Tuesday 7th November - Tromso

Tromso is the largest town in northern Norway.  It sits 400km inside the Arctic Circle and the main part of the town sits on the island of Tromsoya,  which is linked to the mainland by bridge.  From our vantage point at breakfast, Peter and I noted that it was not the most appealing of towns, and decided there was nothing that we could see that made us want to go out for a wander in the morning before our excursion this afternoon.  So we just chilled out.

Sunrise at Tromso - it's nearly 10 o'clock and the sun hasn't yet managed to rise over the mountains. 

We think we’ve been before, but if that was the case, neither of us could remember what we’d done last time we visited.  The easy answer would have been to check the blog, but we didn’t have access at the time.

Anyway, we had a tour after lunch - Arctic city and Cathedral – so Peter and I were stood on the quay at 12.30 ready to greet the hoards.   Once the buses were loaded, we were off.

The island of Tromsoya is actually a small one that sits between the mainland and a larger island which protects it from the cold Norwegian sea, with bridges to connect it t both.  The first part of my tour was to take us over the bridges to “Whale Island” where we got to good views of the fjord and surrounding scenery.

Back over the bridge, we were then taken to Tromso Museum.  As soon as I stepped inside the front door, I remembered what it was Peter and I had done last time we visited Tromso.  (He did the same apparently).  My guide was knowledgeable, interesting and had 26 passengers hanging on to his every word as we toured the museum.  I’d already learned quite a lot about the Sami (or Laplanders), on my previous tour, this time I learnt a lot more.  It was very dark by the time we left, (I think sunset here is around 3pm), and the roads were icing up nicely. 

The Arctic Cathedral, not really a cathedral,
but interesting. 

From the museum we were taken to the Arctic Cathedral, which isn’t really a cathedral at all, although it is a really interesting piece of architecture.

Inside the Arctic Cathedral, you can see it is quite small. 

And then back to the ship. That was our last excursion as an escort this cruise, as we’ve asked to be able to do our own thing for the next three ports, with plans to go walking and stuff.  I’m hoping the weather will be good enough.

 And like everyone else, I’m still hoping to see the Northern Lights, only I’ve not got quite as much invested in that hope as the passengers have.  I’m keeping me fingers crossed for them as well as myself.

Tomorrow is a sea day, so Peter will have a couple a classes. Let’s hope the sea stays calm.