After a day at sea when we crossed into the Arctic Circle, we reached Tromso, Norway.  We had expected more fanfare, even a simple announcement from the bridge when we crossed.  We slipped in and that was that.  Even the sea day’s lecture was on Viking Victuals (victuals meaning food and drink).  I could have done without 8 slides of the types of berries there are in Norway.  The speaker was really reaching.  I don’t blame her; she was just talking about things in her wheelhouse.  Celebrity had poorly selected the single speaker on this cruise.  We had multiple presenters on our passage from Iceland last year.  The itinerary said Arctic Cruising, but it was just a sea day partially within the Arctic Circle.  We were extremely disappointed.

The bright spot to our sea day was that after the evening show in the theater, we ran into Sue and Andy and they met Boris and invited us to join them in Eden for a drink.  We had a great time and ended up staying so late that we were there for the artistic performance on the Eden stage.  We didn’t have the best vantage point (we were just happy to find seats when we arrived), but we were next to the performers as they entered so it was fun to see “backstage”.

Once again it was the aerialists that shone brightest.  I loved the close proximity to the performers during the show.  The finale was an aerialist in a raised “ball” to the song Chandelier.  Perfect.  After that we were all tired and called it a night, glad we weren’t docking until noon tomorrow and could sleep in.

We didn’t dock in Tromso until about 12:20 pm.  We are docked at pier 21 right by the Botanical Garden, Science Center, and the Arctic University of Norway.  The cruise director suggested that we wait an hour after the gangway was down to ease the line at the shuttle and let all the excursionists off the ship.  It is Bastille Day and I suggested to Boris that we try the French bistro on deck 4.  It is a specialty restaurant that only serves lunch (and costs about half the price of the steak house).  

We had what I think was my best meal on board so far.  You could have as many courses as you wanted.  I started with their version of a French 75 to drink; I would not recommend it.   The food however was fabulous.  I had mussels, lobster bisque (that came with a pastry top) and sole as my entrée.  Oh my!  I didn’t even order dessert I was so full, but the server boxed up four of their amazing pastries for me to take back to the room.  (Two were gone before dinner and two after.)  Sole is the special entrée on Sundays.  The special at Le Grand Bistro changes daily but is announced for the whole week so you can plan your visit.

Forgot you were in Norway?  Just look out your cabin window and see the practice ski jumps (Hoppbakken) right in the middle of town.   Tromso is a university town.  80% of the population has work with the medical center associated with the university.  In the last 30 years, the city’s population has more than doubled going from over 30,000 to over 80,000 residents.  There are also lots of festivals in the “Paris of the North”; in the summer months there is one almost every weekend.  

Tromso is sometimes referred to as the Arctic’s capital.  Its city center contains the highest number of old wood houses in northern Norway, the oldest dating from 1789.  “Most of Tromso, including the main city center, is located on the island of Tromsoya.  The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge and a tunnel.” –Celebrity Today. 

There were only a handful of excursions offered, so we just decided to take the shuttle into town ($15/person) and look around on our own.  I really wanted to see the iconic Arctic Cathedral.

It was Sunday and the city was dead.  (The most recent festival had just ended.)   Almost everything in the old town was closed.  A few souvenir shops were open.  The shuttle driver pointed out the Troll Museum and the Polar Museum, but I am not sure they were even open.  I never saw anyone go inside.  They were handing out brochures for Polaria up the road, so I think it was probably open.  Polaria is a small aquarium featuring sea life including several species of seal.  You have three opportunies daily to watch the feeding and training sessions.  There is a variety of interactive exhibits and a panoramic theater which allows you to virtually visit the northern lights and the local glaciers and mountains.  We will see how we feel about an additional walk after the Arctic Cathedral visit.

We decided to first take the walk over to the Arctic Cathedral, not to be confused with the city’s Catholic Cathedral or the Cathedral of the Church of Norway in the center of town that was closed this afternoon.  The Arctic Cathedral is off island and just over a mile from the shuttle’s drop off point in town.  What we hadn’t factored in was the incline when crossing the bridge.  It was a challenging walk.  The bridge was under construction so there was no vehicular traffic unless you count the bicycles which went along the opposite side.  The pathway was only wide enough for two people going opposite directions to cross each other.

It was our first fully sunny day, and I was overdressed for the walk and the weather.  Once we reached the Cathedral, we were happy to pay the $10 entrance fee just to sit inside and to use their toilets.  I found it rather warm inside, but that was probably due to the walk.  Apparently just before we got there, there was an organ concert.  I am sorry we missed that.  The guests that caught it said the acoustics were wonderful. 

There is a beautiful stained-glass window behind the altar.  Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of day, and the sun was not coming through the glass.  Additionally, and out of necessity for the services, white walls had been erected behind the altar and they covered more than 25% of the stained glass.  The interior of the church is very simple and only seats 600 people.  There are candles to light so bring your coins.

The official name of the structure is Tromsdalen Church.  It is actually a parish church and not a cathedral at all.  However, it acquired the nickname Ishavskefedralen which means Cathedral of the Arctic Ocean.  The nickname has been shortened to Arctic Cathedral which is how the church is widely known.

Construction began in 1964 and was completed the following year.  It certainly has a ‘60s vibe.  The structure is almost all concrete, although there was some metal used during the construction process.  The glass mosaic, “The Return of the Christ”, was added in 1972 and the organ in 2005.

The cable car was also on this side of the bridge, but we were tired and an additional uphill walk to the entrance wasn’t in the cards.  We also hadn’t heard much about the cable car either, so we weren’t sure if it is worth the effort.  We didn’t see any taxis near the Arctic Cathedral (although you could catch them at the pier or in town) so make sure you have arrangements to take you back if you taxi over to the church.

The locals had done a good job of having information about Tromso available when you left the ship.  You could purchase the shuttle pass, a pass for the local buses, or pick up a free local map right in the tent they had erected at the pier for passengers to go through.

On the way back over the bridge, we discovered that most of the bridge’s incline was on the city side so the trip back over the water was easier despite us being tired.  I had easily worked off all three of my lunchtime courses at the Bistro.  After we made it back across, I took some pictures and waited by the shuttle stop for Boris while he went to look at the castle ruins (not much there at all) and got lost.  Apparently quite a few of the guests ended up in the wrong place but it is a small area so eventually (5 shuttles later) Boris made it back to me and we headed to the ship.

The ship’s entertainment director has been rescheduling evening events so they could live stream World Cup Football (soccer to the American readers) so there is another game tonight.  There are lots of English guests on board.  Luckily, we have our set reservations so we can make it to the show that is set a half hour earlier than normal.  Last time we saw a performer covering Aretha Franklin hits.  Tonight, it is a Beatles cover band.

We had found a waiter we liked so we made standing reservations at one of the main dining rooms.  It means we can walk right in.  They hold the table for up to a half hour, but we like to give them the courtesy of being on time.

One more stop on the northern coast of Norway, Honningswag, before we begin our return trip down the western Norwegian coast and leave the Arctic Circle behind.

–Natasha