...and the Lights Danced in the Heavens Above

We took the long trip to Tromso, Norway...well above the Arctic Circle and near the north pole in a desperate attempt to see the beautiful northern lights.  One of the spots in the world most likely to see them...we got lucky and saw them both nights of our trip.  Despite it being "polar night" when the sun does not rise above the horizon, we saw beautiful colors of sunrise and sunset around lunchtime and then saw the beautiful green and purple hues of the lights.  It was a much more colorful trip than we imagined and definitely a few moments of a lifetime.

Enjoy the snaps!

Airport view...sunrise over Tromso

The skies were so incredibly clear, I saw the full milky way for the first time in my life (and in the photo below you can see the stars and the first signs of the Northern Lights over the fjord)

Sunset around 2 pm.... it was cold, but not as cold as you would expect.  Daily highs in the 20s / 30s and lows around -10 at night.  Definitely needed to bundle up.

The town definitely had some Scandi flair!

Sunset from the top of the mountain... 

On our first day, we took a cable car to the top of the mountain behind us:

The first night...the lights danced in the way you see in the documentaries.  It was magic: 

Incredible colors came out to play and illuminated the night sky.  Like something out of the Lion King when they explain that your ancestors are in the sky:

The second night, the display lasted only a few minutes, but it was brilliantly beautiful and we were grateful!

If You Go: Tromso

Seeing the Northern Lights has been my bucket list for years and this weekend we checked it off the list!    We went to Tromso in northern Norway because it's one of the darkest spots in the world...the other option was Iceland, but we decided we could do that from DC just as easily.  Needless to say, it was a great decision and we saw them dance through the heavens!

A few tips:

• Bring Hand and Foot Warmers: To keep warm at night, we brought hand and foot warmers...these were awesome. They are expensive when you are on the ground, so bring them with you!
• Buy Ice Spikes: We didn't have these, but there is ice everywhere...on the sidewalks, roads, everywhere.  P had a bad fall and wished we'd had them...most people did! 
• Prepare to be Shocked by Prices: Norway is legit expensive.  Like...$12 for Ben and Jerry's...most sweaters were $200 and more like $400.  You have to kind of forget about it on the ground, but mentally prepare!  

Hotels
Scandic Grand: This was a basic, but central hotel.  Very scandi...two beds...shower gel...and a great breakfast. It's a 5 minute walk from anywhere in town.  Highly recommend!

Restaurants 
Da Pinocchio: Honestly, I am not a huge fan of Norwegian food, so we ate at Pinocchio twice...a quaint little pizza price with reasonable prices (for Norway!)

Excursions
Chasing Lights: We took two tours with Chasing Lights to make sure we saw some! The first night we did a small bus tour with 14 others...which included a dinner and marshmallows.  This is when we saw the amazing lights...but the next night we went on a big bus tour.  It was still great, but minimal lights.  I think this was a function of lights, not the tour package.  The guides both night were great and super about taking photos (and giving photography advice!)
Cable Car: If you walk over the big bridge in town, you can hop on a cable car to the top of the mountain and see a stunning view of the town.  We lucked out and went up during sunrise and came down before sunset.  The views were amazing (and the food at the top was yum!)

Last Yorkshire Christmas

As soon as we returned back from Asia, we tried to soak in moment of Yorkshire charm for the Christmas season.  We visited village Christmas markets, went shopping in Leeds, and visited every fancy holiday decoration we could find.  Being away from family for Christmas in never easy, but we certainly had a lovely final Christmas here in Yorkshire!  Here are a variety of snaps from throughout the season:

Step one for an awesome Christmas, dress your dog in ridiculous costumes:

Step two - find a solid sausage at a German Christmas market in the adjoining village:

Sprinkle in some snow:

Make sure all of the halls (and Victorian mantels) are fully decked:

Visit a fancy estate to check out their decorations:

Check out a bigger Christmas market (and enjoy a little mulled wine!)

Convince your hubby to go Christmas shopping (by bribing with fantastic Indian food):

Check out some Christmas lights at the local garden:

Wake up to find Santa has brought you the best.gift.ever. Merry Christmas!