Northern Lights

It was not our good fortune to see a spectacular display of the Northern Lights here in Akureyri.  But we did see them, shifting and expanding shafts of green lights right beneath Jupiter.

We had two nights in which we headed out on a bus with Armann, our guide, in search of the Lights.  As both nights had less-than-ideal weather conditions, we were unable to find them.  The search involves several stops in which we exit the bus and wait patiently, enjoying hot chocolate and kleina, a small, flat doughnut.  There is optimism and laughter until midnight approaches with no sightings yet.  On the first night, during which we were gifted with snowfall, there was a snowman built to mark our efforts.  The ride back to the hotel after midnight is mostly quiet, with everyone trying to hide their disappointment.

But Armann kept telling us on the first night that he believed strongly the Lights would appear between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.  So on our return to the hotel, we changed into our pajamas, poured the wine, and waited hopefully for someone to yell out a sighting.

Sure enough, shortly after 2:00 a.m., the call was made, and we grabbed our jackets, gloves, hats and cameras and headed outside the hotel to stare into the northern sky.  And there they were.  The green color is the result of nitrogen, I was told, and apparently nitrogen was the only guest invited to the sky on this night, because green is all we saw.  The city lights prevented us from seeing what might have been magnificent a few kilometers away, but the Lights shifted and moved, expanded and stretched, twisting into serpentine coils of magic.

Our joy at seeing what we'd come here to see was palpable.  Although the Lights that we saw are nothing compared to the National Geographic photos or the youtube time-lapse videos or the tourism brochures to entice you to visit here, we can say that we saw the Northern Lights, and how many people can say that?

So I am in love with their green skirts, their circle dance around Jupiter, and their grace in allowing me to peek into the starry banquet room and verify that they do, indeed, exist.