Amalie Hotell Tromsø

... hotel. Yes, we had a hotel here! With our own room, AND a TV, not that we could understand most of the channels!
The following morning we had breakfast at the hotel then went to The Polar Museum in the harbour, where we saw lots of stuffed animals. They give you almost a books worth of information to read whilst going around, so we were there some time. In the evening we ate Spag Bol and chatted to some Scottish ladies who were also staying ...

... windows, unique construction, the organ belting forth, a seven person choir performing in the loft and rather bright lighting made me feel that I was one with my Maker...and perhaps I should stay a little while. However, other forces were calling.

The haven beckoning in Tromso was OlHallen (the beer hall) and the Mack brewery. This drinking establishment proudly boosts of being the most northern brewery in the world. You just don't drift into Mack's since access is ...

... hän on autojääkaappi ja kylmälaukku ja kasa kylmäkalleja myös mukana :)

Palasimme Polariaan, joka muuten on varsin viehättävän näköinen ulkoapäin: kuin kasa palikoita kaatuisi peräkkäin toistensa päälle ;) Katselimme panoraamafilmin pohjoiselta Jäämereltä ja pohjoisnavalta ja se oli upean näköistä! Sitten olikin hylkeiden ruokinta-aika ja se olikin hauskaa katseltavaa! Tekivät vaikka minkälaisia temppuja, ovat muuten kuulemma tosi viisaita eläimiä, siis jopa ...

... br>So what were the problems with others cards??? We took the money and went outside to wait for the bus to the city center. Outside, there were many bus stops and there were few taxis at the corner. While I was taking the piece of paper which was written down the hotel address from my backpack, a man walked up to us and asked us where we wanted to go. I handed the paper to that man and told him that we wanted to go to Clarion ...

... them. A quick trip to the tourist information center right in the middle of town is a must if you want to know what goes on in this part of the world. The girl in there is amazing, and speaks about 17 languages fluently. She let us know that the best chance to see the lights would be two days away, when the skies would finally be rid of the huge dark clouds which dropped snow constantly. This meant extending our stay by a couple of days, and finding a new hotel a bit ...

... would be to the airport. The girl said to ask a taxi driver. We spoke to a guy that said 200 at the most and he didn't think that the airport was open overnight so that was it. No sleeping at the airport for us. Cabins were good and we caught the taxi at 0530 to the airport which ended up costing 235kr leaving us only about 20kr for the 4 hours wait in Oslo but oh well.

... deck and took a bunch of pictures of the city. Then we went out back and wandered around the top of the mountain. There was an impressive valley and the summit that you could check out. Everyone was tired so we didn't stray far. People got cold and so we made our way back down the mountain and back to the hotel. I called it a day after that and hung out in the hotel lobby talking with the profs and random people from our group who wandered in.

... jump off the ship at night to tour around the town, went bar hopping together with my colleagues. For the first time in my life I've seen & experienced snow, we're like little kids playing under the rain while pitching each other a handful of ice.

... stretch the old legs and take a few pictures. Of course, I got on the wrong bus when it was time to return to the vehicles, although at least I realised my mistake which is more than can be said for some others - suddenly there were a couple of empty seats on our bus for the next leg! The highlight of the trip though, without a doubt, was the four hour cruise when I was mixing with the upper end of society! It was nice having Anthea and Gordon ...

... first man to reach both the North and South Poles. On the otherside of town we came across a Catholic Church! We were quite suprised as there are very few of that Faith in Norway (less than 1% of the people). From there we wandered down to an open air market where there was a beautiful shot of the Ishavskatedralen (Arctic Cathedral) in Tromsdalen, a very impressive though modernistic structure ...