Tromsø December 2024 – Part 3 of 3
So much happening!
If you’re not a reader of my regular newsletter – here is some more on this part of my trip. I’m trying not to repeat too much.
On Monday not all museums were open, so I went to Polaria first. It opened at 10 AM and they showed three different movies at their theater. I did watch all of them. And I also caught the seal training/feeding. That’s always interesting. And I was really happy to hear that the seals are getting a new outdoor pool area next year. I mean they always had one, but it sounds like this will be a very much improved version.
I timed it just right to make it onto the bus to the Science Museum. It was still pouring down. Nobody was using an umbrella – too windy for that, I guess. Very happy I didn’t have to wait for the bus for too long.
The bus stops right outside the Science Museum which was super helpful in these conditions. They have a limited number of lockers, and I managed to score the last one. It’s a very educational museum with a lot of fun games. Watching adults having a blast trying out stuff, pressing buttons, desperately trying to remember anything from science class in school. Fun times.
I listened to a group of Austrians and then we got together to solve one of the puzzles. I was able to speak Swiss German with them as they were from Vorarlberg – the westernmost Austrian province. Then I offered some French speakers (I really have no clue what country they were from) to take their picture in French because I was in the mood.
We then all went to watch a film about the Aurora Borealis at the Planetarium theater in English. The pictures were lovely. I had seen a similar movie before, but this was an updated version with newer footage. Amazing shots.
I was getting kind of disappointed that I wasn’t gonna see any Northern Lights for the second winter trip to Tromsø in a row. But with the weather forecast as it was – I knew it was unlikely to happen.
I took the very next bus after the film finished and was back at the hotel just in time (well a little late) for tea and cake. I sat next to a couple I had seen before but we hadn’t talked. They happened to mention that they had been on a Northern Lights chase the night before.
I was intrigued.
They showed me pictures.
That sealed the deal.
I booked the tour at 4 PM and it started at 5.30 PM. I went on that minibus tour and didn’t expect to be back at the hotel before 3.30 AM. Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I have very mixed feelings about tours like these. I would have been more than happy to see the Northern Lights right from the city center. That was not going to happen though.
We stayed on roads and where we stopped for longer it was a snowmobile path. That’s the advantage of the minibus. You can stop pretty much anywhere. It was an amazing experience. And feeling the energy of those Northern Lights throughout my body. Just wow. I mean I was the person saying “they are getting stronger” before it was visible to the others.
Northern Lights – not on my bucket list, but what an experience.
Too much writing – too many thoughts
I’m finding it a bit difficult to untangle what I’ve already mentioned in my Sunday Morning Thoughts (SMT) and what might be new information. Just know that I’m trying. If you read the SMT on December 8 and 15, plus my Tromsø ones – you have the full picture.
I already wrote about Tuesday in my Sunday Morning Thoughts on the 15th because it was so important to what happened next and had led to a pretty major decision on the 13th.
Anyway, I bet you’re dying to hear about my trip home. It was hectic to say the least.
I had breakfast super early so I could have some peace and quiet. I started packing, organized my thoughts and did some email admin. I then finished packing and went to a bookshop because at the international terminal at the airport there was none.
That made sense in my head because I’d forgotten that everybody goes through the same security and ends up at the same place – the domestic departure area. Right by that domestic terminal bookshop.
Not sure how many gates there are but I think it’s - not that many. Okay, I could see a sign that says gates 20-28. Then there are like three international gates. One seems to be dedicated to people flying to Svalbard (you do need a passport to go there even though it is part of Norway) and anything outside the Schengen area.
How did I end up talking about the airport before I even got here? I think I was at the bookshop and that’s also where I bought my just-in-case book. I remembered the bookshop from February 2020. It’s pretty nice – small, but nice. I didn’t feel like reading another book in Norwegian, so I bought one in English.
I also got myself some Lime Pepsi Max, a taco pannini and some gum for the flight. Okay, the Pepsi Max not so much for the flight but it was still hours until I had to go through airport security.
Checkout at the hotel was at noon and the airport bus left every 30 minutes. Since a snowstorm was just starting, I figured I should just get myself to the airport sooner rather than later. So, I hopped on the airport bus at noon and was at the airport three hours early.
Necessary? Of course not. Tiny airport and pretty efficient from what I remember. The machines to print out your luggage tags were not yet accepting people from my flight. So, I got to chat with an actual person. I liked that.
I got to the airport bookshop and somehow bought two more books. I have no idea how that happened. I swear.
It got super crowded at the departure gate. As there were like four flights supposed to be boarding or boarding soon. Bit chaotic, but when I saw that my plane had only just arrived, I sat down at a table at the restaurant and waited – more or less patiently.
We boarded the plane with a delay of about an hour. Then our plane was de-iced. As we got to our starting position and were second in line for take-off another snowstorm hit. Two planes managed to land before the runway was closed again. I would assume that getting them in safely was a higher priority than getting us into the air. Makes total sense, I guess.
Anyway, because of this additional delay our plane had to be de-iced again. During that time the storm died down and the runway was cleared again. We then seemed to scramble to get into the air. The screen that shows you the flight time and such suddenly showed a flight time of 2h 11 minutes.
We were confused.
As soon as we reached our cruising altitude things became clearer. The captain let us know that we had to land in Hannover, Germany – to refuel. We were actually lucky we were able to leave Tromsø at all. Other crews were told they couldn’t fly because of the mandatory rest period for pilots and I’m sure there is one for cabin crew as well. Or, to put it another way – they can only be on duty for a certain number of hours in a row. I guess there is a proper word for that but I’m convinced you know what I mean.
In our case the problem was that we couldn’t get a refueling slot. So, it was either take off and go somewhere else or be stuck in Tromsø until tomorrow. We had a lot of passengers on board who had a late connecting flight to Singapore. That might have played into the decision to go for it and make a refuel stop in Hannover. From there it was a 45-minute flight to Zurich where we arrived with a total delay of 2.5 hours.
Well done our crew. A huge well done. What an ending to an amazing short break in Northern Norway.
An amazing adventure!