Our memories of previous visits to Tromso weren't that good. We'd been escorting then, and our view of the city was limited by that experience. This morning however, we were looking out from the balcony discussing the cable car on the side of Fløya Loavgavárri, (Fløya means peak apparently). I was less than convinced at first, but Peter was adamant that the cable car was running, we could walk to it across the bridge from Tromso, and that there was plenty of paths and walking at the top.
So after breakfast, we took the shuttle bus from the ship to the city centre and set off walking.
Tromso is actually on an small island between mainland Norway and another much larger island (that I can't find the name of). There are a couple of bridges and an underwater tunnel connecting everything up and Fløya Loavgavárri is on the mainland. Our walk took us past the marina to the Tromsøbrua (Tromso bridge).
I took photo's as we walked over it, noticing Eider Ducks in the water below.
I was also watching the gulls flying above. Except two of them didn't look like gulls at all and seemed extraordinarily large? It wasn't until they had passed under the bridge and reappeared on the other side that I realised they were eagles. White Tailed Eagles to be exact. Awesome. I wish I had taken a photograph!
Having crossed the bridge we walked past the Tromsdalen Kirke (cathedral).
And through the suburbs to the cable car lower station.
It cost 415Kr (a little over £30), each to take the return ride which took us to a point 421m above sea level. That might seem a little excessive, but once we were up there, it was absolutely worth it.
This time we weren't escorting a tour and could freely wander about the hill and beyond. It was just beautiful up there. The snow was so white and the sky so blue. I don't think it could have been better.
We wanted to stay and explore everywhere, and even walk to the peak itself a little way off. Only once again our lack of spikes hampered us. We were feeling a little uneasy walking around, especially where the ground started to slope away from us, or where ice patches spread out over the ground.
We'd also forgot to grab some fruit etc. to bring with us, so after a good hour or so up there were beginning to feel quite hungry. There is a cafe/restaurant at the top, but a quick glance at the prices put us off (£10 for a slice of chocolate cake). Reluctantly it was time to go down.
We started our walk back to the bridge and came across a little cafe type shop near the cathedral. It turned out to be an ice cream parlour, with copious varieties and flavours. Not what we were looking for, but it also served coffee and hot dogs which were absolutely spot on!
We sat at small bar against the window, looking out as we ate. Bearing in mind that the temperature was somewhere close to freezing outside, the ice cream shop was incredibly busy with queues of people lining up for their favourites.
One person outside caught our attention. At no point on any of our visits to ports in Norway (and we've made quite a few), have we ever seen beggars or anyone that appears to be homeless. Norway is expensive, but it has always seemed to us that the Norwegians have an excellent standard of life. So, to see a woman searching through the bins outside the cafe was quite a shock. She was trying to be discreet, putting whatever it was she found into a rucksack, but we were really surprised. I suppose poverty and all the reasons for it can be found everywhere, and it makes you appreciate just how well off we are.
The ship left Tromso just after 6pm and we were treated once again to spectacular scenery lit by a setting sun.
And once again, after 11pm, we were all up on deck watching the sky in awe. To be honest, the lights weren't as bright or awesome as we had seen on previous nights, but we waited it out, hoping they would get better. And they did. (And I used the tripod = better pics).
A fantastic way to end a fantastic day. I consider myself a very lucky person.
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