Seeing more of Tromsø

I breakfasted with Malena, Martin and Zohara, then walked to the bus stop with Martin, Zohara and Isa to catch the bus to the Arctic Cathedral on the far side of the harbour. At the bus stop we met up with other friends staying in different parts of the town and all travelled together. To use the buses in Tromsø we needed an app, which we’d all downloaded in advance. It was easy to buy tickets while waiting at the stop, and I chose a 24-hour pass as I knew I’d be taking more buses later in the day. There was even a very good discount for seniors!

The Arctic Cathedral

It had been raining as we walked to the stop but by the time we got off the bus it had stopped so we stayed outside for a while taking photos not only of the cathedral but also the views.

Despite the popular name, this isn’t a cathedral but rather a parish church – a very substantial and eye-catching one. It is constructed mainly in concrete and was built between 1964 and 1965. The design suggests shards of ice or maybe an iceberg, appropriate for this city north of the Arctic Circle.

We paid our 70 NK to get in and had a good look around. I loved the stained glass and chandeliers, which we though looked like icicles. The huge window behind the altar depicts the hand of God at the top. From it three rays of light emanate, one through Jesus, one through a woman and one through a man.

We enjoyed a small photo exhibition at the back too, and downstairs found more photos showing the building of the cathedral and adding the stained glass some years later in 1972. Prior to that the view would have been mainly of trees.

As we got back upstairs we realised people were gathering for a wedding and the cathedral was about to close to the public, so we had timed it well. We caught the bus back to town and went to a small café in one of the old buildings for a light lunch. Most had soup but I didn’t fancy the flavours on offer, so I had coffee and apple cake!

City tour

Then it was time to meet up for our city tour, which proved to be excellent. Our guide was actually Canadian (and also called Sarah!) We went first to the Polarmuseet. This is housed in an 1837 wharf house and presents Tromsø’s history as a centre for Arctic hunting and starting point for Arctic expeditions.

Tromsø’s city centre on Tromsøya island has the biggest concentration of historic wooden houses north of Trondheim. The oldest, Skansen, was built in 1789 on the remains of a 13th-century turf rampart.

From there Sarah led us on a walk through the town pointing out various sights of interest including its oldest buildings, murals, statues etc. She also told us a lot about its history and about life there inside the Arctic Circle.

We finished our guided walk near another statue of Roald Amundsen, not far from the Lutheran cathedral.

Evening

When the tour finished it was already after 16.00 so we went back to our hotels to refresh and change for the evening. Dinner was to be at a restaurant, Fjellheisen, at the top of the mountain behind the Arctic Cathedral, Fløya, which most of us reached by gondola (large cable cars). We decided to take a taxi as we'd been told the bus stop was a six-minute uphill walk, but when we got there we realised it was much closer and we could have got the bus!

The ride up on the gondola was great as I’d managed to secure a space at the back with views down into the town.

And once at the top the views were even more spectacular. We could see the whole island of Tromsø laid out below us and all the surrounding waters and mountains.

There was to be some delay before dinner was served owing to a mix-up of some sort over the date, but that was good as it gave us time to walk out along one the paths to enjoy more views. It was pretty cold up there, with still some snow in patches, but worth it to see this landscape for sure!

Back in the warm I bought a Mack beer and caught up with a few friends while waiting for the meal. When it came it was very good, especially the beautifully cooked (i.e. fairly rare) reindeer meat.

At dinner

After the meal we took some group photos before taking the gondola back down. We had a wait of about ten minutes for the bus and were back in town around 11.0 and at the hotel some ten minutes or so later. Time for bed – it had been a long day!