Early morning on the 27th September, last year, our cruise ship sailed into Tromso Harbour.  The sun was bright, just like every day had been on our Norwegian cruise.  But by the time the boat had docked, a sea mist that turned into something thicker… gone were the views of Tromso and across the harbour to the Arctic Cathedral. It was a disappointment…. but then our Guide said we would be going up to the top of Storsteinen (The Big Rock) by cable car…. not impressed!  But he was enthusiastic in his assurance that it would be different and well worth while.

As you can see from the image above it certainly was.  OK., no grand view down the fjord or panoramic views over Tromso but the rolling layers of clouds below us and a warm sun bouncing off the clouds certainly was different and did make up for that earlier morning of doubts.

And thanks to a gentlemanly Japanese Tourist we have a very rare picture of the two of us

After that, the mist lingered for a while, but the sun fought back and by midday we had a great autumn day to explore the City.  One highlight was the Stave Cathedral…sheer delight in craftsmanship.

The day didn’t finish as the sun went down.  We headed off in a minibus to the Lyngen Alps and with miraculously clear skies, (who would have thought it possible that morning), we had a fantastic display of the Aurora Borealis – yep, the Northern Lights gave us a two hour display.  Nor did we mind getting back to our ship at 2am, cold but still buzzing with excitement

A memory of a September day…   still as fresh as a year ago

Please Remember ….

Stay Safe …. Be Kind…. Look After Each Other

27th September

(C) David Oakes 2020