Thermophiles Unwelcome
I’m back! After a brief hiatus due to some unforeseen circumstances (dum dum dum), I invite you to discover what we did on our last day in Tromso. Are you a fan of the cold? If so, let’s dive on in!
On December 29th, we embarked on our last excursion to see the Ice Domes of Tromso. This icy hotel is located approximately 100km south of the city, buried in the icy wilderness. Every end of October, when the snows start to pile up and the temperature begins to fall, giant domes are built using artificial snow, and are transformed into visit-able, sleep-able amenities for those who enjoy sleeping in -5 to -10 degrees.
The walls themselves are initially made from snow specially created at the right temperature, humidity and density in order to seamlessly freeze into what they call “snice” , i.e. frozen ice-like snow that is at once one and the other. Artists from around the world are then called to pitch their designs in accordance with the general theme - usually revolving around viking culture, animals, Norwegian life, Sami traditions or Norse mythology. The winners are chosen, and the ice crafters then begin to carve out the designs out of the snice. All of the ice statues are carved out of several 25-cm thick stacked ice sheets from the nearby lake, and strewn across the hotel. You can also sleep in one of the rooms, and participate in a 24-hour adventure alongside huskies, reindeer, jetskis and warm soup!
And of course, drink a shot of aquavit mixed with berry juice, all from a 100% biodegradable shot glass:
Upon returning back home, we prepared ourselves for the last adventure of the trip: a 8-hour journey into the dark, cold Norwegian wilderness to chase northern lights. Although we had seen them the day before, we felt like we needed a dedicated tour with experienced guides. Little did we know that this trip was going to end up in a quiet gloom…
We left Tromso around 7pm, and made our way to the Finnish border. Our tour guide, Elisabeth, told us that the further away from the city, the better. Our driver was an ex-paramedic who saved people from avalanches, so we were all assured that our trip would be safe. On the way, Elisabeth rejoiced us with tales of Sami culture, Norwegian songs & tales, as well as information on how best to spot the lights. She explained us the tools and apps she used (SpaceWeatherLive being the best at understand where and when is the best time to try and see them).
We reached the first suitable at around 10pm. We all got off the bus, and Elisabeth graciously showed us the optimal settings for our cameras to try and capture as much of the auroras as possible, without overexposing the shot. She gave us tripods, and then… we waited.
And waited.
The sky was completely clear, but all I could see was the stars, shining brightly. And in -15 degrees outside, you’re not in the mood to sit there and just wait because your toes will fall off. Soon enough though, Elisabeth’s keen eye spotted a red hue on the horizon, and shouted “GO GO GO! TAKE PICTURES!” She was so full of energy that it kick-started our blood back into our extremities. After a few shoddy attempts, we finally saw some results (second picture belongs to Elisabeth from Tromso Safari)
Not as strong as yesterday’s, but redder and subtler.
After 1h30 of waiting in the cold, we started making our way back home, but alert that we may have to stop again in case something else popped up in the sky. And it did! We stopped literally 3 minutes later, where I took the 3rd shot above, in the middle of the road. Everyone frantically set up their tripods again, and Elisabeth yelled again “GO GO GO! TAKE PICTURES!” She was wonderful.
This is where the unthinkable happened: Larissa dropped her phone in the snow and lost it immediately as it likely dug its way through the meter-thick snow bank into a ditch somewhere. She realized this shortly after we left the second spot, and panicked. We turned the entire mini-bus around, and began shoveling the snow as much as we could to try and find it, but no luck :(
Larissa’s entire life was on that phone, and all of her private information, messages, photos and links to the outside world were now located roughly around here:
Will our heroes find the phone? Will the cold consume them? Will the auroras give us more stunning displays? Stay tuned for the gripping conclusion to find out what happened, and for our trip back through Oslo and finally back to Switzerland!