luckykaa

A few hours in Oslo before plane leaves. City is much more active than last night. Grey skies mean I don't expect my photos to come out too well, but it is nice that the weather is pleasantly mild.

Really this is just a small add-on for the trip. A stopover because the alternative is to spend way too long at the airport between flights.

Didn't want to stray too far from the city centre because otherwise I'd be anxious about flights. So I ambled down to the harbour to try a sightseeing tour. It was a predictable time so seemed safe. Sadly it also seems that it's weekends only at this time of year.

On the plus side the harbour is right next to the Nobel Peace Centre so I had a look around there. Downstairs was the What The World Eats exhibition and I was a little dismayed just how many sweets and biscuits the British family eat. The American go for fast food a lot. Most of Europe had a nice looking selection of vegetables and meat to go with a few luxuries.

Upstairs was mostly dedicated to the work of the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons). Definitely highly deserving of the award. Chemical Weapons are horrible things, and the people who go in and deal with them deserve the recognition.

Had a look around Akershus Fortress - Oslo's main coastal defence for several centuries. Oddly enough, several sculptures, designed by children, are dotted around the place. All quite abstract.

Wasn't really in the mood for the nearby war museum or the resistance museum, so strolled a little further and sought out the Operahuset (Opera House). An example of Norway's fondness for striking architecture; for some reason Norway doesn't make a big thing of this but the country does seem to have a thing for abstract forms. The Opera House is no exception. Aggressive sharp angles giving a wedge-like appearance, jutting straight into the sea so the waves lap up the side. What's particularly good about this is that it's possible to walk right up onto  the roof from ground level.

The proximity to the sea is actually something that seems strange to me. As a British seasider, it seems insane. Brighton's tidal range is 6m and that's nowhere near the highest in the country (Bristol channel is 11m). In Oslo it's 68cm!

So anyway, walked up there and found a restaurant that offers traditional Norwegian food. Whalemeat seemed a little too heavy for me so went for a pytt i panne. Fry up of meat onion and spuds served with egg. Food was okay. Would have liked it if the waitress looked up from her phone once or twice to see if I wanted anything else though or wanted to pay.

Time was running out so I headed to the Christmas market and used up a chunk of my remaining cash on jam, then wandered around looking at the usual tourist photo sites. Royal palace, the university and so on.

Uneventful trip back to the airport. Nice seats in the non-Schengen international departure area though.

Goodbye Norway. I had fun times with you.

I'm now sitting in the tiny departure lounge in Tromsø's tiny airport waiting for the plane to Oslo.

Another quiet day. Mostly a case of killing time until I had to leave for my flight. Decided to look at the various art exhibitions, because they're free. Ultimately though, I've seen everything I want to see and done all I want to do. Saw some nice photos. Am sick and tired of the ice. Repeatedly almost slipping and having to tread very carefully as I walk anywhere gets tiresome very quickly.

Decided to find lunch, and found a place offering all you can eat pizza. I didn't quite have the time to take on the challenge but managed 7 or 8 slices. So it is possible to eat here for economically, as long as you only want to eat on the days they do the buffet. Then caught the bus to the airport. Mostly seemed to be underground through a maze of tunnels.

Not sure I can work out this airport. Seem to have gates 16-25 but no gates 1-15

A less active day today.

Went to the cable car, up a mountain. Met a nice couple of students on the bus.

Trudged through snow, didn't build a snowman. Did see some buried structures and eventually worked out that this was the top of the children's play area. The rest of it buried under very thick snow.  Took photos of Tromsø. Had lunch and coffee in the expensive cafe at the top of the mountain. Everything is very expensive here!

I do always love the view from high vantage points. Observation towers, mountains, and tops of high buildings are always on my to do list.

Then went to Polaria (Acquarium) and saw the seals being fed.

Small market in town. Has goats, open fires and horses giving rides up and down the main street.

Call me Ishmael. (I'd call Ishmael myself but I lost his number)

Unlike Ahab, I just wanted a photo rather than revenge. Turned up for the trip and found a bunch of people waiting in the cold snow and eventually the captain turned up. We boarded our vessel - M/S Leone. A chubby little ex-Trawler, and not the sparkly tourist boat I was expecting. Cosy though with hot drinks readily available. We set off on a tour around the island of Kvaløya and tried to spot Whales.

First hour: No whales, but a lot of that was involved in getting away from Tromsø. Second hour: still no whales. After we got 3/4 of the way round the island, Just as I was starting to feel a little despondent, on the horizon, someone spotted a splash! We steamed over and watched the whale. Didn't get too close but there were more splashes in the distance and as we got closer to them we saw a humpback whale leap out of the sea!

Magnificent creatures! Mostly we just see a one or two at a time with their back leaving the water briefly, but every now and again, they dive and we see the tail, or a group of them will leap out of the water.

So I have seen Whales. What do I want to do next?

Dog sledding! That's what. Will do that tomorrow.

Other things done today - Had a look at the Tromsøysund Cathedral, because I like the architecture. Just a steep sided prism, more or less.

So, day 1 of my arctic expedition. Got to Gatwick Airport. Local traders tried to convince me to buy some of their wares, but I turned them down. Caught the plane and flew to Norway. Wi-fi on board. Shame my laptop had no juice left but after some fiddling discovered wifi on phone can be turned back on in Flight Mode, so tweeted throughout the flight.

Landed. Very cold outside the airport. Tromsø is a tiny little airport because it's not a particularly large city. Probably has a few planes per hour so passport control was just around the corner from disembarkation and baggage reclaim was a very short walk from there. This does mean there's a long wait for bags. Found hotel, struggled through the ice - very slippery. Rain on snow does that - then wandered around town. Stopped for a drink.

Met up with a friend the next morning who took me to one of the museums - Tromsø University Museum which has a strong emphasis on the Sami culture as well as natural history and geology exhibits. Then had sushi. Very nice. Quite unusual; I think this was  a platter of more experimental flavours. Went to tourist office and thought I'd book a couple of excursions but computers were down.

Short days are really throwing me off. There's no sun until January. It does start to get light at 11:00 or so and there's a couple of hours of day but by 2pm it's night time. Feels much later than it is.

Holiday booking is way too stressful. Although to be honest, my main problem is being indecisive and a control freak.

I decided I'd see the northern Lights. And Tromsø, Norway appealed. Other fun things like dog sledding, and whale watching seemed like they might be fun. Looked for organised tours. They exist but seem rather expensive. £1000 seems a bit much for a 3 day tour. But I can sort this out myself

Next issue is when to go. I'm a bit limited here. Flights only happen on Tuesday and Saturday. I want to keep a weekend before Christmas, so went for Tuesday. That one gets back at the unpleasant time of stupid o'clock. Just before midnight. Add baggage collection/passport/train/walk time - I'm not a fan of getting back at 2am.

So what I can do and for very little extra, is stop off in another city.  Was hoping Stavanger since I know someone there, but there are no direct flights there from Tromsø. Seriously, it's like Tromsø is a tiny little place in the arctic circle or something. Maybe I can stop at Bergen, or Oslo for a night.

This is a lot harder than it should be.