A Day in Tromsø

This morning we arrived in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, gateway to the Arctic. Even though this city is in the arctic climate zone, last week they had temperatures in the upper 90s. Such hot weather is unusual even in the summertime. In the morning Glenda and I went out on our own and strolled around the downtown area. In the afternoon we boarded a bus that took us to see the highlights of Tromsø. The most important place we visited was the planetarium. This building on campus of the university of Tromsø staged a wonderful presentation about the northern lights. Several important studies of the aurora borealis are based here. One of the reasons this city calls itself the gateway to the Arctic is that many of the expeditions to reach the north pole in the early 20th century began here. Another claim to fame is that King Haakon VII was forced to flee to Tromsø when the Nazis invaded in World War II. For two weeks Tromsø was the capital of Norway until the king and his family finally were evacuated from here to England for the remainder of the war.

Tromsø only has a few months of summer and the flowers here are stunning. Because everything is covered in snow for seven months, the people here embrace anything green including the weeds. Dandelions, clover, and Queen Anne’s lace bloom along side pansies and irises. Huge container pots of petunias decorate all of downtown. Churches are unlocked so that you can wander in. Several churches offer free concerts every afternoon in the summer. The whole city crams a lot of living and blooming and growing into three or four months.Read more