Northern Exposure

I'm not entirely sure what i was expecting. Having lived, worked and travelled to many areas above or near the Arctic Circle, i should have had a clearer picture. There is, of course, a difference between Arctic Canada and Arctic Norway, although it may not be astoundingly huge. But i still had to check out the north while passing through the Scandinavian country.

There was no pomp or fanfare, no fireworks or hula girls as my

overnight train, from Trondheim to Bodo, cross over the arbitrary Arctic Circle. It's not even a fixed arbitrary line as the Earth wobbles on it's journey around the sun. Arriving into the sleepy town of Bodo, things had not changed that much. There were no polar bears wandering the streets, houses were not made of snow and remarkably few people commuted to work on snowmobiles. But it was August. Actually, a rainy Sunday in August meaning even less was happening than usual. Bodo is a fishing town. And... that's about it. If it wasn't for the fact that it was the major launching port for trips to Lofoten Islands, it is unlikely that anyone would stop there. Yes, there are a couple museums. But the town lack any traditional architecture after being levelled in WWII. Still, it allows for bragging rights of breaching the Arctic Circle, it is the end of the Norwegian rail system and gives a decent insight to an ordinary town in Norway.

But i was heading further north. Sadly, with the time i had, i couldn't head

to the crazy far, end-of-the-world north, so the town of Tromso would have to do. Seeing as the train ends in Bodo, i had to find alternative transport. Buses were ridiculously expensive and i didn't have time to hitchhike. So i had to settle for the very cool Hurtigruten. Tromso is the sort of place that claims a lot of 'records'. They have the northern-most university, northern-most cathedral not to mention the Northern light capital of the world. It's true, for a town of 65,000, Tromso has a lot going on. But in the end, it's a town of 65,000.

The Funicular in town offers spectacular views, but it's was raining when

i was there (a common meteorological infliction) so it was of little use to me. There are arctic botanical gardens, which suck in the rain. And Tromso is famous for it's shockingly good nightlife, which surprisingly is not that hopping on a raining Monday. All in all, i was underwhelmed. Still, Tromso is removed from the tourist trap of the south. Sure it isn't as flashy, but it seemed more Norwegian to me. Perhaps if i had been there in winter to see snow on the hills and a Northern Lights 'show', my impression would be different. But for a rainy mid-week visit, it had little to offer.

Maybe if the weather had been better, or maybe if i had come at a different time of year, or maybe if i had been there at another part of the week, or maybe if i had gone into the wild, i'd have more to say. But i didn't, so i don't. The trip north was more about the journey than the destination. For that reason alone, and that reason alone, i'd say do it.