Escaping Summer

Something really novel when the country you live in is a giant island, is the ability to drive to another country. It took us about two hours to drive from Kilpisjärvi to Tromsø, and we didn’t have to stop at a border. It was incredible how quickly the terrain changed after we crossed the border. Whereas Finland is mostly flat with lots of forests, lakes, and rivers, Norway has incredible mountain peaks that stretch all the way to the coast, creating the amazing fjords.

Tromsø itself is an island among the fjords of Northern Norway, and was a lot bigger than I imagined. It was also warmer than everywhere else we’d visited north of the Arctic Circle, courtesy of the Gulf Stream.

---

Fjord cruising and fishing

Our first full day in Tromsø was taken up with a cruise among the gorgeous fjords, along with some fishing. There are very few words to describe the scenery we saw. The sun being so low at this latitude meant more of the day was taken up with the beautiful colors of sunrise and sunset. Really, the sun never rose. It just made a token effort to say hi briefly and then went back to bathing the southern hemisphere in warm summer light. This meant less time spent with light, but great conditions for photography

---

Exploring fjords by car

The next day, Freyr (Norse god of rain) decided to spoil any plans of hiking. So we drove instead. Driving around the fjords at the top of the Scandinavian Peninsula was probably one of the highlights for me so far.

While the weather was not great for being outdoors, the cloudy and foggy environment gave an almost mystical feel to the landscape, with the mountains rising into the mist like an ancient Norse giant.