Some more lights and hikes...
Over on the mainland, there's a green mountain pulling cable cars up and down, all day long. Okay, the green part might not be true. The leaves are turning yellow now. You can however go to the top in no time thanks to those little moving cabins, but I chose to grab my hiking shoes and walk there with some friends. I do plan on hopping on the cable car some day though, maybe in wintertime when everything will be frosty white. The mountain is commonly referred to as Fjellheisen, and you can take the long or short way up. I did both, long after a first attempt back in August that was cancelled due to... eh... slightly foggy weather (picture attached, naturally). The second attempt was fortunately successful thanks to a clear sky, but since we turned right, directly into the forest, getting to the top took pretty much forever. We walked around the mountain rather than up, but it was all worth it as we could peer through the trees anytime and keep an eye on the city below, growing smaller and smaller. The third ascent was more direct: we took the same route as the cable car, which meant that we practically had to climb up in a straight line. Granted, the term "climb" might be a bit over the top, at least for the Norwegians jogging by, some with children on their backs. What's up with the running around on steep slopes in this country? Once at the top, we were rewarded with a gorgeous postcard view of Tromsøya surrounded by its usual fjords. We also started hiking further on Mount Fløya, but as it was getting late we decided to turn around. We did come across some permanent snow halfway though, which is always a delight (and an opportunity for taking selfies in front of it and pretend it's snowing already). In other news, the polar lights show themselves every week now, if the clouds will let them perform. They look brighter than ever and take up most of the sky, rapidly shaped by the wind and pushed away again. They're mostly green or faint blue but on rare occasions a dash of pink will dance alongside for a split second. Magical. Also, big thanks to my flatmate Marie for allowing me to post the pictures of the lights taken with her camera, it's much appreciated! I think that I'm done with gushing about Norway for tonight. Time for pics!
