Tromsø Day 2
Huge relief actually having our luggage arrive, and so time to finally relax, breathe a little easier and plan what we would like to see and do in Tromso. We were unable to do this earlier due to low batteries on phones etc. Yes…..we unfortunately left chargers in our checked in luggage. It was not until early this morning that Simon discovered a stowaway in the form of a charger, in his hand luggage. This at least provided us with enough communication to be able to book a bus to get us back to the airport. It was all a little frustrating as apps are needed for transport and then SMS codes are sent to verify….ARRGGGGHHH. Time to briefly enable our home SIMS to get a message. Still when you think of what can go wrong, a missed flight connection and delayed luggage is not worth all this time I have just taken to write this and for you to read it. That’s about 5 minutes of our lives that we are never getting back…so thank you for staying with me here….assuming you didn’t skim read!
We headed out early afternoon and walked towards Ølhallen’s pub which has been operating in Tromso’s since 1928 making it the oldest here and almost as old as Simon. It is also the world’s most northern brewery. We ambled along the various streets that were not overly busy, weaving our way around and taking diversions as things caught our eye. We were also foraging for some food as neither of us had really eaten since Saturday evening due to the turn of events with regard to our travel. We eventuated upon the Polar Museum and spent just under 2 hours here learning about the history of the polar expeditians and life for those involved in hunting. A female seal hunter named Wanny Woldstad was the first woman to winter in Svalbard in what was primarily a stereotypical male environment and one which she challenged and proved to be very apt at. There is a book written about her which I hope to find later to read. On a side note a dog suddenly appeared roaming freely around the museum. Bit of a shock as it had a wolf/husky appearance. It was having a good old sniff around and I was half expecting it to ‘mark it’s territory’ but it was polite and did not. Not sure where it came from or where it went, even the staff we flumoxed and were unable to find the dog to encourage it to leave…. a ghost dog maybe???
Later we succumbed to eating a burger at Burger King. We would have our heads bent in shame and tail between our legs at this confession as primarily we would not eat large chain foods, preferring to eat local fare. However, as I mentioned before we had not eaten since Saturday evening and it was now Monday afternoon and sustenance was needed fast. So erred on the side of caution and played it safe. We eventaully made it to Olhallen’s but did not venture in. Neither of us felt like a beer, so we ambled back popping into some interesting shops along the way. Money safe in our wallets as even though I could have made several interesting purchases its getting stuff back that is the voice of reason here.
Determined to stay up until midnight to truly experience the fact that it does not get dark here was a little challenging. That said as there were no stupid o’clock rises here to capture the gorgeous first light that we gathered in Weymouth we were able to stay awake passed 8:30pm. We did take a stroll along the long bridge that spans between Tromso island, which we are on, and the mainland. Walking along at 10:30 pm with plenty of light was unusual for us humans, who reside ‘Down Under’ and are used to everything being dark by 7:30pm.
Tomorrow, Tuesday we have booked a half day cruise along the Fjords. The sun is due to join us for, what we envisage to be, a lovely relaxing, informative afternoon. Plan is to actually go into the oldest pub Olhallen’s afterwards…stay tuned
