I have patiently waited for this time of year again. I cannot tell you how much joy I get out of the sheer thrill and anticipation of not knowing whether you will be lucky that night. Lucky with the weather, lucky with the sun activity, lucky overall to see the Northern Lights. But when they do come on… oh boy, it makes you forget everything around you. You don’t feel cold anymore, you don’t feel stressed – you just feel gratitude.
Northern Lights tours can be tricky
Northern Lights tours can be tricky. Not just for the guests, because they have certain expectations for that night, but also for us guides. The Northern Lights are generally a phenomenon of winter. It has to be dark enough for them to be visible to the naked eye. At the same time, winter means that it is often incredibly cold on those nights out. The combination of cold and darkness can be quite overwhelming for people at first. Coping with light-deprived surroundings is not something our society is used to anymore in times of electricity and illumination of even the darkest corners of this planet.
The rhythms and cycles of the Northern Lights
To be fair, all travel to Lapland might take one out of their usual daily rhythm. However, I find that this phenomenon is particularly pronounced during Northern Lights tours. Waiting for something to happen is something we are not used to on a daily basis, as usually everything is handed to us quite easily. In an era when the digital world has winnowed our attention spans, the Aurora Borealis still demands presence and patience – sometimes a lot of patience.
Why it is worth it?
First of all, have you seen photos of the aurora? Because, case point made. No, in all honesty: Seeing the Northern Lights for the first time was just something so magical and I vividly remember my first time seeing them. I was standing in the middle of a frozen lake and a very faint, green line appeared above our heads. It got stronger and stronger and then for about 30 seconds it illuminated the whole sky. That is all we got that night, but it was enough.
From then on I was chasing this feeling, I wanted to see the same thing over and over. But the Northern Lights are never the same, which is why this experience of hunting them never gets old. It has been over three years for me now and I will still gladly compromise a good night’s sleep for even the chance of the same experience.
But enough rambling, why don’t you try your luck yourselves? I promise, you will have a good time whatever happens that very night!
Check our Northern Lights tours HERE.
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