Aurora watching

[mattbell]

I'm thinking it would be fun to spend a few days watching the aurora borealis. People who've seen it put it on par with total eclipses as far as being one of the most incredible nature-related experiences of their lives.

I've been doing some research into it and have found the following:

- The weather is not totally reliable and the *space* weather is also not totally reliable, so it's best to go for at least 4 days. You need no clouds + a certain aurora strength.
- Airfares have gone up a bit since last year. Roundtrip to Fairbanks is around $650, roundtrip to Reykjavik is around $1000.
- It's very cold. And dark. Duh.
- Reykjavik is more interesting than Fairbanks from a cultural perspective, but these still seems to be a decent bit of stuff to do in Fairbanks. However, I think, like Burning Man, part of the appeal of the trip is meeting the sort of people who would fly out to see an aurora instead of, say, Hawaii.

Hey, if any of you are interested in joining me, let me know. I'm planning on doing this sometime between this November and next March, and probably not in December-January, when it's the coldest and darkest.

Comments

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Hey Anonymous... I am wondering about your experience of Sweden's culture in general. I'm trying to pick a site that will be interesting so that I have fun even if I don't see any auroras.

[(Anonymous)]

I lived in Skelleftea for 10.5 months as a high school foreign exchange student, so my experience of the Swedish culture is colored by high school. With that said, the entire month of December is an amazing time to be in Sweden from St. Lucy's day on December 13th through Christmas, town squares are full of lighted outdoor markets and everyone celebrates together at numerous parties. The summer months from June through August are also full of celebrations at the beach or any type of outdoor location.

As a general stereotype, the Swedish people are friendly and superficially gregarious, but rather emotionally reserved. In general, they have a very strong work ethic and socially liberal moral bent. They also establish very, very tight friendships and keep those friendships for years. Loyalty and consistency are important - as is not showing up your neighbors. Keeping up with the Jones' in Sweden frequently means masking your wealth, not buying beyond your means. Many people are taxed over 50% of their income to support the socialist programs, such as a monthly cash stipend to all people under the age of 19, completely free school and health care, good roads, etc, and are happy to pay high taxes. Good manners are fundamental.

They also have a word "lagom" which doesn't have an English equivalent, but roughly translates to "enough". Someone will say "lagom" if they are satiated and don't really need any more. "Lagom" encapsulates the Swedish culture for me because "lagom" is that point where you have just enough, and nothing more. This idea infuses social relations, government policies and architecture. Mid-century modern and non-funky IKEA really adhere to this idea via simple, elegant, highly functional and yet relatively affordable interiors.

Stockholm and Gothenburg are stunning, intimate cities that do not see enough tourists. The fairy between Stockholm and Helsinki is highly worthwhile as it is a very inexpensive way to see Stockholm's archipelago. The northern cities, such as Kiruna, Pitea, and Skelleftea see few tourists and are appreciative of the ones that they do see. As the Samis live in the far north, there are more short, dark people in Northern Sweden than you would expect from the land that makes tall blue eyed blonds look mundane. (BTW: Almost everyone has light eyes although not everyone is blond.) The Samis cultivate reindeer, which is an amazing tasty treat.

Additionally, everyone speaks English fluently as it is taught in school from first grade and half of the TV shows and movies are American programs with subtitles. Even their news programs are done primarily in English. Oh, and business through science is taught in English starting in high school. You shouldn't have a problem communicating. However, if they push a black colored candy at you or a tin of special herring, run away. The first is salted tar candy and the second is Baltic fermented herring. It takes days for the taste and smell to go away.

I hope this helps.

BTW: I'm Sara. We've met at a couple ABL and Tortuga parties.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the detailed info! As far as the aurora, could you see it from the Stockholm area or just from the northern cities?

Also, I assume you're the other Sara, not the one on lj ( http://shekina.livejournal.com/ ) ?