World of Northern Lights and The King's trail @ Abisko
Ever since I read about the Aurora aka, the northern lights, it was my dream to witness them in real.
When you tend to desire for something, life helps you out in achieving them.
More about Aurora here.
Back then I was in Stockholm, Sweden for a short work assignment (more about Stockholm in other posts). One night, while browsing through the internet, I stumbled upon some mesmerizing photos of northern lights. That's when it hit me that this is the closest I have ever been to the opportunity of seeing them.
I did some research and found out that the chances of seeing northern lights (hereafter NLs), depended on 3 major factors:
1. How clear the sky is.
2. How less is the light pollution level
3. How strong is the solr wind intensity. (check out this website)
There are many places to witness amazing NLs in Sweden. Abisko, Kiruna to name a few.
So after some research, I booked my train tickets to Abisko for the 29th of October.
Train travel is always very enriching, if you have some time to spare. It gives an opportunity to witness the topographic and demographic changes as you pass by. Plus you get to meet lot many people in form of fellow travelers.
One fellow passengers told me about the "fjords" of Norway, and showed me some pics. I couldn't resist and extended my ticket to "Narvik", Norway. few hours more from Abisko. The scenery was splendid, more than the pics he showed.
The ice free ports of narvik has a long history of helping the Swedish to transport their iron mined from Kiruna. It was quite amazing to know the railroad I was travelling on, once helped the Germans get the iron ore for the war, specially during winter.
I traveled around the city of narvik for few hours, basking in it's beauty.
There was a good mall near the railway station, the Halloween effect could be seen in the shops there. The malls free wifi helped me connect with my friends, as i went on a "roaming network" as soon as I left Swedish border.
I took a train back to Absko, the clouds were setting in, making me worried about not seeing the majestic Northern Lights.
By the time i reached Abisko, it was already dark. I quickly checked into my hotel took a nice hot bath and went out for Aurora hunting.
The ideal location was near the lake, where it's pitch dark at night. To my disappointment, it was cloudy and there was no sign of the green light. I stood there at the lake side for 2 hours, in the freezing weather, along with few outer tourists. Suddenly it started raining. I took out my umbrella and started walking back to my hotel with a long face.
Something inside me urged to wait a little longer. I paid heed to it and went back to the lake shore, which was now less crowded thanks to the rain. It stopped pouring and the sky cleared.
After few minutes, I noticed a light green light suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was swaying, as if it was alive. The magic show finally began. One after another, these waves of light started appearing and waning away. Some were light green in color, some dark green. Some had a tint of pink and white as well in various shapes. I was ecstatic, finally I witnessed the dancing Northern Lights. "Oh God", I said to myself, "Now I can die peacefully". The "show" continued for another 20-30 minutes.
After filling my heart enough with the beautiful scenery, I finally walked back to my hotel, with a peaceful smile on my face.
The above photographs were taken by a fellow traveler i met at the lake side, Sriram from India. I recently connected with him on linkedin.( talk about small world).
When you tend to desire for something, life helps you out in achieving them.
More about Aurora here.
Back then I was in Stockholm, Sweden for a short work assignment (more about Stockholm in other posts). One night, while browsing through the internet, I stumbled upon some mesmerizing photos of northern lights. That's when it hit me that this is the closest I have ever been to the opportunity of seeing them.
I did some research and found out that the chances of seeing northern lights (hereafter NLs), depended on 3 major factors:
1. How clear the sky is.
2. How less is the light pollution level
3. How strong is the solr wind intensity. (check out this website)
There are many places to witness amazing NLs in Sweden. Abisko, Kiruna to name a few.
So after some research, I booked my train tickets to Abisko for the 29th of October.
Train travel is always very enriching, if you have some time to spare. It gives an opportunity to witness the topographic and demographic changes as you pass by. Plus you get to meet lot many people in form of fellow travelers.
One fellow passengers told me about the "fjords" of Norway, and showed me some pics. I couldn't resist and extended my ticket to "Narvik", Norway. few hours more from Abisko. The scenery was splendid, more than the pics he showed.
The ice free ports of narvik has a long history of helping the Swedish to transport their iron mined from Kiruna. It was quite amazing to know the railroad I was travelling on, once helped the Germans get the iron ore for the war, specially during winter.
I traveled around the city of narvik for few hours, basking in it's beauty.
There was a good mall near the railway station, the Halloween effect could be seen in the shops there. The malls free wifi helped me connect with my friends, as i went on a "roaming network" as soon as I left Swedish border.
I took a train back to Absko, the clouds were setting in, making me worried about not seeing the majestic Northern Lights.
By the time i reached Abisko, it was already dark. I quickly checked into my hotel took a nice hot bath and went out for Aurora hunting.
The ideal location was near the lake, where it's pitch dark at night. To my disappointment, it was cloudy and there was no sign of the green light. I stood there at the lake side for 2 hours, in the freezing weather, along with few outer tourists. Suddenly it started raining. I took out my umbrella and started walking back to my hotel with a long face.
Something inside me urged to wait a little longer. I paid heed to it and went back to the lake shore, which was now less crowded thanks to the rain. It stopped pouring and the sky cleared.
After few minutes, I noticed a light green light suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was swaying, as if it was alive. The magic show finally began. One after another, these waves of light started appearing and waning away. Some were light green in color, some dark green. Some had a tint of pink and white as well in various shapes. I was ecstatic, finally I witnessed the dancing Northern Lights. "Oh God", I said to myself, "Now I can die peacefully". The "show" continued for another 20-30 minutes.
After filling my heart enough with the beautiful scenery, I finally walked back to my hotel, with a peaceful smile on my face.
The above photographs were taken by a fellow traveler i met at the lake side, Sriram from India. I recently connected with him on linkedin.( talk about small world).
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