In Search of the Northern Lights in Finland and Norway

The Northern Lights are one of the most beautiful atmospheric phenomena on Earth.

Without a doubt, the most interesting trip I’ve ever taken was my journey to Finland, Norway, and Estonia, especially the experience of seeing the Northern Lights.

This trip was special and exciting for me for so many reasons, and I want to tell you about them.

Seeing the Northern Lights was truly exciting, and I was still overwhelmed by the experience for hours afterward.

Finland and Norway, and their amazing, cultured people, who you just never get tired of spending time with.

The indescribable beauty and snowy landscapes throughout the trip.

The long, 3,000-kilometer route we drove.

The group I traveled with, who I can honestly say were the best travel companions I’ve ever had in my life.

And finally, the incredible joy of photography and spending time with professional photographers.

If you’re planning a trip like this, whether with a tour or on your own, keep in mind that it really should be a group trip. Traveling alone is almost impossible.

The Northern Lights can only be seen in the northern parts of Finland and Norway, and during the cold season, you’ll need to bring very warm clothes. Knitted and leather gloves, a really warm jacket, sweaters, and thick socks to keep your feet from freezing are essential, because nighttime temperatures can drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius.

Of course, you can buy some really good socks there, even ones with built-in heating. You’ll also need a scarf and ski goggles, because if you plan to spend a lot of time outside at night, the freezing wind can seriously irritate your eyes.

We entered Finland after a connecting flight through Ukraine, arriving in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

Our arrival at the airport started with lunch. When we realized we were supposed to clear our own dishes from the table and put them on a designated shelf, we had our first introduction to Finnish culture.

Helsinki is a very beautiful city, with old architecture and lots of interesting churches. The southern part of the city faces the Gulf of Finland, so it has a beautiful harbor. When we arrived, the weather was extremely cold, and the harbor water had frozen over. It created a really interesting scene that you can see in the photos.

In my opinion, the people of Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) are among the most civilized and cultured people on Earth. They’re incredibly calm and genuinely enjoy their lives. These countries also have some of the highest levels of life satisfaction in the world.

There was practically no such thing as traffic in Helsinki. I didn’t even see a single police officer in the city. People and cars didn’t seem to need cameras watching over them. Everyone respected each other, knew the traffic rules and right-of-way regulations, and followed them.

Everything in the city was clean. You didn’t see many luxurious buildings, extravagant spaces, or expensive, high-end cars.

Even the hotels were only heated enough to keep you from feeling cold. The tap water was just warm enough for a comfortable shower.

The windows in homes had four layers of glass, and everything was designed to prevent energy waste.

Finnish people love saunas. Almost every home has one, even if there’s only enough space for a tiny four-square-meter sauna, especially in the northern cities.

Most houses have wooden exteriors and interesting colors. The shops, beautifully arranged behind their decorative window frames, are also really charming.

Unlike many other European cities where you might not feel safe at night, I spent hours photographing the streets of Finland and Norway late into the night. I was genuinely surprised by how safe I felt. Even though it gets dark very early, people go home, and the shops close, there’s still an incredible sense of security in the streets without a police officer in sight.

Near Helsinki, there’s an old island that’s really interesting and historic. You can also take a ferry to Estonia and visit the city of Tallinn. Tallinn is a beautiful, historic city, and its architecture reminds me of Prague in the Czech Republic and the beautiful old neighborhoods of France.

In Finland and Norway, the best food you can eat is salmon. If you ever visit these countries, eat as much of it as you can, because it’s one of their specialties.

After Helsinki, we took a flight to Rovaniemi. This city is located in the northern half of Finland and is considered the hometown of Santa Claus.

From the moment we arrived at the airport, Santa Claus decorations and references were everywhere. It was really interesting and fun to see.

The temperature had dropped, and the seemingly endless snowfall had covered the entire city in white.

I can honestly say that Rovaniemi was the best city in Finland for me, for several reasons. I saw the Northern Lights for the first time in my life there. Visiting Santa Claus Village, seeing the ice hotel and ice castle, and experiencing an igloo up close for the first time were all really interesting. The city itself was also incredibly clean and beautiful.

Rovaniemi also has a cable car and ski slopes, with lots of cool chalets around the ski area.

I think if you visit Helsinki and Rovaniemi, you’ve already experienced about 90% of what makes a trip to Finland so enjoyable, because you’ve pretty much seen and done everything.

Our friends had rented a chalet in Rovaniemi, and a few of us stayed there. The entire chalet was made of wood, facing the ski slopes on one side and located near the Rovaniemi River on the other, which was completely frozen.

We went out for dinner, while some of our travel companions stayed at the chalet. We hadn’t even finished eating when one of our phones rang. All we could hear was someone screaming:

“The Northern Lights! The Northern Lights!”

We rushed back to our accommodation. As soon as we got out of the car, everyone was just staring at the sky.

For the first time in my life, I was seeing the sky turn green, with twisting, snake-like ribbons of green light moving across it.

We quickly grabbed our cameras and rushed toward the frozen lake. Everyone in the area seemed to be standing on the ice, watching the incredible dance of the Northern Lights.

I’ll put the very first photo I took of the Northern Lights here so you can see it.

After about an hour, the lights began to fade and gradually disappeared.

We had something to eat and went inside to get ready for bed.

I was almost asleep when I woke up to the sound of Taha (Mr. Ghouchkanlou, one of Iran’s outstanding astrophotographers, one of my best travel companions, and someone I’ve learned so much about photography from).

He was getting his things together to go outside. He kept saying, “I have a feeling the Northern Lights are going to appear again.”

Before I could even finish getting dressed, I heard him shouting from outside.

We all rushed out. Some of us were still putting on half our clothes while running out of the house.

When we got outside, the Northern Lights were shining incredibly brightly across the sky. They were dancing intensely, and we could see different shades of green, purple, and other colors.

We were so stunned that we actually forgot to take pictures.

I’m absolutely sure none of us will ever forget that night.

We rented a car in Rovaniemi and drove all the way to the northernmost point of Europe. Along the way, we spent a night in Saariselkä, a very touristy area famous for its luxurious chalets and Northern Lights.

Saariselkä was really beautiful and luxurious, and we managed to take some great photos of the Northern Lights there.

After that, we finally reached Nordkapp, which is considered the northernmost point of Europe, after nine hours of nonstop driving.

Throughout the entire route, the most fascinating sights were the snow-covered roads, white pine trees, and frozen rivers alongside the road.

And at night, the Northern Lights kept us awake until morning.

From the northernmost point of Europe, we headed to Alta, a city in northern Norway. The following day, we traveled from Alta to beautiful Tromsø.

Tromsø is truly beautiful and charming, and I think it’s one of the best cities in Norway.

If I ever had to choose a place to live, it would definitely be Tromsø, Norway.

It’s a city with an old-fashioned style, wooden houses everywhere, and surroundings full of fjords, chalets, and fishing boats.

The city also has a cable car, and the view from the top is absolutely incredible. Make sure you check out the photos of this city.

Tromsø also has a well-known university and library.

Norwegian people are extremely polite, cultured, and calm. Once again, there was no sign of honking, police, accidents, or unnecessary noise in the city.

It’s as if these people have figured out that to live a good life, you need to respect the rules, respect each other, and be kind to one another. They even told us, “We don’t need the police because we don’t do anything that would require them.”

Our entire journey through Norway, both going and returning, followed the Norwegian Sea. Some parts of the water were frozen, while others were beautifully clear and crystal-like.

The landscapes were so beautiful that it was almost impossible to fall asleep in the car.

After that, we drove all the way back through the cities we’d visited and returned to Rovaniemi. From there, we flew back to Helsinki and then took a ferry to Tallinn.

If you’re planning to visit Helsinki, you should definitely go to Tallinn too and stay in its Old Town, because it’s absolutely amazing.

The hotel our friends had booked in Tallinn was actually an old house that was part of the city’s cultural heritage. Some really interesting historical features had been preserved inside, including old wells and sections of the original walls that hadn’t been restored.

There’s a main square in Tallinn where the architecture of the surrounding houses looks very similar to Prague and Brussels.

We spent a long time wandering around the Old Town until it got dark, and then we decided to find a restaurant for dinner.

While we were looking for somewhere to eat, we heard fast-paced Irish music playing nearby. As we got closer, we all started wondering whether the place was actually a restaurant or some kind of private gathering.

We decided to take a chance and went inside.

It was a very dark space with low ceilings and old stone walls.

The restaurant’s design was absolutely incredible. The owner was a woman dressed in old-fashioned Irish clothing. She was also pretty grumpy and spoke with a very strong British accent.

When I asked her for a menu, she said:

“There were no menus in the 19th century. I’ll tell you what we have! :)”

Then she listed the available dishes, and I placed my order.

Soup with homemade sausage!

That was the only thing they had.

When I asked her for a spoon and fork, I got the same kind of answer:

“There were no spoons and forks in the 19th century!”

So we ate our soup and sausages with our hands, sitting in that dark, old-fashioned atmosphere. After listening to plenty of her grumbling, we finally managed to take a few photos of the restaurant and the woman herself.

It’s still the best restaurant I’ve ever been to in my life!

And finally, after missing our flight, spending 48 hours inside the airport gate area, and having plenty of arguments and back-and-forth with the Finnish airport police, we made it back home.