Kola Peninsula-Murmansk, Russia [1]

From the plane window, I saw a white stretch of snow along the way from St. Petersburg. Petersburg towards Murmansk, I was excited plus a little scared because the landing pad was covered in snow.

"I'm worried if we can land," I said with a worried face and a pounding in my chest.

"Calm down, the pilot must be very experienced with extreme weather," said Valter who sat next to me, trying to calm me down.

"Have you been to Murmansk before?" I asked, trying to make a chat to dispel my worries about the landing. "Yes, I've been to Murmansk several times during the polar-nights, they have nights that last for forty days and nights that can go as long as sixty-three days," added Valter again.

I watched the man next to me, he knows a lot, like a walking encyclopedia.

"What's it like there?" I investigated again, making the conversation even more intense, trying to forget my fear of the threatening weather.

"A little sad and lethargic, the wind is cold, you can see icicles hanging on the front of houses and the road is a little bit troublesome if it snows too much." He said again, glancing at me, catching my eyes looking at him.

"Is that bad? Isn't that great? Enjoying a long night." I said again.

"Just visiting might feel a little unique, but if you spend forty days with continuous nights and winter minus forty degrees, you will surely complain," he replied again.

"The good news is, if you look up at the sky, you'll see a beautiful northern glow," added Valter again.

I closing my eyes while trying to imagine the taste.

"What do you do there," I asked, correcting the chair position before landing.

"Just to visit, which is the same reason you are also going to go see," he replied curtly.

The strong vibrations of the plane harden my body as I sit tense in the airplane seat. I accidentally squeezed Valter's hand which was on the arm of the chair right next to me. Faintly, the voice of the pilot ordering passengers to fasten their seat belts was heard.

"Ouch... Sorry, I accidentally touched you. I'm afraid." I said in a trembling voice.

"Calm down Jade. It's fine."

We landed safely, even though the passengers were panicking and hysterical because the runway was covered by snow, fortunately, the pilot who was driving was quite skilled and experienced in extreme weather, making all of us applaud when the landing was complete.

We were then picked up by a tour agent from the airport to the city center where our apartment was located. The weather was around minus thirty degrees Celsius, making me feel uncomfortable, and wanted to get to the apartment as soon as possible. We booked an apartment with four rooms in it, two bathrooms, one dining room, and one living room big enough to accommodate the seven of us.

"I'll go get some groceries for us," said Valter.

"Why don't we go out to a restaurant and eat there," asked Liana while continuing to lean her head on Joseph's shoulder. Liana and Joseph are engaged.

"Looks like it's not easy to find the nearest restaurant around here, after all, we should be saving our energy so we can hunt the aurora tonight," Valter answered as he put on his shoes.

"Will you go with me?" Valter asked while looking at Mia.

"Hmm... I'll heat the water and clean up a few things, take Jade with you." Mia replied looking at me as she walked to the kitchen.

Valter turned to me, I looked at him and nodded.

"OK," I said getting up from the chair and walking towards the front door where Valter was.

"Can you buy me cigarettes and vodka." Said Olga half-shouted who suddenly appeared and stood at the door of the room.

"Of course," Valter replied, nodding.

"The Kola Peninsula is located in the far northwest of Russia and is almost completely inside the arctic circle, which is commonly called Lapland. This peninsula is the territory of the Murmansk Oblast with the capital city of Murmansk.

Even though it has extraordinary natural beauty, this place is not the main destination for tourists, perhaps because of the extreme weather and facilities that are not as 'fancy' as other cities in the world. You will not find a branded store or boutique with the latest elegant handbags in them," Valter said when we stepped outside.

I only listen to him occasionally shaking my head as a sign of understanding, it's a little difficult to focus on speaking in uncomfortable weather.

"Valter, can we get fast food, and hurry back to the apartment? I think I'm very tired and cold." I said while looking at Valter.

Valter looked at me with pity, "Okay, to save time. But we'll stop at the grocery store to buy beer and vodka for Olga." answered her back.

"OK," I said relieved. I will not be strong if I wait for food to be processed, my stomach is already rumbling and cold.

We walked briskly to one of the northernmost fast-food restaurants on earth, namely Mc Donald's Murmansk. When I entered the grocery door I bumped into someone, because I was in a hurry to warm up.

"Sorry, I was so sloppy," I said while raising my face looking at the man I hit.

"No problem." said the man, leaving in a hurry.

"Hey, wait... you feel familiar, aren't you the same person when I was near the canal? When I sat on the rock," I added searchingly.

"Yeah right, but sorry I'm in a hurry I have to go." while walking away.

The world is a small place...

"Drink this so you can be warmer," said Valter, handing me a bottle of drink.

"What is this?" While taking a slow sip.

"That's Cloudberry, a Murmansk specialty drink fermented Mursmansk fruit like raspberries, usually drunk to warm the body," explained Valter while observing me. I drank it up, it was like drinking cough medicine but in large quantities.

"But I'm still cold," I said again. I grabbed a can of beer in Valter's hand and immediately finished it, regardless of Valter's gawking reaction at my behavior.

"Let's go home, we have to come back soon before I want to pee, I'll bother you if that happens," I said as I walked away.

The seven of us spent our time resting and playing games, waiting for the beautiful night so we could begin hunting for the aurora.

We penetrated the bitter cold of Marmunsk in order to hunt for the dancing aurora, at 2200 local time, the weather dropped around minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Aurora Borealis -The Northern Lights is a very beautiful natural phenomenon. The sky is shining with thousands of natural lights created by God dancing freely in the Russian sky. Aurora light glows in a reddish color in the highlands and the lower it turns green and blue. Auroras also vary in shape, some are in the form of curtains, semicircles, ribbons, or waves.

"The name Aurora Borealis was given by the famous astronomer, Galileo Galilei, after the name Aurora, which is the Roman version of the goddess of the morning, the Greek version of the North Wind god," said Mia who was standing next to me who was doing the same thing as myself, drifting into the beauty of the aurora.

It felt to me like a miracle, as if everything in the sky was so close and real. I didn't even pay attention to my fingers and face, which had become numb from the cold, because I was so happy.

Each of us was busy staring at the beautiful sky, it's hard to describe our feelings at that time. Each drowned in admiration for the beauty of the sky.

Olga handed me Vodka to warm myself, which I immediately welcomed, this is the coldest place I've ever been to in my life and such a strong drink makes my throat and body feel normal, even if it is for a short time.