Today we made our last visit to mainland Norway before setting out for the Arctic, with a visit to Tronsø, long known as the “gateway to the Arctic.” We arrived early this morning under beautiful sunny skies and quite warm conditions, considering that we are already far above the Arctic Circle. Tromsø is a very attractive city on an island that is home to a large university and health center, a Northern Lights research center, as well as the world’s northernmost brewery and “northernmost” everything else.
We had an opportunity to visit the very well laid out northernmost botanical garden at the university and then the excellent Polar Museum, which has many exhibits on the history of research and exploration of the Arctic regions as well traditional hunting activities. We also visited the Tromsø Museum, which houses exhibits on the culture of the Saami people of this part of the world. There are two groups of Saami, the sea Saami who live near the coast and live mainly from the sea, and the Reindeer Saami who herd domesticated reindeer and migrate with the herds over large regions of northern Norway, Russia, Sweden, and Finland. Although the Saami were the original inhabitants of these northern regions, they were for many years discriminated against, but today Norway has given then full recognition and they are able to live freely in their traditional ways.
One of the highlights of our visit was a stop at the Arctic Cathedral across the sound from the city. The Cathedral is evocative in its design of many Arctic themes: glaciers, icebergs, and snow-covered mountains. The most prominent feature of the interior of the Cathedral is a huge stained-glass window depicting the second coming of Christ. The Cathedral also houses a grand organ and we were fortunate to be there while the organist was playing and filling the beautiful space with music.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a bit of free time to explore the city and observe the locals enjoying the sunny warm weather by filling the outdoor cafes and just walking around their lovely city. All in all it was a wonderful last day in Norway.
