Tromsø Adventures

Northern Lights over Tromsø

Sheri and I spent four weeks in this winter paradise. The sun would never come above the horizon during our entire stay. It is called polar night which I find quite poetic. Although the sun never rose, there was natural light for roughly 3 to 4 hours a day. I was worried that the darkness would wear on me, but the blackness could not hide the charm, the beauty and the magnificence of this amazing city. Tromsø is one of the largest cities in the world north of the arctic circle. We would spend the Solstice, Christmas and New Years in this enchanted spot. Our hosts were two of the kindest people we have met. And to cap off a great stay, we were joined by our dear friends Chris and Jay for two weeks.

Northern Lights

The northern lights were a huge reason we came to Tromsø during the winter. After our arrival, Sheri and I had to wait a few days before the combination of no clouds, solar activity and a little luck would converge to produce a spectacular display of light in the night sky. At times, the entire sky would be lit up by this amazing spectacle. The lights would hang in the sky across the fjord, above the city and then in the next moment directly above our heads. They would dance and change constantly. Another display of nature's remarkable beauty.

After Jay and Chris arrived, we had to wait a few more days, but our patience was once again rewarded with a superb display of lights. In total we were treated to 6 nights (out of the 28 days) to this celestial sensation.

In the picture of me looking thoughtful, I can assure you nothing more than the looney tunes themes is playing in my head.

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Sheri managed to capture the above. What I find most amazing is that this is in real time. It is not a time-lapse. How rapidly the lights could change was a surprise to me.

Winter Wonderland

On our first full day of being in Tromsø, our host, Reinhold, told us he was going cross country skiing and said there were some nice walking trails we could take while he was skiing. We of course accepted his offer. It was a short 10 minute drive to the recreation area. We headed off on foot and followed the path while Reinhold skied a more strenuous route.

The trail was impeccably maintained. Clearly, a plow or other heavy machinery is used to manicure the snow. On the shot where I have my back to the camera you can see the tracks used for the cross country skiers. It was a most pleasant walk in the woods and along the streams. A few people with dogs passed us by and one or two skiers. As a side note, I just loved all the dogs here. There were big furry dogs built for the environment such as the huskies and the Bernese mountain dogs, and then there were the little dachshunds and chihuahuas decked out in their coats and booties. We eventually ended up in a small neighborhood where we met up with Reinhold at a local grocery store, and we headed back home after some shopping.

Having lived our entire lives in Southern California, snow and weather are foreign concepts to Sheri and I. The saying goes there is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothes. This now makes complete sense to me. We had proper warm clothes to protect us (thanks to advice from our Minnesota family), and this walk could not have been more pleasant despite the temperature being near zero degrees fahrenheit.

Dog Sledding (or please don't let me fall off the thing)

Now this was a real adventure! A full busload of us headed off on an hour and half journey to a property where they raise sled dogs.

We were given a quick overview of the dogs. These are all Alaskan Huskies, and they are a bit smaller than you would expect. However, they are natural born athletes. They are smart and are just built for this. They have some of the best attributes of any animal in the world when it comes to their lungs, blood and stamina. Our host wanted to make sure we did not confuse these dogs with the Siberian Husky who he said was just a big, dumb dog.

After getting fitted up with some special jump suits and boots, we were ready to get our driving lesson. This consisted of a 5 minute talk where we were told to stand on the runners of the sled and then if we wanted to stop to step on the brake. Simple. We were told to not overtake any sled in front of us as some of the dogs don't get along, and if they come in contact with each other a fight could break out.

We then made our way to the kennels where the dogs were all ready to go. They were barking and carrying on and just couldn't wait to get going. They of course knew the course we were going to go, so no instructions from us were needed.

Each sled was to pulled by 4 dogs. It was a small sled that would carry one passenger and one driver. Our team was led by Sizu. She was a strong and bright dog. While the dog to her immediate right seemed to have other plans and would want to run sideways most of the time, but Sizu kept us on course.

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Away we go. I started out as the driver, and Sheri was the passenger (notice how Sheri seems to suddenly have a MinneSOtan accent). It was a little stressful at the beginning, but I began to get the hang of it a bit. The hardest part was moving your foot from the runner to the break and back while maintaining your balance. With all the snow it was sometimes hard to see exactly what you were doing. Fortunately, the dogs responded quickly to the brake. We had to stop a few times while other teams got sorted out. Our dogs were not thrilled with stopping and would immediately begin to look for other things to do. On one occasion they simply ran behind the sled which caused our lines to get all tangled up. One of the guides eventually sorted it all out, and we were on our way again. Chris and Jay's team was more cooperative on the stops as their dogs would simply lay down.

At the midway point we switched drivers. It became immediately clear that Sheri did not like driving (take a close look at the picture of me as the passenger and her as the driver. One of my all time favorites.) But we managed to hang on and wound our way back to the kennels. It was a lot of fun to be out in the total darkness with our dogs and just a few head lamps bobbing around.

When we got back to the kennels, that was when the real fun began. We were allowed to love on the dogs as much as we wanted. They were all thrilled to get the attention, and we were more than happy to provide it.

Finally, the picture of Jay and Chris completely exhausted on the trip home brings me nothing but joy.

Reindeer (first you feed them then you are fed them)

Sheri, Jay, Chris and I headed off to the Reindeer farm. The Sámi are the indigenous people of Northern Norway. We were each given a bucket and could feed the reindeer as much as we liked. There was a herd of about 300. When we first got our buckets they were very enthusiastic about the food. They all had antlers and were quite determined to get to the food. Getting poked in the back by the sharp appendage or a hoof on your butt were common occurrences.

After feeding the reindeer, we then came back into the lodge where we were fed reindeer stew. I personally like living in a fantasy world where my food just appears in the grocery store and then I (okay okay...Sheri) can make wonderful meals with it. The stark reality of the reindeer being right outside the doors hits a little to close to home for me. The stew we were given was edible but not terribly good. The meat is very gamey. Apparently it is one of the leanest and healthiest meats you can eat.

After our meal we all headed into another lodge where we were given a quick overview of Sámi culture. The speaker was a young woman and gave a good picture of what life was like combining the modern world with the Sámi customs.

Private tour by our host

Reinhold was kind enough to offer us private tour of the surrounding area. Tromsø sits on a small island. We headed across a few bridges to get to another island on the other side of Tromsø by the name of Sommarøy. We traveled up and around the surrounding mountains, and Reinhold told us about life in the area as well as all the different mountains he and his children had skied on. We eventually ended up in a small fishing village that faces the arctic ocean.

As is always the way when Jay and Chris are around, a very friendly cat found us. He was definitely the village's greeter. He was more than happy to receive any attention we would provide. He was plump and furry and appeared to be quite content with his gorgeous home.

While Jay is looking contemplative, I can assure you nothing more than Entry of the Gladiators (the classic circus theme song) is playing in his head.

Holidays

We could not have asked for a better spot to enjoy the holidays. There was a reason to celebrate every night it seemed. Christmas lasts for many days here. Our hosts cut down a tree every year. The top is used for their Christmas tree while the rest is chopped into firewood for the remainder of the year. We were gifted some of the branches and given some decorations. Chris and Sheri put them to good use, and we had our own small Christmas tree.

Between Sheri, Chris and Jay there were always cookies, bread and food around. I had the difficult duty of being the official taste tester but managed to fill my role admirably despite the obvious challenges that come with the position. I also did dishes.

We invited our hosts (Reinhold and Karsje) over for dinner. We had a wonderful time with them. They would invite us over to dinner at their place later in the month. We thoroughly enjoyed their company.

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New Years was quite the spectacle. Fireworks exploded all over the city for most of the night. Of course at the stroke of midnight it was nothing but bursts of light throughout the city. It was so much fun.

Out and About

So, it is not just doing things that can only be done in Norway. Before Jay and Chris arrived, Sheri and I went into town and saw a movie. We saw Eternity which was pretty good. The notion of forever is just too overwhelming to comprehend.

We also played mini-golf. It was a Nordic themed course with several imaginative holes. We were allowed to play as many rounds as we liked. I won the first round and Sheri the second, so that seemed to be a good place to leave it.

When Jay and Chris arrived. we went to the Arctic Museum. This should have been called how to kill as many animals as you can in the most horrific way possible. While I can understand the harsh realities of surviving in such an inhospitable place, it was just a bit too much for me.

We then went to a local aquarium. This was a far more positive experience. There were many creatures to marvel at. The highlight were the various seals that live there. They each had their own stocking for Christmas. The aquariums were all decorated with Christmas balls, and I found that to be quite amusing.

Up next was an escape room. This is one of my favorite activities. We did reasonably well, but got hung up on a couple of the puzzles. The story took place in a girl's bedroom, and we were tasked with finding the friendly monster that lived there and proving he was real. Lots of fun and mostly good puzzle design.

Other than that, we would walk around the town and take in the sights. Sheri is in her happy place at the smaller of the two libraries they have in Tromsø.

And just because Sheri is retired does not mean her work is done. She is out shoveling the deck so that it will be ready should the Northern Lights appear!

Food

Norway is certainly not known for their food, but that didn't stop us from enjoying some of the local delights as well as bringing some of my childhood favorites to Norway. We always find the Indian restaurant to eat at. The one in Tromsø was quite good and had one of the best appetizers I have ever had. The downside is the cost and portion sizes. We easily would spend fifty dollars per person with no leftovers.

We went to one of the local tourist traps. It is the smallest bar in the world. They served hotdogs and mulled wine. The line was incredibly long but I enjoyed it very much. Probably more than the rest of the group, but it was still a good time.

While we didn't eat at the McDonalds, I still wanted to get a picture as it is purported to be the northern most McDonalds in the world. We did however eat at a Burger King which we will just assume is the northern most one of that franchise. I was thinking of seeing if I could open a McDonalds just a half block further north and usurp the title.

When we were at the grocery store, it took me a while to understand what I was looking at. I finally realized it was reindeer faces. I have no idea what they are used for, but I saw them at multiple stores.

Growing up, one of my favorite packed lunches was a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Mom would prepare the hotdog bun with peanut butter and mayonnaise in the morning and then at lunch time I would simply peel my banana and eat it like a hot dog. Brought back found memories of my youth.

Finally, our hosts invited us to come out and watch them make pizzas. They had a very nice set up with a pizza oven in their shed. Despite the cold temperatures, we were kept quite warm by the oven. The pizzas kept coming and would only take a few minutes to cook. They shared some with us, and it was quite good.

Always a New Adventure Awaits

I can't believe it is already time to say goodbye to this magnificent city. While I was truly sad that our time here was over (I have every confidence that we will return) there is always another great adventure around the corner. Up next Vienna!

Brad & Sheri