Lights, ahoy!

Figured I wouldn't bury the lead and just come right out and say I SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!! 

Yep, the trip up north did not disappoint as these beauties put on a little show for us not one but two of the nights we were there! This picture absolutely does not do justice to what was taking place in the sky above us and if I were the Aurora Borealis I would actually be offended that I'm sharing this sub-par representation. If I were the Aurora Borealis I would untag myself on facebook in this picture.

Contributing factors to the less than stellar quality of pictures:
1) Too mesmerized looking at the sky to look down at my camera for more than 2.5 seconds
2) Too cold to remove gloves for more than 3.8 seconds without possibility of amputation.
3) Using a camera bag/glove/snow mound contraption instead of a real tripod (I am my father's daughter).

The second highlight of the trip (a distant, far far away in another galaxy second) was just the sheer amount of SUN! When we arrived in Rovaniemi fresh faced and bright eyed after a 13 hour overnight bus ride we were not expecting to be greeted by such blinding sunlight-- but it was probably the only thing keeping us going!

 The fishing town of Bugøynes, Norway. Population: 200. Latitude: 70˚N

Husky puppies. That is all. 

Helsinki cathedral

Next stop: Amsterdam! Planning is fully underway for an Easter trip to the Netherlands to visit Amsterdam and take in my life's share of beautiful flowers (I am my mother's daughter.)

Bonus picture of the day- spelling words the Finnish way: just add a few more vowels! I'm thinking of making the name change permanent.

Next time on Mireille's Sporadically Updated Blog (working title): Has Spring finally come in Lund or will Winter strike back with full force? Stay tuned....