PWN Norway’s Northern Lights Trip December 6 - 8

By VL

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are among nature’s most spectacular masterpieces. No surprise that this special experience is on the travel list of many. I am not an exception.

When PWN Norway announced a trip in December from Kirkenes to Tromsø on board Hurtigruten, I was excited but also a bit skeptical. What would the weather be like? We only had one chance to see the green fairy dance across the sky. It was a hit or miss.

The long weekend trip was a part of PWN Norway’s 25th-anniversary celebrations - a great opportunity to network, meet new people and spend quality time surrounded by the raw beauty of Arctic Norway.

After the mandatory photos in front of Nordkapp, our enthusiastic group boarded the ship and adventure was in full swing. The weather wasn’t on our side from the beginning - snow, strong winds, and waves of 4 meters in height were on the menu. Not long after departure, our cheerful crowd got seasick despite taking the necessary precautions. To our regret, we had to cancel the planned activities for the day. However, the sea calmed down eventually and we rewarded ourselves with fine dining at one of the ship’s three restaurants.

Soon after dinner, the big news broke: there were some Northern Lights in the sky! Everyone rushed to the outer deck armed with cameras, tripods, and phones just to discover that clouds were dancing across the sky. My camera captured a pale residue of something green, however, we didn’t see anything with a naked eye. Disappointed but still believers!

In constant twilight during winter, the Norwegian Arctic landscape wowed us with its majesty and purity. To keep ourselves entertained, we attended lectures on marine mammals, a fashion show, made some splash in the jacuzzi, and got to know each other a bit better through a personal branding workshop. The latter was organized and executed by Aditi, PWN Norway - Oslo’s new VP Entrepreneurship. I was surprised to discover my own superpowers and excited to learn more about others.

We arrived in Tromsø at midnight. Some attended a midnight Christmas concert in the Arctic Cathedral, others made friends with the hotel beds.

Sadly, the day after was the last day of our trip to the Arctic. Tromsø welcomed us with snow and slippery streets which didn’t discourage us from visiting museums and riding the famous cable car with 360 degrees view of the town.

I checked the Northern Lights app and the forecast for Tromsø that evening was ‘’Go’’.