Northern Lights in Norway: an amazing shape behind the silhouette of the Lyngen Alps
We were about to lose our hope. A long trip to see the Northern Lights in Norway, over 4000 km of distance by land in a short time, snow, cold, troubles hitchhiking, and then more than 3 weeks staying over the Artic Circle without anything really worth it. And this was supposed to be the best year of the last 11, because of the cycle of solar activity! A lot of disappointment. 
A green curtain falling from the skyActually in these three weeks, we did see Aurora Borealis a couple of times. But it was a very weak one; a faint greenish smoke, very hard to spot. Oti was about to give up: when I was insisting that what she saw was not what we were meant to see and that the "real one" still had to come, she didn't believe me, and she was with her mind more at planning our trip back to reach Romania for Christmas than praying for the big event. The main problem wasn't even the absence of Auroral Activity, but the weather: tons of snow and always cloudy sky, 2 months earlier than it was supposed to be, the locals said !
Northern Lights: like rays coming from heavenTo be able to stay a little bit longer in the north, we traded with our host some hours of work per day in exchange of the prolongement of our stay. It has been hard work: chopping wood in the darkness until your back is so painful that you almost can't move.
But it was worth: the Northern Lights came and it was the perfect night! The Lyngen Alps and the Fjord of the same name as a background. The sky was completely clear and the temperature not too cold. It was new moon (at the same time in Australia they were admiring a total solar eclipse), so the darkest conditions possible. The strongest solar storm of the season was going on and the air was very still, so that I could easily take pictures with my tripod without being worried of the wind.
And eventually it was a neverending sequence of "Wows" and "Oh my God": the Aurora started to dance in all of her beauty, and she did it for several hours without stopping. Not only a pale green, but even red, pink, and turquoise: amazing shapes moving in the sky, curtains falling from the stars and explosions of colors. Not to mention that we also saw more than 20 falling stars in the clear dark sky, but we forgot to make a wish: in that moment we couldn't wish for anything better than what we were experiencing!
A huge green snake crossing the skySo if now you are also craving to go and see Northern Lights in Norway or anywhere else, I suggest you to first have a look at my precious article with tips on how to plan your trip to see the Northern Lights!
And I remind you to consider that Aurora is amazing and you will love it, but never expect to see what you see in the pictures! With long exposure photography the range of colors and the intensity is much stronger than the reality! This said, just plan your trip now :)
Davide Vadalà
