Tromso - The Arctic Circle...in search of the midnight sun

click on the photos to get a much better view...really, the small photos do no justice at all.

I guess its that time of year again where in a blind panic i realise that i havent done some of the things that i meant to and always thought id get more time to do...its actually been that way for the past 3 years...anyway, a couple of things to tick off were seeing the northern lights (dont ask me to spell the real name without google), and the midnight sun. the midnight sun occurs for 2 months during the summer in the arctic circle. its literally where the sun does not set for 2 whole months...its also a good excuse to see the north of Norway.

It was Slartibartfast from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (you have have have to read the books) whose job it was to design the coastlines of the planet, who stated that his best work was the Fjords around Norway, in fact he won an award for them...and you can see why (tenious but worth it in the end i think youll find)...

...aurora borealis, there, I googled it

anyway, one of the best places to see the midnight sun is a town called Tromso in Norway. Tromso is 1147 km north of Oslo (you see, the internet is for just more than pornography you know...) and lies 500km within the Arctic Circle..aka...its bloody north. another interesting fact is that it is called 'the paris of the north'...god only knows why...but the book says it is...where was i...

oh yeah, so with precious few weekends left spare before the great pilgramage west, i took off for t'north. unfortunately i could cajole no one, so it was me on me lonesome all weekend. 3 days and the only conversaiton i had was with a japanese man from kyoto (we spoke mainly in engrish...those who knew me in japan will probably guess why)...anyway...caught the friday night flight from oslo to tromso (sounds like a country song...)

one more thing before i get on with it. now...norway is a ruddy expensive place, and to be honest, i could have had 2 weeks in thailand with the money it cost for a weekend in tromso, and a constant worry was that it would be cloudy..imagine going all that way at that expense to see the midnight cloud?? hmmmm

anyway...