Day 8 - Tromsø

We spent most of this day in Tromsø, as our ferry to Harstad didn't sail until late afternoon. 

We walked through the town and over the bridge to the Arctic Cathedral but, unfortunately,  it was closed because of a funeral. We were able to see inside quite well through the windows. 

One of the main shopping street of Tromsø.

Typical wooden buildings dominate the town's older architecture.

The walk across the bridge is an experience with...

....superb views across the harbour.....

....and fjord.

The Arctic Cathedral

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Click on the photograph to see a larger panoramic image.

Tromsø's ski jump seen across the fjord.

We then returned to the town and went to look at the buildings of the Polaria museum. The glass building contains an old seal hunting boat the M/S Polstjerna....

....whilst this intriguing building contains the Polaria Arctic aquarium.

A sculpture outside the museum showing dogs, sledge and Arctic explorer.

After checking out from our hotel as late as possible just before noon, we went to try and find a cafe for lunch but couldn't find one that served sandwiches so we bought rolls and cheese from a supermarket and sat on bench outside cathedral before having tea in a café

The photos above show the old cathedral on the left and the Catholic church on the right. This church is the seat of the most northerly Bishop in the world.

 

We visited the Polar Museum which was fascinating. Visitors are given a detailed translation of the Norwegian notices to read as you go round the museum - and there is a lot to read! Outside is a bust of Roald Amundsen, probably the greatest of the polar explorers.

The photographs above give an idea of some of the displays.

The northbound Hurtigruten arrived  in the middle of the afternoon, so we went aboard to have a look around this much more modern ship, the Nordlys (Northern lights) compared to the Lofoten. We'd already seen this ship as it passed the Lofoten near Molde on it way south. 

The Nordlys was involved in one of the few serious incidents to affect Hurtigruten ships in recent years. In September 2011 there was a fire in the engine room approaching Ålesund, two crew members died and the ship almost capsized alongside the quayside during the fire fighting.

The passenger and cargo loading operations for the larger ships are somewhat different to the Lofoten's

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