08.28.2025
Yes, we admit it, it's a bit weird to headline the article with a bad play on words taken from the novel Fifty shades of - ah, why bother, you get it. But we couldn’t help it. Our title kind of fits the content - we do actually have two shades of sun here in Norway.
That’s one of the benefits (or impracticalities - if you ask one of the very few grumpy locals) with our geographical position, the sun simply doesn’t act in a normal way up here in the north. Hm, strange you might say… yes, very strange indeed, but also, on the flipside, very cool. Norway is a world of stark, stark contrasts. So who are we to thank for these wonderful phenomenons? The universe perhaps? Billions of years of uncontrollable evolution? Something like that - or just the simple (and quite random) fact that the earth’s axis of rotation around the sun is tilted in a 23,4 degree angle making each passing year another possibility for travelers to come experience them.
So, what are the two shades of sun?
Let’s start in the summer with the all-encompassing, ever present, midnight sun. The sun that never sets on the horizon, creating a warm and colorful spectacle in the late hours of the day/early hours of the night. You don’t know that you have been hypnotized by the beauty of it until you look at your watch, suddenly realizing that you have been sitting there for hours on end watching a never ending sunset at 03.00 AM at night. Footnote: The same watch will probably inform you about a horrible sleep score during your time in Northern Norway, but hey - YOLO right? The midnight sun appears as early as late April (only on Svalbard), then it starts to pop up at the mainland close to the Polar Circle around mid-May (Hold it! Just want to conveniantly name-drop a couple of jaw-dropping destinations just in case you are interested: The North Cape, Alta, Tromsø, Lyngen, Lofoten, The Helgeland Coast) before it backs down again in late July/late August, depending on your destination. Yep, that’s one looong day, right there.
Already mesmerized by the idea of these endless picturesque sunsets? Come join us on a group departure to Lofoten, either on the mainland or with our own private sail yacht Varg - cruising through the archipelago, or create your own tailor-made itinerary setting up a the perfect holiday for you and your partner, your family or your friends exploring the magic of Northern Norway. And if you want to go all out arctic, why not head to Svalbard - our northernmost outpost for a bit of midnight sun magic at the far end of the world. Not to brag but: There’s very few places in the world where you can do summit hikes, go kayaking or even swim in the arctic ocean at night time, only accompanied by the warm dusk from the sun, no people - and at that moment, the world is just… yours. Ah, the list of highlights in this region are as long as a northern Norwegian summer's day. Southern Norway must be jealous… (Well yeah, but we have the fjords).
Now, let’s have a look at the second one.
Imagine this: A crisp winter’s evening, the pitch black sky, you are firmly wrapped up in your warm, comfortable Norrøna gear (yep - intentional product placement right there), childish excitement is rushing through your veins like a raft down a foaming river, you look up and suddenly! The pitch black sky turns into a vivid spectacle where green meets black, where light meets dark, where your hand meets your partner’s hand, where everything just clicks and the rest of your life unfolds within seconds in front of you. You see a future together: A house with swaying trees outside, kids playing in the back yard, a decent car, a decent income, everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Wow, I think I must propose! Here, under the Northern Lights. Now. Right now. Do it. Just do it. Just DO- Oh, sorry. We got a bit carried away there… Like a lot of people do under these circumstances. And we can guarantee you, people have done stranger things than a simple proposal under this otherworldly phenomenon, for example thinking that it has some sort of supernatural effect when it comes to, for example, creating beautiful, happy babies. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, we don't know. But, let’s not go there ey.
Anyway… the second one is of course the Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis. Or in more technical terms, the thing that happens when a solar wind of charged particles collides with atoms and molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere causing these elements to shed energy as light. You probably didn’t know this but the Northern Lights can actually be spotted as early as September/October, and as late as March/April which means that it can come as a priceless add-on to a late autumn hiking trip, a ski expedition, a ski touring trip, or while out doing activities such as snowshoeing, dogsledding or even reindeer sledding. As with the midnight sun, the Northern Lights are something truly remarkable, something that needs to be witnessed at least once in your life. And again, Northern Norway (remember the convenient name-dropping we did further up?) is of course the playground for this. Southern Norway must be so jeal- (yeah, yeah, stop it will you. We still have the fjords).
Note: This article comes with a warning. You can get addicted to these phenomenons. Norrøna Adventure are not responsible if you feel the urge to repeat your travels, your proposals, or even your beautiful-happy-baby-creating endeavours. But we can of course cater for your needs. Wink wink.