On January 13, 2022, the time had finally come: we set off north.
Das erste Ziel unserer diesjährigen Reise war die Stadt Tromsø in Norwegen, die auch als das „Tor zur Arktis“ bezeichnet wird. Tromsø liegt auf dem 69. Breitengrad und somit ca 350 km nördlich des Polarkreises, was der geographischen Breite von Nord-Alaska entspricht.
Our flight to Tromsø was via Oslo, where we had a stay of about 2h. Actually more than enough time, one could think. But what we didn't know, at the airport in Oslo you have to pick up your luggage and check it in again before you can continue your trip. In addition, we had to undergo a Corona rapid test, wait 25 minutes for its result and pass the security check again. The two hours were enough for us, but there was not much more time. So you should definitely make sure to plan enough connecting time in Oslo.
When we landed in Tromsø at 15:20, it was already dark. Here, north of the Arctic Circle, it is polar night at the moment. This means that the sun does not rise above the horizon at any time of the day until the 21st of January. January. In theory, of course, I knew that, but then to experience personally, let me still wonder many times in the next few days.
We took the bus from the airport to the city center, where we had booked two nights at the Smart Hotel Tromsø. Arriving in the city center, the first thing I noticed was that nobody clears the streets here. All traffic routes were thickly snow-covered and partially iced over. A condition in which many in Germany would not even leave the house, seemed to be quite normal here.
We quickly brought the luggage to the room and then went directly to a first exploratory tour. The city center of Tromsø is small and cozy. Nevertheless, the greater area of the city has about 77,000 inhabitants.
On our first evening in the city, we explored the area around the harbor.
It wasn't really cold here - about 0 degrees - which seems rather mild for this northern location and time of year. This is due to the Gulf Stream, which flows past the coast.
Soon we met the first locals and quickly realized how open-minded, welcoming and friendly the Norwegians are. Not at all as typically Scandinavian as I experienced in Iceland, where people were rather reserved at first.
An unserem zweiten Tag hier hatten wir tagsüber eine Rentier-Tour gebucht
, zu der ich in einem eigenen Beitrag mehr erzählen werde. Der Busfahrer, der uns von Tromsø zu den Rentieren und wieder zurück brachte, war so freundlich, uns auf dem Rückweg direkt an der Arctic Cathedral, dem Wahrzeichen der Stadt, aussteigen zu lassen.
Von dort aus waren es noch ungefähr 15 Minuten zur Fuß bis zur Seilbahn Fjellheisen, die uns auf den 421m hohen „Berg“ Storsteinen brachte. Von dort aus hat man einen wunderbaren Blick über die gesamte Stadt.
There is also a small restaurant up here with a panoramic view. The prices for food and drinks were surprisingly not higher than down in the city. In general, however, everything here in Norway is more expensive than in Germany. For example, you pay about €8 for a beer and at least €15-20 for a main course. Nevertheless, we allowed ourselves a little time out and enjoyed the view with a delicious waffle. What we also still had to get used to is the conversion of Norwegian kroner into euros. Actually not so difficult, because 10 NOK correspond to approx. 1 €, nevertheless we gave unfortunately directly times only 30 cent tip, since we had miscalculated. May the Norwegians forgive us.
Tonight is already our last evening in Tromsø and we have to wait until 01:30, then a Hurtigruten ship takes us to the Lofoten Islands, where the second part of our journey begins
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