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Graduation Trip to Europe

Hello again! Its already nearing the end of November, but I've only just found time to start writing up about the Europe graduation trip that happened in May this year. Since work started, every day has been a hectic day of training, work and practice for the upcoming orchestra and dance concerts in December. But I hope I can make decent progress on the writing by the end of the year. I'm also trying out using Wordpress, to see if its easier to write long posts with photos.

For this trip, we decided to hit some of the major must-see bucket list places like Paris and Florence, as Gigi haven't been to Europe before and we were all okay with revisiting places. We also put in some more unconventional choices like Poland and Porto in Portugal. Unfortunately we could not fit in everything on our wishlist, like Budapest or Croatia. Still, it is good to leave some regrets so that we can come back again next time!

Expenses (1 EUR = 1.55 SGD)

Transport and accommodation per person - SGD1,779.27. Chose Qatar Airlines, one of the best full service and yet most affordable airlines around. This is my third trip with them. I constantly monitored their newsletters and found a return flight to Paris for SGD850, after DBS Visa card discount. Since there were four of us on the trip, we saved cost by apartment sharing and also traveling on public transport, as it would be difficult to fit all our luggage into a car and three of us were driving newbees. Everything was booked online before leaving, and we left prepared with 3 sets of hardcopy printouts as a precaution. Also for Ryanair flights, its compulsory to print it out before going to the check in!

Daily spending - EUR50. My own average daily budget.

Data - SGD25 +++. I got the M1 Data Passport for Europe (with personal discount), but forgot that Monaco was not covered under that plan as it is actually a sovereign country, so ended up paying a huge penalty for using data there! Otherwise, it was still a good service, shared the data with my friend through hotspot.

Shopping - depends. We all spent quite differently on shopping, so this part is really variable.

3 Weeks Europe Itinerary

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Solitude

Tromsø, Norway

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Winter Reflections

Tromsø, Norway

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Tromsø, Norway

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Driving past Tromsø’s airport, we stop by this structure that represents hjell, a traditional wooden rack for drying fish.

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Telegrafbukta

Telegrafbukta is a park near the edge of Tromsø island, Norway, and is a popular spot for viewing the Northern Lights. Covered in snow and ice in winter, it’s birch trees stand skeletal and stark along the beach. Birch is an important wood in Norway, used for many purposes due to its hardness and durability.

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Sledding with Huskies in Tromsø

Husky Sledding with Active Tromsø One Day Active Dog Sledding NOK1350 (~SGD220)

Tromsø, the arctic capital in northern Norway, is home to all kinds of winter activities, but the one that I had to try was husky sledding! One of our teachers in JC had a husky that had a beautiful fur coat, and it would lie down on the couch and allow us to pet it. But I always thought it was quite out of place in tropical Singapore, and this was a chance for us to get up and personal with the huskies in their natural habitat. We booked our sledding trip through the official Tromsø tourism site, Visit Tromsø and we picked the Active Tromsø company for their reasonable price and full day experience of the huskies! Tour groups were well organised and conveniently picked up at the central Radisson Blu hotel in the morning and we drove to the expedition start point. Most importantly for us, warm winter clothes and boots were provided, as we didn’t own any really solid winter clothing for the negative temperatures. I was freezing but once I put on proper protective winter coats and boots, I could withstand the temperatures outside properly! Do not underestimate the importance of proper gear :)

Suited up!

Once we were suited up, we went to meet out friendly huskies. First thing that I noticed was their fur coats were surprisingly thin looking, and not as hairy as the husky that I had seen before. They were very lean but strong. Each sled with two people was pulled by four friendly husky dogs, and the leader of our sled is called Audi. I’m pretty sure they were going as fast as a real Audi, these dogs are really strong! But before we were able to set off, some safety training was in order. Our guide was a no nonsense guy, who was very very strict about some ground rules, because it was the first time for most of us. One lady in the group spoke only German, so we had to translate for her as well.

The golden rule of husky sledding was that we were to never, ever, ever, on any condition, let go of the sled, or the dogs might run away and it would be very dangerous for the dogs and the person sitting in the sled. If we got tired, we would switch around, but only stepping down from the sled’s control once the other person takes the reins. Second, emergency brake was to throw out an anchor into the snow, which would stop the sled if something went wrong. Thirdly, the dogs are part of our team, so during the tough uphill sections we need to get off and help them push up the sled and the rider. So once we were all ready, we went off!

The area that we went sledding in was Kvaløya (The Whale Island). I had to look up this information because I had no idea where we were or where we were going, I had my hands full the entire time. Husky sledding is not a multi-tasking activity. Once the dogs were off, they ran like the wind and suddenly, the need for hat, earmuffs and a scarf was evident. The cold wind bit at any uncovered skin. When going down slopes, I had to stamp down on the brake with all my might to stop the sled from going too fast, but even then I weighed barely enough to stop the sled, so it was extremely terrifying at some moments when the dogs seemed to be going too fast around some very narrow bends, with a river on each side of us.

Even though I tried hard to follow the rules set by the guide at the start of the expedition, I still ended up making some critical mistakes and was given a stern telling off by the guide as we were the first team after his leading sled. While trying to adjust, we broke the golden rule and accidentally let go of the sled. It was stressful and I was glad to switch roles and sit down in the sled for a while after that.

My heart was pounding the entire time I was driving the sled, internally screaming that something was going to go wrong sooner or later and the whold sled would tip into the snowy banks or dark frozen river. Inevitably, the worst of my fears came true when I got down to push the sled up a steep slope, the dogs flew off and I couldn’t get onto the back of the sled in the driver’s position fast enough. I ended up being dragged along in the snow with a death grip on the reins in fear of being thrown off, and I screamed out at Fangyu to throw out the emergency stop anchor, but over the wind and snow she couldn’t hear me. It was a miracle but somehow the sled stopped.

The lead guide came over to us and I thought he was going to scream at me, but surprisingly he did the opposite. “Good! You didn’t let go of the sled.” Finally, I started to get the hang of sled driving. Learning by trial and error, by being thrown off, by some really terrifying moments. It was really difficult to take any pictures, so I quickly snapped some photos with my DSLR with a thin pancake lens that I had snuck under my thick coats and secured with a BlackRapid strap. It was simply enough to enjoy the silent, rugged and majestic landscape of the Norwegian wilderness.

Dashing through the snow, in a four dog open sled

By the end of the expedition, we were both tired. Most of the time, we had to maintain a tight grip on the reins and at steep slopes, push with all our might to go up or putting our whole weight on one side of of the sled runners to try and balance the sled to prevent it from tipping. With all the exercise, I kept very warm and toasty throughout the expedition. When we got back to the kennels, the short day had passed into a purple twilight and we spent some time to unhook the dogs and play with them in the kennels. They were all excited and friendly, jumping up and trying to play with us, even though they had spent the day pulling two humans around the snowy wilderness. We returned our winter gear and had some hot tea before boarding the bus back to central Tromsø.

Although the sledding experience was indeed a little pricey as compared to the rest of my Europe trip experiences, at SGD220 it is actually reasonable for the experience you get. The amount needs to cover the upkeep of the dogs for the whole year, even during their summer months when there is no snow to sled on, and it was great that we were able to go and actually drive the sleds ourselves for such a long expedition. I’m glad that the guide entrusted us with our own sleds and although it was a steep learning curve, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I hope I can do it again in the future. Just don’t let me fall off the sled again next time please!

Good job everyone! Goodbye~

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Husky sledding in Tromsø, Norway in the Blue Hour

In January, the sun rises for all of an hour in Tromsø, bathing the landscape in a beautiful blue light. The best way to see the wild winter landscape in the blue light is by husky sled, returning back to the kennels when the sky darkens to purple.

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The Tromsø Bridge spans the Tromsøysundet strait between Tromsdalen on the mainland and the island of Tromsøya. The lights on the bridge at night looks like a little midnight sun crossing the strait.

Tromsø, Norway

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Storsteinen - The Big Rock rising above the suburb of Tromsdalen with the Fjellheisen cable car station visible as a bright light on the left and reflected onto the dark and cold waters of the surrounding waters.

Tromsø, Norway

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Polaria - The Nordic Aquarium

3 Flights from Cologne to Tromsø

It was time to bundle up in my thickest winter coats and head north - Tromsø at the edge of Norway for a Nordic adventure! After two small snowfalls and a generally mild winter in Germany, I couldn’t wait to experience some freezing weather before I had to go back to tropical. So I booked my tickets for Tromsø, one of the capitals of Northern Lights and winter activities. The weather forecast was 24 degrees below zero, so it looked promising that I would have plenty of snow and cold. 

It took a long day of traveling get to Tromsø. I took an early morning tram to Cologne Central Station, then regional train to the neighbouring city of Düsseldorf to catch the first flight from Düsseldorf to Copenhagen, which was at 6am. From Copenhagen, a second connecting flight to Oslo, then finally from Oslo to Tromsø. Although it was a long day of flying, the journey with SAS was quite comfortable and the transit at the various airports went along smoothly as I only had 1 cabin bag. Surprisingly, there was not much delays despite the freezing weather, the airports seemed well equipped to deal with the cold.

I was a little sad that I didn’t have time to stop in Oslo and visit the capital of Norway. By the time we reached Tromsø, it was only around 2pm but the sun was already setting. The island’s twinkling lights were already on, and the wild snowscape surrounded by the fjords were beautiful from the air. 

Time to bundle up - forecast -24 degrees

Hello Tromsø

First Stop - Polaria

After getting a map of Tromsø from the very crowded tourism office, I headed to the first major attraction in town, Polaria. The nordic aquarium is housed in an unmistakable and interesting building that resembled falling blocks of ice. It was a fitting setting for its inhabitants, which are nordic sea creatures. From giant crabs to starfish, the unique marine life is showcased in the aquarium. 

It is a lot smaller than Singapore’s SEA Aquarium, but it has a wonderful seal exhibit which is the main attraction. The bearded seals were very friendly and intelligent, and kept swimming around trying to play with me. There were also other exhibits such as a panoramic cinema which showcased films on the arctic ice and the Northern Lights. The Lights were a no show throughout my stay in Tromsø, despite having a great vantage point from my Airbnb hosts’ place, so the film was a nice touch to experience what the lights would have been like.

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Tromsø, Expedition to the Edge of Norway

To end off my exchange, I went on a trip to Tromsø, one of the winter Northern Lights capitals of Scandinavia with my friend. It was (a) expensive and (b) cold. Although we were there for only 3 days, it ate up 1/7th of my exchange travel budget, so I brought some groceries and snacks from Germany and stayed in an Airbnb. I was deciding between Tromsø and Abisko in Sweden, but I’m glad I went with Tromsø as it had stunning Norwegian fjords that were my favourite part of the whole trip. Although Tromsø was small, there were many winter activities to do and I learnt a lot from the educational exhibits in the museums about native Sami lifestyle.

Main attractions:

- Polar Museum - Polaria (aquarium) - Tromsø Museum - Arctic Cathedral - Cable car (closed when I was there) - Husky and Reindeer sledding - Landscape drives

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Seagulls along the roof of the Chapel Bridge

Lucerne, Switzerland

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The Needle Dam and Jesuit Church

The Needle Dam controls the water levels of Lake Lucerne.

Lucerne, Switzerland

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Lake Lucerne and its birdlife

Lucerne, Switzerland

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Lake Lucerne framed by the Swiss Alps

Lucerne, Switzerland