Scandinavia: Tryst with Northern Lights (Oct 2023)

Scenic Scandinavia: Our tryst with Aurora Borealis (a.k.a. Northern Lights)

Aurora Borealis - Dream come true

I think people fall in love with Scandinavia (especially Norway) in their childhood, when they study about "Land of Midnight Sun" or "Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis". We were no different. It had been a childhood dream of my husband and me to see these wonders with our naked eyes. We were fortunate enough to live one of these dreams - to see powerful northern lights, dancing in the dark sky, filling it with green, pink, red colours as if playing Holi (festival of colours) with the heavens and decorated with countless shining stars.

The planning started in July, when incidentally one of our friends, Sahil, mentioned that seeing northern lights was one of their dreams too. I immediately started a joint trip. It took us 15-20 days of research to finalise the itinerary which goes as below (we made some corrections in between):

Day 1-2 : Arrive in Stockholm, sightseeing in Stockholm (Stay - Birger Jarl)

Day 3-4: Fly to Kiruna. (Stay - Reindeer lodge)

Day 5-8: Train to Narvik, 4 days in Lofoten in car. (Stay - Sakrisoy Rorbuer, Marina bay Lofoten)

Day 9-10: Fly to Oslo, Sight seeing (Stay -City box Oslo)

Day 11: Night in Amsterdam

We planned our trip in a way to maximise the chances of seeing northern lights, which boiled down to 3 things:

1. Maximise stay in the north of Sweden/Norway as possible (above arctic circle)

2. Plan close to Equinox, when solar storms are stronger and nights start to get longer.

3. Closer to No Moon day to ensure we have dark skies.

It is always advisable to check the weather forecast (however, you can't really rely on it so much in advance, so it boils down to luck).

Planning: As mentioned, we started the planning 3 months in advance (July timeframe) but it took us almost a month before we booked our first ticket. Went through multiple sites, combinations (luggage, no-luggage fares) to book flights as cheap as possible. As a result of this, Amber and I ended up booking tickets on separate PNRs which helped us save INR 7000/- Once the itinerary was final, other important thing was to ensure we book accommodation, browsed through multiple options (Warning: Scandinavia is very expensive, Norway in general is 30% more expensive than Sweden). We did initial booking which took us another 2-3 weeks. We made some changes along the way as got different options. Interesting thing was Visa. I already had a multiple entry Schengen Visa done for my business travel to Germany, which was eventually cancelled. We were not sure, if we can travel for this trip using that, so made calls to both German Embassy and Swedish Embassy and they both confirmed that I can travel using that.

Also, Oct onwards gets really cold in Sweden & Norway (temperature falls below zero), so had to do some last minute warm clothes shopping, which I must say, proved to be extremely necessary. Also, due to cold, we decided to leave Tatva behind which was not an easy decision.

One goof-up that our friend couple Sahil & Komal) made was they booked the ticket for 1 day after we were reaching (they travelled from Delhi, while we did from Bengaluru). So, they spent 1 day less in Stockholm. Also, their return flight was earlier than ours, so they did not join us in Amsterdam.

Ready to depart

Inside flight

Day1: Our first port of entry was Amsterdam (had taken KLM airlines). Next flight was in 50 mins, is we ran to short connection lane for immigration. While clearing immigration, the officer said that since I had not done the business travel (purpose of my visa), I can't enter Schengen for tourism. We told him about my cancelled business trip and my conversation with both the embassy. After few minutes of drama, he let us in. As it happens with our every trip, the adventure already started (remember in Egypt, ATM machine at airport swallowed Amber's debit card and did not give it back :)). 

We landed in Stockholm at around 10:45AM. The airline had damaged our suitcase's telescopic handle and it was stuck. This meant, we could not roll it using the handle :(. Anyways, we somehow dragged it to the airport train station. We took Arlanda Express from Airport till Central Station. Outside temperature was around 5 degree and windy and cloudy. Our initial plan was to walk to our hotel (1.7 km away) but we could not do it because of our suitcase handle issue. So, we decided to take tunnel to nearest station, Radmansgatan. However, it took us 10-15 mins to figure out where to catch the tunnel from as T-Centralen is pretty big station.

Stockholm rail map

Best option to travel in Stockholm is through public transport (SL). They have options of one time ticket (valid for 75 mins), 1 day, 3 day pass. We opted for one time tickets which worked out as per our sightseeing plan (mostly around Gamla Stan). We reached our hotel Birger Jarl at around 12:30PM. We quickly checked-in, got fresh and ready for a walking tour (Mariaberget, Fjallargatan etc.). In the meanwhile, we also took all stuffs out from luggage and saw that the telescopic handle was bent from middle. With some force we took it out and made is workable somehow. 

Stockholm city view from Mariaberget

Anyways, after getting ready, we went back to Radmansgatan station and took tunnel to Gamla Stan. Our plan was a walking tour for today. We first walked to Mariaberget which has stunning panoramic view from there. 

 
We spent 10-15 mins there, took some photos where it started to rain. Rain was heavy but passed away quickly. We decided to have 🥗 lunch before continuing our walking tour. We continued our walk in the old city, with beautifully paved ways going up and down the small hill. We walked until we were exhausted and returned back by bus by 8:00PM. Had dinner and went to bed.

Old city

Day2: Woke up early in the morning and learnt that our friends Sahil and Komal had arrived at the airport and will be at the hotel by 9:30AM. We had our breakfast, got ready by the time they came in. We started from hotel at around 10:30AM for old city sightseeing around Gamla Stan. 

We took the train to Gamla Stan and started to walk towards Royal Palace. Stockholm is a beautiful city and the narrow streets & Colored buildings leading to Royal Palace are typical of Stockholm. Streets were vibrant, full of shops, bustling of tourists. 

 

Old city walk - Gamla Stan

Near Royal Palace

Ticket to Royal Palace costs around 200 SEK per person (including a guided tour of royal apartments). We also watched change of guards ceremony in the afternoon. Royal Palace of Stockholm, located in the old town was built in 18th century. It was built over burnt ruins of The Kronor (Three Crowns) castle which was built in 13th century but was destroyed in a fire in 17th century. Royal Palace is one of the largest palaces in northern Europe and very beautiful. It's the official residence of king of Sweden and the royal family, however they don't stay here but usual at Drottningholm palace. The palace houses Chapel, Armoury, Treasury, many museums (inc portions of Tre Kronor Castle), royal apartments etc. It took us around 4 hours to finish our tour of Royal Palace. 

Royal Apartments

We made some reels and headed for a late lunch at Cafe Sten Sture which supposedly is located where a 700 year old prison used to be. Ambience is quite interesting and "chilly". The food and drinks were delicious. We ate a lots of food there and then spent some more time roaming around the old city, clicking pictures, making reels. 

Lunch time - Cafe Sten Sture

Stortorget Square

Then we decided to walk to the other island where they have Toy museum and the fall colours from there were looking very vivid.The view of old city, setting sun and later lightings were stunning. Had hot chocolate at Chapman cafe, then we took tunnel back to the hotel. Had pizza as dinner. We bid good night to Sahil & Komal. Next one week we were going to spend in northern Scandinavia in sub-zero temperature and many more things in the bag.

View of Old city at night

Day 3: The morning started early, as we had to checkout and take the flight to Kiruna which is situated in the north of Sweden. There lied our biggest hope of watching Northern Lights. We looked at Kiruna forecast and immediately became gloomy like the forecast. The forecast was snowy and cloudy for next 3 days. However, we were still optimistic. We had breakfast and took Arlanda express back to airport. 

Our flight landed in Kiruna at around 2:15PM and we were welcomed by light snowfalls and -4degree temperature. We realised that we should have booked a cab in advance. Kiruna is a very small town and airport is tiny. Tried to book a rental car but was too expensive, so we called Sverige Taxi, to be told that earliest available will be 1.5 hours from now. (Lesson: Always book in advance when you are going in smaller places/airports, it will be cheaper and you will get it in time). With no other option, we booked and waited at airport. Thankfully there was a vending machine available and we had hot chocolate which gave us some warmth. Komal and I went outside to soak in the snowfall while Amber was busy booking rental car for 4 days in Lofoten. Finally the cab arrived at 4:00PM. We were pleasantly surprised to see a Punjabi Sikh person as our driver in this remote area. It was initial few mins of scare watching him drive fast on a snowy road. It took us hardly 15 mins to reach to our accommodation - The Reindeer Lodge. 

Riendeer Lodge - Jukkasjarvi, Kiruna

Goahti Tents

Reindeer Lodge is located on the bank of Torne river in Jukkasjarvi, approx 3 km from famous Ice Hotel. We were greeted by the sight of 3-4 Reindeers. We were greeted by Tula who showed us to our Goahti Tents. The resort has 2 common toilets (50m from the Tent)
which very well maintained. A shared Bath and Sauna. Sauna was wood fired and could be prepared only when staff was there (before 7:30 PM). We had to give them at least an hour of heads up to prepare it. 

We spent the evening around the resort, clicking some pics with Reindeer, exploring near the lake in ankle deep snow. They also have a common kitchen, where we could anything we wanted. We at least had prepared well for this, so we had ample of ready to eat stuffs and drinks to keep us warm. We had our own Maggi with Paul John to keep us warm. The forecast has 1 hour of partly clear sky at around 10PM. Amber and Sahil went out a few times in search of Auroras but luck was not on our side. We finally we retired to our respective tents at around 11PM.

Day 4: Next morni

Snow covered Sami house

ng, we woke up to steady snowfall. We had a good breakfast, in the warm and cozy cafe there. The resort offers a free "Sami Museum" tour where one can learn about Sami history and interact with Reindeers. Thula was kind enough to arrange the pickup and drop too for us. 

Interaction with Reindeers

The entrance to Sami Museum is basically a souvenir shop with an attached cafe with a large fireplace at the centre. We quickly exchanged our tickets for bands and entered the open air museum though other door. It was snowing heavier than last day but we all were enjoying it. Initial portions have Sami huts, grain stores and other instruments that Sami people used in past. After that there is a huge enclosure housing tens of Reindeers. Best thing was the location, by the river, reflecting in its crystal clear waters the villages situated on the opposite bank. We had fun time interacting with Reindeers. 

Snowfall, Reindeers and amazing view was so breathtaking and enchanting that we could have spent hours and hours just enjoying that. 

We purchased Reindeer antlers as souvenirs (especially keeping Tatva in mind) and had a delicious lunch of Arctic char, Reindeer pasta just in time to get our transport back to the resort. On the way, we purchased few beers and provisions for the dinner. We took a nap as soon as we got into our tents. Woke up at around 6:30PM. 

Tula had told us that she will have Sauna prepared for the evening. It was an amazing experience of wood fired Sauna, throwing water on the hot stones to generate the steam while it was snowing persistently outside. We prepared dinner, had some beers. Waited for a few hours for weather to clear but finally we gave up at around 10:30. We had to wake up early to catch the train from Kiruna to Narvik which was our entry into Norway. we decided to stay in Kiruna especially for northen light but we could not see it both the days. I was very disappointed and started feeling sad already. While cooking dinner one couple, who had come back from Norway(Lofoten), told us they saw northern light in Lofoten. That cheered my mood a bit and gave me hope that we will see the northern light there. They also helped us with the app which provides notification for northern light based on your current location.

Day 5: We got ready by 8:30AM which was pretty late actually as our train was scheduled for 9:30AM. Sahil & Komal were almost done with their breakfast when we entered the cafe. We had to eat quickly as our cab had arrived (This time we had booked in advance). Reached train station at around 9:00AM. It's a very small train station (like railway halts) all covered in white snow. We spent tim
e in clicking pictures and making reels till the train arrived. 

Picturesque Railway Station

Kiruna to Narvik is approx 3 hours of train journey and one of the most panaromic one. The train passes though beautiful river, mountains, tunnels and the snowfall had magnified its beauty tenfolds. we reached Narvik by 12:30PM. Amber had already booked the car rental, so walked to Avis Budget office to pick that up. Amber & Sahil went inside leaving Komal and I outside in that cold. We thought it will be quick but god knows why they spent so much time (almost 30-45 mins). It was really cold and the hunger made me real angry. Finally we got the car. 

Our destination for the day was Reine (Sakrisoy Rorbuer to be precise - Rorbuers were traditionally fishing cabins by the sea, which are now used at tourist accommodations) which was 350kms (almost 6 hours continuous drive) from there. E10 highway goes straight to the end of Lofoten and is a very scenic road. 

Lofoten is an archipelgo located above the arctic circle in north western part of Norway. It boasts of one of world's most beautiful islands, fjords and beautiful bridges connecting one island to another. If you are in Norway, highly advise to have Lofoten compulsorily in your itinerary.

We were advised to have our lunch before leaving Narvik, so we found an Italian restaurant along the way. I felt better only after eating the delicious meal that the restaurant served. Amber started to drive (it was past 3PM by now) on one of the most scenic roads. 

E10 - Narvik to Reine

We reached Svolvaer at around 6:30PM and stopped at a provision store to buy groceries for next couple of nights. We still had a couple of hours of drive left, so were hopeful that we will reach by 9:00PM. However, it was going to be an extra-ordinary night of our life. 

We started from Svolvaer at around 7:15 PM when Amber got a notification on Aurora App that there is a good chance to view Northen lights in another 15 mins. We felt a glimmer of hope and started to drive towards Reine. After driving for 15-20 mins Amber asked Sahil to stop the car as he thought there is faint Aurora visible. We found a lay bye, parked our car there and Amber took the very first picture (high ISO, exposure and 10 sec shutter speed). The screen was filled with Green auroras and stars. We felt ecstatic. Finally our dream of seeing Northern lights had come true. 

First encounter with Northern Lights

We spent 10-15 mins seeing various formations in the sky (it was still not very strong but we could see it clearly with our naked eyes, the changing patterns etc). We were all dancing with joy, taking multiple pictures. 

We decided to start again and after driving for an hour or so (there was small detour with small road, with almost no population), noticed brighter formations. we found a parking place, switched off all the lights. We came out of the car to see heavens painting the sky in green and red. We were mesmerised, our eyes tried to soak in all that it was observing. Our happiness was beyond words. Spent another half an hour watching this marvel of universe. It was getting colder and windy. So, we decided to start driving again, It was already 9:30PM by now and we still had an hour before we reached our accommodation. We decided that whatever happens we will not stop till we reach Sakrisoy Rorbuer, our hut in the fjords for next 2 nights. 

We reached there at 10:30 and spent another 15 mins searching for the key box to our hut. I instinctively looked up in the sky and saw the sky filled with strong Auroras. We got in quickly, fixed a quick dinner for ourselves and by 11:30PM we out on backside deck. Northern lights had grown stronger, dancing all over the sky from different directions. We were spellbound. 

From our hut

It was so strong that we could capture the video of the dance of colourful heavens in our phone. 

Finally, at 1:30AM, we decided that we must go to bed as we already had very long day and next day we had planned for a trek. When I went to bed closed my eyes, all I could see what dancing green and red lights, fusing with other in a star filled night. There couldn't have been a better day. One of the best days of my life - living childhood dream of watching Auroras with naked eyes.

Day 6: We woke up at around 8AM in the morning, sun was trying to come above of the horizon. Drew the curtain saw a golden orange sky. We decided to just laze around in the bed for some more time. Finally, we got up at 9:00, and found the most gorgeous views of Fjords from the seaside deck. Lofoten is located 100km above article circle in Norwegian Sea (part of Arctic Sea) and is famous of Fjords and beautiful bridges going over numerous islands. We setup a breakfast of bread, omelettes, soup and fruits. 

By the time, we started for Reinebringen trek, it was 11:00AM. Reine is approx 3.5 km from Sakrisoy, we found a parking place there. Now coming to Reinebringen - It is a moderate-difficult trek even if the round trip trek is approx 2.5km but it is pretty steep at places and extremely demanding. Height of peak is around 450m from sea level. Most of the path has steps (some of sections are very steep), also if it snows/rain it becomes very slippery, so doing this during winter is not preferred. Within 10 mins of climbing, we came across a beautiful spring falling from the mountain, we drank fresh water before we continued. 

There are approx 1600 steps and we had to take multiple breaks to really conquer it. It was so challenging that at many occasions we asked the tourists coming down on how much more is left and how is it at the top (we started asking when we had hardly covered 20%). They all said the same thing - it's tough, but the view is worth the pain. The view of ocean and the E10 leading to Å is amazing. Finally after climbing for 1 hour and 20 mins, we reached the top. As people had said, the first glimpse of Fjords, Reine, other islands and bridges was beyond words. The view was indeed more than worth the pain. Beautiful islands, snowcapped mountains, sea all in the same frame are the
true marvels of Mother Nature. We got totally lost in the view, enjoying it sitting on one the cliffs. Reine looked so picturesque with it's football stadium enhancing the beauty of it. 

At the top of Reinebringen

We spent around 45 mins trying to absorb the beauty in our eyes and a permanent image in our minds, a truly soul enriching view. We took another one hour to get down. 

By this time we were pretty hungry. Quickly went to our car and had a sumptuous seafood meal at Anita's seafood. After the lunch, we decided to drive till the end of Lofoten, called as Å and enjoy the end of land and vast sea beyond it. Å is approx 12 km drive. There is a parking lot there. It had got too windy and cold by the time we reached there. We spent another 15-20mins and decided to head back after buying some groceries along the way for dinner. 

We were hopeful for another strong wave of Auroras at night. We quickly finished our dinner and waited for the same. The northern lights were there but not as strong as the last night. Amber kept looking and meanwhile Komal and I crashed on the sofa. Amber wanted to drive to darker areas and he convinced Sahil to come with him. They told us that they will come and pick us if they find something beautiful. 

Absolute bliss - 2nd night of Auroras

They finally found a nice dark spot and saw auroras dancing around (though still not as great as last night). I think they came back by 11:30PM and went to bed.

Day 7: The day of dare and adventure. Previous day, I successfully convinced Amber for an Arctic dip. We woke up at around 8:00AM. Amber and I went for quick photography sessions while Sahil and Komal slept. 

Sacrisoy Rorbuer - our hut in Lofoten

 

The weather was freezing (0 degree) outside. Before Amber could change his mind, I asked him to get ready for the dip. Sahil, Amber and I after finding the right spot, were inside the freezing cold sea at 9:30AM. We took few quick dips, we found ourselves coming out of water within few seconds. Few tourists standing on the pier clapped for us. Another bucket list completed.

Arctic dip in subzero temperature

Plan was to checkout after breakfast, do the Ryten peak trek and then head to Svolvaer, reach there by evening before dinner. However, it was already 11:00AM by the time we could checkout. We headed towards Fredvang (closest town to Ryten) which was 22kms away. Ryten Peak and Kvalvika beach trek are part of same trek (Towards the end there is one path which leads down to the Kvalvika beach and another path which takes you up the Ryten peak.) We spent some time finding the right Parking lot. There are a few there but try to park at Indresand Parking. It costs NOK 100 to park there. Difficulty level of Ryten Trek is Easy to Moderate. You cover a distance of almost 8km in the round trip. 

By the time we started our trek, it was 12:50PM. We already were almost 1.5 hours behind our schedule. Initial portion is easy walk while as you go further, it starts to get steeper, also a bit dangerous and marshy during rain or snows. We found many icy patches and we had to be careful. Sahil slipped on ice once. Just make sure to follow the trail, at some places it gets confusing, so you may have to guess which path to take. There are wooden bridges at multiple places to help the trekkers and also to save the natural vegetation.

View from mid-way of Ryten trek

As you start gaining elevation, the wind gets stronger, colder but the view gets increasingly beautiful. You see multiple Lofoten Islands, Bridges, Lakes, Ocean, snow capped mountains. A true panoramic view.

View from mid-way of Ryten trek

We came at the crossroad, one which went to Kvalvika beach and other the other to Ryten, we decided to go towards Ryten and this particular stretch is most difficult one. 

Kvalvika beach seen below

However, once you reach the top, you get an amazing view of Kvalvika beach. Best of all, there is a mini Trolltunga (Large rock protruding out towards Kvalvika beach) where you can get innovative with your photos. 

Ryten peak top - Mini Trolltunga

The view from the top is more than worth the effort. Make sure to carry ample water and snacks. You dont need to take as often breaks as you need for Reinebringen, however you will need to be hydrated and energised. When you reach the peak, you will find strong wind there, so be be sure of your footing when you walk on the mini-Trolltunga rock. 

We reached to the Ryten peak at approx 2:50PM (almost 2 hours). We spent around half an hour there clicking photos and soaking in the view from there. If you are enthusiastic you can cover Kvalvika beach (what we initially planned) however, it was getting colder and darker, so decided to skip it. We took the same way back on our descent. We reached back to the parking lot by 5:00PM. We were all famished and out of water. The parking lot cafe was already closed. We decided to start driving towards Svolvaer and have early dinner along the way. We stopped at Borgtum Pro for dinner. There we had one of the best desserts.  

With filled bellies and happy faces, we started our final drive to The Marina Hotel Lofoten in Svolvaer. After check-in, Amber got a notice on his app that there are chances of powerful Auroras at about 10:00PM.

We roamed around multiple spots to find a dark spot. Finally, we found a nice place off E10. And that was another amazing night of dancing heavens. 

We saw some very powerful Northern light formations and multiple waves of northern lights fusing with each other making a very big Arch in the sky. 

3rd night in a row

We stayed there will at around 12:45AM and went back to hotel to get some sleep. 

Day 8: We woke up at around 9:00AM. By this time, our calf muscles were already sore due to last 2 treks. However, it did not dampen our mood. We reached to breakfast table at around 10:00AM. Got ready after the breakfast and checked out at 11:00AM. From there, the first thing we did was to fill the petrol and then headed to Svolvaer beach. 

Svolvaer Beach

I was in a mood for another arctic dip however, no one was willing to join me. We spent around 30 mins there and decided to explore Svolvaer downtown before we head out to Harshad Airpot in Evenes. There was marathon going on, originating from main square. We did some souvenir shopping, had ice cream and then headed towards the airport. 

Svolvaer town

Had our late lunch at Lodingen Brugge (a slight detour) and by the time we reached airport it was pretty late. 

Half an hour near airport was a drama, which made Amber panic. First, when we went to gas station, they blocked 2000NOK in his card for petrol instead of 201NOK. Since we were running out of time, he decided to talk to bank in case the final bill does not come rectified (which finally did). Then when we reached the parking lot, we had to drop the key in a dropbox (as it was Saturday evening and there was no staff available from the rental company). We looked for a dropbox near their office but could not find one. Amber asked us to go and drop the baggage and searched for another 10 mins but in vain. He came running to airport and tried to ask people there but they were of no help. He called their customer care but they were unable to help. we suggested to put the keys in the car but that would be unsafe. Finally, somehow he noticed a small kiosk in the airport and found a dropbox there. Phewwww!!! We quickly ran towards security and took the flight to Olso. We reached Oslo airport at around 9:00PM, took the express train (Flytoget) to Oslo Central which was around 22 mins of train ride. We later figured out that if we had taken VY (Norwegian railway), it would have cost us half the price and 6 mins longer.

If I say Oslo is a city of sculptures, then it will not be wrong. As soon as you get out of the central station, you see many sculptures around you including the famous bronze statue of "Tigeren". Probably this is why Oslo is also called as city of tiger.

Tigeren @ Oslo Central station

We reached Oslo Central station at around 9:40PM. And behold!! people were going crazy on this Saturday as Oktoberfest was on. All the streets were bustling with people at that time of the night. Our hotel, Citybox Oslo was 300m walk. We self checked-in, got fresh and headed out for dinner at Baltazar Ristorante which is an Italian restaurant housed within an Old cathedral building (17th century beautiful old church). We roamed out for around an hour or so, but we were already tired and with sore leg, so went back to hotel and crashed for night.

Day 9: Today's plan was Oslo sightseeing. The forecast was overcast but we got some good sunlight during the day. We had a breakfast what all remaining ready to cook items we had carried and provisions we had purchased. 

Fall Colors

Post breakfast, we bought a day pass (# Ruter) which works on all modes of public transports. If you want to stay inside Oslo, Zone1 pass is sufficient. If you want to venture outside, ask for how many zones you need ticket for. Plan was to visit Norsk Folk museum (Folkemuseet) and Vigeland Sculpture park. We took the bus no 30 going towards Bigdoy which drops just outside the museum.  It is an open air museum with multiple buildings from old and modern Norway. The tickets costs 180NOK for the day. It will around 4-5 hours if you want to explore entire place. However, we picked the trail towards Stave Church. 

In this trail we covered, Sami Museum, Citadel, Open Air Museum, English garden, French Garden, Playground etc. We were out by 4:00PM and were starving. Looked for nearby restaurants, there is an amazing Cafe Hjemme Hos Svigers, which served an amazing food. 

Vigeland Sculpture Park

We finished our meal by 5:00PM and headed to Vigeland Sculpture park. It's huge sculture park within Frogner Park and houses more than 200 sculptures made by Gustav Vigeland. Most of these are made of Iron, Bronze and Granite. It is one of top tourist attraction, is open 24/7 and free to the tourists. The biggest attraction is "The Monolith" which is 17m tall. It has more than 100 human figures intertwined with each other and made of a single stone as the name suggests. 

After park visit, we came back to our hotel, changed and went out for dinner at a Rice Bowl Thai restaurant. It had started to drizzle by now but was manageable. After that we went to an adult club, had few drinks and then came back at around midnight.

Day 10: Sahil & Komal had a flight around 3:30PM. We checked-out at around 11:00 and had a brunch at Los Tacos, an authentic Mexican place. There was a funny board outside which read "Mexican food so authentic, Donald Trump would build a wall around it." After brunch, we saw off both of them to the central train station and we headed to EkebergParken by bus. It is a beautiful forest park full of sculptures by many artists. The park offer multiple small & long beautiful walks. You get very beautiful view of Oslo city & the bay from there. We spent around 2 hours there and came back to central station. 

View of Oslo city

From Oslo Opera House

Next we went to Opera House, climbed till the top. It's very beautiful view from there. Finally we went back to hotel at 3:00PM, picked our luggage and headed to the airport, for our final destination of this trip - to spend a night walking around Amsterdam. 

Our flight to Amsterdam was delayed by an hour. So, by the time we landed in Amsterdam, it was 10:00PM. We put our luggage in the "Luggage room" which is present in the -1 floor of arrival hall. They charge 6 euros/hand bag for 24 hours duration. After that, we took the ticket to Amsterdam central station (which is approx 17-18 mins by train and cost 5.4 euros per person one way). It was raining that night. After waiting for 10 mins at the train station, we understood that if we have visit the city then we will have to walk in the rain. We had brought umbrellas, raincoats but they were all lying there in the luggage room at the airport :( We started walking in the rain along the canals.

Amsterdam

View of Amsterdam Central Station

Day 11: We were walking along the canals, and after half an hour, stopped at a crepe cafe to have some fresh strawberry crepes. They were pretty delicious. We continued roaming around many streets. The crowd was a bit thin due to the rain, so were extra cautious. Finally after an hour, we hit Red light district. 

Red Light District, Amsterdam

The canals here are illuminated by red light, and all the windows are on both sides of the canal too glow of red neon light. There are many women wearing skimpy clothes sitting inside each of the windows the booth, soliciting customers. We attended one of the shows and finally headed back for the train station at around 3:00AM. We took the train back to airport, collected our luggage and after passing immigration, found sleeping benches and crashed there till our flight. We landed back in Bangalore at around 11:15PM and here ended one of the best trips with 4 items from my bucket list ticked off and one of 2023 resolution marked done.