Category: Tromsø

The name Tromsø comes from the Indo-European ‘straumr’ = to flow (the water in the strait). In earlier times, Tromsø was a kind of border to unknown territory. Tromsøya became ice-free 10,000 years ago, and there are traces of humans dating back 11,000 years. The church site of Tromsø is mentioned in written sources for the first time in Håkon Håkonsson’s saga: “He had the Christ Church built in Trum’s and made a christian parish there.” The cathedral in Tromsø is located at Tromsøya (Troms island), while the beautiful ‘Arctic Cathedral’ is located on the mainland, in the district of Tromsdalen (Troms valley), on the other side of the 1016 m long Tromsø Bridge.

If you have a few hours free in Tromsø, we recommend a bus trip to Tromsdalen. Tromsdalen is a valley that leads from Tromsdalstinden (mountain) down to Tromsøysundet and Tromsøya (Tromsø). Arthur Arntzen made his debut with Oluf in Tromsdalen. Get off at Tromsdalen church (the official name for the Arctic Cathedral) and go inside. The Arctic Cathedral was inaugurated in 1965 and it is just beautiful! The shape gives associations to icebergs, and the glass fields between the ‘blocks of ice’ let light through both inwards and outwards. The church was designed by Jan Inge Hovig (he was married to Ingrid Espelid Hovig a whole week before he died of a heart attack). The entire eastern wall is decorated with stained glass.

From the Arctic Cathedral there are only 10 minutes to go to the mountain lift. Here you will find a splendid view towards Tromsø and the dramatic landscape that surrounds the town!

We defied the hints from Trip Advisor and planned a dinner with a view. It turned out as warned: 3 out of 5 dishes on the menu were sold out, so we had a burger dinner with a view. The burger’s fried mushrooms were very good. Nothing more to say about the food, really. After the view and food, a hot sauna and a cold dip is just right. Take the bus back and go to ‘Pust’ (Breathe).

Pust is a floating sauna located in the middle of the marina in Tromsø. Highly recommended! The house functions as a human mountain. We observed several pairs of people climbing up and eating their lunch on the roof of ‘Pust’.

Women and men have changing rooms on opposite sides, to meet in the sauna in the middle, with a brilliant view of Tromsdalen, the Arctic Cathedral and Fjellheisen.

The best thing of a sauna is that you hardly notice that the water is cold. Even in mid-August it was only 9 degrees. Is it cold water from the depths that is pushed up in Tromsundet?

A bath or several at ‘Pust’ is just right!

Tromsø’s city beach is on the south tip of Tromøya (Trom island). We parked at the old aquarium, a starting point of nice hiking paths along the ocean. The old aquarium opened in 1952 and collected salt water from 25 m depth so the animals could have the same environment as in the sound.

For a period Tromsø Museum had not only seals and reindeer, but also polar bears in Telegraph Bay: Binna and Pelle (mother and son). It is said that they loved biscuits, but the main food was fish. In 1954 they escaped and started swimming towards Grindøya on the other side of the fjord. After a wild hunt they were recaptured and the police ordered them killed. And that was the end of the zoo in Telegraph Bay.

So we felt quite safe as we went for a test swim. The bay is named after a sea cable layed across the fjord to Tisnes in 1894. The cable house still stands and gave some shelter from the rather icy winds while we were changing.

Corona had loosened it’s grip, so there were quite a few people on the paths taking pictures of the beautiful mountains on Kvaløya.

For their sake we hope they had better luck with the equipment than we had that day! Our GoPro totally failed us, so we got only 4 pictures from the bath instead of 1 each second. We now have 2 GoPros, and a tripod for mobile, so we can assure getting at least some useful pictures from future baths.

But a nice, fresh bath it was. Right now is a good time for a bath in Telegraph Bay! Next time we go there, we’ll get some better pictures too…