Arctic Getaway
A journey to the far North
Sometimes you have to travel to the far end of the world with your best friend to find your way back to life. This journey went all the way up to the Arctic Circle for a special Winter fairy tale, where snow-clad mountains and stunning landscapes greeted us with a life-time blessing.
Words: Sidsel Solmer Eriksen
Who are we without our Friends? Friends that invite us to their homes and make a feast just for you? Friends that accompany you to on your eternal walkabouts in Life. Friends that don’t judge your wild longings for adventure, but instead respond with a ‘let me come with you!’
A chance-meeting in the Greek island of Lesbos in 2022, had left me with an open invitation to come to the Finnmark region in Northern Norway to experience the Northern Lights and the art of dog-sledding. When I told my brother about the invitation, he immediately said: “there are invitations in life, you need to accept.” And it left me with the feeling, that, yes, this trip needed to be taken without any other explanations than simply heeding the call of my wild, adventurous spirit
In February 2023, I embarked on a 3-day journey with one of my best friends, who travelled all the way from Barcelona to the far North of Norway with me, to stay in a tiny cabin and ride a dogsled in the pristine snow landscape in the wilderness of Finnmark.
The beauty of snow-clad mountains greeted us as the first sight from the airplane window.
Journey of a life-time
We arrived in the city of Alta, which is also known as the ‘Capital of the Northern Lights’, by plane from Oslo. In addition to being home to centuries-old Sami culture and traditions, Alta was in 1999 officially declared the Aurora capital of Europe - though many refer to it as the Aurora capital of the world.
We stayed in Alta the first day to explore the city center and the famous Northern Lights Cathedral. We also met up with my local friend, who hosted a dinner with Reindeer stew and a dessert of cloudberries, that had been hand-picked by her family in the Norwegian plains during the summer time.
Cloudberries
- the Arctic Gold
Cloudberries (rubus chamaemorus) are a famous delicacy in the Arctic region known as Finnmarken. The cloudberry taste is strong with a flavor that is often described as a complex blend of sweet and tart with a hint of floral notes. The Cloudberry plant grows in bogs, meadows and marshes and the harvesting season typically begins in July
Husky Dog-sledding
- a ride for life
The next day, we were picked up by a transfer service, that took us to the lodge, we had booked for our Finnmark nature experience, where we were excited to try the art of dog-sledding and maybe get a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
We arrived at the lodge in the morning and got ready for a noon-ride of 2 hours. As the hours of light are very sparse in the Northern Arctic circle in the winter months, the availability for sled-hours in daylight are limited.
However our lodge offered several night rides too, which we could see from our cabin later. And I can only imagine the fairy tale magic of going dog-sledding under the dark Arctic sky. As a first-time visitor, I would prefer the day-time ride any time though, in order to get comfortable with the dogs and be able to gain the necessary training and trust to ride the sleigh.
Travelling to Northern Norway instead of Finland for a dog-sled experience comes with a special bonus. In Norway, you are allowed to ride with the dogs on your own and experience steering the sled yourself, which gives you a unique glimpse into the fine art of dog-sledding. The dogs of our lodge were a real kennel with dogs that trained and participated in Europes longest and toughest dog-sled race ‘Finnmarksløbet.’ Having highly trained and socialised dogs is the foundation for being able to offer this experience for outsiders for only a few hours.
The instructors explained how the dogs transfer their life-energy and vitality into you, and how the bond between human and animal is the magic, that makes the arduous dog-race possible. Finnmarksløbet is a race that pushes both the pack of dogs and the human to the max, and training for the race is not a pride of the region, but an art form on its own–a craft that has been building for generations.
The two hours of riding through snowy landscapes bathed in the sun, was truly the fairy tale I had dreamed of for this northern adventure. The speed, the energy of the dogs, always eager to go-go-go. The special feeling of bonding and building friendships as pure as the pristine snow around us based on mutual trust and zest for wild adventure. The warm tea and biscuits around the fire and the cuteness-overload of the cuddle time with the dogs end the end, it was a wrap of deep medicine for a tired Winter heart, that brought me fully into the moment - into life.
Dog-sledding is one of the most unique experiences of the Arctic circle - and in life I would add. Being immersed in nature with a pack of husky dogs that are waking up every day with new energy for snowy adventures is one of the most life-affirming nature experiences, there is on this planet.
The interplay between man and nature is one of the most fascinating parts of life on Earth to me, and dog-sledding is one of the experiences, that will really teach you about what it means to be wildly blessed and welcomed in this world. It is not only an experience I will forever treasure in my heart, but also the epitome to me of what true abundance feels like.
Riding a dog-sled is on my top-3 of nature experiences. The only other place I have experienced this special feeling of bond between human and animal has been when diving with dolphins in the waters of Zanzibar. Being immersed in a group of animals, that welcome you with their special medicine of belonging and play is a priceless experience, that will forever leave a mark on my life.
“Some times you have to get lost to find your True North. And if you surrender to the wild beauty of companionship and joy, you can find a new direction, as you learn the art of crossing the Earth without leaving a single mark. ”
The Magic of Winter
Even if you are not as fond of dogs as I am, travelling to the Arctic Circle has many other offerings. There are several unique hotels and lodges in the region, that offer experiences like Reindeer Safari and spa stays. In the high season, you can expect many Chinese visitors, as the Chinese consider seeing the Northern Lights as an omen of luck.
But even just travelling for the special experience of Winter, is worth the journey. Winter holds its own kind of power. In today’s world of digital realities, a trip to a remote region can help us connect to the power of nature, where you are granted a much needed peace and silence – a frozen pause, that can help you navigate and find your own true North.
The element of snow calls out our inner child to play and invites us to enjoy ourselves in a non-self-conscious way. Fans of cold-therapy also know that exposure to cold or freezing temperatures has been shown to boost energy levels, even if the exposure is short.
Snow belongs to the element of Water which is related to healing, cleansing and renewal. But where Water often also symbolizes flow and expansion, in crystalline form it is more like a halt, a pause, a frozen moment.
Snow is also related to protection, as it literally is a blanket of protection on the land. The crystalline structure of the snowflake creates little pockets of air that shield the earth, the plants and the animals from the cold.
Besides the joy, the fun and the meditative qualities of silence and calm the snow provides, it also holds a deep kind of magic.The Disney’s movie Frozen, that is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale ‘The Snow Queen’ is heavily influenced by Norwegian nature, and the team behind the movie went to Norway for extensive research on the culture and traditions on the Indigenous Sámi culture on which much of the story of the film is based.
Frozen is an not only a top-3 animated box-movie, but also a universal and epic journey about channeling special powers from nature in the quest for the truth. A journey that takes us deep into the winter landscape to reveal our own magical powers. What will the magical element snow teach you?
Aurora Borealis:
The Northern Lights appear strongest right beneath the Auroral Ovals, which makes northern Norway a prime spot for Northern Lights sightings.
The Northern Lights
It is no secret that we had high hopes to see the Northern Lights on our trip. But as it was also quite short, we knew, that chances were maybe not the best, especially if the weather was overcast, as it was on the first day. But after all, it was a change meeting in life, that had gotten us here in the first place, so maybe, just maybe, our luck would meet us there.
The Northern Lights (also known as the Aurora Borealis) are one of the most mysterious phenomena of Nature, that have kept humans under a spell since the beginning of time. Before man could explain the origin of the auroras through science, people invented stories to make sense of their existence.
Our ancestors were forced to fill in the gaps with fantastic stories of gods and monsters. These stories taught people to equally respect, fear, and worship the lights in the sky. But as our understanding of the solar system and our own place within it grew, these stories dissolved into legends and myths.
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aurora is the goddess of the dawn, and the sister of the sun and the moon. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that every day Aurora raced across the sky in her chariot, alerting her brother and sister to the breaking of the new day. Watching the Northern Lights stretch across the sky.
Some viking legends claim the Aurora was the breath of brave soldiers who died in combat. In other stories, the Aurora was believed to be the ‘Bifrost Bridge’, a glowing, pulsing arch which led fallen warriors to their final resting place in Valhalla.
The Danes believed the lights were caused by swans competing to see who could fly further north. According to legend, some of the swans became trapped in the ice and as they tried to escape, they flapped their wings creating flurries of light in the sky.
Swedish fishermen looked forward to seeing the Aurora, as they thought the lights were the reflections of giant schools of herring swimming nearby. For them, an aurora sighting brought good fortune and the promise of a hefty catch.
Since then, we have come to know more about why the Northern (and Southern) Lights occur, but that doesn’t mean, there isn’t still more to learn through tales of their mysterious presence on the sky.
The Northern Lights explained
Today we know more about the scientific reasons behind the Aurora phenomenon. The light-show we see from the ground is caused by electrically charged particles from space entering the Earth’s upper atmosphere at a very high speed.
These particles originate from our star - the sun. The sun is constantly pushing out a stream of electrically charged particles called the solar wind, and this travels out from the sun at between 300 and 500 km per second in all directions.
As the Earth travels around the sun, a small fraction of particles from the solar wind are intercepted by the planet. Around 98% of these particles are deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field, and continue their journey into deep space. A small percentage of particles leak through the Earth’s magnetic field and are funnelled downwards towards the Earth’s magnetic North and South poles.
When these charged particles hit the atoms and molecules high up in our atmosphere, they become excited. This creates two glowing rings of Auroral emission around the North and South magnetic poles, known as Auroral Ovals. As they decay back to their original state, they emit distinctive colours of light. It’s this light we see when we look at the Northern Lights.
Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky. In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights appear to those on the ground in different forms. They can look like a swirl of colours dancing through the sky, rays of light reaching up into space, and sometimes they appear as a giant fissure stretching across the sky. They manifest as a dynamic light show across the skies high up in the Northern hemisphere near the Arctic Circle and are intensely seen in the Auroral Oval above the Arctic Circle, however they do also make occasional appearances further south, when there’s a burst of solar activity.
The cabin we stayed in in our Lodge
Once-in-a-life-time-blessing.
So did we see the Northern Lights, you might wonder by now. No–and yes. After two days in the snow, a magic husky adventure, and a great dinner, we slipped into our pyjamas in the evening and hopped into bed in our heated cabin. Our hearts were full, and we knew we had seen all, we would ask for.
And just as we had laid our head to rest on our pillows, I noticed the screen on my phone light up. There was a message from my local friend, that said: ‘The Aurora is here.’ And we literary just sat up in bed and looked through the window, where we were greeted by this mysterious creature of nature with a shining green light in the sky, that invited us to come outside again.
So we threw on some boots and went for a night show of Miss Aurora, who arrived in full form with all her most spectacular shapes and movements.
Having expected, and read beforehand, about the Northern Lights, and then experiencing the phenomena on your own, has only added to the awe and mystery, they holds. Even though, we might have found the scientific reason behind them, I would say, there is still a fair part of magic in it.
To me, the experience felt like an audience with a Nordic nature goddess. A presence hiding in the darkness, a mystical creature, that wants you to befriend her completely on her own terms. She does want to greet you, but she will only meet you under the right circumstances: In your most surrendered moment and state-of-mind, where you have let go of expectations, but still kept a hope in your heart.
As in many meetings of Mother Nature, meeting the Northern Lights was a teaching on how to truly become ready to receive. In our modern busy lives, we rarely set time aside to become ready for the blessings, that are waiting behind the curtain, in the silence, or in the darkness.
This is what a trip to the far North can teach you - at least, that’s what it taught me. If you only go on a one-time Northern Lights pilgrimage in your life, it will be enough. And if you only take the journey through reading my experience, it will be enough too.
I believe, that when the human is ready, in a deep state of gratitude, surrender and awe, Mother Nature can arrive with her shower of a blessing anywhere in the world. A blessing that can make you feel, what it truly means to be alive.
A blessing for a lifetime.
Love,
Sidsel
Founding Editor
Where & When
While technically, the Northern Lights are present for much of the year, there aren’t enough hours of darkness to see them during the summer months, even above the Arctic Circle. The winter season in the Arctic lasts from late September to late March/ early April. During this time, the Arctic sky is dark enough for the Northern Lights to be visible in the right conditions. The aurora is at its most active around the equinoxes in March and September.
The Northern Lights most commonly appear between 17:00 and 02:00. They don’t usually exhibit for long – they may only show for a few minutes, then glide away before returning. A good display may last for no longer than 15-30 minutes at a time, although if you’re really lucky, it could extend to a couple of hours or longer.
If you have any questions about booking your own trip and where to stay, feel free to reach out through the contact formula here.