Norway Cruise (Honningsvag, Kirkenes, Oslo)

After leaving Tromsø we cruised up over the top of Norway which took us above the 71st parallel north (that's far north!) stopping by a handful of small Norwegian villages on our way.  At one point we were only a handful of kilometres from the Russian border outside of Kirkenes.










It gave us a few more chances to see the Northern Lights, some reindeer, and play in the snow.

Oslo Christmas Market

I especially enjoyed the slow atmosphere on the boat.  The handful of other passengers mostly were German and everyone really was there to look out the windows at the stars and watch the green streams of light that without warning crept across the night sky.

Watch out!  They nibble

Tromsø, Norway (Arctic Circle)

To celebrate the end of our lives in London and our move back to the USA we planned one final trip.  While we put quite a few options on our list, a week in Norway ending up winning out.

 

The first part of our journey took us to Tromsø, a city in Northern Norway and 1200 kilometres within the Arctic Circle.  Fortunately we had read up quite a bit on how to layer your clothes to keep warm in this climate which made all our outdoor time that more enjoyable.  During our time in Norway there is actually no sunrise or sunset.  The sun never rose over the horizon.  This meant basically all activities were in the dark accept for the twilight type glow that occurred for a few ours each morning. 

While in Tromsø we chased the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), went dog sledding, hiked in the snow, visited a reconstructed Sami tent, and of course caught up on all of the history behind famous Arctic expeditions that tied back to the town.

Jolene was on a regular look out for the Northern lights and was using multiple official websites to track current sightings and projected strength that day.  She had me convinced that based on projections we may not even get to see them while there but it ended up we were pleasantly surprised to see them most nights.  A special thanks to Eric who let us visit his horse farm off the far end of the fjord, and gave us our first views of the northern lights along with answering quite a few questions we had about the lights, all the new stars we could see, and Norway in general.

Our most exhilarating activity was definitely dog sledding.  Jolene and I got our own team of five dogs to lead us through the middle of northern Norway.  I drove and Jolene was the passenger (who had to shift from side to side or me and our stellar team of dogs would flip us over as we weaved through the snowy forest).

Last Day in London

Fittingly it's a rainy, windy day in London as we prepare to ship the rest of our stuff home that we can't carry with us on the plane.  We'll head to Norway for a week before returning to the States for good.  There are definitely things we'll really miss about this city but we're definitely ready to head home.

A place that allowed us to push our limits in just about every way imaginable (Constant threats of not being allowed into the UK, a forty six mile hike of Hadrian's wall, a two month crash course in Spanish, a military escort through the Sinai Peninsula, a soon to add chasing of the Northern Lights, and so much more).

A jumping point that allowed us to visit Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Holland, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Egypt, and Norway.

Our lives in London along with all the people that made it possible and memorable will not be forgotten.  2012, what a year!

Ushering in 2012 - Down town London

Scotland! (one last time)

We were able to sneak in one last trip to Scotland before we have to leave the UK.  This time we went back to Edinburgh and took a Castles Tour of the West Highlands with our favorite tour group Rabbie's.  While our other trips to Scotland had been great, we really enjoyed being able to take a closer look at some of the amazing castles here.  Plus, it was nice being able to wander around some castles with only our small tour group.

To top it off, Dave and Mere joined us on the trip to help us enjoy the finer (scarier) points of the city.  They also hiked with us to Arthur's Seat in the cold rain the following morning.  Even with the rubbish weather, you can't beat the view.

Here's to Scotland and soon hopefully their independence in 2014 so that we (Jolene) will be able to visit again soon!