2019: In Search of the Northern Lights (London and Norway)--Introduction

Back in March 2016, my wife and I took a 4-day trip to Alaska, expressly to see the Northern Lights.  We booked a cabin several miles outside of Fairbanks, and had perfect weather for 3 of the 4 nights--but no Northern Lights.   We (mostly my wife) became obsessed about seeing the lights, so she had me book a March 2019 cruise up the coast of Norway.

The cruise was on the Viking Sky (Viking Ocean cruises) -- yes the same Viking Sky that ran into big trouble off the coast of Norway (see video here) a week after our voyage.  Our trip was pretty much the same as that one, except that we had perfect weather, furniture was not flying around the ship, and we didn't have to be rescued.

The 11-day cruise started in London, went across the North Sea to Stavanger, up the Norway coast to several ports, and then back down to Bergen.  After getting off the ship in Bergen, we took a train to Oslo for a couple of days.

We had incredible weather--it was clear for about 9 of the 11 days on the cruise, and we even had good weather in London.  Daytime temperatures ranged from low 50's (Fahrenheit) in London, to the high 30's in southern Norway to the low 20's in Northern Norway.  The weather made for some spectacular sightseeing and (spoiler alert!) aurora viewing.

Here we go...

Next: Days 1 and 2--London