Finland & The Aurora Borealis Dec. 2014-Jan. 2015
After missing the Aurora on multiple occasions in Alaska, I decided that Finland 330km north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland would be my next attempt. So, on Dec. 26th we took off for our ultimate destination of Nellim, a small destination lodge near the frozen shores of Lake Inari, Finland. Flying from San Francisco to London, and then on to Helsinki took us about 24 hours. And then after a good night's sleep at a nice Airport Hilton a 2 hour flight up to Ivalo. Nellim is a 45 min. drive from Ivalo, and the first evening we were treated to an outstanding Northern Lights show, and 5 of the next 7 evenings as well. Most nights the show started around midnight and went until around 2 or 3AM. But on our last evening on our way back to the airport, we had one of our best shows. The cab driver was nice enough to pull over and allow me to grab my tripod out of my luggage and get about 10 more minutes of shooting in.
We (my girlfriend, JULEE who was a great sport to my obsession, and I) then flew back to Helsinki. The next morning after a beautiful sunrise (hadn't seen the sun in a week), we did a city tour of Helsinki before returning to the airport and our flight back to London and then home.
Since we had about a 12 hour layover in London we stored some of our luggage at Heathrow, and took the Express train to Paddington Station in downtown London. My friend, John Thornton (a Brit) recommended we go to the oldest restaurant in London (Rules), and I while I made a reservation the week before we almost got there too late for the kitchen was about to close. They were very gracious and took great care of us as we shared maybe the best prime rib dinner I've ever had. I had arranged for a car to pick us up at midnight and tour us around London for the next 3.5 hours. The driver was great once he figured out what I wanted to do. So, while we've never seen London during the day, we were treated to many of the iconic sights with NO traffic and I could take my time doing long exposures (just a little chilly, but no rain either) of this great city. And then we caught the train back to Heathrow and our long flight home (got great sleep on the plane thanks to Ambien my wonder drug, in case anyone wondered how we had the energy to make this happen). Probably my only miscalculation was the 90 mins. we spent back at Paddington Station waiting for the first train back to Heathrow (very cold). And yes I went back to work in my Periodontal practice the next morning (and a well deserved rest :-). All in all it was a phenomenal experience, and I hope to lead a group back to Nellim next March!!!
Thanks to the Aurora Zone folks out of the UK for helping me put this all together!!! This was NOT strictly a "wake up and shoot Auroras" trip. We snowmobiled 3 times, sometimes for Auroras, but once on a 50km day trip, visited with rain deer, went via snowmobile or sleigh to an camp on the lake for Auroras, did a vehicle safari to the Russian border and river in search of Auroras as well... And for those more physically motivated snow shoeing and cross-country skiing was available as well. The guides and staff were GREAT, and we enjoyed many campfires, and hot drinks around the fires. The food was excellent and plentiful, and if we wanted a glass or wine or beer, there was a small bar at the lodge to oblige... New Year's Eve we were treated with a huge bonfire and fireworks display from the small frozen lake behind the lodge at midnight and the obligatory glass of sparkling wine!!! We spent one night in an Aurora Bubble to view the Auroras while in the comfort of a warm bed (would have been great earlier in the night, but we were down on the lake photographing the best of the Auroras that night).
Read MoreWe (my girlfriend, JULEE who was a great sport to my obsession, and I) then flew back to Helsinki. The next morning after a beautiful sunrise (hadn't seen the sun in a week), we did a city tour of Helsinki before returning to the airport and our flight back to London and then home.
Since we had about a 12 hour layover in London we stored some of our luggage at Heathrow, and took the Express train to Paddington Station in downtown London. My friend, John Thornton (a Brit) recommended we go to the oldest restaurant in London (Rules), and I while I made a reservation the week before we almost got there too late for the kitchen was about to close. They were very gracious and took great care of us as we shared maybe the best prime rib dinner I've ever had. I had arranged for a car to pick us up at midnight and tour us around London for the next 3.5 hours. The driver was great once he figured out what I wanted to do. So, while we've never seen London during the day, we were treated to many of the iconic sights with NO traffic and I could take my time doing long exposures (just a little chilly, but no rain either) of this great city. And then we caught the train back to Heathrow and our long flight home (got great sleep on the plane thanks to Ambien my wonder drug, in case anyone wondered how we had the energy to make this happen). Probably my only miscalculation was the 90 mins. we spent back at Paddington Station waiting for the first train back to Heathrow (very cold). And yes I went back to work in my Periodontal practice the next morning (and a well deserved rest :-). All in all it was a phenomenal experience, and I hope to lead a group back to Nellim next March!!!
Thanks to the Aurora Zone folks out of the UK for helping me put this all together!!! This was NOT strictly a "wake up and shoot Auroras" trip. We snowmobiled 3 times, sometimes for Auroras, but once on a 50km day trip, visited with rain deer, went via snowmobile or sleigh to an camp on the lake for Auroras, did a vehicle safari to the Russian border and river in search of Auroras as well... And for those more physically motivated snow shoeing and cross-country skiing was available as well. The guides and staff were GREAT, and we enjoyed many campfires, and hot drinks around the fires. The food was excellent and plentiful, and if we wanted a glass or wine or beer, there was a small bar at the lodge to oblige... New Year's Eve we were treated with a huge bonfire and fireworks display from the small frozen lake behind the lodge at midnight and the obligatory glass of sparkling wine!!! We spent one night in an Aurora Bubble to view the Auroras while in the comfort of a warm bed (would have been great earlier in the night, but we were down on the lake photographing the best of the Auroras that night).
