Browsed by
Month: August 2013

New Aurora Season

New Aurora Season

The aurora has been back for a while, but I hadn’t seen it yet. Last night I was about to go to bed, when I noticed it had finally cleared up. I could see some weak aurora towards the south, so I decided to go out for some photos. Quite exciting, as this was the first test of my new Canon 6D and my new wide angle lens (Canon 16-35mm f/2.8). It took some frustrating fiddling to get all the settings right (I haven’t taken night photos before with this camera or lens), but I have to say I’m very happy with the results!

It was a magical evening, the fjord was unusually calm which gave great reflections. The aurora was quite active at times, and I love the twilight blue sky (it doesn’t get totally dark here yet, even though these photos are taken between 01:15 and 01:45). A great start to the season 🙂

Aurora reflections This early in the season, it doesn't get completely dark - I love the colours of the sky :)

Green & blue beams above Tromsø island Two hearts :)

View towards Malangen There was some pink/purple aurora too Self portrait with the northern lights

Øyhopping

Øyhopping

Two weeks ago my parents visited me in Tromsø. Paul was already at sea (on his annual research cruise) when they arrived, but halfway through the week he called to say the ship had broken down, the cruise was aborted and he’d be home the next day! Not good for his cruise or the ship of course, but it was great to unexpectedly have him home so soon 🙂

My parents were very lucky with the weather: it was warm and sunny on most days! Sunday was their last day in Tromsø, and we decided to go “øyhopping” (island hopping) by ferry, from Belvika to Sandøya.

Three times a week (on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evening), the ferry that connects Belvik (on Kvaløya) to the island Vengsøya goes all the way out to Sandøya, with request stops at several islands along the way. After about 4.5 hours the ferry is back at Belvika, so it’s often used as a sightseeing roundtrip. I’ve always wanted to go on this ferry, but only in good weather – and in good weather I usually didn’t want to “waste” the day on a ferry and instead would choose to climb a mountain something else active. Having visitors who are not that keen on mountains was the perfect excuse 😛

Rebbensøya Looking back at Kvaløya

The ferry leaves quite late, around 17:00, so we made sure to have a big lunch at home. Lucky – as the only food you can buy on board is ice cream and waffles – a great snack but perhaps not the best dinner option 😛

Sandøya with Sørfugløya peeping behind on the left Nice views :)

The ferry didn’t stop everywhere, but it picked up people at Risøya and Sandøya. They had to come on board via a steep ladder, carrying their luggage – and even dogs – on their shoulders 😀

Passengers coming on board at Risøya, on a steep ladder - notice that the guy in front has to carry his dog on his shoulders! The quay at Risøya

We sat outside at the back of the ship, out of the wind and in the sun, and enjoyed watching the scenery. We brought a thermos for coffee and tea, and some chocolate and biscuits and really enjoyed the evening.

My parents enjoying the warm and sunny sightseeing trip The view from where we were sitting

It was nice to see Sandøya again, I would have loved to get off the ferry here and spend the night there, but work was waiting for me the next day – and anyway the next ferry back would be 3 days later 😀

Sandøya Turning around, leaving Sandøya (left) and Rebbenesøya (right) behind

The ferry doesn’t have exact times for the islands stops, and since we didn’t stop everywhere, we had time left over on the way back. There were several sightseers on board, and the captain decided to make a few detours, so we got to see the church at GÃ¥svær for example! It looks beautiful there, I’d love to come back there and visit the island.

Vengsøy is the name of the ferry, and the name of the island in the background :) The church at Gåsvær, with the glacier on Hollendaren in the background

At about 21:00, it finally got a bit chilly and we moved indoors. The ferry is quite new, and it’s very comfortable inside, with huge windows. Sunset was beautiful, so I kept running back outside to take more photos 😉

Sunset colouring the clouds pink The last sunlight on Store Blåmann Vengsøya at sunset

We arrived back to Belvika at 21:30, and drove home in beautiful sunset pastels. What a perfect way to spend the last evening with my parents! 🙂

Summer in Finland, part 2: The Cabin by the Lake

Summer in Finland, part 2: The Cabin by the Lake

After our week of cycling, we booked a cabin at the northern end of Finnish Lakeland. For those familiar with the area, it was near the village of Korpijärvi (between Varpaisjärvi and Rautavaara, about 80 km north of Kuopio). We had the cabin for a whole week, and it was the best week ever… The cabin came with a large sauna and its own rowing boat. During the whole week, we used the car once – to go food shopping in Varpaisjärvi. The rest of the time we cycled, we walked, we rowed, we swam… 🙂
Here are two photos to give you an impression of the cabin…

Our cabin by the lake... perfect place! Paul took this photo with his kite, you can see our very own beach :)

On the first day we cycled around the Korpinen lake, and quiet forest roads. We found a nice jetty to have a break, and a dragonfly kept us company 🙂

Time for a break during our round-the-lake cycle trip My little friend the dragonfly :)

In the evening we tried the rowing boat. It took some practice before we could row in straight lines instead of zigzags, but we mastered it by the end of the week 😉

Rowing took lots of practice but by the end of the week I could row in a straight line instead of zigzagging ;) In the evening it cleared up

In the evening it cleared up, and the small lake in front of our cabin turned into a painting, reflecting the sky….

The calm lake was like a painting... Paul couldn't get enough of rowing around the lake

The next day we cycled to Älänne, a small nature reserve only 5 km from our cabin. There, we hiked one of the trails through the forests and on the shores of the lake. It was beautiful!

Hiking in Älänne, a small nature reserve only 5 km from our cabin Mushrooms in the forest

There were lots of big sandy beaches on the lake, and at the end of the trail there was a nice shelter where we made a campfire. Funny story: during our hike I accidentally stepped next to one of the boardwalks, into a marsh. I got my shoe and sock pretty wet, and Paul offered to dry them on the campfire. I kept asking him if they were safe, if they were not too close to the fire etc… but in the end I relaxed and just enjoyed our break. When we wanted to leave, I found out my sock was half burnt away and the shoe was smouldering from inside the sole… OOPS!!

Some of the lakes have very nice sandy beaches Campfire at a shelter at the end of the hike

The next day was our first day of sunshine 🙂 and we decided to explore the winding river that feeds into the lake. Metallic blue/green dragonflies darted around the river, we had fun chasing them in the hope of a good photo 😉

Sunshine! Time for a rowing trip :) There were lots of these pretty dragonflies with metallic blue/green wings

The water lilies were very pretty as well!

Some very pretty water lillies Close-up of the waterlilly

In the evening I took some sunset photos in the field behind the cabin, and then the full moon rose over the lake…

Evening in the field behind the cabin A full moon rising over the lake

Wednesday was another sunny day, and we explored the large lake and another river by boat. We cheated this time, and put our engine on the boat 😀 (we had our inflatable zodiac with us).

Another boat trip with great views :) A sunset panorama of 'our' beach and lake

The sunset was so beautiful, everything was blue and pink, the lake was a perfect mirror, and the moon rose on the far side….

Reflections The full moon rising over the lake at sunset... beautiful

We went for a row in the boat in the moonlight, while patches of fog drifted from the fields over the lake. A magical evening!

Water lillies & the moon, taken from the rowing boat A magical misty evening Rowing in the moonlight

On Thursday we went back to Älänne to try one of the other hiking trails. It had looked boring on the map, but it was a fantastic hike 🙂 The best part was when we crossed a ridge between two lakes – so pretty!

Another hike in Älänne, on a ridge between two lakes Through the pine forest

We stopped halfway to have dinner and a campfire at another shelter. We found out afterwards that it’s not wise to stay in the forest after sunset, as the mosquitos come out in full force… So we hiked back in record speed, and enjoyed cycling back along the deserted roads….

Hot dogs from the campfire at another shelter along the trail Cycling back to the cabin on deserted roads

And then sadly, our last day at the cabin arrived. It was another warm sunny day, and we spent it picnicking in the boat and swimming in the lake. In the evening we made dinner outside, and enjoyed this sunset view…

Sunset on our last evening at the cabin

We had another sauna and a magical swim in the lake after midnight. Behind the cabin there was a nice display of noctilucent clouds, while the moon lit a shallow layer of mist over ‘our’ lake. Another magical night…

Noctilucent clouds! A final photo of our pretty little lake in the moonlight

It was very hard to say goodbye to the cabin the next day, but it was time to leave for our final destination in Finland. To be continued 🙂