Tromsø (18/02/2019)
Today was a rest day. Hurray!!!
Those who know me well know that I hate cycling, stairs and travelling without rest days. So, without anything further to write about, I should end the blog here.
But, I was dupped and we did venture out in to the city. Although I was kind of expecting this, so I didn’t need my colouring books or snack packs. Haha
We set off to the bus station to check information on tomorrow’s trip to Abisko. The early morning bus would have gotten us there ridiculous early and the the next one cutting it fine with an hour to spare. We opted to go with the latter and found that we didn’t need to book now, a seat was guaranteed on that route.
We head off towards the Polaria (the northern most aquarium in the world), where I decided to wreck the display in the souvenir shop looking at the price of a reindeer hide. An old lady came over to berate me, while the younger colleagues left at the tills were restraining themselves from laughing out loud. I crept in to the aquarium, tail between my legs and giggling behind me.
The seal show was just starting, so naturally we did the whole building in peace and quiet without being shoved out of the way or feeling rushed. We then went up the stairs (arch-nemesis) to watch the four bearded-seals swim around the tank. The bearded-seals are perhaps my spirit animal: fat, few too many chin hairs and loving the water. The shape of them wouldn’t suggest of any elegance in the water, with their bulbous mid section ruining the torpedo shape of other species. But yet, they glided past and took the corners with barely any effort.
Across the city was the Polar Museum. Fuelled up by brown cheese sandwiches we arrived with enough time that we could allow the massive Chinese group go on ahead and we hung back in the entrance hallway. When we did catch up with them, it was because they were taking selfies with the stuffed seals. Not all 7x species, but the one Spotted Seal that was in the best lighting conditions.
I personally didn’t enjoy the museum much. With nothing on display with English text, the accompanying guide book clearly wasn’t give all the info that was next to the cabinets or artefacts. Thus, I only read a small bit from the guide and enjoyed some of the more unique items from the Arctic expeditions. The history of trappings and huntings has a less ‘gruesome’ image than the image portrayed back home. But, that seems to be the way of history when you visit any country. Perspective is an unusual thing.
Katherine slipped on the ice on the way back in to town. We were approaching a bit of path that had some building works, so I reckon the ice was compacted and the snow work away in this narrow section and that has put her back in terms of healing. (See what I did there!)
An early dinner in case we had the opportunity to go up to the observatory didn’t fair well. Service was diabolically slow and even the waitress apologised. The pizza was nice and we even managed to order some salad, eventually. The weather didn’t clear up, so all in all, we didn’t miss out on the opportunity to see the Aurora.
Monday, 18th February 2019
Trans Travels 