Having said that, today has been great fun and included a big surprise, so our decision to have two nights here has been well and truly vindicated.
After last night's late drive to see the midnight sun, we had the chance of a 'lie-in'. The trouble is, I always wake up early, however late I have gone to bed! When I looked out of our window this morning, I saw this French sailing-boat that had been moored up next to the hotel, sailing out into the fjord. It made for a good photo with the Arctic Cathedral in the background.
We had talked with Peter about the 'must-do' things to see while in Tromso and we started the day by driving out of Tromso to the island of Hakoy. We had visited Hakoy last August to see the site of the Tirpitz sinking and the memorial to the German sailors who died when the ship capsized. We found it a very moving experience to stand in such a beautiful spot and think back to the terrible events of November 1944, when nearly a thousand sailors died when they were entombed in the ship.
Peter and Wendy standing in front of the Tirpitz memorial, made from four inch thick steel decking from the battleship.
When we were last here, we had not looked at the craters from the bombs that missed the ships. This time we saw two; one on land and the other just below the high tide line. In the third photo below, the reflection of the beautiful snowy mountains in the crater highlighted the stark contrast between the beauty of Nature and the awful destructive nature of Man.
The Tirpitz was broken up for scrap a few years after the war ended and the only thing remaining in the water is the platform used for the salvage operation.
Now, for the ornithological bit. There were several birds in the sea and I took this photo of one bird that gave out a low coo every minute or so. There were quite a few on the shore and the sounds they made added to the beauty of the place. Wendy has just found out from the internet that the bird is the Common Eider.
Walking on the seaweed along the water's edge were two red-beaked Oystercatchers, or so Peter said.
We spent about half an hour at the site before starting our drive back to Tromso. Within a couple of minutes, Peter shouted out for us to stop. He had seen three moose standing in the trees, not that far away from us. We all got out of the car and started taking photos and video. As none of them had antlers I assumed, maybe incorrectly, that they were females.
It was a wonderful moment, especially as we had not seen any moose on the drive before today. We drove on and then, within a couple of minutes, Peter shouted out again and we saw three more! As they say, you wait ages for a moose then six come along at the same time!!
We left Hakoy for the short drive back to Tromso, where we had lunch in a pub run by Mack, the most northern brewery in the world. We had Norwegian stew, which was tasty and very filling. The pub had on offer a large range of beers and Wendy and I each chose a very small glass of Arctic Beer.
We returned to the hotel and collected the car to drive to the cable-car that takes you to the top of the mountain overlooking Tromso. Wendy remained in the town hoping to see inside Tromso's Lutheran cathedral, which had been closed on our last visit. It is Norway's only wooden cathedral, but is manned by volunteers and rarely open, so as luck would have it, she failed to see inside it, once again.
Peter and I went on the cable-car and took lots of photos from the mountain-top. Here is a selection, which includes the Hurtigruten ferry boat arriving in Tromso and the Arctic Cathedral from high above.
We returned to our car and then I dropped Peter off at the Arctic Cathedral. While he was looking inside, I spent a few minutes sorting out the car, ready for our drive tomorrow to the Lofoten Islands.
For our final dinner with Peter, we chose to go to Emma's Dream Kitchen, one of the best-known (also one of the most expensive) restaurants in Tromso. On the ground floor is Emma's Under, a cheaper version of the fancier dining-room upstairs. We decided to give it a try and were rewarded with the best meal we have had on the trip so far - superb food, well-presented. It was a fitting farewell to Peter after a most enjoyable week travelling with him.
Late tonight, the others arrive on the Hurtigruten ferry, so we will not see them till tomorrow morning. Peter leaves for Germany on an early flight that goes via Oslo. We will say goodbye to him at 5.30am. Another early start!!
No comments:
Post a Comment