The first full day in Tromsø, we went on a tour of the fjords. I had been on a similar tour when I was in Bergen and it was hands-down one of the best experiences I have ever had. So I was adamant about going on a fjords tour while I was in Tromsø. I picked one with Enjoy the Arctic after weighing up the pros and cons of all the tours I could find. Krysty and Emma decided to come too, so all three of us were waiting at 10am at the tourist information centre for our pick up. We met our guide and the other participants and we were off.
Just FYI, there are A LOT of photos below. It was just so amazing!
Ok, to start with I'm also going to say that I have no idea where we went to on this roadtrip through snow. I've just looked at my ever-reliable Google Maps timeline and it appears to have failed me because it only shows two stops, while I can remember stopping at least 6 or 7 times. And I can't remember their names because, well, they were all Norwegian and sometimes remembering English names is hard enough! But I can see we went not too far away out to Kvaløya and back. We did go down some interesting roads though, some carved out under the mountains and one even had a roundabout on it! Inside the mountain! Crazy!
Our first stop was just a quick introduction. It was nice but not very interesting, as there were no landmarks or anything, just snow and water, so we only stayed for a couple of minutes. The next stop was better, and we walked through pristine snow that came up to the top of my boots to get to see the water. It was gorgeous - surrounded by mountains and with little red cabins nestled at the water's edge. The sky was blue, the water was blue, and everywhere else was stark white, with the occasional black sticks of hibernating trees.
We kept driving along the white roads, eyes glued to the windows as little houses and more snow than I have ever seen flashed past. We stopped in a few places - a frozen solid lake, places with truly amazing viewpoints - to take some photos and play in the snow (most of us were not used to seeing so much of it!). It was really an amazing drive - I've never seen anything like it. Not even Iceland was quite like that - there was a lot of snow, but not the dense whiteness of this place.
We finally stopped along the road and our guide decided it was a good place for lunch. There looked to be some snow coming in but it was a bit further away from us, out in the ocean. The spot he chose was lovely, with little red houses on one side and snow covered mountains on the other. The sun was also coming out so, while it was still cold, it was lovely and bright. Our tourguide set up a little barbeque that he had brought, set out some chairs and got out some sausages, which he cooked over the fire. We had these in some bread that was made out of potato flour. It was delicious, but then food cooked and eaten at a fire is always delicious!
After we'd had a couple of sausage sandwiches and a cup of tea, we jumped back in the car and kept going to what was the most stunning place we went to. Just around the corner from where we'd had our lunch was this little bay, where the water was so calm it caught all the reflections of the surrounding mountains. It was truly gorgeous.
The last stop we went to was right up the top of a mountain, where it started snowing. It was just past a little fishing village, which I made the guide stop at on the way back. But right at the top of the mountain, it was just white everywhere... white roads, white sky, white everything. Except, thankfully, for the little poles at the side of the road to indicate that that is indeed the road! It was insane. The view looking down, however, was pretty amazing.
We went back down the mountain and stopped at the little fishing village while I hopped out and took a few photos. The guide then drove a little further along and some of us got out to look around. The others stayed in the car, where it was warmer - totally don't blame them - and then he proceeded to throw snowballs at the car. We all jumped back in and went back to our hotels. It was a really good day, a great way to get out of the city and go exploring a little, especially with the crazy snowy conditions that I think none of us would have been confident driving in! It was nice to sit back and let someone else do the thinking and driving (and cooking!).
Emma, Krysty and I watched some Friends, made dinner, then waited until 7:30, for our Northern Lights tour to begin - next post!
