Now we wanted to get home as quick as possible, so we opted for the much faster route through Sweden. Though still 2400 km’s, this route skips most mountain passes. To get from the Lofoten to the mainland, we took the ferry at 7 am. Since we had gotten out of bed, Joke was feeling nauseous and it worsened on the ferry. The nasty smell of sausages and bacon didn’t help either. We thought it had something to do with the busy last few weeks and that with a bit of rest it would go past.
As we neared the Swedish border, Joke’s condition didn’t improve. As a matter of fact, it appeared to be worsening over time. She was experiencing cramps, which seem to get into some kind of rhythm. Naive as we were, we thought it would go past. We tried to enjoy our surroundings instead.
A TRAVELERS DREAM
For travelers, Sweden is a real gem! Driving through this country in autumn is beautiful, breathtaking and now and then really desolate. Even some parts of the road were gravel. Our first stop would be in Vilhelmina, a little village in the north of Sweden. The route took us over the high planes, across lots of lakes, and through amazing forests.
Driving on gravel roads through these huge forests is so much fun! The weather was beautiful and trees were full of beautiful autumn colors! Image taken with my phone.
THE CABIN WARD
When we arrived at the cabin park, the warden jokingly said: “Today you’re with tree, tomorrow with four!” He never could have known how close he was to the truth. He handed us the key and showed us our cabin. It was situated next to a beautiful lake. The night promised to be cold and clear. Amazing conditions for miss aurora to show up! Predictions were on our side too, namely Kp7 (learn more about predicting the aurora borealis). This meant that it would be easily visible at our location. Excited about what was going to happen (and a bit anxious about the whole situation), we went outside.
Hand in hand, we watched the aurora dance through the sky above the camping.
THE MAGIC LIGHTS
It first appeared slowly but once it became more settled, large bands of purple were flying through the sky. Hand in hand, we stood there, watching the sky while shouting: oooh and aaah. But every now and then, Joke let out an ooooh! out of pain. I really felt sorry for her. After a while, Joke decided to go to bed to get some rest. Because of the situation, I asked her whether it was ok for me to go into the forest, to photograph the aurora. Luckily she agreed, as long as I kept a close watch at my phone.
I parked the car on the side of the road. It was really dark but the aurora lit up the landscape. Such a fantastic sight! Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 @ 24 mm | f/2.8 | 8 sec | ISO 1600.
I didn’t know the area, so I decided to follow the road upwards, away from the light pollution of the village (even though it was not that much, I wanted total darkness). I took a turn deeper into the forest and found a nice bend in the road which I could use as a leading line. Luckily, during my short drive, the aurora was a bit less intense. After I had set up my gear, the show intensified again. This time large bands of green and purple were waving through the sky. It was so insanely beautiful.
Bands of green and purple light were waving across the sky. This was such a powerful experience! Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 @ 24 mm | f/2.8 | 5 sec | ISO 1600.
SO FAR SOUTH
While the show unfolded, I texted with my friend and fellow photographer Steven Henriksen, who lives on the Lofoten (and thus within the arctic circle). He told me that they only observed a bright green band on the southern horizon. Normally the northern lights can be observed in the northern sky (hence the name), and when the Kp index gets higher, it gets more overhead (on the Lofoten, Kp 2 already works). Now the Kp was so high that it went well past the arctic circle. This of course was good news for me. Now and then, it appeared as if the lights were raining down on me, this meant that the aurora was right above my head.
If the lights are straight above your head, you can witness the corona, strong lines that seem to move towards you. Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 @ 24 mm | f/2.8 | 6 sec | ISO 1600.
The whole sky was filled with moving lines, fragments, colors and patterns. I kept on taking images without worrying about my camera settings or moving the camera. I wanted to keep the composition simple, and more important, I wanted to enjoy the show as well.
RESTLESS AND WORRIED
Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Joke had been lying in bed restless. She texted me around 23.00 pm to tell me that the cycle was now around 8 minutes and she started to become worried. We decided to get out of bed at 4 am and drive at 5. That meant there was not much time for me to sleep anymore. I wasn’t even in bed yet. Besides that, the show wasn’t over so I didn’t want to go to bed anyway.
AS FOG MOVED IN
It was a cold night, as a matter of fact, it was freezing cold. And I was outside since 21.00 pm. I could feel my body becoming quite stiff. The show had been going on for 3 hours and now it was starting to become unsettled again. This gave me the chance to get into the car to find a new spot. I wanted to photograph the aurora reflected in the water. Therefore, I drove back to the lake at the park. This would be my final image, fog and clouds were moving in but not before I had seen one of the most epic displays of colors and shapes.
I finished my session with this romantic and almost mystical shot just before clouds and fog took over the night sky. This meant it was bed time! Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 @ 24 mm | f/2.8 | 20 sec | ISO 1600.
When I finally arrived back into the cabin, Joke was still awake. She couldn’t sleep because of the cramps. It was 2 am and at 4 am the alarm would ring. I couldn’t sleep either. After getting out of bed, rushed packing and a few cups of coffee, we hit the road again. It was still more than 1900 km’s to Groningen (the Netherlands). We hoped to cover a lot of distance today. In a few hours we would reach the highway, which ment we could go faster.
FINDING A HOSPITAL
Just before noon, Joke’s cramps had gotten into a four minute cycle. When we were still back home, our midwife had told us that when this was the case, Joke had to call. We found a carpark and so she did. The words of the midwife where as clear as one can be: “You are in labour and you need to find a hospital!” Her words echoed in our ears.
Reality struck us, all the time the cramps actually had been contractions and the process was going on for quite some time already. Of course we had thought of this scenario and even brought a Maxi-Cosi and a complete baby box (inspired on the Finnish birth box with diapers, clothing, cloths, a matras etc. After you empty the box, it serves as a bed, really awesome!) but we had not anticipated for it to happen on our way back home. We had thought that if she would decide to come early, it would be in Norway (we even had all the paperwork ready).
With our new learned information, Joke decided she wanted to give birth in the Academic Hospital in Uppsala (which even turned out to be the best hospital in the country for giving birth). Joke knew some people from the radio therapy department over there (Joke is a radio therapist herself). With two hours to drive, I could feel my right foot becoming heavier and heavier and the (less than) two hours were over in no time… as we searched for a parking lot, we drove straight into the maternity ward. What a coincidence.
After a quick check, everything was confirmed and a room was prepared. Slowly reality sunk in and the started to feel excited and a bit anxious too!
PROGRESS WAS SLOW
It was the 28th of September around, 13 pm. Because progress was slow, we had enough time to prepare our room, eat lunch, call our family and find a hotel for Joke’s dad. After I had dropped him off (and drank a beer with him to calm the nerves), I went back to the hospital. Joke had finished some tests and was ready to go for a short stroll in the nearby park. It was now around 18.00 and walking became quite though for her so we kept it short. We were in for a very long and very intense night…