We watched the arrival in Tromsø from the veranda, it is quite a large place, population 79,000 and it has a university and lots of cultural activities. After a quick light breakfast, we got ready for a busy day ahead. The weather was somewhat warm, and while rain was predicted between 12:00-3:00 we were prepared.
Our morning was a cultural and culinary tour of the center of Tromsø. We walked along the waterfront until we reached the Polar Museum, housed in an older restored building. Our guide told us that the newish apartment blocks we could see were all new since two years ago, when the shipbuilding area closed after the airport opened. The musuem had an amazing array of artifacts for the 19th and 20th century of polar exploration which often began from this city, including two huge galleries devoted to Royal Amundsen. Most of the signage was not in English but the artifacts were often self-explanatory. A replica of a trapper’s cabin gave a sense of how challenging winter life was in this area. The dioramas of many stuffed creatures were interesting, and she told us that the seal hunting one had toned down the blood and brutality. There were animal skins aplenty, with the polar bear skins being quite enormous.
We heade off to Dragøy, a famous seafood shop, for a tasting, and what a spread they laid out! There were about 15 types of seafood to taste, Norwegian shrimp, gravlax, smoked salmon, dried cod, smoked redfish, and much more. All were delicious with a non-alcoholic beer and crackers. Next we walked along the Storgata or main shopping street, whihc gave me a chance to scope out the many sweater shops. We then stopped at Helmersen, a lively delicatessen, for a cheese and wine tasting. The three cheeses we tasted were all Norwegian and gold medal winners at various cheese competitions … the blue was particularly good, and all were served with a light Moscato. They had a whole wall of wines and another whole wall of import and Italian specialities, pasta, sauces, and more. We bought some Norwegian-roasted espresso beans which we will enjoy at home. At the end, they brought s each a huge Kardemummboler of cardamom pasty with vanilla pastry créme in the center. It was delicious, but we were already white full from the seafood and the cheese, so Barney and I split one (with coffee) and brought the other back for a snack later on. Before we parted, I asked out guide about good places to find Sami items especially jewelry, and she gave us three suggestions.
Then the shopping began! I had identified four sweater shops, and Barney, being the great guy that he is, accompanied me to all four and then a fifth we saw while walking the Storgata, until we went back to one of the earlier ones to buy a camel and white sweater with a full zip, exactly what I had been looking for. Since most sweaters here were a combination of black, white, grey, blue, and red, this was not an easy task. I did also buy a green and gold winter hat which I will enjoy wearing for skiing next winter. Interspersed with the sweater places we checked out the Sami goods places, saw reindeer hide small purses and backpacks (super expensive), lots of antler candleholders (we got one for Madeleine), and some lovely jewelry - we found a nice set of silver earrings for Madeleine. Barney got a little gnome (of course!) and we found a few nice Christmas ornaments.
Back to the ship to drop off our shopping, we joined the Tromsø on Foot excursion, which we thought might retreat a lot of what we saw in the morning. In fact, the guide gave us a lot of interesting history of the people and the buildings. We saw the oldest house in the city, and its smallest bar (really a tiny gazebo), and visited Tromsø Cathedral, a large wooden Lutheran church in the very center of town. We walked through the Library in a modern 70s-era building, and had an outdoor equipment lending library, so people could borrow skis or snowshoes etc. for folks to try out a sport - really a cool idea. There was also nearby a teen center which had similarly all kinds of DJ and recording equipment that young people could try out and even take home with library cards. We did see the famous Arctic Cathedral across the water on the other side of the city, its white triangular vertical pointing up to the sky. Finally back to the ship, and we watched as the captain steered out of the narrow fjord and under a bridge where the horn was blasted four times. Off to a light dinner, and then reading in the Explorer’s Lounge looking out at the sea, which was lovely.
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