Winter roads

Having been on my bucket list for half a decade, the Tromsø Polar Night Half Marathon has proven particularly elusive. After signing up in July, both Anna and I have been looking forward to finally go racing under the northern lights and checking out Tromsø with the kids now in January. However, when double-checking the last details, I discovered that there was no longer any morning bus from Narvik to Tromsø on the 4th of January, meaning that the whole trip with our pre-paid accommodation in Narvik would fall apart.

After evaluating our options and having a bad feeling about spending four hours on winding roads with two kids suffering from motion sickness, we decided to cancel our SAS flight from Tromsø as well as our Airbnb booking. Instead, Anna and I will rent a car in Narvik, drive back and forth to Tromsø on our own, and then pick up the kids in Kiruna on our way back with the night train to Gothenburg. Trading our three-night Airbnb for one night at the new Moxy Hotel (which at 19,000 Bonvoy points compared to a paid rate of 4,800 NOK must be one of the best value redemptions out there), we still get to run, hang out with our friend Clare, and experience the northernmost part of Europe in winter.