Saturday, 1/19: Tromso fun and games

We started our day with a 9:30 tour of "Panoramic Tromso," one of the tours included in each port.  Tromso sits along the longest fjord in Norway.  This fjord hosts many fish, two of the most popular being cod ("a lazy fish") and pollock ("fights like a salmon").  Be careful what you catch.  

Tromso is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle, and again home to a very young population overall.  It hosts a university, a cathedral, and an historic brewery (which has maintained its original bar area, distinctive ambience!).  The story goes that an early settler opened a bakery, but also noticed people imbibing in home-made moonshine.  He felt that to be unhealthy, so used excess yeast from his bread to make beer.  The bakery is long gone, but the beer carries on evey today!  This area is about the size of Singapore, but has a mere 10% of that population.  There is a LOT of Nature to go around here, and those who live here are dedicated outdoorspeople.

Our "Crossed the Arctic Circle" certificate

We learned a bit about house colors:  most older structures are painted red, as the original owners would have mixed oil and fish blood to make paint.  White became popular, but it was expensive to paint your entire house, so it was common to paint the side facing the road white and leave the sides and back red.  Later, indigo became available, and as you probably know, the coloring is turned into a useful liquid by being steeped in urine for several days ... leading the neighboring countries to dub the color "piss blue."

Back at the boat, we set off for a souvenir store or two, finding our way around town with the help of Google Maps.  A few purchases later, we scooted back to the boat for a quick lunch as the next tour was coming up quickly.

We set off for a "Home Visit in the Lyngen Alps" about 2P.  It was a compact group of about 10, and we learned early on that this was not a mere "home visit" but yet a visit to our driver's OWN home.  Talk about personal service!  The recent snowfall had frosted every branch, whether evergreen or deciduous ... a beautiful show.  Sunset had already occurred an hour ago, so every turn gave a new illumination in the headlights of our van.

About halfway there, we queued up for a ferry transit across the fjord.  It was a pleasant throwback to my own Seattle days, but there were also some exclamations from others:  "We're going to DRIVE onto the ferry?!  That's CRAZY!"  The crossing was about half-an-hour, which we passed in the pleasant cafeteria/sitting area on the upper deck.

Back on the road, we arrived soon in Svensby ... where our host proudly pointed out that the village had funded street lights in his area recently.  Pulling up to the house, we were greeted by a fire in a suspended bowl and warm welcome from his wife and a neighbor.  We were promptly offered sausages to roast over the fire, then wrap them in a flatbread for an early refreshment.  The house was open to us, as long as we respected that well-established WISCONSIN custom of leaving our boots in the front hall.

Then the fun began.  We pitched horseshoes (winter ones, of course, with studs to keep the horse from losing its footing on snow or ice).  In the end we managed a couple of leaners and that was it, but a good time was had trying.  Next came kick-sledding ... particularly amusing as we'd almost been run over by a young boy using that form of transport when we were walking in town.  The lightweight wooden sleds have a seat in front, and the "driver" stands on slats behind and kicks the vehicle into motion.  Once enroute, the "driver" just stands on the slats and enjoys the ride -- nice work if you can get it!

Now came the back-to-nature chapter.  Everyone was invited to don snowshoes and take a walk in the woods.  The two of us chose different options ... I wimped out in the house, where the neighbor had a beautiful display of her knit goods for sale, and was busy cooking up something wonderful.  It wasn't too long before we were joined by several others who found snow-shoe work too taxing and/or the evening just too cold.  Just about everyone was at least somewhat under-insulated.

When the remainder of the intrepid crew returned, we moved into a replica of a native Sami lavvu ... much larger than a normal family would have used, but faithful to the construction.  A wood framework made a conical base for reindeer skins to keep out the wind.  A nook was defined for (as our host delicately put it) "making the next generation" with at least visual privacy.  A fire in the center provided warmth, reindeer skins insulated the seating, and the thick stew that had been simmering in the house provided an excellent restorative from the cold outside.  A young lady of Sami heritage joined us to provide cultural information, and a lively discussion was had.

The lavvu is often rented for the night, and several of us might well have stayed ... but the ship would leave port late in the evening with or without us.  So with true regret, we bid the family and friends farewell and drove back by a different, still beautiful, route.