Tromsø

Storyline: Scandinavia

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We are in Tromsø. Still Sat, Jun 14. At 69.65° it is about 660km longitudinal north of Iqaluit, Canada, and 340km north of the Arctic Circle. Its centre is located on the island of Tromsøya (Tromsø island) and is connected to the mainland Tromsøbrua, by a kilometre-long bridge

(and the 3.5 km Tromsøysundtunnelen tunnel) that crosses the Tromsøysundet strait. Tromsø is known as the Arctic Capital of Norway, but as we’d find later most of the activities here were centred around the northern lights and winter adventures.

The lift to the mountain, as in Narvik, was closed in the summer, or at least at the time we were there, which technically was still spring.

I had booked a hotel in the town center. After a spectacular drive through fjords and mountains we finally arrive. And on time! After 95 scheduled bus stops (we didn’t stop at all of them, because they were by request. See previous post).

The bus first stops by the Arctic Cathedral before the bridge. When buying the tickets, this was where my app showed me, we’d have to get off. There was an instruction on Entur to activate the ticket on the app only before boarding the bus. So, I didn’t know all the stops beforehand.

At the time, I had planned depending on weather and timing to either walk across the bridge or take a local bus. I was relieved when the bus driver announced that he’d first stop by the cathedral, but for those who wanted to stay, his next and final stop would be the bus terminal.

Alex quickly references the bus terminal and yes, it is on the other side of the bridge, very close to our hotel. In hindsight it would have been a long walk on a very air-polluted bridge. We’d discover this the next day.

There is a narrow pedestrian sidewalk, but the bridge is meant for cars and there were many of them here. First time since we left Stockholm. It felt a lot more polluted on the bridge than at any place in Stockholm. No cars on the road leading to Tromsø, but plenty in the city. Oh, not only cars, but many boats too.

It was a short walk from the bus stop to our hotel. Here and at a few other places we’d have dinner included in the price. It was the hotel I had selected and it was cheaper than the Scandic across from it, with breakfast only.

During booking (using Booking site) the staff had suggested that they’d keep our dinner if we’d arrive after 8PM. It wasn’t necessary, but a nice gesture.

A young fellow greeted us at the reception. On the question how we were, we mentioned that we were a bit chilled. Yes, it is cold here for me too, the guy said. He was from Oslo and had just started this job. I asked for a room with a view and the guy decided that we’ve traveled from far enough to upgrade us. (By the way, I did the same in Narvik and other hotels. It never hurts to ask [and to have status on whichever booking website you use – A]). My first photo of the harbour from our window was before dinnertime, which started at 6PM.

We freshened up after the four plus hours bus ride and went down for dinner. It was a buffet with salads, soup, couscous, pasta with a choice of two sauces – one with ground meat and the other was vegetarian. Buns, breads, butter, yogurts, fruits too. Since the weather was good (not rainy and foggy here qualifies as such) we wanted to explore the city, thus didn’t waste time with a slow dinner (no, we couldn’t take our wine into the dining area, but could buy theirs. No thank you, we’ll have ours later).

After dinner I donned my new anorak (I bought it in Narvik, at their shopping mall), Alex puts on his lovely yellow rain coat (no he didn’t buy it on this trip – it was on sale at Mountain Warehouse store back home [and Diana had insisted that my other two raincoats were either too heavy or too light. I think she just liked the colour of this one – A]) and we are out and about just after 7PM. Given the midnight sun we had lots of time.

We walked on the quays and then inland until we reached a fortress (currently a hill with a few cannons), Skansen Festningsverk. On the site it says it was built in the 13^th century. Lots of flowers and flowering trees.

And nice views of the fjords and mountains. Next to it was the Polar Museum (closed during our stay) with the bust of Roald Amundsen in front of it.

We’ll find his monument tomorrow. We also walked by Ehemalige Werft, once a bustling shipyard, at a time when shipbuilding was a vital part of local life.

It’s currently surrounded by new apartment buildings. We were trying to determine where and how we could see and take a few shots of the midnight sun. We didn’t find such a spot as we were on the east side of the island, and I thought our windows were the best.

While walking on the quays we ran into all kinds of memorial plaques and benches, like the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who received the Nobel Peace Price in 1922.  We didn’t have time and energy to read them all.

As with many other places in the area, Tromsø is full of history. There were people in the area some 11,000 years ago. To promote trade in Northern Norway, the 80-person settlement was declared a city in 1794. From 1820 arctic trapping was a major industry. It is now dubbed the Paris of the North. A number of expeditions started from here at the beginning of the 20^th century.  Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen frequently recruited sailors in Tromsø. It avoided the damaging WWII. However, German battleship Tirpitz was sunk with the loss of about 1,000 crew at Håkøya Island near the city in 1944.

But nowadays it is also full of yachts, boats and noisily partying young people as we soon will discover. It is the starting point for those who want to visit Svalbard. On a ship of course, so it is off limits for me. Scheduled flights from Oslo and Tromsø are also available but wouldn’t fit our schedule or budget.

Tromsø definitely surprised me. I expected a small quiet northern town. We’d realise how big it was the morning we took the taxi to the airport (once I was even exploring if we could walk to it). A university was open in 1972. It is the world’s most northern University.

There are research institutes and satellite-based industry. This explains why although very busy, tourists have little to do with it.

Cars crossing back and forth over the bridge. Boats sailing in and out of the harbour and apparently the small airport could be quite busy too, should there be an international flight.

We called it a day, but I could not stop watching the reflections in the harbour caused by the midnight sun and the sun itself poking through the clouds. I stayed awake long after Alex was asleep.

The next day we’d walk more through the town, the opposite direction from the harbour.

We walk by the monument of Roald Amundsen, by the cruise terminal and will eventually reach the really interesting museum of MS Polstjerna.

This is Norway’s best-preserved sealing ship. It is exhibited in a dry dock. We spent lots of time inside the 3-level ship-museum. Fascinating!

The vessel sailed the Arctic Ocean from 1949 to 1981 and for 33 hunting seasons landed approximately 100,000 seals. The ship was also used for research.

We learned a lot by visiting the vessel. For example, Amundsen and his explorers were well-prepared for the cold, learning from the Eskimo how to dress for the cold.

The Norwegian expedition were wearing ventilating anoraks.

We also walked by the Tromsø museum of modern art, but didn’t have time for it. The most northern brewery was closed for the weekend. They do have stern rules for alcohol here.

Fika time! Although Fika is a Swedish tradition we only experienced it in Norwegian hotels in the north. It is usually afternoon coffee, (tea and some juices were also provided) and something to eat. Usually, small sweets and sandwiches.

Sweets were all we got at our hotel. But, occurring from 3pm to 5pm it was close to dinner time so even sweets were too much for me (I took one for the team and had Diana’s share – A). It is a time meant to socialize. This didn’t happen though at any of the hotels. People sat together if they knew each other. I guess it needed some kind of organising.

Alex: We were just about to leave when a friendly voice at the next table said hello. And so, we had an interesting conversation. The family was German, and included an 80-something with his son and daughter-in-law. We talked about Norway and visiting and their story was slowly revealed. The son’s grandfather had been a sailor aboard the aforementioned Tirpitz when she was sunk. The grandfather was one of the 1000 who lost their lives. The son had spent a lot of time pre-internet researching as much as possible about the ship’s fate and her resting place, and had fulfilled a promise to his father to pay his respects at the Tirpitz memorial on Håkøya Island. This was their second such visit, and probably the final one for the grandfather. Another example of how close the memories of WW II are to the families of those who fought in that terrible conflict.

Fika and dinner this day were served in the hotel next door. Same chain and if there aren’t enough guests or staff in one, they use the other. The variety for dinner was much greater than last night, at least for Alex who liked the hot buffet. I was Ok with last night’s salad bar more than the hot dinner, but can’t deny it, there was more variety for the meat lovers.  I again watched the midnight sun before falling asleep.

Next morning, Jun 16, after breakfast we’d call a cab to the airport. The tunnel was closed and that’s when I’d realize that this city was actually quite big. While waiting for the cab a Norwegian lady told us she buys Canadian if she can, to support us. We boarded SAS airplane. No delays, and good weather. Next stop Bodø.