Tromsø – Gateway to the Arctic Ocean

What beautiful northern lights last night. That's what we came for. The funny thing is that you only see the green light when you look through the camera. With the naked eye you see a bit of a crazy gray cloud, but looking through the camera you see the beautiful green of the northern lights. Very special. So, indeed as Bas said, mission accomplished. Hopefully we'll do a repeat tonight. The day started early again and just after 7 am we were having breakfast. This early you can still get a seat at the window and watch the beautiful landscape pass by. After breakfast, go outside for the beautiful skies of the rising sun. This morning the sky turned from warm yellow in the east to pink and purple in the west. You notice that it is getting colder now; Today Hilde put on long underpants and ski pants for the first time. The trip through the Lofoten mainly took place at night. On the return journey we get off in Harstad and after a tour through the Vesterålen we get on again in Sortland, so this report will come later. We arrive at Finnsnes around 11 am. We sail through snow-covered ice floes and there are low clouds along one side of the fjord. Once moored, the cloud also comes over the quay where the boat moors. When mooring, a line with a ball is first thrown towards the man on shore. Another, slightly heavier rope is attached to that line, which is then attached to the real mooring line and that is quite heavy, especially if it has to be pulled out of the water. But it's a well-oiled machine. It usually takes no more than 10 minutes and then the ship is moored tightly along the quay, the loading space opens and the passenger stairs fold out. We are usually on our way again within 30 minutes. When you leave Finnsnes, part of the fjord is already covered with a thin layer of ice. On deck you can hear the cracking of the ice as the boat sails through it. We really feel like we are on an expedition. Especially because we also sail into a dark fog that hangs behind the bridge. Just before we reach Tromsø, we pass through a maelstrom at the island of Ryøya (rystraumen). At first you think, is this so special, but at a certain point you see all these large eddies that you have to pass through. A piece of cake for this ship; it's not the Bermuda Triangle. Once you arrive in Tromsø, a city walk and a visit to the Polar Museum are on the program. It is a quarter to three when we enter this city with our guide, which is called 'the Paris of the North'. We are curious. Here too, the city center was destroyed by fire in 1969. Here too, there were mainly wooden houses and shops. Residents were allowed to indicate which building was rebuilt first. That became Pepe's Pizza! A matter of setting the right priorities. We don't quite understand the comparison with Paris, but maybe that's because it was already getting dark. The Polar Museum tells the story of how the Norwegians lived by hunting moose, whale, seal and polar bear. And how Arne Amundsen went on an expedition to the North Pole. Fortunately, hunting is no longer practiced and Norway has found another source of income in, among other things, oil and gas extraction. Partly due to gas extraction, most roads and some walking paths in the cities are heated when winter arrives.