Prior to this trip, I knew nothing about Norway. I didn't even know Tromsø existed. Other than the fact that Scandinavian cities are expensive to live in. Oh and I know M2M is from Norway =P
So anyway, this post takes precedence over all my overdue trips because I really want to share about this place!
To get to Tromsø by flight, there's several flights a day from Oslo. The cheapest and easiest way to get here is probably flying in from London. Norwegian Air flies DIRECT to Tromsø from London! And the air tickets are a lot cheaper than flying in from other Scandinavian cities. Surprise?
We flew in from Copenhagen and had a stopover in Oslo. Thank god the transit time was short and it wasn't too torturous. Just enough time for a toilet break and to grab a pizza.
If you're not flying direct, do make sure your connecting flights are on one single ticket and not two separate tickets. Delays are quite common during winter, especially when there's a lot of snow. If you're on one single ticket and you missed your connecting flight, the airline will automatically put you on the next available flight. But if you're on two separate tickets, the onus will be on you (in other words, you are screwed). I always believe travel insurance is a good idea, be it for flights delay/cancellation, lost baggage or medical reimbursement.
Tromsø is not big, you can walk from one end of the town to the other in about 15minutes. It's about 8-10minutes drive from the airport to town area. There's also airport shuttle heading to town every 30minutes and vice versa.
We arrived in town at about 9pm at night, but there were still several restaurants open. The supermarkets are open until 11pm as well. Tromsø feels really safe, people are friendly and helpful. Did I mention Scandinavians speak really good english?
If you head to Tromsø not knowing where to start or what's installed for you (like us), fret not! There's a tourist information centre in the city. The staff there are very friendly and helpful. There's several tours and activities you can book, like dog or reindeer sledding, snowshoeing, hiking, fishing, whale sighting and even aurora tours. If you're up for it, you can also book overnight camps! Do note that the tourist information centre is always very crowded and the line is always very long. So the best time to go is when they open at 9am in the morning. Or if you have a rough idea on what activities you're interested in, you can always book them online:
HERE. It is advisable to book them online especially during peak seasons because there are limited slots available, and you really don't want to be disappointed since you paid good money to come all the way here.
I wanted to go dog sledding but unfortunately, it's fully booked for the one and only day we have in Tromsø. Sounds a bit cruel though, to have 8-10 dogs pulling a sled with human weight. But I really wanted to see the huskies! The only reason why I even wanted to sign up for dog sledding is probably to see them! It's like visiting husky land?! The lady at the information center was really sweet though, she tried calling the company twice even though it was a very last minute booking (15minutes to bus departure). She also explained to the company that we only have 1 day in Tromsø and asked if they can squeeze in the 2 of us. When the company declined, she suggested reindeer sledding and snowshoeing at the same place, so we can still play with the dogs after our activities. Took the suggestion and rushed for the bus heading to Villmarksenter.
Honestly, I have no idea what I signed up for. What on earth was snowshoeing?!! So basically, you will be told to put on snow-proof overalls and snow boots (provided by the company), and you will also be given a bag pack filled with some snacks and hot drinks. They will then bring you to the wilderness and off you go to roam on your own. Initially I was quite pissed. Where was I suppose to go without a guide, and seriously, I thought it was a lot to pay for something like this. But few minutes into it, I was actually enjoying myself, like omg?
This, is snowshoeing:
I guess you can call it the equivalent of hiking in the snow. Without the equipments, it's almost impossible to walk in the snow. You'll just sink into the snow and the snow level is waist deep. No joke. And the last thing you want is for the snow to melt, wetting your clothes. We did a short hike before stopping at a spot to picnic with the snacks they packed for us, and to enjoy the scenery around.
Decided to head back early so we have some time to play with the huskies! There's about 300 huskies here?! Sadly, most of them are chained up :(
The staff there were also very kind to show us husky puppies that were only about 2 weeks old!
Went to play with the reindeers before heading back to Tromsø.
And here's me sitting on an empty sled that's not pulled by anything.
The sun was already starting to set when we are back in town. We spent the remaining afternoon walking along the harbour area and crossed the bridge to see the Arctic Cathedral.
We stopped by for coffee and pastries at a cafe as well. The town is really small but there's so many artisan cafes around. Small talked with the barista and it seems that Scandinavians actually know where Singapore is! As compared to other parts of Europe where most people think we are either part of China or Japan.
We had an early dinner at this really lovely restaurant called Fiskekompaniet. Food was delicious, and the service was really good too. We shared a soup and 2 mains. The fish and lobsters were so good that it was almost all gone before I remembered anything about photos. Oh, and try not to think about how much you have to pay for a meal when you are in the Scandinavian countries.
We had a couple of hours to rest up before catching a tour to see the northern lights. There are 40 over companies in Tromsø organising trips to see the northern lights. Some are big buses, some are mini buses, and there are also private tours. The staff at the tourist office recommended the mini buses and also the ones that "chase" the northern lights. According to them, they are your best bet at seeing the elusive lights.
How do they "chase" northern lights? The companies have different bases around Tromsø and they stretches all the way to Finland borders. Every night, the guides will communicate among one another on where the northern light can be seen, they will then whisk you off to the area. It increases your chance to see the aurora rather than staying put in 1 place and wait the whole night.
Why mini bus? Because getting 40 over people up and down a big bus takes a lot more time. Elusive aurora waits for no one so time is precious. And with 40 people around, it's not easy to find a spot that no one is occupying to set up your tripod. Once you find a good spot to set up your tripod and have your 30second shutter running, you really don't want people walking into your photo by accident. So a group of 16 is the maximum you want to have. Ideally.
There are people who feel that chasing the lights on your own is better. But when you only have 1 night, leave it to the experts. Besides, the buses are well equipped with overalls and winter suits in case you start feeling cold while waiting for the lights to show up. Tripods are also provided if you don't have one. And you have a guide to do your camera settings for you! They even provide a small little hut with campfire in it. Hot drinks and snacks are also included in the tour. What more is there to ask for?
We were really lucky that night despite horrible weather conditions and poor aurora forecast. It was suppose to be really cloudy, and aurora activities were predicted to be really low after a geomagnetic storm a few days back. But the place we were at had a huge enough opening! We didn't have to wait, aurora danced the whole night!
Towards the end of the tour, we were all freezing and hiding in the small little hut.
Do dress well when you're out camping for the northern lights. This is an example of what was recommended by our guide:
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| Stole this from Google Images |
You guessed it, we were very underdressed. And in Trine's (our guide) exact words, "Are you sure you don't want to put on overalls? You're wearing lousy clothes!" Do also get clip-on spikes for your shoes because it's snowing so much that even the roads and pavements in town have froze up. You may still slip and fall even if you're wearing snow boots.
Trine even gave us marshmallows to barbecue! She also shared with us a lot about Norway. The tour ended at about 1am. And next morning, off we head back to Copenhagen!
While waiting for our delayed flight out of Tromsø, even the view from the airport is beautiful.
I don't usually say a lot and just post photos but I'm really very impressed with Tromsø! If you are heading there soon, I hope you guys have a lot of fun even if you only have 1 day like us!
