Tromso

After the tranquillity of the North Cape, our next stop, Tromso was altogether different. Situated in North-West Norway, Tromso is a bustling little town situated on a sheltered island in the Norwegian Sea. Many of Tromso's landmarks could be seen from on deck of Arcadia, including the impressive Arctic Cathedral, a magnificent white building were the walls stretch up high in to the bright blue sky as if pointing towards heaven. Our other destination on our tour for the day was the Polaria Centre, like the Arctic Cathedral, this building is built in all white and resembled a set of ice blocks that have tumbled down and stacked on top of each other, like ice block dominos.

The Polaria Centre

We disembarked and boarded our coach on the quayside and headed firstly for the Polaria Centre, this was the closest I was going to get to any polar bears or puffins on this cruise so I was quite excited. The centre is a wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in polar life. There was a short video to watch all about the wildlife and how they live and survive in the harsh winter climate. You are then guided through an exhibition complete with life size models of all the animals featured in the video, I have to say, coming face to face with a life sized polar bear was definitely an experience! We left the model animals behind and went into see some seals being fed their lunch, they had two seals at the centre that day and they both got equal attention from both the handlers and the crowd, they were a hit! The Polaria Centre was interesting if not very big. It gave a great insight into life just further north of our previous destination, but I would say it was one definitely for the kids.

The Arctic Cathedral

So, back on the coach we made our way through the town, it was by far the busiest place we had visited on the trip so far. It has a lively town centre, plenty of shops and places to eat. Our next stop was the Arctic Cathedral, perched upon a hill, I had high hopes for this building, from the pictures I had seen in the brochure it looked like a magnificent building, but one that needed a bright sunny day in order for it to gleam and sparkle. Unfortunately we didn't have the bright blue sky but surprisingly  it still impressed. Unlike any other cathedral I had visited before this was modern, crisp and sleek. The interior was very plain and simple but it did, however, boast a beautiful stained glass window and an exquisite organ. It was lovely and peaceful inside, despite its town centre location. From the outside it's pointy exterior resembled triangles all stacked one against another with their sharp tips seeming to reach high into the sky, trying to pierce the heavens above. From the top of the hill you get a great panoramic view of Tromso, with its ski jumps and ski lifts its winter life is never to far from your mind. When the snow comes, Tromso is a town that closes down for the winter and reawakens when the first sign of spring appears.

On the whole, I liked Tromso, it's not a huge place but the people were very friendly, it was very clean and is somewhere I would recommend people visit if doing a Fjords cruise. It can be so tempting at times to stay on board ship when the port of call does not look that interesting but so many wonderful treasures, like the Arctic Cathedral can be missed that way.

My next port of call, Trondheim, had a different cathedral altogether. Based on Westminster Abbey, the Nidaros Cathedral was to be one of my trip highlights.