Tromsø, Norway

My travel day started on March 1st at the Florence airport where my first flight was delayed an hour and a half. On top of that, I brought a carry on bag which was supposedly too big for the overhead, resulting in me having to check it. Fortunately, I was still able to make my connection in Zurich and my last connection in Oslo. After 12 hours of travel, my bag never arrived in Tromsø. Luckily, I packed an extra thermal, hoodie, scarf, and gloves in my backpack, however, I wasn't expecting to have to wear the same outfit the entire weekend, but I really can't complain after the weekend I had in Tromsø!

Saturday morning, March 2nd, I took the bus from my Airbnb to city center to grab coffee and breakfast. The place was called "Kaffebonna" and it did not disappoint! After this, I walked to the aquarium of Tromsø, called Polaria. This museum is the world's most northernly aqaurium! They are known for their seal exhibit where they house 5 seals. They do feedings with them everyday and also train them everyday. The aquarium was really cool and I'm super happy I saw it. Afterwards, I walked around town and eventually got lunch at this famous hot dog stand. Similar to the aquarium, the hot dog stand is the northern most hot dog stand in the world! I also tried their famous hot wine which wasn't really my cup of tea, the hot dog, however, was a 10/10! After lunch, I walked to Balanse Spa where I had booked a sixty minute deep tissue Thai massage. It was so different than a regular massage but I enjoyed it! Later that evening, I went out an Aurora Borealis Chase with a tour group which took us nearly an hour and a half away from the city. We set up a campfire and had hot chocolate while we waited for any sign of solar activity. Unfortunately, the clouds covered most of the aurora and I could not get any good pictures on my phone. The tour ended late that night, around midnight.

March 3rd, I made my way into town to meet up with another tour group to go snow shoe hiking with huskies. We drove 30 minutes away from the city to the husky camp and got suited up. We hiked for about an hour before we took a break for hot chocolate and homemade cookies which were so delicious! During the break, our tour guide explained all we needed to know about the dogs at the camp including information about their heritage, training, and living situations. The dogs with us were retired dogs that did sledding for years beforehand. With age and the wear & tear of sledding, the older dogs are replaced with the young puppies. Our guide explained how it is important that the elderly dogs still get out everyday for walks to ensure their health and human interaction skills. This entire experience was completely unique but really educational as I have never done anything like this before. After this, I grabbed lunch back in city center and walked around a little more. On my way home, I stopped at the Arctic Cathedral which was absolutely stunning. That night I was heading out for dinner when I looked above the Airbnb and saw the Northern lights! It was such a pinch me moment and truly made the trip complete. I got dinner back in city center and walked around taking more pictures of the Northern Lights! The not so fun part of the night was going back to the airport and being there until midnight waiting for my bag.

4:30am, Monday morning, my alarm goes off to head home. Luckily, my travel day coming home was much smoother than going to Tromsø. After another 12 hour travel day, I made it back to Florence after the most magical solo weekend in Tromsø, Norway! Seeing the Northern Lights has been on the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember and seeing them in person was everything I dreamed of and more. This weekend was so special even though I only had one outfit for the entire weekend!