SAILING NORTH TO TROMSO AND BEYOND:
We are still experiencing Troll Weather and might just have to Viking Up and brave the elements today when we get to Tromso.
This morning there was an excellent lecture on the Sami people of the northern norse areas. The Sami were the early indigenous peoples of these northern area. They knew no political boundaries as they were nomadic hunter gathers who followed the reindeer. On thing I learned was that the Viking King Harold (The Fair Hair) had a Sami wife. This was probably done to forge an alliance between the Sami and Vikings. Also the coastal fisher/farmer Sami were known as great boat builders.
Over time with the establishment of political boundaries and cultural changes the Sami culture was belittled and forbade. Their language was forbidden and well as their religious beliefs. I saw many many similarities as to how our North American indigenous people were treated during our western expansion.
As our Native Americans followed the buffalo the Sami followed the reindeer. Their traveling shelters had many similarities, Reindeer were their primary food source, tool source, shelter source, and clothing source.
At one time the Sami were referred to as Laplanders. Lap is a word meaning patch and associated with poor or people of a lower social status. Thus, with the change of time and a nationalism in the Sami Culture the name Laplander is no longer used, it is Sami.
We made a 30 min call at Finnsnes where it is pouring rain and the roads and walks are ice covered.
Today at lunch one of the buffet offerings was Lindstrom Beef with Lingonberries. It was good and it had to be with that name. Adolf Lindstrom was the most famous Arctic Chef. He was a prized member of any expedition of which he was a member. He was known for his pancakes and had them ready when Amundsen returned from the South Pole. I will describe Lindstrom Beef as a meatloaf with some unknown ingredients giving a slight sweetness.
Next stop Tromso where we will have 4 hours. This is our third visit to Tromso and we really like this city. There is the Polar Arctic Museum which is well worth a visit. When we arrived the rain had stopped, yet the skies still looked threatening. Walk ways were ice covered and we are prepared with spikes and we purchased Sou’wester’s Rain Hats. The temperature was about 35 but the wind was blowing lower the windchill to about 25.
Spikes are a must for any trip to Norway in the Winter. I did not think we would ever need the rain hat during this time of year.
First stop was the statue of Roald Amundsen probably the most famous Norwegian Polar Explorer. It was from here many of his arctic expeditions were outfitted.
Then a must stop at the legendary, rocket-shaped landmark which is located in the city’s main square Stortorget. Steeped in history, Raketten Bar & Pølse has been there for more than 100 years.
“Løkkekiosken”, as it was originally called, was founded by 18-year-old Margit Løkke in 1911. The kiosk has been listed as protected by the Department for Cultural Heritage. Still, an extensive selection of beers and sausages provides an even flow of new and regular customers.
The mere description of the small venue – “Norway's smallest bar since 2014 and Tromsø's meeting place since 1911” – should be reason enough to visit it.
We enjoyed a reindeer and beef sausage The server stamped my frequent buyer card, just a few more stamps for a free one.
Now the rain was starting to fall and we were glad to have our rain hats.
We made a few stops in a couple shops getting some gifts for friends back home.
SPIKES
Our final stop was the Sami shop. Significant to me is outside the entrance of this shop one finds 4 Stumbling Stones. These are small brass stones usually found in sidewalks. They commemorate the location where people were arrested by the Nazi’s during WWII. These stand as a reminder of this dark time in our history which we should never forget. They can be found in many countries.
One of our purchases from the Sami store was a CD of “JOIK”, a style of singing Sami folk songs that we heard in the Sami lecture earlier today. They have a very haunting sound. The songs are about people, places and animals, as the Sami have a very very holistic approach to life.
We had a slippery wet walk back to the ship using our spikes and rain hats. Tomorrow I hope we make Honningsvag where I will be searching for Bamse the Sea Dog.
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