Midnight Sun 2019: Part 1
Wednesday, 30 October 2019 21:25![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguana
I spent a week and a half in June within the arctic circle, staying with Emily on the island of Tromsø, Norway. I saw the sun at midnight, and climbed many beautiful hills.
Tromsøya
Tromsøya is the principal island of Tromsø, with a bridge and tunnel connecting it to Norway's mainland. Emily's place, like most of the areas on the island, is part-way up a hill, giving it fantastic views of the fjords and mountains behind it, with the occasional ship passing under the long high bridge.
Tromsøya is the principal island of Tromsø, with a bridge and tunnel connecting it to Norway's mainland. Emily's place, like most of the areas on the island, is part-way up a hill, giving it fantastic views of the fjords and mountains behind it, with the occasional ship passing under the long high bridge.
Thursday - Sørtinden (Kvaløya)
I arrived at Tromsø airport at nearly ten in the evening, not that you would be able to tell from the sun, given that almost everywhere above the arctic circle was enjoying midnight sun this week - I had arrived the day before the summer solstice.
We went for a short hike so I could see the sun at midnight, picking Sørtinden on the island of Kvaløya. There was still snow on the ground from the last snowfall earlier in the year, and there was beautiful golden light everywhere.
It was a very worthwhile hike as it turned out, as the clouds came in the next day and rather stuck around, so the remaining nights were all grey, which was probably a good thing for my sleep patterns!
I arrived at Tromsø airport at nearly ten in the evening, not that you would be able to tell from the sun, given that almost everywhere above the arctic circle was enjoying midnight sun this week - I had arrived the day before the summer solstice.
We went for a short hike so I could see the sun at midnight, picking Sørtinden on the island of Kvaløya. There was still snow on the ground from the last snowfall earlier in the year, and there was beautiful golden light everywhere.
It was a very worthwhile hike as it turned out, as the clouds came in the next day and rather stuck around, so the remaining nights were all grey, which was probably a good thing for my sleep patterns!
Friday - a beach on Kvaløya
I was working remotely during the day, so after Emily got back from work we drove over to Kvaløya again to pick some flowers for midsummer's day.
I saw some reindeer in a field today, some of the only wildlife that happened to be around. There are often moose around as well, but I wasn't lucky enough for that – though I'd seen wild moose during my last trip to the arctic when I visited Kiruna in Sweden.
I didn't make a note of which beach we ended up stopping in, but it's likely the northernmost point I've been to (Svalbard is now On The List) and it had some pretty flowers growing alongside it.
I was working remotely during the day, so after Emily got back from work we drove over to Kvaløya again to pick some flowers for midsummer's day.
I saw some reindeer in a field today, some of the only wildlife that happened to be around. There are often moose around as well, but I wasn't lucky enough for that – though I'd seen wild moose during my last trip to the arctic when I visited Kiruna in Sweden.
I didn't make a note of which beach we ended up stopping in, but it's likely the northernmost point I've been to (Svalbard is now On The List) and it had some pretty flowers growing alongside it.
Saturday - Nattmålsfjellet (Kvaløya)
Kvaløya again (it's a big island!) and this time to Nattmålsfjellet, a peak with a short walk up from a road that gets closed during winter.
Kvaløya again (it's a big island!) and this time to Nattmålsfjellet, a peak with a short walk up from a road that gets closed during winter.
Sunday - Sommarøy and Hillesøya
I like the name "Hillesøya", literally "hill island". It's a hill… on an island. It's not the tallest peak around, but it was a heck of a climb, even with the thick rope that extended down most of the southern side. On the way down we took the more leisurely northern route, which had stunning views of the emerald sea below.
Hillesøya is on the far side of neighbouring island Sommarøy, which the area is usually referred to by. On the way we climbed Ørnfløya which gave a great view of Sommarøy and Hillesøya.
In the distance, rising from the water, is the jagged mountain island Håja, which inspired the design of the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø.
On the drive back it was very still, and I got this rather lovely photo of a set of houses on the fjord:
I like the name "Hillesøya", literally "hill island". It's a hill… on an island. It's not the tallest peak around, but it was a heck of a climb, even with the thick rope that extended down most of the southern side. On the way down we took the more leisurely northern route, which had stunning views of the emerald sea below.
Hillesøya is on the far side of neighbouring island Sommarøy, which the area is usually referred to by. On the way we climbed Ørnfløya which gave a great view of Sommarøy and Hillesøya.
In the distance, rising from the water, is the jagged mountain island Håja, which inspired the design of the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø.
On the drive back it was very still, and I got this rather lovely photo of a set of houses on the fjord:
Monday - Brosmetinden (Kvaløya)
For some reason I don't have any photos of today; I imagine I probably forgot my camera or something equally silly. Brosmetinden was a reasonably straightforward hike from a small carpark at the end of a narrow track, across a flat bit of what would probably be incredibly marshy land in spring, and up the side of a hill that turned into something of a ridge. Plenty of photo opportunities for people daft enough to sit onthe edge – we only saw one person doing this! (Then again, we only saw one group, making the daft rate pretty high.)
For some reason I don't have any photos of today; I imagine I probably forgot my camera or something equally silly. Brosmetinden was a reasonably straightforward hike from a small carpark at the end of a narrow track, across a flat bit of what would probably be incredibly marshy land in spring, and up the side of a hill that turned into something of a ridge. Plenty of photo opportunities for people daft enough to sit onthe edge – we only saw one person doing this! (Then again, we only saw one group, making the daft rate pretty high.)
Tuesday - Fløya (Fastlandet)
On Tuesday after work we drove to the mainland, in part via one of the several tunnels running under Tromsøya's hilltops, including one containing two roundabouts, which was quite a novelty for me!
On Tromsø mainland (fastlandet) is Sherpatrappa, a stone staircase up the side of Fløya, laid by Nepalese workers to prevent erosion of the popular route. There is also a cable car up the side, but Sherpatrappa goes through some lovely wooded areas and then out above the tree line almost immediately into snow and great views.
Getting to the peak was also pretty snowy in places, but at this point the snow was pretty well compressed so it wasn't too arduous, especially compared to the steep climb up the steps!
We took a different, more gentle route down, which went alongside some beautiful brooks and through more lush woodland.
No hike on Wedsnesday, just a nice evening in, with some oven pizza if I recall correctly!
On Tuesday after work we drove to the mainland, in part via one of the several tunnels running under Tromsøya's hilltops, including one containing two roundabouts, which was quite a novelty for me!
On Tromsø mainland (fastlandet) is Sherpatrappa, a stone staircase up the side of Fløya, laid by Nepalese workers to prevent erosion of the popular route. There is also a cable car up the side, but Sherpatrappa goes through some lovely wooded areas and then out above the tree line almost immediately into snow and great views.
Getting to the peak was also pretty snowy in places, but at this point the snow was pretty well compressed so it wasn't too arduous, especially compared to the steep climb up the steps!
We took a different, more gentle route down, which went alongside some beautiful brooks and through more lush woodland.
No hike on Wedsnesday, just a nice evening in, with some oven pizza if I recall correctly!
Thursday - Åsfjellet (Fastlandet)
Another hike on the mainland, this time to Åsfjellet, on what I think was the most beautiful walk of the trip.
Some idiot had been trying to take photos from a moving car in a tunnel and had turned the ISO of the camera up to 12800 (that's twelve thousand eight hundred) and forgotten to reset it afterwards, so, well done me. We'll call it an inadvertant instagram filter!
Another hike on the mainland, this time to Åsfjellet, on what I think was the most beautiful walk of the trip.
Some idiot had been trying to take photos from a moving car in a tunnel and had turned the ISO of the camera up to 12800 (that's twelve thousand eight hundred) and forgotten to reset it afterwards, so, well done me. We'll call it an inadvertant instagram filter!
(Part 2 →)
no subject
Date: 2019-10-31 12:00 (UTC)Your pictures are just beautiful, especially the ones from Sunday. Do you know what makes the sea so green there? It's terribly striking.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-31 12:51 (UTC)I don't know what causes the colour, but I'd guessing some kind of mineral in the sea bed combined with extremely calm water. It's something I usually associate with the Pacific or Caribbean rather than the
AtlanticNorwegian Sea