Polar Nights

We decided to boycott the holidays this year as a way to say good riddance to a pretty gnarly year.

Three weeks in Europe and Boston were just what we needed to have some time as a couple to get away and retool for the coming year.  First stop on our  trip was something on our "life-bucket-list" - to see the Northern Lights.  It did not disappoint.

It took us 24 hours of traveling to arrive in Tromso, Norway.  It's a nifty little town of about 75,000 inhabitants.  It's located completely within the arctic circle in the northern Norway at 69.6 degrees latitude (SF is at 37).

The main attraction is the Northern Lights, a natural phenomenon caused by the interaction between solar particles and the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere.  Depending on the night, and the type of interaction, the sky appears shades of greens, blues, purples, and reds.

It was quite a chilly 20ish degrees throughout the "day".  I put "day" in quotes because in December, at this latitude, the sun actually does not rise above the horizon.  It's called a Polar Night.  It sounds cool, but it's super-disorienting.  You're never quite sure what time it is.  It's always dim and dark outside.

We both really like it, though.  It's an apt way for us to end our horrific year with a few polar nights. The juxtaposition of the endless night with the beauty in the sky is how we have felt all year.  Points of light and beauty amidst all the pain and seeming injustice.  For a moment we got to lay down on the ice, look up, and see God's creativity in the sky.  It was magical.