National Geographic on Svalbard

Polar bear at Svalbard, Norway - Photo: Kristina Lind

National Geographic has published an interesting article on Svalbard.

Ice Paradise
Five minutes past midnight in Svalbard: The wild world is awake and clattering. At the edge of a sheltered estuary in the Adventdalen, a valley on a cluster of islands halfway between Norway and the North Pole, a flock of arctic terns soar and wheel in the perpetual daylight. They’re agitated. A pair of glaucous gulls—chick snatchers, egg stealers, the Arctic’s formidable winged predators—are approaching from the east. The terns put up a fierce defense. They flash their red beaks at the gulls and turn themselves into a cloud of sharpness.

The gambit works. The gulls bypass the terns and circle inland, passing over a pair of ground-nesting eiders, a kennel of sled dogs, and a solitary reindeer feeding on the tundra…

More info about Svalbard at visitnorway.com

Let there be northern lights

Northern lights above the mountains outside of Bodø - Photo: Andreas Skjervold

No pencil can draw it, no colours can paint it, and no words can describe it in all its magnificence. Julius von Payer – explorer and a keen observer of the northern lights.

The North Cape in Finnmark is one of many good places in Northern Norway to see the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis.

Seeing the northern lights is a jaw-dropping and mystical moment. The lights are at their most frequent in late autumn and early spring. October, February and March are the best months for auroral observations. The highest northern lights frequency is between 6 pm and 1 am.

In order to get full value from the show you should avoid the full moon and places with a lot of light as they make the experience considerably paler.

Theoretically, you can see the northern lights all over Norway. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway.

An absolutely fabulous trip to see the northern lights

Joanna Lumley, the actress from the BBC series Absolutely Fabulous, had dreamt of seeing the northern lights since she was a child. And finally she got to live out her dream. In a splendid BBC film, she travels accross Norway in search for the aurora borealis. For Joanna, as for many others who get to experience the illusive lights, it was an altogether emotional experience.

Watch an extract from the film Joanna Lumley – In the Land of the Northern Lights.

See slideshow with pictures of the northern lights.

Read the full story “Let there be northern lights” at visitnorway.com

Fam trip: Hutigruten, Norway

Dog sledding, breathtaking scenery and picturesque villages were just some of the highlights of Hurtigruten’s four-day travel trade fam trip to Norway.

“…[Norway] offers a trip to places you never thought of visiting and you can see may different places, all of which have their own unique beauty in the winter as well as the summer.

…Having seen the beauty of Norway and experienced a country so rich in history, with the diversity of modern museums and charming fishing villages, I would highly recommend Norway as a travel destination.

…For people who love nature and who want to see and experience many places in an uncrowded environment. It would suit families with kids as well as couples…”

Read the full story at hoteliermiddleeast.com

Summer in full swing up north

 

While southern Norway seems ready to wash away after weeks of rain, northern Norway is basking in sunshine and warmth that rivals that found in the Mediterranean.

“We have really deserved this,” Marion Skaugvoll tells Norwegian newspaper VG while out sunbathing at Telegraph Bay outside Tromsø.

Temperatures have approached 30C in some areas of Trøndelag and northern Norway, and the 25C recorded at Mosjøen and Saltdal in the county of Nordland has delighted residents and tourists alike. Some people have even taken the plunge into the fresh Arctic water. 

The warm weather up north is expected to continue for at least another week. Only eastern parts of Finnmark, Norway’s most northern country, were chilly at about 8C, but at least the sun was shining.

State meteorologist Trond Lien said a low-pressure system that had settled over Great Britain was allowing the northerners to enjoy summer to its fullest, not least since the midnight sun is still shining.

Meanwhile, Southern Norway was told to brace for another 10 days of rain and temperatures around 17C. Bad news for an area already saturated with rain.