Tromsø
Ten kilometers long and three kilometers wide. It boasts the world’s northernmost Catholic and Protestant churches and the northernmost beer brewery and university. Often called the gateway to the Arctic, Tromsø has often been used as a launching point for many polar expeditions.
We learned much of this when we started off the morning visiting the Polar Museum (Polarmuseet). We learned of Roald Amundsen and Fritjof Nansen’s treks into the far northern regions of Norway, Svalbard and both poles. There were exhibitions on how people survived in the cold and barren climates of the North as well as how hunting practices used and affected the wildlife of the region. There were stuffed polar bears, musk ox, arctic fox and seals. There was also much information on all of the Norwegian expeditions to the poles.
Another stop on the morning coach tours included the Arctic Cathedral. Not really a cathedral, it is nonetheless a very impressive Lutheran church built in 1962. The peaked roof and large stained glass portraying the resurrection of Christ fit well into the arctic landscape of Tromsø.
A last stop on the tour was the Tromsø University Museum. This was more of a natural history and cultural museum. We saw interesting artifacts of the Sami culture. The Sami are the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia. They historically, and some in modern days as well, made their living from Reindeer. They worshiped with a nature based religion, with shamans being their religious leaders. Eventually, with the coming of modern ideas, Norway did its best to integrate the Sami people. The Sami children were sent to Norwegian schools and taught to be good Norwegians. Eventually, a cultural movement from within the Sami nation grew and people whose grandparents never had told them they were of Sami decent came forward and embraced their native culture.
Quite a number of us decided to forgo the morning tours of the city and instead drove outside of Tromsø for a natural history walk. The air was warm and occasional sunshine was pleasant for the excursion. The alpine zone was full of flowering plants like butterworts, sundews, and wild azaleas. The walks led past a fast flowing stream and led the nature lovers through a beautiful glacial valley.
The afternoon was free to spend wandering around this northern city. Being a Sunday, most things were closed, but there was still plenty to enjoy. The sculptures and busts were to be found in every square and park and there were lots of cafes to choose from to sit and sip and enjoy watching Norway go by.
The National Geographic Explorer set sail in the early evening, going under the bridge on our way out. Conditions further out to sea conditions were excellent for an after dinner Zodiac cruise at Fugloya Island, otherwise known as Bird Island. This island is aptly named because of the numbers of Puffins and other sea birds found flying around the steep cliffs. Thousands of birds swarmed overhead in the low evening light making a beautiful setting to end our day and begin the next leg of our journey.
