Yawning black hole and reddish auroras

(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).

Click here for the podcasts!




Link to the current itinerary

(For more posts click on one of the flags in the map

It’s 3 p.m. and pitch dark. The main road is a few kilometers behind us. We feel our way through the forest at walking pace on a gravel road. “Quite narrow,” says Tanja, because there are some bushes along the wall of the cabin. Suddenly a black hole yawns open in front of us. “A road underpass?” wonders Tanja. “I think we’re crossing under the E6 here,” I consider. “Looks tight.” “Yes, maybe you’ll get out and guide me through?” “Okay,” says Tanja, grabs a walkie-talkie and jumps into the darkness. “Yes, that’s good. Very slowly. There’s enough space to the left and right.” “And at the top. Is there enough height?” “Yes, you still have at least 20 centimetres,” I hear her voice through the speaker of my walkie-talkie. I clamp it between my legs and slowly steer our Terra into the underpass illuminated by our headlights. On the other side, we descend slightly until we reach the end of a fjord, where a wide stream flows out with a loud roar.

I park the Terra on its bank and pull out the ignition key. “Phew, I’ve arrived,” I groan with relief after the exciting day. “A good place,” says Tanja. “Absolutely. Now I’m ravenous. Will you make us something to eat?” “Of course I will. After you’ve saved both our lives today, you can have whatever you want.” “An organic roast chicken with roast potatoes would be delicious,” I joke. “Ha, ha, ha. We’ll have that when we’re home again. But what do you think of salmon with roast potatoes? With a delicious remoulade sauce and a few cans of delicious Danish beer?” “Apart from the Danish beer, your suggestion is perfect.” “I can also make you a cup of tea if you prefer,” Tanja teases. “Better a Danish beer than no beer,” I reply with a laugh.

At 10:30 pm, the sky shines in a reddish green light. The clouds have completely cleared, so we marvel at the reddish northern lights, which we have never seen before. “Will we see this splendor often?” asks Tanja. “In about 500 kilometers from here we will cross the Arctic Circle. I don’t think we’ll be able to marvel at the northern lights south of here. So it could well be that these wonderful reddish auroras will beckon to us one last time on this journey.” “Well, let’s enjoy this sky to the full,” Tanja says quietly, taking my hand…