Articles
Norway,
08/11/2024
In search of the Northern Lights
Norway, in Search of the Northern Lights
October saw Lesley and myself heading in the direction of a trip to Norway via Lesley’s son near Scunthorpe before picking up one of Fred Olsen’s small cruise ships in North Shields
The weather left a bit to be desired, the result of the storms which raged in America, it wasn’t so much the rain but a critical part of the A1(M) was closed a few miles short of Newcastle because of floods. Luckily the floods cleared in time and the rest of the journey through the Tyne Tunnel to ship was uneventful.
The Balmoral, our ship, which was to take us to the very North of Norway well within the Arctic Circle, slipped anchor and smoothly made its way along the estuary before being met with a vengeful North Sea, did the mighty Norse god Thor have it in for us before we even got started?
Whilst at dinner that night we had a pleasant surprise, the restaurant manager invited us to dinner at the captain’s table the following night, one of the two formal evenings. Lesley couldn’t wait to tell her kids then started to question what she was going to wear, had she made full enough use of our 90 Kgs pp luggage allowance. Apart from the captain there were seven guests and Laura a senior manager. The evening started with a cocktail reception in the corner of the main theatre while the captain introduced the senior members of the crew to the passengers. When he joined us he escorted us to his table in the largest of the Dining rooms, Lesley went all a quiver when she found that she had actually been seated next to the captain. As you can imagine the service and presentation was to an unbelievably high standard.
Having crossed the North Sea our first Port of Call was Molde, a picturesque town situated on a notorious stretch of coastline concealing many shipwrecks. From here we took an optional excursion along the Atlantic Ocean Road, an 8km stretch of road between Molde and Kristiansund with several bridges spanning several small islands and claimed to be the most beautiful road in the world, something we can’t deny.
The following day was spent cruising the dramatic coastline in particular we passed a row of peaks rising 1,000ft above the sea known as the Seven Sisters. According to legend the Maiden of Leka, and her Seven Sisters, were chased down the Helgeland coast by a Horseman Troll who was filled with passion and very enraged that he could not catch the beautiful Maiden. In the heat of the hunt the trolls forgot to be mindful of the time and, with the first rays of sunlight, they all turned to stone.
On a seperate island at the end of the Seven Sisters is a distinctive hat-shaped mountain “Torghatten”, famous for having a large hole through it. According to legend, the hole was created when Sulis, the Troll-King, threw his hat into the air to deflect an arrow fired at the Maiden by the enraged Horseman chasing her. The hat also turned to stone. It is believed that, in modern times, the Trolls who reside in the region live in the hole made by the arrow. A couple of hours later we crossed the Arctic Circle marked by a globe shaped monument on a tiny island. Soon after this the ship arranged a ceremony where King Neptune initiated those who had not previously crossed the Arctic Circle, think in terms of the Ice Bucket Challenge. I could not believe how many people volunteered to be initiated.
Late the following day the ship moored at Alta, high up the North Norway coast and not that far from the Russian border. The town itself is a waste of space, there is nothing there but a cathedral and small museum however, with it’s clear winter skies and free from Light Pollution this is said to be one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights, but of course nothing can be guaranteed even though the previous week a large proportion of people in the UK saw them. With the rain we had experienced recently I began to wonder whether we would be in luck.
Late that night we were driven out into the country well away from any light pollution, apart from a full moon which we couldn’t turn off. Temperature now well below freezing and icy snow on the ground. I was out of the coach as quickly as possible to find the best spot, camera bag and tripod in one hand and Lesley hanging on for dear life to my other. In the end we were fortunate to see some of the Lights however I can’t help but think that another time they would have been more dramatic.
It is a known fact that Northern Lights can be viewed better via a camera than by the human eye. It is to do with the amount of light allowed through the human eye’s Iris and on to the Retina compared to the light allowed through the camera lens and on to the sensor. If you do have the opportunity to photograph them here are a few tips – set the ISO reasonably high, say 3000, not too high or the final image will be noisy (grainy in pre-digital lingo); set the aperture as wide as possible f3.5 or wider if you can; set to manual focus look for a bright star or something in the distance to focus on; then, with the camera on a tripod, experiment with shutter speed, try something between 3 and 6 seconds to start with. Good results have been obtained from an I phone but you will have to find a teenager to advise on that.
Alta was our furthest destination From here we started the return journey back home, broadly the same route but with different stopping ports. Overnight we travelled the relevantly short distance to Tromso, the most northerly city in the world which greeted us with freezing cold rain. From here we were taken across the Tromso bridge, past the Arctic Cathedral to a cable car. We were warned that they might close the cable car in bad weather, but then our interpretation of bad weather is completely different to that of the Norwegians. From the viewing platform 1,000 ft up there was a good view of the town which is where I left Lesley on terra firma for a few minutes while I took a walk on the snow and ice a little further up the mountain.
The following day was again all day cruising, once more passing the arctic circle memorial and Seven Sisters mountain range. Our final Port of call was Alesund, a delightful town which was completely burnt down in 1904 with the exception of one house which is now a museum. Following the fire the town was rebuilt in an Art Nouveau style. During the day Lesley did some last minute shopping, I haven’t seen the credit card bill yet, while I went on a 4 mile hike to the top of Mt Aksla where fine views were afforded of the town from the top.
Alesund was our final port of call so all that remains was to re-cross a calmer North Sea back to N. Shields before the drive home.
If there is anyone considering a cruise we can highly recommend Fred Olsen, their ships are smaller giving easier access into some smaller ports. The crew were 80% Filipino; a happier, hard working bunch of people you will not find anywhere.
I have shown here a snapshot of the images I took from the trip. By the time you read this I hope I will have updated my website to include a few more, Stafford Steed World of Travel www.staffordsteed.co.uk
Stafford Steed LRPS, CPAGB
October saw Lesley and myself heading in the direction of a trip to Norway via Lesley’s son near Scunthorpe before picking up one of Fred Olsen’s small cruise ships in North Shields
The weather left a bit to be desired, the result of the storms which raged in America, it wasn’t so much the rain but a critical part of the A1(M) was closed a few miles short of Newcastle because of floods. Luckily the floods cleared in time and the rest of the journey through the Tyne Tunnel to ship was uneventful.
The Balmoral, our ship, which was to take us to the very North of Norway well within the Arctic Circle, slipped anchor and smoothly made its way along the estuary before being met with a vengeful North Sea, did the mighty Norse god Thor have it in for us before we even got started?
Whilst at dinner that night we had a pleasant surprise, the restaurant manager invited us to dinner at the captain’s table the following night, one of the two formal evenings. Lesley couldn’t wait to tell her kids then started to question what she was going to wear, had she made full enough use of our 90 Kgs pp luggage allowance. Apart from the captain there were seven guests and Laura a senior manager. The evening started with a cocktail reception in the corner of the main theatre while the captain introduced the senior members of the crew to the passengers. When he joined us he escorted us to his table in the largest of the Dining rooms, Lesley went all a quiver when she found that she had actually been seated next to the captain. As you can imagine the service and presentation was to an unbelievably high standard.
Having crossed the North Sea our first Port of Call was Molde, a picturesque town situated on a notorious stretch of coastline concealing many shipwrecks. From here we took an optional excursion along the Atlantic Ocean Road, an 8km stretch of road between Molde and Kristiansund with several bridges spanning several small islands and claimed to be the most beautiful road in the world, something we can’t deny.
The following day was spent cruising the dramatic coastline in particular we passed a row of peaks rising 1,000ft above the sea known as the Seven Sisters. According to legend the Maiden of Leka, and her Seven Sisters, were chased down the Helgeland coast by a Horseman Troll who was filled with passion and very enraged that he could not catch the beautiful Maiden. In the heat of the hunt the trolls forgot to be mindful of the time and, with the first rays of sunlight, they all turned to stone.
On a seperate island at the end of the Seven Sisters is a distinctive hat-shaped mountain “Torghatten”, famous for having a large hole through it. According to legend, the hole was created when Sulis, the Troll-King, threw his hat into the air to deflect an arrow fired at the Maiden by the enraged Horseman chasing her. The hat also turned to stone. It is believed that, in modern times, the Trolls who reside in the region live in the hole made by the arrow. A couple of hours later we crossed the Arctic Circle marked by a globe shaped monument on a tiny island. Soon after this the ship arranged a ceremony where King Neptune initiated those who had not previously crossed the Arctic Circle, think in terms of the Ice Bucket Challenge. I could not believe how many people volunteered to be initiated.
Late the following day the ship moored at Alta, high up the North Norway coast and not that far from the Russian border. The town itself is a waste of space, there is nothing there but a cathedral and small museum however, with it’s clear winter skies and free from Light Pollution this is said to be one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights, but of course nothing can be guaranteed even though the previous week a large proportion of people in the UK saw them. With the rain we had experienced recently I began to wonder whether we would be in luck.
Late that night we were driven out into the country well away from any light pollution, apart from a full moon which we couldn’t turn off. Temperature now well below freezing and icy snow on the ground. I was out of the coach as quickly as possible to find the best spot, camera bag and tripod in one hand and Lesley hanging on for dear life to my other. In the end we were fortunate to see some of the Lights however I can’t help but think that another time they would have been more dramatic.
It is a known fact that Northern Lights can be viewed better via a camera than by the human eye. It is to do with the amount of light allowed through the human eye’s Iris and on to the Retina compared to the light allowed through the camera lens and on to the sensor. If you do have the opportunity to photograph them here are a few tips – set the ISO reasonably high, say 3000, not too high or the final image will be noisy (grainy in pre-digital lingo); set the aperture as wide as possible f3.5 or wider if you can; set to manual focus look for a bright star or something in the distance to focus on; then, with the camera on a tripod, experiment with shutter speed, try something between 3 and 6 seconds to start with. Good results have been obtained from an I phone but you will have to find a teenager to advise on that.
Alta was our furthest destination From here we started the return journey back home, broadly the same route but with different stopping ports. Overnight we travelled the relevantly short distance to Tromso, the most northerly city in the world which greeted us with freezing cold rain. From here we were taken across the Tromso bridge, past the Arctic Cathedral to a cable car. We were warned that they might close the cable car in bad weather, but then our interpretation of bad weather is completely different to that of the Norwegians. From the viewing platform 1,000 ft up there was a good view of the town which is where I left Lesley on terra firma for a few minutes while I took a walk on the snow and ice a little further up the mountain.
The following day was again all day cruising, once more passing the arctic circle memorial and Seven Sisters mountain range. Our final Port of call was Alesund, a delightful town which was completely burnt down in 1904 with the exception of one house which is now a museum. Following the fire the town was rebuilt in an Art Nouveau style. During the day Lesley did some last minute shopping, I haven’t seen the credit card bill yet, while I went on a 4 mile hike to the top of Mt Aksla where fine views were afforded of the town from the top.
Alesund was our final port of call so all that remains was to re-cross a calmer North Sea back to N. Shields before the drive home.
If there is anyone considering a cruise we can highly recommend Fred Olsen, their ships are smaller giving easier access into some smaller ports. The crew were 80% Filipino; a happier, hard working bunch of people you will not find anywhere.
I have shown here a snapshot of the images I took from the trip. By the time you read this I hope I will have updated my website to include a few more, Stafford Steed World of Travel www.staffordsteed.co.uk
Stafford Steed LRPS, CPAGB