Hurtigruten Day 4 - Tromsø

Marcia won the contest to guess the second we would cross the Circle contest, so we all made sure we were on hand to see her receive her prize. It turned out to be a two-parter. The first part was a Hurtigruten flag, something that will soon be on the wall of their party barn. The second part was perhaps less welcome as it included an ice water baptism. We were visited by the man of the sea who extolled us and berated us for being on the water. Then the baptisms began for Marcia and all others who wanted to participate and enjoy the celebratory glass of sparkling wine. The morning sun provided a good backdrop for the party.

We think she enjoyed it

A short while later we passed one of the many remaining German installations from World War II. After the Germans conquered Norway and failed to conquer England, they were certain that the Allies would attack the Axis through Norway. Churchill did a good job of feeding this idea with troop movements, fake installations, and even a fake spy the Germans were allowed to capture. Built mostly by slave labor from Eastern Europe, many of these still exist today as a grim reminder of the German occupation. An earlier post about Bud, a German post close to Trondheim is here.

The bunker in the fog

After a couple more hours we entered the Arctic capital, Tromsø. Tromsø is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle and we had signed up for a tour of the town. Originally, the economy was based on sealing, whaling and fishing. It was also the center for polar expeditions and the home of Roald Amundsen. Amundsen led the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911. In 1926, he led a flying expedition over the North Pole becoming the first person to reach both poles. His plane was lost two years later on a rescue mission in search of the Italian airship, Italia. Ironically, the crew of the Italia made it back safely. The stories of Amundsen and the other Norwegian Arctic explorers are chronicled in the fine Arctic exploration museum in Oslo. Some fishing still goes on, but today Tromsø is primarily the economic center of the north. The university has 9000 students adding to the vibrancy and diversity of the city.

Our first stop was Fjellheisen, a cable car trip up the mountain where we had a great view of the city as it spans the channel. We hiked around a bit and took note of the spot where the Tirpitz, one of Germany’s World War II dreadnoughts was sunk. Stationed in northern Norway to harass Allied efforts to supply the Soviet Union, it only made one offensive attack on Spitsbergen, but did force the British to deploy a considerable number of ships to the area. It was sunk by British Lancaster bombers on 12 November 1944 and lay on the bottom until she was salvaged in a joint Norwegian-German operation between 1948 and 1957.

Our next stop was the Arctic Cathedral, consecrated in 1965. Actually a parish church, it is the most magnificent church in Nordland. The actual cathedral is on the other side of the channel and the only wooden cathedral in Norway. The beautiful building is popular with tourists and a year-round venue for music concerts. The stained glass gracing the end behind the altar, Europe’s largest mosaic window, was added despite the opposition of the architect who had installed plain glass. I like the new window much better.

One of the Arctic exploration ships is preserved here.

Repurposed trash from the sea

Our final stop was the Polar Museum. The museum is a adjunct to the Arctic study center next door with displays detailing the changes happening in the Arctic as the climate warms. It also has a small aquarium with some of the local sea life and four seals. The original plans called for a much larger aquarium, but funding dried up and they are left with a small pool for the four seals.

We were back on board in time for dinner. For the rest of our time in Norway, we would truly be in the Land of the Midnight Sun if we could stay up late enough to see it.