June 9, 2013

This morning we sailed into Tromso, the largest Norwegian city north of the Arctic Circle. It is called "The Gateway to the Arctic" as it has been historically the starting point for many expeditions to the high arctic. We took a bus tour of the city with a stop at the beautiful Arctic Cathedral. It was built in 1965 and designed by the Norwegian architect, Jan Inge Hovig.

Our next stop was the Tromso Museum where we learned about the history of the Sami people (previously known as Laplanders). During the 1970's, Tromso became the hub for the revitalization of Sami language and culture. Many of the street signs now post directions in both languages. Tromso is a very inter-ethical and multi-cultural city with over 100 nationalities represented in the population (about 85,000 people).

Our final stop was to the Polar Museum where we saw original maps, documents and artifacts from actual polar expeditions by Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Fridtjof Nansen. Amundsen was the first to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1906 and the first to reach the South Pole.

To view more photos from the Tromso, please go to Tromso Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to Bear Island.

Home Locations Visited Photos Map Contact Us