Actic Circle Dreamy Experience in Norway!
Northern lights and reindeer sledding?! sign me up!
Norway is such a magical place in the winter. I got to go to Tromso, an island in the Arctic Circle, in the north of Norway, and it was pure magic. That’s the biggest city up north and they call it the Arctic capital. I spent from January 7th till the 9th and daylight is only from 10am till 2pm. Crazy!
I flew to Tromso in the morning, and it was the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen from an airplane. That place looks like a dream everywhere you look. The small airport has big windows with an incredible view of the snow-covered mountains.
I took a taxi for about 5 Euros to my Airbnb. A 10 min ride to the other side of the island. The most affordable place I could find to stay was 80 Euros a night. Up there, things are pretty expensive.
After settling in I went for a walk around the beautiful town, went to the Polar Museum and learned about the culture and their hunting expeditions up there. Then I stopped at a restaurant to eat where they had WHALE on the menu. I had to try it, but I will not be eating that again!! It tastes like jerky, but softer and the meat is dark brown.
On the first night I went on a cruise to see the Northern Lights. The “Rodne Fjord Cruise” is the one I chose because it is “guaranteed” seeing the Northern Lights, meaning that if you don’t see them the first night, you can go on the boat again the next night for free to try your luck once again. It was 95 euros for a 3h ride. If you’re trying to see the Northern Lights, it is important to check the weather. You need good weather and clear skies to be able to see them. I had no luck the first night. There were a lot of louds, but just the views from the boat were incredible at night. Stay tuned, because on day 2 I had better luck!
On day 2 I had one of the coolest experiences ever. For about 160 Euros I got the reindeer experience with a company called “Tromso Arctic Reindeer.” I heard from someone that lives there on the boat the night before, that this company is the best one and that they know what they’re doing, and boy were they right! They took us to a Sami camp, reindeer sledding, then we feed them, then they gave us lunch and taught us about the Sami culture. What a day. They had over 300 reindeer for us to feed. They are so docile and friendly, and are happy to come around you. Make sure to dress warm and wear gloves because my fingers were so cold, I thought they were going to fall off hahaha.
We went sledding for 25 minutes then got to feed them. Sledding was very mellow (and extremely cold). We had a lot more time to feed them and walk around. The reindeer are adorable and come running to your bucket and surround you wanting the food. You have to just watch for their antlers when they stick their head in the bucket.
Out there they have some tents where you can go in if you’re cold with a nice fireplace and some coffee and snacks. You have plenty of time to spend with the animals, then at lunch to my surprise they served us REINDEER STEW! I was a little taken aback at first, but it’s their culture. It’s like going to a small farm here where they raise cows, but also eat them. They use reindeers for transportation, for food, they also use their blood, and lastly their fur to stay warm. Reindeer stew was delicious to be honest!
After that they had us in another tent and told us all about the Sami culture and the language, all dressed up in their Sami clothes. It was an incredible experience. We all even sang together. I’m in love with the culture up north.
After that me and a friend I made at the reindeer experience went back to town and took the cable car up the mountain across the bridge from Tromso. That cost 24 Euros round trip, and there we had the whole view of the island. Daylight doesn’t last long so when we got up there at 2:45pm it was already dark, but the city lights made it an incredible sight.
Later that night I took the cruise again to see the Northern Lights and this time we were lucky. There were some clouds in the sky still, but we got to see them. Let me tell you that seeing the sky shine in neon green was something out of a dream. A dream come true!
I’ve named Tromso Dreamland, because everything I got to experience up there was so magical and definitely unforgettable! Highly recommend a trip up north in the winter if you can manage!
Xx, MM.
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