After missing Narvik because of high winds and rough seas, we were excited to be on land again. 

Our tours were for later in the afternoon so Jo, Flynn, Randy and I walked off the ship into Tromsø. We wanted to test out our cold weather gear and had a little anxiety about whether we had enough.  

We had enough! Despite the zero degrees temperature, we were fine.

We walked around Cathedral Square.  The Cathedral of Tromsø was built in 1861 and is the only cathedral in the world made of wood. It has a capacity of 700 people.

At the time of construction, the cathedral and square were built over a cemetery. It wasn’t clear if that was known at the time.  During renewal of the square in 2017, they found graves, some dating back to the middle ages.

We did some shopping.

We stopped for coffee.

As we were returning to the ship about 11:30, we had a beautiful sky. In mid January, Tromsø was just coming out of the “no sun for two months” period. (In summer there is an alternate period of continued daylight.)

We enjoyed seeing what art was displayed on our way upstairs to shed coats, gloves and hats before lunch.

Rot was one of our favorite waiters. He had one week left on his six month contract and then would be going home to Bali.  His young son’s birthday was the day after he got home.  He will be home for two months and then join another Viking Ocean ship, The Jupiter.  Rot says Viking treats them very well which is always good to hear.  Ship crew work long hours every day, always with a smile.

For those that know Viking categories, Rot said crew can go between Ocean and Expedition ships but River crew are separate.

In the afternoon, Randy and I went on one tour while Jo and Flynn did another.  We were headed to the town of Sommarøy to see life experienced north of the arctic circle.  As we left the city we had a beautiful view of Tromsø.

We stopped at a site for stone pictures similar to the petroglyphs we have in the southwest United States.  

The area around Alta, a bit further north, has a higher concentration of ancient stone art.  That is our next port. 

We had the opportunity to take pictures of the surrounding mountains.

We were told there is very good fishing in this area of Norway.

We saw some older buildings and farms likely from the mid 1800s. The residents would have been poor fish farmers. They would have had to keep the fire going in one room all the time.

People ate fish six days a week. On the seventh, usually Sunday, they might have had sausage.

Norway was once a very poor country, very similar to Ireland.  In the 1960s they found “black gold” off shore and Norway is now one of the richest countries.  The money from oil is invested all over the world and saved in a fund for future generations.  The fund is currently valued at $300,000 USD per person living in Norway.

The oil and gas produced currently goes to other countries. There is an end date for oil and gas production as Norway is embracing a greener future.

Houses in Norway are heated by electricity, produced by hydroelectric.  Almost all energy used is clean energy.  Sixty-seven wind turbines produce enough electricity for all of Tromsø.  

They are placed on windy mountain tops and have red lights so planes are aware.

Fish is Norway’s second largest export after oil. Much of the cod goes to Portugal and Spain.

Nearly all houses in Norway are made of wood.  Wood is readily available and building with it makes it easier to accommodate 25 centimeters of insulation in each wall.

We visited a community center serving residents and welcoming visitors.

We were served Norwegian waffles with tea or coffee.  

We also had brown cheese made from the whey of goat milk, a Norwegian staple.  It has an interesting flavor that I didn’t l love but am glad to have tried.  We were served brown cheese numerous times on this trip.

The local women gave presentations on spinning and weaving.

We had the opportunity to buy a variety of handmade items.

I bought these mittens for about $45 USD.

We visited the local museum.  

Three generations once lived here at the same time.

One item highlighted for us was this painting of Wanny Woldstad. 

She was born in this small town of Sommarøy in 1893. Wanny married and had two sons.  She raised them alone after the death of her husband. In the 1920s, she  became the first woman to work as a taxi driver in Tromsø. Through driving, she met trappers who told her of their exploits. In 1931 she joined her first expedition. In 1932, she shot her first polar bear. Wanny spent five seasons hunting.  She and her partners killed 77 polar bears.  This woman, who did so much, died in 1959 after being hit by a truck.  (Something is just wrong with that ending.)

While leaving the museum we saw this woman using a kick sled, a common travel assistance device. In this picture it is nighttime dark at 4:15 in the afternoon.

Enroute to our Sommarøy home visit, our guide told us that Norway has a very popular monarchy.  “They are good people and don’t have troubles like the British monarchy.”

We learned Tromsø has more tourists in winter than in summer.  Winter visitors come looking for the northern lights – just like us.

Our home visit was to the home of a local school teacher.  Our driver told us it was tradition to remove shoes going into a private home. That was quite the task with a dozen of us trying to get our big boots off!

We met our hostess, Helen, who told us about her life as a mother, wife and school teacher.  She said her husband was working this evening.

Then she introduced her husband, Egel – our van driver! They did that very well!

They served tea and coffee and Norwegian lefse.  Lefse was new to everyone on the tour except Randy and me.  I have Swedish and Lutheran heritage so we have made and eaten lefse for decades. 

She served “old lefse” layered with brown cheese.  (We usually eat it with sugar and/or cinnamon.)   She also served soft lefse which was more like a layered cookie cake.  That was new to us. We also had small portions of chocolate cake and who doesn’t love that?

They gave us a tour of their home and encouraged us to ask as many questions about their life as we wanted. They said life was very good in Norway.  Things are very expensive but salaries are commensurate.  Their government provides many services.  

They said that even though Finland is the nearest neighbor, they have great difficulty with the language.  Finland’s language root is from Hungary while Norwegian is similar to the languages spoken in Sweden and Denmark.

Our driver showed us his Nobel Peace Prize. He received it after his service in the Norwegian military (which is required for one year) as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Helen showed us Norwegian and Sami flags.  We would be touring with the indigenous Sami in a few days.

When I signed us up for this tour, I was expecting something similar to another home visit tour we took above the arctic circle in Alaska. During Covid, we went to Fairbanks looking for the northern lights and took a trip north of the arctic circle to see how people live off the grid.  That post is Chena Hot Springs, Denali National Park, and Being Above the Arctic Circle

This home visit in Sommarøy was nothing like the one in Alaska but it was totally lovely!  We were very happy with the tour and seeing their comfortable life above the arctic circle.

We were in Tromsø on January 17, 2024.

Next up:  We see the northern lights!!!!