Tromso

Today we visited Tromso. Once again, the weather was a little better than forecast; but it was not very warm - wooly jackets on at all times.

The highlights were a visit to the Polaria Museum and a trip up one of the neighbouring hills in a cable car.

In the museum, we at last came face-to-face with a polar bear. This one, thankfully, was only a model, but there were plenty of real seals and arctic fish. There was a 5-screen cinema which showed two beautiful films. One of them gave us a preview of some of the scenery which awaits us at Svalbard, and the other was about the Northern Lights. Will we come back on a winter cruise to see them for real ...?

At first, we thought we were going to be disappointed with the cable car ascent. The top had been covered in mist when we arrived; it cleared before we started up; but then the mists rolled in again. Just after we got to the top, however, the view cleared again. The sight was spectacular, to say the least. Well worth the journey.

As well as the panorama of Tromso's main island, today's montage shows the Arctic Cathedral and 'Boudicca', moored alongside the main shopping street.