In winter Tromsø is just a back to back of sunrises and sunsets. You can only tell which one you are looking at by checking your watch.
Today herding reindeer is synonymous with the Sami culture. It is recently thought that the Vikings were the first people to herd reindeer.
Flower Show Series: Arctic Botanical Garden Selection – Tromsø
Even though the males are called bulls and the females cows, the muskoxen are more closely related to sheep than cattle. Make no mistake, though – this is not your average cuddly ba-ba-blacksheep! A grown animal can be 2,5 m long and weigh up to 400 kgs, and their long curved horns mean business.
How Norway became a country is shrouded in mystery and folklore. The most well known tale is of Harald Hårfagre who gathered the small kingdoms of the north into a unified nation in 872AD – and of course, this story is about love.
Pølse is THE fast food of Norway. When the grilled pølse was first introduced to Norway in the 50s it was eaten naked – without bread.
From the west, a wall of stone Saints and Prophets will confront you. All sides of the Cathedral are very textured and deserve a long walk around. You’ll see gargoyles and gothic arches, thick wooden doors with rusty floral art and Anglo-Norman/Romanesque bits and pieces ‘stuck on’ that intensifies your ground view. However, the outside of Nidaros Cathedral is even more intriguing when you know the history.
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Pretty, I see the water is not frozen.
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from L-Jay:
It’s interesting that you noticed the water. The water is actually salt water so it takes a lot more colder temperatures to freeze. The average temperature now is -2 to -5°C – not very cold. But the other reason why our oceans don’t freeze is because of the Golf Stream. It travels from the Mexican Gulf, taking warm water with it, right up to us here in Tromsø. This warm water is what makes Tromsø liveable.
Gorgeous composition.
And, I’ve always wondered – is there as much talk about S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder) in the northern climes? How do those nearer the Arctic Circle fight the long, long cycles of darkness without feeling the “blahs” extensively? LOL
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from L-Jay:
Thats an excellent question – I think this one deserves a post. I’m going to write a post called ‘Surviving the Winter’ this week – so stay tuned!
How are you handling this? Is it hard to adjust to? I was just wondering about this.
BTW, I’ve made another Norwegian friend through our blogs. Here’s her link: http://felisol.blogspot.com. She lives in Haugesund. When I checked the map of Norway it is south of Bergen. She’s been writing out the words to many of the Norwegian songs we used to sing along with the English translation.
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from L-Jay:
Yes, I’m going to do a post later this week called ‘How to Survive the Dark Winters‘. There are s few little secrets that Norwegians use to get through the long Winters.
Ah, she beat us to it…lol. We are going to put up special pages about the Norwegian Christmas (top menu) this week (and they include some Christmas carols too…lol).