Day 299: Sunrise

When I looked out of the airplane window early this morning it was pitch black as far as the eye could see. It was six thirty a.m. Swedish time and we had just taken off. After being up since three-thirty a.m. I was hoping to catch even a slight hint of sunrise on the horizon. Much to my dismay, not a hint was to be found.There aren't many things worth being up for at that hour but being able to witness the beauty of the sunrise coming up over the horizon is one of those things.

Just five minutes later I looked out again and magically there it was, almost as if it appeared out of no where. Way off in the distance to my left, a thin blood-orange line slowly began to blaze across the horizon. It was spectacular. The sky and land all around it was black still, which further added to its beauty. Unfortunately we were still in our initial ascent and i couldn't sneak a photo. When we were finally high enough up that I could get a shot, the orange morning light had morphed into a soft white.

In general I'd say that I am primarily a sunset person, though that can mostly be attributed to the fact that I am not "morgon pigg," as they say in Sweden about someone who is not a morning person. So I usually miss out on seeing the sunrise. Sunsets are one of the natural phenomenons that I've always felt a strong connection to. I love to be out in nature sitting on a beach or cliff watching as the sun makes it's daily dip over the horizon. So when I consider the fact that I'm not "morgon pigg" and am seldom up early enough to see this spectacular sight, catching the quiet beauty of a sunrise on a clear, cloudless morning like today, when most of the world is still fast asleep, is pretty much a miracle. I can probably count two, possibly three times a year that I get to witness the beauty of a sunrise so this morning felt pretty special.