A Weekend in the Arctic Circle

Written By: Catherine Lemus

Major: Marketing

Location: Norway

Ever dreamed of being surrounded by ice and snow in a place with only 5 hours of daylight? I certainly didn’t. Being a warm-loving person, the idea of the freezing cold tundra was the furthest thing from vacation I could imagine but spending a weekend in Tromsø, Norway helped to change my mentality around wintery vacations!

When first arriving in Norway, we exchange students were bombarded with tips about Norwegian food, culture, and travel. Nearly EVERYONE told me to spend a few days up in Tromsø to see the northern lights and Lyngen Alps. While the idea of light flowing through a dark sky seemed intreguing, shortened days and even colder nights was making me a bit nervous. Luckily, my roommate Paula convinced me to join a trip she was planning for our close friends which we completed just last week.

The weekend I spent in Tromsø was one of the most life changing experiences I’ve ever had! Being surrounded by snowcapped mountains which the sun barely rose above gave me a great appreciation for the world and it’s beauty! Commercials and Animal Planet specials can’t compare in the slightest to the feeling of standing on a mountain top overlooking the Arctic.

While the majority of my trip was spent with friends, I chose to arrive in Tromsø a day earlier than my friends as I was also leaving a day earlier for a school charity ball, but that’s another story.

On the first night, my Airbnb was a quaint home only five minutes walk from the city center and owned by a Cantonese couple. The beauty of this place was that two other guests were also staying in rooms along with me and we were able to socialize quite a bit through the evening and following morning for breakfast. Also, our host Ming is a Cantonese chef and prepared delicious noodles as our included breakfast, the best! While my room was small, there was something so cozy about reading on the couch as tv was playing and the others were cooking, reading, and planning out their future travels. As the youngest renter that evening, I felt very inspired by the people I was meeting and loved hearing their stories of past travels.

One woman who was particularly friendly and interesting was named Ella. She and I had actually met on the plane as I had accidentally sat in her seat and had to move upon her boarding. It was that brief interaction that made us both laugh when she knocked on the door of my Airbnb stating she too was a tenant for the evening. Despite our difference in age and native countries, we got along quite well and agreed to explore Tromsø’s small city center together and even enjoy each other’s company for dinner. Meeting new people and sharing a memories and life stories had been one thing I’ve valued most while traveling!

The second day in Tromsø, eight of my exchange friends flew up and joined me in the city. It was such fun greeting this quirky and unique group of people in the streets of a brand new city! We also were pretty spoiled as we were staying in a large apartment for the weekend complete with four bedrooms, a jacuzzi, and SAUNA! To say we were impressed was an understatement especially since this place was only a 3 minute walk from the harbor and city center.

The first evening we spent together as a group was probably the most memorable for me. We booked a Aurora Chasing tour which featured five tour guides, thermal snowsuits, bonfire, reindeer sausage, and breathtaking photos! This is an activity that most Tromsø travelers make time for during their vacation and lights or no lights I think it was totally worthwhile!

Over the course of seven hours, our group was driven to a handful of cities west of Tromsø located on barely habited islands. One of our resting spots was a beach on the coast of the Nordic Sea surrounded by snowy mountains while another was an arctic desert with thick shadows cast from the moon floating low in the sky. Not only was it cool to see the faintest of streaks of the northern lights stretch across the sky, I also loved spending quality time with friends cuddling up around a campfire while drinking hot chocolate and soaking up the views. We were lucky to have guides who were open who also helped us pass the time by sharing some of their WORST northern lights tours which have included flat tires, speeding tickets (worth $200 in Norway), and of course days on end with no lights in sight.

One of my favorite memories from this evening was after we moved from our cozy campfire out to a deserted mountain range near a city called Rekvik. We moved with the hopes of seeing stronger aurora activity and when it wasn’t looking too good, we chose to wait around for about an hour before leaving again incase anything changed. The moment that followed is one of the reasons why I know I have found some awesome exchange friends in Oslo.

All nine of us students along with four of our five tour guides got into a giant snow fight! In the next hour, we totally exhausted ourselves by throwing snowballs, tackling one another to the ground, and running through knee deep snow to “safety” (aka out of throwing distance). We had so much fun and it really gave me a sense of awe looking around watching a bunch of 20 year olds playing in the snow beneath the milky way, mountains, and light white stripe of aurora! This was an experience I truly never knew I would have wanted to have in life but I am so glad that I did!

After packing up and driving home at 1am, we all slept VERY soundly that night!

The next day together was started with a relaxing morning of eating breakfast together before bundling up and heading into town. Tromsø as a city is actually quite small and doesn’t have so many activities but with the sun setting at 2pm, there isn’t so much “day” time to utilize anyway so it works out. We decided to ride the Fjellheisen, a cable car which takes riders to the top of the Storsteinen mountain. Being at the top of this mountain range and looking out to the rest of the area, it really hit me that we were in the ARCTIC! It may sound silly but this fact was something I couldn’t totally digest and am still not sure I fully was able to understand. It may sound funny but growing up, the Arctic has always seemed so foreign and unreachable to me. On top of that, I am very much a warm-loving person so the fact that I could possibly visit the Arctic Circle for less than a $100 plane ticket seemed far too casual and easy to me.

The views on the mountaintop were totally fantastic and became even more beautiful between the hours of 11am and 1:30pm when we got to see the sun barely rise above the mountain ridge and promptly set a couple hours later. The sunset was one of the most colorful I have ever seen and while photos don’t do anything like that justice, I am glad to have a decent camera to try to capture the feeling we had up there. As it was super chilly up there and we didn’t bring proper snow boots or pants, our group took a couple of breaks inside the cafe. Even inside we were able to see the majority of the views while sipping hot cocoa and eating Norwegian waffles and blueberry pie. It sorta felt like a ski lodge but with a more diverse crowd since honestly many of the tourists were far less equipped for the weather than we were.

Once the sun disappeared at 2pm, we all descended down the mountain, took a quick look at the exterior of the Arctic Cathedral, and then began cooking a late lunch/dinner for all. It was very odd trying to convince ourselves it was still so early when we were still tired out from the cold. The evening was spent relaxing in the comfort of our apartment while playing games, cooking, and eventually all cramming into the sauna and jacuzzi. The best of times!

It was bittersweet to leave a day before my friends but the memories we made in even a few short days are enough to last a lifetime! Pushing ourselves to explore one of the most unique natural landscapes and getting a taste of the Nordic lifestyle made me appreciate my time in Norway more than ever before! It would have been so easy to pick a warm, open country to spend my semester abroad but I am so glad to have chosen a place which is pushing me to find joy and adventure in less common circumstances! While a weekend vacation to the Arctic was never something I expected to experience in my lifetime, I am so glad to have done it early in life so that someday I can bring others to see how special it can be!

Categories: Adventure, Arctic Circle, Marketing, New Friends