Cruise ships, quiet towns and an all-day festival: millions flock to eclipse viewing spots across Europe

Beginning in Russia’s remote Arctic north, the eclipse traced an arc over much of western Europe – with the best views in Spain, Iceland and Greenland

It was a moment of awe shared by millions across Europe: an eclipse that blocked out the sun, plunging parts of the continent into a daytime darkness in which temperatures dropped and birds suddenly went quiet.

Wednesday’s eclipse began in Russia’s remote Arctic north, going on to trace an arc over much of western Europe. From the UK to northern Italy, tens of millions of people turned to the sky as the light of the setting sun was almost completely blocked out.

The most sought-after experiences were in Greenland, Iceland and Spain along with a small strip of Portugal. It was in parts of these countries that totality – referring to when the moon completely covers the sun’s light – was on offer, drawing millions of local people and thousands of tourists from across the globe into the path of the eclipse.

“It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sara García Alonso, a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency, told broadcaster RTVE. “It gave me goosebumps.”

Standing next to her, the astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández nodded in agreement: “It had been described to me so many times, but it was much more beautiful than what I had expected.”

In Iceland, people flocked by air, land and sea to take in the country’s first total solar eclipse in 72 years. Amid concerns that clouds would block the view, a record 31 cruise ships plied the waters off the western part of the country, hoping to secure a top view for about 53,000 passengers and crew.

The eclipse-themed activities included a day-long music festival hosted by the Icelandic artist Björk in Víðistaðatún park, offering a DJ-curated backdrop as people took in the eclipse. The 10-hour set list included two minutes set aside for totality, the artist said on social media, while the festival website noted that every ticket included a pair of approved solar eclipse glasses.

Those watching from Iceland included the US space agency, Nasa, which followed the moon’s shadow using a high-altitude WB-57 aircraft while Nasa-funded teams launched balloons to study the atmospheric impact of the sudden darkness and cooling.

In Spain, where some of the best views of the total eclipse were expected, the hours leading up to the celestial alignment were filled with frenzied debate about weather forecasts and where best to watch the phenomenon.

More than 450,000 tourists had arrived in the country from as far as Canada and Australia, crisscrossing Spain by train, bus and caravan to stake out the perfect viewing spot.

“Our car was cancelled,” one woman, who had travelled from Brazil with her sister to take in the eclipse, said on social media. After her appeals to hitch a ride to their chosen site were met with no response, they took matters into their own hands. “So we took a three-hour bus, a 20-minute taxi and two-hour hike. Arrived at the location!”

About 10,000 metres above sea level, the Spanish airline Iberia livestreamed the moment when the sun, moon and Earth aligned from a special charter flight. “Some flights take us to new destinations. Others allow us to see the world from a different perspective,” the airline said as it announced the charter flight.

Spanish officials estimated that as many as 6 million people were expected to flock to the path of the eclipse, which stretched about 124 miles (200km) from A Coruña in Spain’s north-west to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. On Wednesday, just hours before the eclipse, officials reported traffic jams on the major thoroughfares out of Madrid and Barcelona.

Others took their chances in the cities. In Madrid’s Parque del Oeste, hundreds gathered in hopes of catching a good view of the eclipse, cheering as they watched the moon cover the sun – plunging the park into darkness – and gasping as the outer corona left a glowing halo around the moon. Just over a minute later, when daylight returned to the park, the crowd burst into raucous cheers.

It was, in the words of César González, an astronomer and science communicator at the Madrid Planetarium, “a spectacular experience”. He had left Madrid early in the morning to set himself up in a field in northern Spain to watch the eclipse. “Until one goes and experiences it, there’s no way to explain what it is to see an eclipse.”

He was able, however, to explain the impact. “In broad daylight, all of a sudden the light dims to a point where you can see the brightest stars in the sky. When totality starts, the temperature drops several degrees. If you’re in a field and surrounded by animals, their behaviour often changes. The birds stop singing because they think it’s nightfall. And all of this lasts for a few minutes – in this case around 1 minute and 45 seconds.”

In Spain, most eclipse watchers were heading to rural areas, filling often quiet villages and towns clogged with skygazing tourists. The eclipse had helped put some parts of “empty Spain” on the map; this week people linked to Nasa turn up in northern Spain’s Villalibado to set up a live broadcast for millions of people around the world, breathing new life into a municipality whose last two residents left in 1998.

Throughout human history, eclipses have sparked amazement, fear and reverence. In villages and cities across Europe, the eclipse forged ad hoc communities, as people came together to witness one of nature’s great wonders.

In Camberwell, south London, an impromptu crowd of all ages gathered in Brunswick Park to experiment with different methods of seeing the eclipse, which reached 92% totality. Some held up colanders, others a spatula with holes, still others makeshift pinhole cameras made of old candy boxes.

Ludmila, a Ukrainian woman in her 70s, said she had worked at an observatory in Crimea for 30 years. “What a surprise to find an actual refractor,” she said, pointing to a telescope with a solar filter taped on the end brought out by a resident. “It’s like a wonderful gift.”

Later, as the eclipse passed its zenith and the sun began to set for real, dozens of neighbours who had never previously spoken to each other stayed on picnic blankets to drink beer and swap photos.

Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.