One of the things that I love most about Norway is its nature, its everywhere. Large trees in the city center creating shade for all, green hiking trails that liter the city and beyond, and during the winter people fill the hilly tops just on the outskirts of the city to ski. Oslo and Norway in general is a nature lovers paradise. It’s never to hard to find a quiet beautiful place to take in a private moment. Oslo isn’t the only place to find nature and the further out you go, the more beautiful it becomes. Its that beauty that drives international students to book cheap uncomfortable flights to go to the small municipalities and really take it all in.
That’s what I decided to do as my last hooray before I leave to go back home in just a few short months. The urge to experience the natural beauty of Norway was center in my mind as the year began. I had created a small checklist in my mind of the things I wanted to do: 1) see the Fjords, 2) experience the Northern lights, 3) do a winter swim in the sea, and 4) spend the week in an isolated cabin surrounded by friends food and love. i was able to do three out of four of those things.
Having an international group of friends, we were all interested in leaving Oslo one last time to go out and experience the “real” Norway. We decided the best place to do this would be Troms and a small village two hours away from Troms called Lyngen which is where I cabin was located. We decided to use a small window of time called Winter holiday that fell in the middle of February from the 18th to the 22nd. Because of this small school hiatus me and group and five others where able to book a flight on the 15th and spend nine days in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Like all trips you take with friends there are ups and downs. It can be hard to share a space with people who have their own ideas of how they want their vacation to look. Some people enjoy quiet time full of food and wine while other more adventurous people will fill their calendars with as many activities they can and others can be in-between. I knew before I went on my trip that I wanted to fit in as many activities as possible, especially since as a US student it won’t be easy for me to return here…even though I have some things in the works to get back to Norway.
Because of months in advance of planning I was able to spend my days hiking some of the hardest trails I have ever experienced, my evenings near the water taking in the the chilly salty spray, and my evening with great food and even better company. The highlight of my trip though was what I experience only twice, the Northern Lights. I had decided I would not be upset if i didn’t get to see them but like all travelers it was something I wanted to see very badly. I would spend my nights up well into the night even though I was exhausted from that days activities in hopes to see the sky alight with green and lucky for me those sleepless nights paid off.
gh
