I am really mad I did not go with them now!
Anyway we met up after breakfast on a day that was a little grey and with odd spots of rain. My day had already begun poorly with no hot water in the bathrooms on our floor and the hotel [Clarion Hotel Bryggen] did not seem too concerned but several of us customers from the 5th floor were less than amused.
Anyway I met up with Tim and Wendy who had bailed out of the hotel to the one opposite yesterday when the room offered in my hotel had been below standard. We decided to go out of town to a small island called Hakoy which is little way away in the Tromso Fjord.
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| Another one of the charming old houses in Tromso |
The drive went past the airport where you have to drive onto the island where the airport is then in a small tunel under the runway threshold to get to the terminal at the other side.
On the way we passed this oildrilling platform which is fully weather protected to work in the Arctic
Hakoy is small and reached by a single lane bridge.
The site of the memorial where the pocket battleship was sunk by RAF bombs in November 1944 is very unassuming. A simple plaque on a piece of the 10 cm thick deck plating .
The site overlooks the location wher the ship overturned. There are a few metal objects around the beach,,,,,,,,,,,,,
........... but the main visible item is an old frame that was used in the salvage operations when the ship was broken up after the war.
The location is very quiet apart from the calls of many water birds.
We saw several diffferent species there.
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| Glaucous Gulls |
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| Oyster Catcher |
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| Arctic Tern |
We had heard of some other relics and a museum but a drive to the end of the road revealed nothing of that sort - but we did see two groups of MOOSE, 3 animals in each group!
These were the first we had seen on the trip. Others had seen one moose but we had a long session watching these magnificent creatures at the forest fringe.
After a lot of moose pictures and more bird pictures we returned to Tromso. The route was unusual as we used the network of tunnels under the city in the hills .
Very unusual to be driving in a tunnel and see not one but two roundabouts!
When we came out of the tunnel we were at the museum from the night before and saw the Norwegian navy minesweepers sailing away after their visit to Tromso.
After a return to the hotel we went off to the city's oldest pub (founded 1928 apparently - where did they drink before that I wonder) for a local beer and a plate of meat and vegetable stew for lunch.
The meal was good and set us up for the afternoon. Wendy went off to see the old cathedral while Tim and I went off to ride the cable car to the hill overlooking the town.
At an elevation of 1380 feet the views of the city, the airport and the surrounding countryside were truly awesome.
While we were walking around a text on my phone remnded me about the flights tomorrow and I was soon checked in - modern technology at work.
After our descent I went into the Arctic Cathedral whihc has a modern and massive stained glass window
- the place is plain but beautiful inside.
The atmosphere was superb as a dancer practised her choreography at the altar while an organist played Bach's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and The Prelude. I was finding it hard to pull myself away from the place.
After that it was back to the hotel to try and catch up on a few chores.
In the evening Wendy, Tim and I had a very good meal at a restaurant which us the best in town - Emmas - and it certainly did not disappoint. This was the "last supper" as my flight will be at 0645 in the morning. As I leave so the other 4 cars should arrive at 2400 hours tonight. Sadly it is very rainy with lots of low cloud so there will be no midnight sun tonight.
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