The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Something got in the way of my baking :)

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Something got in the way of my baking :)

February was a very lean period for my bread baking.  Primarily because 7 of us (the 5 of us plus 2 friends) went on a cruise from Portsmouth, UK, to Norway, reaching as far north as Alta in the hope of seeing the Northern Lights.  We also managed to go Reinderr sledding, smowmobiling and dogs sledding.  We all had a great time and the pictures below may give you an idea.  Oh, and the bread for everyone on the ship was baked from scratch in the onboard bakery.  Whilst not artisan bread it was far better than supermarket bread :) .

 

AdelK's picture
AdelK

You sure seemed to have had a great time! I'm sure it was worth being away from your homemade bread during those time. I heard that it's a bit hit-and-miss with the Northern Lights and not everyone gets to see them? I'm putting that on to my list of must-sees-in-my-lifetime.

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi AdelK

The Auroras (Borealis and Australis) are dependent upon to activity of the sun as they are caused by charged particles ejected by the sun impacting upon the earth's atmosphere.  As a result, aurora activity is not guaranteed - not particles impacting the atmosphere in the "right" way then no aurora.  Also, of course, cloud cover can intervene :( .  One legend is the the Northern Lights were caused by the trails of fire left by the Valkyre as they transported bodies of warriors to Valhalla whilst Sami people believed them to be the souls of the dead.  Clearly, the longer you are able to stay in the Aurora-viewing region the greater your chance of a viewing so quite a lot of people who only go for one or two nights can see no activity but we were there for around 7 nights - with viewings on 4 of those!!!!!!!  So we were fortunate.  It was an amazing - and moving - experience. 

It is something I would recommend - it was a "bucket list" item for me, as was snowmobiling and dog sledding - not something you get a lot of chance to do in Shropshire, UK :) !

Windischgirl's picture
Windischgirl

But glad that you had the chance to go on this adventure.  Seeing the Aurora Borealis is on my bucket list too; we were in Norway in June and there was no chance of seeing it then.  But we do have some lovely pictures of me in the bright sunshine at Midnight!

Thank you for sharing these pictures; they put a smile on my face on what started as a dreary day.  Much appreciated!