a top.  I had a wool sweater on that night.  Then put on your insulated jacket and snow pants then you cover that with the snowmobile suit.  You walk like the Michelin Man.  Of course, you have two pair of thick socks and your snow boots and covering for your head and hands. 

The purpose of the reindeer sleigh ride was to get us out with a chance to see the Northern Lights again but with the snow falling we did not see anything including much of the trail.  So it was back to our cabin, brew another hot chocolate and fire up the sauna.  They had brought a space heater so our room was nice and toasty. 

Tuesday, 5 February

Another good night’s sleep, we arose refreshed and ready to seek a new adventure.  But first we had to pack up our belongings because we are vacating our cabin and moving to a glass igloo for the night.  The nice thing about it is that the igloos face north so if the Northern Lights appear tonight we will be looking right at them.  The down side is that there is no shower or sauna in the igloo.  There is a community shower in another building and a smoke sauna in another building.  I am going to skip both – I don’t want to smell like a sausage nor do I wish to shower then get dressed and trudge across the snow to my igloo to go to bed for the night.

We headed over for breakfast and then met with the group to head out for the day’s adventure.  We were going over to take a dog sled ride.  But first we had to get into our snowmobile suits.

We both had an opportunity to be the driver which was fun. After the ride was over Laura got to go play with several 6 month old Husky pups. She thought that it was funny how my mustache froze up during the trip.

We then returned to the lodge to wait for our move to the igloos. We are hoping that the weather will clear so that we can see the Northern Lights again tonight.  Right now, the clouds appear to be clearing so we might get lucky.

Laura wanted another sleigh ride so I pulled and pushed her until the trail started to go uphill, then she had to get off and walk on her own.  The beds are adjustable so we can recline, but other than the toilet they are the only thing to sit on in the igloo.

We had a nice dinner-chicken in a sauce, sautéed veggies and a very good berry mousse. Afterwards we returned to our igloo to await the arrival of the Northern Lights. We waited and waited and finally fell asleep.  We were disappointed that we did not get a chance to see them once again, but at least we saw them the first night.

Wednesday,6 February

We slept in a bit this morning before trudging down to the lodge for breakfast and to meet our bus for the trip to the airport and then back to Helsinki.  It was a brisk -32 Celsius. It has been an adventure but it is good to be on the way home.

We got back to the hotel in Helsinki about 4:30 PM.  It was like a heat wave, it was just right at 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).  We had about 2 hours before we headed out for a Farewell Dinner at Olo, a Michelin 1 Star Restaurant.  The group was dwindling as many of them had developed colds and were not feeling well. Dinner was very special.  We started with a bread tray with a very nice selection of rustic breads, followed by Finnish pancake with a cream sauce and fish roe.  The main course was broiled reindeer tongue with mashed potatoes and grilled green onion. Dessert was just a piece of heaven of yogurt snow and honey comb. A glass of wine with dinner and a cup of coffee with dessert and we were set for the night.  Cinthya, our tour manager introduced to the chef.

We then walked back to the hotel,  said our good-byes to most of the group, as they will be leaving in the morning.  We have to catch a taxi in the morning to go to the ferry landing to make our day trip to Estonia.  So now is time to head for bed.  

Thursday, 7 February

We were up and on our way to the ferry landing at 6:30 AM, no time for breakfast at the hotel, but we had planned ahead and purchased a pastry and a bottle of OJ to hold us over.  The taxi ride was about 15 minutes to the ferry landing and then we checked in and boarded the ferry. It is a huge Gerry.  It had a total of 9 decks; four of which were for passengers.  They had cabins which you had to book, multiple eating places, bars with live music, shops and even a grocery store. It was a two hour ride to Tallinn, Estonia.  We were met by a guide for a private walking tour of the town.

It was a very picturesque town, filled with older buildings which gave it a unique appearance.  The guide took us to all her cousin's shops where we tasted various candies and to several craft shops to offer us the opportunity to purchase locally produced items. The most interesting top, I thought, was a small restaurant where they were set up as a medieval eating hall.  After the tour we went back there for a bowl of elk stew, which we drank from a bowl.  No silverware available.  We also had a pie to go with it.  Laura chose the spinach pie and I chose an apple.

We passed the KGB Museum which was not open then, it was still early in the morning.  They have the individuals put in cells and interrogated.  We chose not to return for that.  My KGB implant told me that I didn’t need to go there.  One of our stops was at a candy shop that had been in business since the late 1800’s.  The present owner (?), an elderly gentleman talked to us and told us a lot about the shop.  When he found out we were from California, he proudly stated that all of his almonds that were used to make marzipan came from California.   There was a woman in the shop that was painting the marzipan candies.

Our walking tour was for only three hours but the guide stuck with us for about an hour more.  Then as I said earlier we wandered around on our own stopping for lunch and doing a little gift shopping.  It would be nice to go back some day and see what the city looks like without a layer of snow.  It was not too cold but it was sloppy to walk around the town.        

With only a short time left before we had to return to the ferry landing, I stopped to shoot the bull with one of the local residents.   Then it was back to the ferry.                                  

It was another two hour ride back to Helsinki.  We sat in the bar, had a couple hot coffee drinks and listened to a live band.  Also I must confess that we had a Burger King Whopper, fries and a Coke halfway between Estonia and Finland.  We never resort to American Fast Food on our overseas trips so this was very unusual for us to do this.  We got back to our hotel and repacked for an early morning departure for the airport.  

Friday, 8 February

We first took a taxi to the airport.  We then flew to Paris and then Atlanta, GA and finally arriving in beautiful San Diego.  It is good to be home.  It is late; Kim and James delivered us to Mac by 10:30 PM.  He was happy to see us.   Tomorrow will be another day, we will unpack, do washing and Laura will start planning for the next trip.  Not to put a jinx on any future trips but we were very happy that this trip had no inordinate delays and we got our luggage which can’t be said for some of our previous adventures.