The sun returns in Tromsø Jan 21 2024

While I got a lot of sun in Obbola (320 km south of the polar circle) between the years, Tromsø (340 km north of the polar circle) had to wait to see the sun again.

Last Sunday was the last day of the mørketid – the polar night. Monday at lunchtime the sun was above the horizon but not above the mountains. Anyhow everything has become much brighter compared to mid-December.

Yesterday I took a promenade from my new apartment. While Tromsø lay in the shadow – at least were I walked – I saw the snowy mountains of Kvaløya having pink tops. There the sun was already visible.

A touch of pink on the mountains in the distance

Today I was at Telegrafbukta round noon. I was not alone – round 200 other people waited for the sun, were barbecuing, taking selfies or a winter bath. On the sea a flock of eider ducks occasionally wa diving for food. And then it appeared from behind a mountain – the sun!

Welcome sun! The polar night is over, the winter will continue for at least three months. But every day the sun will rise a bit higher.

The last way to work by the sea Dec 8 2023

As most days I walked to work today. It’s 2–2.5 km one-way depending on the route. Sometimes I am lazy and just follow the main road, but today I took the longer route by the sea.

7:09 – I come to the part of the way that is flooded sometimes. Today I’m lucky. I don’t wear boots but shoes with spikes because the roads and pavements are icy.

11:51 – an early lunch. After some grey days the sky is clear again and in the south you see the colours of the sun. The sun itself is below the horizon.

11:51 – view from the canteen of the Framsenteret

13:45 – today I go leave early. Later I’ll work a bit from home. Since it is early it is not really dark yet. The sky is still blue and there is a golden spot at the southern sky.

I love this way and I will miss it, because it probably was the last time that I went to work here today. Next week I’m first on vacation and then I’ll move to a larger apartment within Tromsø. It has a bedroom, a real kitchen and even a balcony. I’m so looking forward to moving in but I’ll miss my way to work by the sea.

A Saturday “mørketid” promenade Dec 3 2023

Since Tuesday, 28 November the sun does not rise above the horizon anymore in Tromsø. In English this time is called Polar Night, in German Polarnacht.But is it night 24 hours a day? No, not really. Here are some images I took on a promenade in Tromsø yesterday. The photos have been shot between 10:48 and 12:13 CET.

Mainland mountains and floodlight from a soccer ground nearby

As you see it was not dark at all. The Norwegians differentiate better and have two words. What we have in Tromsø now they call Mørketid – “darkness time”. The sun is below the horizon the whole day, but less than 6° (civil twilight). Only when the sun is below 6° all day the Norwegians call it polarnatt – “polar night” as well. This however never happens on mainland Europe. You would have to travel north to the island Bjørnøya or the archipelago Svalbard to experience that.

So yes, we have seven weeks of mørketid in Tromsø, but that does not mean seven weeks of darkness. Fortunately!

An otter at the Telegrafbukta Nov 26 2023

When I took a promenade along the sea at the bay Telegrafbukta nearby I saw a family watching something. It was an otter. It was swimming along the shore while two crows were complaining loudly. I took a snapshot with my small Sony camera just to get a picture.

The otter continued swimming near to the shore until it came to the small breakwater south from the sandy beach of Telegrafbukta. There it went on land. I followed.

The otter on the breakwater of Telegrafbukta

From there it was swimming out for food and coming back with some crustacean as prey. It went on land again where I could watch and hear it crushing and eating the prey. It was below me, hardly more than two metres away. Never before I had spotted an otter so near for so long. I’m sure it saw me and the other two people standing nearby but it appeared pretty fearless.

It swam for a short other round and again came back. This time I had configured my litte camera a bit better to take sharper photos and the otter was so nice to stand still for a while. Click!

The otter however had no interest in extending this photo session. It jumped into the cold sea water again and continued its hunt. Soon it vanished behind a small rocky promontory.

When it was out of view I continued my short promenade. Thanks for showing up, otter. It was a pleasure meeting you.

The last sun in Tromsø 2023? Nov 21 2023

Today I saw it twice. The sun. An orange orb hanging low above the horizon that seems to wander from mountain gap to mountain gap.

Tomorrow it will be invisible due to grey and stormy weather (wind gusts 20 m/s). And soon it will be gone for this year, at least in Tromsø.

It is incredible how much I value every single minute of sunshine before the weeks of polar night. The last days I even tried to find a place in the cafeteria where I could look right into it. And today I went out to take the photo above.

On the other way – there are other light phenomenons that I like too. Polar light for example. I just managed to take a slightly shaky photo, before it faded away. And the season has just begun.

A short November promenade Nov 12 2023

This weekend I planned to be lazy and so I was but since the weather was so beautiful today that I decided to take a walk by the coast. There are only two other weekends with a chance to see the sun in Tromsø, then polar night begins.

Some today’s snapshots:

Snowy mountains in the blue hour Oct 15 2023

I’m lucky. The place where I shot this photo in yesterday mornings blue hour is less than 500 metres away. The snow here by the coast has melted away but as you can see the mountains are white now and probably will stay like this for many months.

The last Thursday kayaking 2023 Sep 28 2023

No, I haven’t joined many of “torsdagspadlinger” organised by the Tromsø sea kayak association this year. But at least the first one on the 4th of May and the last one this evening.

We were a group of ten heading to the island Grindøya in the west. When I arrived at the boat houses round half past five the sun was already disappearing behind the mountains of Kvaløya. Half an hour later we were on the water. The weather was quite warm and it was very calm –perfect conditions for a relaxed tour.

The sun disappears behind the mountains of Kvaløya

The last kayak tour in Tromsø this year?

We headed to a sea mark – resting place for a small flock of cormorants. They flew away, when we gathered there.

While we were continuing to the northern tip of the island it was becoming dusky. We all had lights at our kayaks or our lifejackets. Less to see but to be seen.

After we passed the northern tip of Grindøya we turned left (meaning south) and calmly paddled along the forested island.

When we arrived at the beach at the southern tip it already had become pretty dark. The lights of the mainland illuminated the horizon. The single light at the left top corner of the next photo is the mountain station of the cable car Fjellheisen.

Taking a break by the beach at the southern tip of Grindøya

On the way back it was really dark. We paddled in pairs to ensure that no one was left behind and it was too dark to take snapshots. Just before we arrived at the boat houses again I took the iPhone out of its waterproof bag and took a photo. With a bit of help from Lightroom it’s surprisingly sharp.

It’s a pity that this was the last torsdagspadling but understandable, because it gets darker and darker every week. And if the weather forecast is correct it may snow next week.

Takk for turen – thanks for the tour, especially to the tour guides. See you next year.

Thursday paddling around Grindøya Aug 17 2023

Two weeks ago we were only five paddlers at the traditional Thursday paddling. Today we were almost thirty. While most followed the coast to the bay Telegrafbukta I joined a group of seven that paddled to Grindøya. The conditions were gorgeous. No wind, hardly any waves and beautiful light. We took a break on the island with a special bonus: Two eagles sitting on a dead tree. There were too far away for taking good pictures but beautiful to observe anyhow. On one of the photos you can spot them as tiny specks.

Takk for turen – thanks for a great tour, my fellow kayakers. Now I’ll leave Tromsø for a while until I’ll be back for more tours to come.

Back to Thursday paddling Aug 3 2023

Today I just did my second kayak tour in Tromsø this year. The first one was on 4 May and it snowed. Then the weather was bad and I hardly had time. Then I was on an Arctic cruise, then home in Sweden and then it was holiday period. Today was the first “Thursday paddling” with the Tromsø Sea Kayakers Club after summer and I was happy to join.

Together with four other kayakers we paddled to the island Håkøya where we took a short leg stretcher. Then we paddled a bit along and back. I didn’t make many photos. The others were fast and on the way to Håkøya it was quite wavy. So I was challenged and even a bit stressed, but in a positive way. Now I’m looking forward to the next time. Takk for turen, fellow paddlers! Thanks for taking care of me.