Day 10 - Tromso.

There were lots of people on deck at midnight last night, cameras poised ready to capture pictures of the midnight sun. Not to be left out I joined in and this is my best effort.

The photographs do not really show the full effect as it was literally daylight all night. This photo taken from the other side of the ship perhaps gives a better idea of how light it was. This was taken at 12.15 am.

Tromso, our stop for today, is often referred to as the “Gateway to the Arctic” as many explorers such as Amundsen left from here on their adventures. The mountains behind the city were large and threatening, covered with snow they surrounded the conurbation.

Tromso it self is located on an island and is joined to the mainland by the spectacular Bruvegen, a huge 1kilometre bridge that blends nicely with the landscape.

The ship berthed out of town in an industrial complex by the University, a shuttle bus was therefore need to make the journey to the city. (Incidentally Tromso is home to the northernmost University in the world.)
The first stop on our tour was the Domkirke, the only wooden cathedral in Norway which was located right in the centre.

People were arriving for a service as we took photos outside, some in traditional Norwegian dress.

Sylvia went inside to have a look but as the shorts had joined us to day I stayed outside.

In stark contrast the other major church in Tromso is known as the Arctic Cathedral and is a modern structure located on the mainland. Its design features eleven arched triangles of glass, stainless steel and concrete. It makes a truely impressive sight on the hillside overlooking the city.

Due to the limited time in port and its distance from the centre, we didn’t visit this church. Perhaps next time.
Instead we made our way around the harbour area, taking in the colourful quayside buildings…….

..towards the Polar Museum. The museum tells the tale of Norway’s polar explorers through the ages with special reference to the travels of Roald Amundsen. A very interesting visit with many artefacts from the journeys, such as this layout of one of his ships.

Unfortunately the museum also contained a display of hunting and trapping in the Arctic which did contain some graphic scenes of seal clubbing. We went through this section pretty quick.
As this was a Sunday virtually all the shops in the city were closed so after a nice walk around admiring the old buildings, window shopping as we walked, we returned to the ship. Here Sylvia once again picked up her paint brushes trying to capture the grandour of the mountain scenery, while I watched the Austrian Grand Prix.

Tomorrow we will be visiting the Lofoten Islands.