Tromsø, Norway, has a decent-sized population of about 42,000, which made it one of our final big-city stops. For the final three weeks of the cruise, we would visit only two other cities with populations above 18,000. You could tell we were getting far north because so many things in this city were the “northernmost” of their kind.
Tromsø is an administrative and cultural hub, as evidenced by its many distinctive attractions.
What appears to be a row of toppled dominoes is actually Polaria, the world’s northernmost aquarium.
This is the Tromsø City Library and Archives.
On the left is the Arctic Cathedral. The wooden structure in the foreground is the Pust Sauna. Get toasty inside and then jump into the frigid Arctic Sea. Repeat.
This is the town’s movie theater, which still retains its charms from when it was built in 1915.
The Old Town Hall, complete with statues of King Haakon VII on the right and a dachshund on the roof.
The Cathedral of Our Lady, the northernmost Catholic/Christian cathedral in the world.
Tromsø has many tributes to Norwegian hero and polar explorer Roald Amundsen. Incidentally, Kevin lives in an old Scandinavian neighborhood in Chicago and Roald Amundsen High School is right around the corner.
A stand claiming to sell the best hot dogs in the world. We didn’t try their interesting combos. Kevin just wanted a quick bite, so he popped into the nearby McDonald’s. Why? Because it’s the northernmost McDonald’s in the world.
Some public art. On the left is the Arctic Hunter statue amid some construction. On the right is the Kiss of Light mosaic by artist Marit Bockelie, whose works are featured all over town.
A panoramic view of Tromsø. If you want to zoom in to see it in more detail, you’ll probably need to go to the website and click on the photo.
And we’ll finish our tour of this cool city with some sailing photos. All were taken between 10-11 p.m.
Two questions. Why is there a dachshund on the roof of the building and did you and Uncle Bob try the sauna/arctic plunge? ;)
Time to swap out reading "The {x} That Changed the World" for writing a travel guide to "The Northernmost {y's} in the World"?