NORWAY 2019 - Part 6: Up to the Midnight Sun over Tromsø

Immediately after getting up, I go up on deck and discover something on this journey that I have never seen before: the sun! On the tenth day of my trip, I am greeted with a blue sky and sunshine, while my ship, the Nordnorge, leisurely sails past less rugged mountain peaks through calm waters towards Finnsnes. The 1,003 meter high Kistefjellet with its radio tower serves as a distinctive landmark. It is also interesting to observe the tidal current while passing through the Rystraumen. Once in the midst of this fjord labyrinth, we turn left and there is Tromsø in front of us.

Four hours in Tromsø are enough to take a little excursion to the city's local mountain, Storsteinen. After docking the ship, I quickly found out that bus line 26 goes over to the cable car station on the other side. A three-quarter hour walk over the distinctive bridge would have been the alternative. The view from Storsteinen is overwhelming.

On the way back, however, I decide to take a stroll over the bridge. Past the truly outstanding Arctic Cathedral. Past and back to the city center, where I first have a good espresso and then visit the northernmost cathedral in the world. It's a simple wooden structure, but still...the northernmost cathedral in the world!

It is now 10:00 PM and the sun is still shining brightly on the mountains, while I observe a ship passing by at a snail's pace from the deck of the Nordnorge. But the highlight of the day is still ahead of me, and so I eagerly wait for the event. After 11:00 PM, I watch the wake of the ship for a long time at the stern, while the temperature noticeably cools down after this unusually warm day for northern conditions at 17 degrees. Minute by minute passes and there are hardly any people left on deck. But at midnight, a long-cherished dream finally comes true: to see the midnight sun once in a lifetime. To observe the wonderful spectacle of a setting sun that, at its lowest point, doesn't actually set, but rises again...

Fulfilled and satisfied, I could now go to sleep, but suddenly it occurs to me that the clock has been set forward by one hour due to daylight saving time. - Which theoretically means that the sun would have reached its lowest point at one o'clock in the morning and practically means that I stay outside on deck, all alone, bundled up with a hat, gloves and scarf, until half past one...