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625 points zdw | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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iagooar ◴[] No.45398267[source]
I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times.

It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there.

Places that are so distant, with such harsh conditions and few people living there always give me a feeling I do not experience anywhere else in the world. I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature.

And believe me, it is a feeling that is overwhelming. But never have I perceived it as something negative. The opposite was true. Feeling small made me feel calm, embracing that that was the right spot for me as part of God's creation. Suddenly, all those dark clouds that followed me everywhere I went back home were... Gone.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of these places - go. It might change you in profound ways.

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sandworm101 ◴[] No.45398608[source]
And when you want to experiance true issolation in the face of nature, Alaska and Westerm Canada are waiting. Try a drive north through BC in winter. Fish on an Alaskan river only accessible by floatplane. Wake up to watch the northern lights only to realize you are looking south. Or pan for gold only to look up and see a grizzly cub walking cassually past.

Norway: 15 people per sq km.

Alberta: 6.7

British columbia: 5.5

Alaska: 0.5

Yukon territory: 0.1

Northwest Territories: 0.03

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dbetteridge ◴[] No.45399080[source]
Another option is

Western Australia: 0.2 if you get outside the capital city.

You'll see stars you didn't know existed and the distances are something else.

Northwest territories is beautiful though.

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1. bookofjoe ◴[] No.45399832[source]
Altitude is also an excellent force multiplier for visualizing stars. I can still see in my mind's eye the sky at night at 17,000 feet while trekking in Nepal in 1982: it looked like glitter-studded fabric, the stars almost contiguous.