Day 11 - Saturday June 21st

The ship rolled and pitched a lot last night and we could hear the elevator counterweights banging in their shafts.   We sailed into the port city of Tromso, the 7^th largest city in Norway and referred to as the Arctic capital of Norway, arriving at the dock about 8:30am.

  

Arrival in Tromso

Today was the first day of summer and the high temperature forecast is 41 F, 5 C.  It is very rainy this morning.   We did not plan any shore excursions, as they were mostly museums and galleries that is not our style.  Instead of getting off the boat, we read, played cribbage, napped and generally did nothing except wait for the mealtime to start.  It stopped raining about lunchtime but was cloudy and cold the rest of the afternoon. 

  

The tour/excursion director, Sonja,  had a presentation about our next port of call in the afternoon, which we attended, to get an idea about the excursion to the North Cape.   We have an early bus departure tomorrow.  She also provided info about, Bamse, a huge 196 pound St. Bernard dog who lived during the 2nd World War.

Bamse was owned by Captain Hafto of the Norwegian Navy, and went to sea with him on a minesweeper during the war. He achieved legendary status due to the many tales of his adventures, courage and kindness he spread. Bamse became the global mascot for the Royal Norwegian Forces and a symbol of freedom and inspiration for Allied troops throughout Europe. More on this in tomorrow's day blog.

Even though we spent most of our day in the library room, Robert and Mike did visit the cruise ship gift shop today and purchase heavy jackets with a liner and hood since our heavy jackets are still in our luggage somewhere in the US.   As we approach the North Cape, the weather forecast is to be cold and rainy.