Seeing the Northern Lights

Our March 2019 cruise “In Search of the Northern Lights” did manage to put us in position to see the lights, technically known as the Aurora Borealis, several times. These first photos were shot on March 16, on our cabin’s balcony on our first night in Bergen, Norway. Without time to set up my tripod, I shot these photos hand-held with six-second exposures.

The following evening, March 17, we saw some spectacular sunsets.

That same evening, we set our camera on a tripod and stationed ourselves on the top forward deck of the ship.

The following evening, March 18, we journeyed to a ski hill near Alta, Norway and set up to try to capture more photos of the elusive lights.
The night was cloudy, so our chances of seeing the Northern Lights was slim.

After peering to the heavens for several hours, we finally spotted a very brief flash peeking out from between two mountain peaks.

Several nights later, on March 20, we traveled by motor coach some 2 1/2 hours from Tromso to a location on the boarder with Finland. After staring at the sky for 45 minute with nary a sign of an aurora, we reboard our bus for our ride back to the ship. No sooner had we done so than our guide yelled for everyone to come outside again — an aurora had begun.

That was our last siting of the Northern Lights. As we left Trumso on March 22, the skies had clouded over, and the winds and the waves started growing stronger. That’s what led to our next adventure (see previous post, “Our Viking Sky Adventure,” below).

2 thoughts on “Seeing the Northern Lights”

  1. Absolutely loved the photos, many are worthy of enlargement and framing. Great idea for Christmas gifts, or perhaps in your home (s). Your BLOG was so well written that my heart rate quickened as I read about your near disastrous journey. Great that you remained so calm, and understanding. I don’t know if I could have done that since I do have a “fear of drowning” and therefore have the upmost respect for the sea. It’s God’s way of showing us that he is in control.
    However, it was truly wonderful that you could experience such excitement and not have any
    negative thoughts of sailing again. I guess I will always be content sitting on the beach and reading a good book, soaking up the rays and enjoying the sand between my toes. Ciao, Joanna.

Comments are closed.