Around the World with Hardy(T)

Norway - Tromsø

Ever since watching Michael Palin's classic Pole to Pole travelogue, I'd always wanted to come to Tromsø, the so-called Paris of the North. I was lucky to acheive this ambition on Midsummer's Eve, the night on which the lands of the Arctic Circle bask in the midnight sun. Coincidentally, I had just finished reading Michael Palin's excellent novel Hemingway's Chair as the Hurtigrute cruised up the stunningly beautiful fjord that leads to the city harbour.

Paris was never like this!

After the long trek out to the somewhat delapidated Vandrerhjem (youth hostel) I ventured back into the city, across the water and out to the striking Arctic Cathedral. It's made from 11 adjacent triangles - one for each of the Apostle's after Judas' betrayal - which give it the appearance of a huge, stained glass Toblerone. The Cathedral also commands an excellent view of the city, but not as good a view as the one I'm about to experience - one which makes this day one of the most memorable of my year overseas.

The Cathedral is a short walk from the foot of the Tromsdalen mountain, and a quick cable car ride takes me most of the way to the top. The views from here are incredible: the city is on an island cradled by two fjords and the sun reflects from the water and from the snow capped peaks all around.
I even caught a glimpse of FC Tromsø's ground - aerial groundhopping! As I sat and waited for midnight, the crowds grew larger and I got the impression that the whole of Tromsø comes here for the midnight sun. Indeed when the crowds at the cable car terminus became too large, I decided to make my way up through the snow - remember, I'm still in shorts and T-shirt - to enjoy a more peaceful solstice. At the top I'm joined by a lovely German girl called Andrea and we sit and watch the sun's progress as midnight ticks past.

Words can't describe how wonderful watching the midnight sun was and also how bizarre the whole experience was. Here I was sitting on top of a mountain at midnight in shorts and T-shirt, surrounded by snow, but bathed in brilliant sunshine and not the least bit cold. At around 1am the sun dipped slightly but was still way above the peaks of the surrounding mountains and then it made its way back up again. Andrea and I had time for a brief Anglo-German snowball fight and a quick look at the 'traditional' Norwegian folk dancing at the cable car terminus before heading back down into town.

Back at the youth hostel, the flimsly curtains were doing a particularly poor job of keeping out the now 2.30am sun, but I eventually dozed off, reflecting on a truly wonderful day.

On my second day in Tromsø, I took a bit of a walk around Elverhøy lake and then down to the beach at Telegrafbukta Bay where people were actually swimming in the Arctic Circle! Sheer Madness!!! I returned to town via Europe's most northerly brewery, Mack's Ølhalle, which was sadly closed, to watch England defeat Spain on penalties in the quarter-final of Euro 96. Again, it was quite bizarre being the only England fan in the place and suffering alone as the game went through its twists and turns. After that it was an early night for me, as the next day had in store for me the long journey up to mainland Europe's most northerly point, Nordkapp.