… at least not today (more details below)

Susannah started the day with a run to the Vigeland sculpture park in Oslo, which featured expressive stone figures expertly captured.  Lovely running destination!

We then caught a plane to the northern city of Tromso, above the Arctic Circle. Although it is summer, snow still grips many of the mountain peaks, as we could see from the plane.

Our first stop was food (lunch at 4 PM!) and a quick jaunt to the Mack Brewery (the world’s northernmost) to pick up a few cans for later.  After reviewing Tromso’s many attractions, we decided to visit the Polaria Museum, where the highlight was a tank of friendly bearded seals. Pretty neat to be able to stand in a transparent tunnel as the seals zipped by overhead.

The museum closed at 7 PM, but the sky was still bright and the cable car was still running, so we took a jaunt up the mountain.  The views were astounding, and the two parasails riding the thermals added to the spectacle.  Several of us decided to hike down, a steep but rewarding scramble down a slippery slope.

Our tour package included a five-course dinner at Tromso’s finest restaurant, called Emma’s Dream Kitchen, where we sampled a number of local delicacies.

Nick and Susannah scooted out of dinner quickly to make it to a Midnight Sun concert at the Arctic Cathdral.  We really enjoyed the program of Norwegian folk music on voice, flute, piano, and organ.The acoustics were so good that a single soprano filled the whole room, and the church is oriented so that the rays of the midsummer sun stream down its entire length.

At midnight (though it felt like late afternoon!) we boarded the Hurtigruten mail ferry for our 4 day trip south to Bergen. The sun’s lowest point was still well above the horizon and its golden rays saw us off as we departed Tromso’s harbor.