Tromsø is not on the mainland but on the island of Tromsøya: this is its eastern shore. Proof that the Arctic is not all glamorous and dramatic landscapes. This is kind of how I imagine places like Murmansk to look. And I swear I haven’t fiddled with the colours on this one — life really was this monochrome at 4.50pm today, under the pissing rain.
A return to Tromsø after my first visit in March. Well above the Arctic Circle, I will comfortably see no darkness for the next few days. Expect a photo of the Midnight Sun at some point. But not tonight — the views from the final stages of the flight were too good. So I probably saw more snow than you did today, at least from a distance.
I guess when I pre-imagined the Arctic, this is what I thought it would look like. Skulsfjord has a cool name and sits in the northern part of Kvaløy (Whale Island), to the northwest of Tromsø. There are worse places to visit on a Wednesday afternoon.
Tromsø is the world’s northernmost city, with 75,000 inhabitants, give or take, and has many of the world’s northernmost something-or-others, such as its northernmost professional football team, cathedral, mosque, Burger King and (the reason why I am here) university. At around 69º 40′ N it is comfortably the northernmost place I have ever been (though as I’m going on a tour tomorrow that will probably be beaten). This view over the harbour takes in the Ishavskatedral — the pointy thing to the left, in the background — and the mountain of Tromsdalstind, lit by the setting sun. Nice place…. I saw the Northern Lights tonight as well but no chance of capturing a photo of it, maybe next time though.
