Since I took approximately 500 pictures over the last 3 days, I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.
Many of my international friends are here only for a semester, and winter will be here before we know it, so we thought it might be fun to take a weekend trip together while the weather is still decent and before everyone gets too busy with school. After a well informed group debate (that even included a powerpoint presentation comparing the weather at our potential destinations), we decided to spend the weekend in Senja, an island about 2 1/2 hours southwest of Tromsø. We rented two cars and two cabins, and on Friday morning 10 of us set off on our first roadtrip in Norway.
Our cabins were located at Senja camping, on the south end of the island, and were perfectly furnished with everything we needed – 6 beds, a bathroom, and a small kitchen and living room in each one.
On Friday, after we got settled into our cabins, we spent the afternoon driving around quite leisurely, stopping to explore, take pictures, or hang out on the beach.
The whole gang! From left to right: Anna (Czech Republic), Christiane (Austria), Me, Marielena (Germany), Mikala (Denmark), Jan (Germany), Lauren (France), Milan (Czech Republic), Hattie (UK), and Clemens (Austria). Couldn’t ask for a better crew!
Clearly, we are super intimidating.
We also went to visit the Senjatrollet, aka the LARGEST TROLL IN NORWAY. Marcus, don’t look, it will give you nightmares.
Senjatrollet and his wife were HUGE
Jan being a very menacing troll.
I was almost eaten alive!!
Also here are some pictures of me on a boat. Check out my new hiking shoes (especially you, Aunt Donna) that I found at the loppemarked (flea market). Turns out, they belonged to my professor’s daughter but she outgrew them, and she gave them to me FOR FREE! Can’t beat that deal, especially in Norway. Just don’t ask how old her daughter was. (12. She was 12.)
We also found some spongy mushrooms and played “do you think this is safe to eat?” (Don’t worry, we always erred on the side of caution, and so my craving for wild Norwegian mushrooms goes unsatisfied once again.)
Friday night, after a lovely dinner back at our cabins, we were pretty psyched for a potential Northern Lights spotting. The night was clear, and because of the solar storm last week, predictions about Northern Lights activity levels have been off the charts high. As much as we tried not to get our hopes up, there was no dampening our excitement. Finally, we decided to all take bets about what time we would first spot the Northern Lights that night. Betting times ranged from just after 9pm to almost midnight. At 10:42 EXACTLY, we first spotted the Northern Lights, and I reigned champion and Queen of Everything for the evening. The Northern Lights were, as predicted, astounding. The ones we saw weren’t especially colorful, but they filled the entire sky, so that we all stood their craning our necks and spinning in circles, bumping into each other as we tried to figure out which way to look to see the optimal display. At points, the lights filled the entire sky and looked like they made a cage that totally surrounded us, shooting down from the sky. I was told that when you watch the Northern Lights, it’s normal for people to be silent with awe. That was not my experience at all. The 10 of us were gasping, screaming, singing the Star Wars theme song, making Harry Potter references, and generally loud and exuberant. After a few feeble attempts I realized it was basically impossible to take pictures of the Northern Lights unless you’re a professional, so I gave up and tried to just sear them into my memory. Despite my best efforts, however, it all sort of feels like a dream now, so I’m definitely looking forward to the next display here in Tromsø.
Friday night we also celebrated Marielena’s birthday!
Saturday was much of the same – after a leisurely and delicious breakfast, we hit the road again, stopping this time to do a minor bit of hiking and overall just taking in the sights and goofing around.
It was also very, very windy on Saturday.
Saturday night I was on dinner duty with Anna, so I made the best cabin food I know, Gabe’s (now literally) world-famous chili. Most of my friends there had never had chili before, and I’m pleased to report that I earned points for Team America because they all loved it.
We then went down to a small fire-hut (circular, with an opening in the roof for smoke to get out) by the water and built a bonfire. As promised at the last bonfire, I brought the supplies for s’mores this time. After giving the rest of the group a s’mores tutorial, everyone began their enthusiastic roasting and s’mores construction. I think they were a success, because when I asked Clemens what he thought of them, his reply was “It’s like the Northern Lights. I have no words.” The only downside seemed to be the sugar headaches brought on by s’mores overdose.
On Sunday, after cleaning up and clearing out of the cabins, we drove to the north side of the island, which I thought was the most beautiful by far. We stopped at a beach with craggy mountains in the background, and the intense wind whipped up huge waves that crashed on the rocks. We spent over an hour freezing our butts off, climbing around on the rocks, and generally reveling in Norwegian splendor.
We also visited an adorable town, Mefjord Brygge.
And we frolicked about on this tiny island, where autumn was in full swing.
This is us gathered around the car to receive our lunch rations.
My friend Jan, seen here with his Go Pro camera, made a fantastic video to commemorate our weekend trip. You can check it out here. You can also check out his blog (especially useful if you want to brush up on your German) here.
As usual, several of these photos were stolen from our group photographer, Clemens. He has more stunning pictures on his blog: here.
That’s all for this trip!
Tromsø Fancy 
Most excellent!
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