Chasing Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights as it is commonly known, are lights which dances in slow motion across the northern sky near the Arctic circle in the night time. It makes up for a stunning show!
Ever since I came to know about them i wanted to witness them. I got my opportunity this September when I had to go to USA for an official conference. I decided to break my journey in middle and go to Sweden to realize my dream of witnessing Aurora.
I have a Swedish friend whom I met during Manali to Leh Trans Himalayan Cycling expedition in July 2016. He was part of the gang then.
I messaged Stefan that I'm planning to visit Sweden. His response was - You Must Come! Knowing him I was sure sure of an excellent vacation full of activities like cycling/Trekking/Hiking, which I die for. My planning started.
I left for Sweden via London with British Airways, which was a mistake as it is better to travel via a Frankfurt/Munich or a Schengen country. It makes Visa and other logistics easier and cheaper too. I reached Stockholm (Arlanda Airport) late at night 10.30 PM and took bus (flygbussarna) to City Terminal (Cityterminalen) where Stefan was waiting for me. Its cheaper to book bus online than paying on the bus itself. Its very easy to pay via their website or Mobile App.
Day 1 - Bike ride to Suburbs and Country Side
It was long flight and I wanted to rest and take it easy in the morning. Post lunch we went for short 50 KM bike ride with Stefan's friend Maggan. We rode through the suburbs and country side through some eye popping natural beauty.
We stopped for a coffee in a golf club. It was a strange feeling as I was a very avid golfer till few months back. Coming to a golf course and not playing golf was something I could not have imagined.
The Chase - Day 2
We were to leave for Kiruna, which is a popular place for spotting Northern Lights. We packed our rucksack with necessary items required for the trip. Stefan packed up - a Kitchen (Stove, Kettle, couple of vessels all in one), Vegetable, Potatoes, Coffee, Oats, Rice, Bread, Salt, Sugar, Hex Saw, Insulated Floor mat, and what not. Vegetables and Potatoes were from his own farm grown by him.
We landed at Kiruna and picked up our rented car, which we had rented for the entire duration of the visit up North. We picked up more grocery for next three days and a physical map as well. On the way we had coffee by side of a beautiful lake and reached our Hostel in Abisko.
It was pretty cloudy near Abisko so we felt happy that we booked a car which gives us the flexibility to move around to a nearby area of clear sky to sight Auroras. We had planned one night in Abisko, One near Narvik in Sweden and third night in Kiruna before heading back.The rooms in the hostel were small with bunk beds and a common kitchen to cook food.
There was a nearby hiking trail to go up the mountains., where we hiked around 3.5 kms up. The trail was fantastic with trees still in autumn colors.
And this is where I got my first lesson of physical map reading. I was little scared initially that we might loose our way. When I saw stefan reading physical map and telling me exactly where we are I was confident that I'm is safe hands.
After returning from the hike we were very hungry and Stefan made dinner for us. We kept the food very very simple - Oats for breakfast, boiled vegetables, potatoes, and rice for lunch and dinner. We did try some local specialities which we bought from the supermarket.
After dinner we waited for sometime and it was still cloudy and there was no way to spot Auroras! So we we decided to drive towards Kiruna as the skies were clear that side when we were driving to Abisko. After around an hour's drive around 10 PM we reached a point where the skies were clear and Milky Way was visible with naked eye 😍😍. But unfortunately the northern sky was blocked by a small hill on the side of the road. Just impromptu Stefan decided to hit that mountain in middle of Night. Its was pitch dark and we were at mercy of a small light that Stefan was carrying. We hiked up making our way through trees and bushes. I told Stefan he should never try this stunt in India as there are many snakes out there. He just smiled and we moved on. The small hill was actually never ending and we kept on going but top seemed to be elusive. We reached an open area from where the north side was visible. Just for few secs we saw northern lights after which suddenly the whole area got covered with Fog. At this point we decided to head back down. Now the challenge was to head down in a straight line as we were not sure where we will meet the road, left of car or right of car!! Stefan pointed to a constellation in the sky and said we will follow that direction. Only while going down we realized we had hiked up quite a bit. We came on the road and then we first went right to locate the car. We turned around after 500m and found the car 100m left of the point where we came down. We headed back to our hostel. Stefan said At least we saw something!! It was little disappointing not see auroras the way I would have liked but I was happy with the overall experience I had that day.
The Chase - Day 3
We finished breakfast, checked out and started our drive to the camping site near Narvik in Norway. The route was beautiful. The moment we entered Norway the size of the mountains became big and beauty all around was breathtaking. In between we stopped at a steam and made coffee with the stream water.
We reached our camping site and its was on outskirts of Narvik along the ocean, with a clear view to North and most importantly clear skies.
After checking in we drove down to Narvik just to experience a Norwegian town. It was a beautiful town with mid sized city center.
We returned and walked around a little bit to hunt for vantage points if we sight auroras. We had dinner with some local Norwegian beer and chatted till it was 10 PM. Went out to see if we can sight something. We saw a small streak of cloud across the sky and Stefan said it is a faint Aurora. We set our camera and took pictures and alas it was actually aurora though a very faint one.
Another mistake I had done that I did not carry a good tripod. Stefan carried a Tripod but forgot the head with a lens that he left back in Sweden. So we were without a good tripod. Which meant we hardly got sharp pictures. Anyway at least we saw something. Then we decided to go and rest and comeback at 3 AM to see if we can sight something better. I put an alarm for 3 AM in my phone and we went to sleep. The Alarm rang but I was feeling lazy and remained in bed. Stefan woke up got ready and went out. After some time I heard a voice- Saday we need to go out! I immediately understood there is something to see and got out of bed. We went out to see the entire sky full of auroras. Whenever you see a natural phenomenon like this you feel happy from inside. It was magical to say the least! Again was not able to capture sharp photos because of tripod.
Stefan said it was good but he has seen stronger ones. I was just elated to see whatever I could see. It was unbelievable We spent around an hour or more outside and then went in to sleep fully content.
The Chase - Day 4
We checked out from the camping site after the breakfast and started our drive towards Kiruna. And as usual we stopped by a lake to make coffee.
Stefan already had planned for a hike which was on the way. The place was called Laktajakka. The place was of historical importance and had a station on the railway line which was used to ferry iron ore from Kiruna to Narvik.
It was the longest hike we did and also made some more coffee before we reached the top. We also found a Reindeer horn which Carried back to India.
We headed down while there was still some light. The period of Dusk is very long there as we were away from equator. In India it gets dark very quickly around sunset. But there there light seemed to fade away very slowly.
We started our drive back to Kiruna and checked in to our hostel there. Its the best out of the three we had stayed. Spacious rooms and very nice common kitchen. It was very foggy in Kiruna. There was news of Aurora activity being very strong that night and pictures started to pour in on social media. We asked at hostel reception and came to know that there was a small hill which was a famous Aurora viewing spot in the town. We drove up to the hill and found there were many aurora chasers already there. The sky was full of auroras that night much stronger than what we witnessed in Narvik. The green tinge was visible with naked eye. The slow motion dance of the Northern Lights was enthralling. What an experience! This is Fourth must do thing of all the things I have done till date. The other there are Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon and Manali to Let on Bicycle. Just to give you a perspective of what I'm talking about.
And again I missed a good Tripod!
Now I was very very satisfied with the trip. We returned to the room and raised a toast to successful aurora chase.
Day 5 and 6 - Return from the North
We woke up and Roamed around kiruna little bit. Then we checked out and drove to airport. We could see it was still foggy. Returned our rented car and checked in. But Flight was initially delayed due to bad weather and later got cancelled. So we had one more night at Kiruna.
Scandinavian airlines took good care of us and we were booked in best hotel in Kiruna with all expense paid. We walked around little bit went to a very old church, town hall, etc. I tried reindeer steak for dinner. It was very strong in taste and very chewy too. But it was nice. Next day morning we went to see the old railway station which was being moved from its original position because of ore mining.
We took a cab to airport and this time flight did take off on time and we reached Stockholm in night.
In the evening we went for pub hopping and saw some nightlife of Stockholm. The city was buzzing as it was Friday night.
The variety of beers that you get in Europe is just too good. We in fact tasted local beers of all the places we visited.
Day 7 - Stockholm Tour
We took it easy in the morning as the fatigue from all the hikes and late nights for aurora chasing was taking it toll. Little later in the day we went out for Stockholm City tour on Bicycle. I must tell you that its the best way to do a city tour. Specially a place which is so bike friendly.
Returned home did the packing and crashed to bed as I had a early morning flight. Stefan dropped me at the Bus Stand in morning and we bid adieu till he comes to India for Tour of Nilgiris! It is going to be another rocking meeting I'm sure!
Ever since I came to know about them i wanted to witness them. I got my opportunity this September when I had to go to USA for an official conference. I decided to break my journey in middle and go to Sweden to realize my dream of witnessing Aurora.
I have a Swedish friend whom I met during Manali to Leh Trans Himalayan Cycling expedition in July 2016. He was part of the gang then.
I messaged Stefan that I'm planning to visit Sweden. His response was - You Must Come! Knowing him I was sure sure of an excellent vacation full of activities like cycling/Trekking/Hiking, which I die for. My planning started.
I left for Sweden via London with British Airways, which was a mistake as it is better to travel via a Frankfurt/Munich or a Schengen country. It makes Visa and other logistics easier and cheaper too. I reached Stockholm (Arlanda Airport) late at night 10.30 PM and took bus (flygbussarna) to City Terminal (Cityterminalen) where Stefan was waiting for me. Its cheaper to book bus online than paying on the bus itself. Its very easy to pay via their website or Mobile App.
Day 1 - Bike ride to Suburbs and Country Side
It was long flight and I wanted to rest and take it easy in the morning. Post lunch we went for short 50 KM bike ride with Stefan's friend Maggan. We rode through the suburbs and country side through some eye popping natural beauty.
We stopped for a coffee in a golf club. It was a strange feeling as I was a very avid golfer till few months back. Coming to a golf course and not playing golf was something I could not have imagined.
The Chase - Day 2
We were to leave for Kiruna, which is a popular place for spotting Northern Lights. We packed our rucksack with necessary items required for the trip. Stefan packed up - a Kitchen (Stove, Kettle, couple of vessels all in one), Vegetable, Potatoes, Coffee, Oats, Rice, Bread, Salt, Sugar, Hex Saw, Insulated Floor mat, and what not. Vegetables and Potatoes were from his own farm grown by him.
We landed at Kiruna and picked up our rented car, which we had rented for the entire duration of the visit up North. We picked up more grocery for next three days and a physical map as well. On the way we had coffee by side of a beautiful lake and reached our Hostel in Abisko.
It was pretty cloudy near Abisko so we felt happy that we booked a car which gives us the flexibility to move around to a nearby area of clear sky to sight Auroras. We had planned one night in Abisko, One near Narvik in Sweden and third night in Kiruna before heading back.The rooms in the hostel were small with bunk beds and a common kitchen to cook food.
There was a nearby hiking trail to go up the mountains., where we hiked around 3.5 kms up. The trail was fantastic with trees still in autumn colors.
And this is where I got my first lesson of physical map reading. I was little scared initially that we might loose our way. When I saw stefan reading physical map and telling me exactly where we are I was confident that I'm is safe hands.
After returning from the hike we were very hungry and Stefan made dinner for us. We kept the food very very simple - Oats for breakfast, boiled vegetables, potatoes, and rice for lunch and dinner. We did try some local specialities which we bought from the supermarket.
After dinner we waited for sometime and it was still cloudy and there was no way to spot Auroras! So we we decided to drive towards Kiruna as the skies were clear that side when we were driving to Abisko. After around an hour's drive around 10 PM we reached a point where the skies were clear and Milky Way was visible with naked eye 😍😍. But unfortunately the northern sky was blocked by a small hill on the side of the road. Just impromptu Stefan decided to hit that mountain in middle of Night. Its was pitch dark and we were at mercy of a small light that Stefan was carrying. We hiked up making our way through trees and bushes. I told Stefan he should never try this stunt in India as there are many snakes out there. He just smiled and we moved on. The small hill was actually never ending and we kept on going but top seemed to be elusive. We reached an open area from where the north side was visible. Just for few secs we saw northern lights after which suddenly the whole area got covered with Fog. At this point we decided to head back down. Now the challenge was to head down in a straight line as we were not sure where we will meet the road, left of car or right of car!! Stefan pointed to a constellation in the sky and said we will follow that direction. Only while going down we realized we had hiked up quite a bit. We came on the road and then we first went right to locate the car. We turned around after 500m and found the car 100m left of the point where we came down. We headed back to our hostel. Stefan said At least we saw something!! It was little disappointing not see auroras the way I would have liked but I was happy with the overall experience I had that day.
The Chase - Day 3
We finished breakfast, checked out and started our drive to the camping site near Narvik in Norway. The route was beautiful. The moment we entered Norway the size of the mountains became big and beauty all around was breathtaking. In between we stopped at a steam and made coffee with the stream water.
We reached our camping site and its was on outskirts of Narvik along the ocean, with a clear view to North and most importantly clear skies.
After checking in we drove down to Narvik just to experience a Norwegian town. It was a beautiful town with mid sized city center.
We returned and walked around a little bit to hunt for vantage points if we sight auroras. We had dinner with some local Norwegian beer and chatted till it was 10 PM. Went out to see if we can sight something. We saw a small streak of cloud across the sky and Stefan said it is a faint Aurora. We set our camera and took pictures and alas it was actually aurora though a very faint one.
Another mistake I had done that I did not carry a good tripod. Stefan carried a Tripod but forgot the head with a lens that he left back in Sweden. So we were without a good tripod. Which meant we hardly got sharp pictures. Anyway at least we saw something. Then we decided to go and rest and comeback at 3 AM to see if we can sight something better. I put an alarm for 3 AM in my phone and we went to sleep. The Alarm rang but I was feeling lazy and remained in bed. Stefan woke up got ready and went out. After some time I heard a voice- Saday we need to go out! I immediately understood there is something to see and got out of bed. We went out to see the entire sky full of auroras. Whenever you see a natural phenomenon like this you feel happy from inside. It was magical to say the least! Again was not able to capture sharp photos because of tripod.
Stefan said it was good but he has seen stronger ones. I was just elated to see whatever I could see. It was unbelievable We spent around an hour or more outside and then went in to sleep fully content.
The Chase - Day 4
We checked out from the camping site after the breakfast and started our drive towards Kiruna. And as usual we stopped by a lake to make coffee.
Stefan already had planned for a hike which was on the way. The place was called Laktajakka. The place was of historical importance and had a station on the railway line which was used to ferry iron ore from Kiruna to Narvik.
It was the longest hike we did and also made some more coffee before we reached the top. We also found a Reindeer horn which Carried back to India.
We headed down while there was still some light. The period of Dusk is very long there as we were away from equator. In India it gets dark very quickly around sunset. But there there light seemed to fade away very slowly.
We started our drive back to Kiruna and checked in to our hostel there. Its the best out of the three we had stayed. Spacious rooms and very nice common kitchen. It was very foggy in Kiruna. There was news of Aurora activity being very strong that night and pictures started to pour in on social media. We asked at hostel reception and came to know that there was a small hill which was a famous Aurora viewing spot in the town. We drove up to the hill and found there were many aurora chasers already there. The sky was full of auroras that night much stronger than what we witnessed in Narvik. The green tinge was visible with naked eye. The slow motion dance of the Northern Lights was enthralling. What an experience! This is Fourth must do thing of all the things I have done till date. The other there are Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon and Manali to Let on Bicycle. Just to give you a perspective of what I'm talking about.
And again I missed a good Tripod!
Now I was very very satisfied with the trip. We returned to the room and raised a toast to successful aurora chase.
Day 5 and 6 - Return from the North
We woke up and Roamed around kiruna little bit. Then we checked out and drove to airport. We could see it was still foggy. Returned our rented car and checked in. But Flight was initially delayed due to bad weather and later got cancelled. So we had one more night at Kiruna.
Scandinavian airlines took good care of us and we were booked in best hotel in Kiruna with all expense paid. We walked around little bit went to a very old church, town hall, etc. I tried reindeer steak for dinner. It was very strong in taste and very chewy too. But it was nice. Next day morning we went to see the old railway station which was being moved from its original position because of ore mining.
We took a cab to airport and this time flight did take off on time and we reached Stockholm in night.
In the evening we went for pub hopping and saw some nightlife of Stockholm. The city was buzzing as it was Friday night.
The variety of beers that you get in Europe is just too good. We in fact tasted local beers of all the places we visited.
Day 7 - Stockholm Tour
We took it easy in the morning as the fatigue from all the hikes and late nights for aurora chasing was taking it toll. Little later in the day we went out for Stockholm City tour on Bicycle. I must tell you that its the best way to do a city tour. Specially a place which is so bike friendly.
Returned home did the packing and crashed to bed as I had a early morning flight. Stefan dropped me at the Bus Stand in morning and we bid adieu till he comes to India for Tour of Nilgiris! It is going to be another rocking meeting I'm sure!
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