Arctic Cathedral

Tuesday, July 7  (Day 8)

     We endured the worst night to date on the ship due to traveling on the open sea (Barent Sea) with high winds.  I was sure it was a 'perfect storm.'  Both Mother and I awakened several times from the rocking of the ship.  Mother certainly used her walker every step of the way all day.  Many people were having problems walking but Mother was secure!  We met Gunilla and Louise (our dinner partners) at breakfast.  We enjoyed talking with them and getting to know them a bit.  It's amazing how good most people are with speaking English.

     We arrived in Hammerfest at 11:15, about 30 minutes late due to the rough seas.  Founded in 1879, Hammerfest is the largest northernmost city in the world; it is the same latitude as Siberia and Northern Alaska.  The city is home to the Polar Bear Society, which was established in 1963 to preserve Hammerfest's history and long tradition with fishing and hunting in the Arctic.  There are more than 200,000 members worldwide, but Mother and I didn't join!  I had intended to go to a hotel and do more on the blog, but we decided to see the church built in 1961 and the Museum of the Reconstruction with Gunilla and Louise.  There was a baby's christening gown with a beautifully crocheted top piece with the swastika - something I never imagined seeing.  A Norwegian woman had a baby with a German soldier.  The father had the gown made for the baby who died shortly after the christening.  Before the city was burned by the Germans, the mother buried the dress.  Later she came back and found it.  There were dramatic photos of Hammerfest and other Norwegian cities - before the war, just after the war, and then after the reconstruction of the city after the war.

     The highlight of the day was to attend the midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral in Tromso.  The ship arrived early so we got a short tour of the city on our bus.  What was most amazing was a tunnel, which had three roundabouts!  Our tour guide told us that it is fairly unique in Norway to have roundabouts in tunnels; he thought there was one such tunnel in southern Norway.  (I think it is by Haugesund.)  We arrived at the cathedral around 12:00 midnight; the concert began at 12:10.  The program featured three musicians:  a singer, a cellist and an organist/pianist and included Norwegian folk songs as well as music by Bach ("Prelude" from the Suite No. 1 for Cello), Grieg ("The Butterfly" for piano), Widor ("Toccata" from Organ Symphony No. 5), and, if you can believe it, Massenet ("Meditation" from Thais - the one Mother has played so often - and was played by cello here).  We were impressed with the quality of the performance and the selection of music.  All three musicians have taught or are currently teaching at the University of Tromso.  It was wonderful to hear such a beautiful concert in such a fairly remote city.  Ludmilla (born in Germany, but living in CA) and I left the cathedral at the same time.  We both thought everyone on the ship should have gone to the concert; anyone who would have heard the concert - especially the Widor - could only realize the value and importance of music in the lives of all people.  We arrived back at the ship around 1:20 and, of course, it was still light.

arrived in Honnigsvaag around 6:00 am after a very rocky night at sea

more wind generators inside the Arctic Circle

on the side of a home as we walked to the Hammerfest Church

even though it is the northernmost city in the world - they are up to date with movies! 

Hammerfest Church built in 1961; Grandpa Alfred and Grandma Anna saw this in 1962

the cemetery and old church are across the street from the new church 

some of the stained glass windows on the sides of the Hammerfest Church

one of the plaques underneath the organ; this is the old church across the street

Hardanger alter cloth

Christening gown in the Museum of the Reconstruction from the baby of a Norwegian girl and German soldier;
the gown was buried before the city was destroyed by the Germans and found later

Hammerfest before WWII

Hammerfest after it was burned by the Germans at the end of WWII

Hammerfest after the reconstruction of the city

Cars from Poland, Norway, and Finland in Hammerfest

Headquarters is near where the ship docks

Mother appreciated having a warm coat inside the Arctic Circle!

some of our wonderful servers - from Poland and Norway

Another wonderful dinner at Table #8

this was Gunilla's vegetarian appetizer; other people we knew needed special diets as well  (including shellfish allergies and gluten-free diets); a card indicating their dietary needs was placed by their table setting 

our appetizer was reindeer

fabulous salmon topped with a wonderful rhubarb sauce

berries and ice cream for dessert

short stop at Skervoy after dinner

arriving in Tromso around 11:30; we could see the Arctic Cathedral from our port window

arriving at the Arctic Cathedral (taken from the bus)

looking to Tromso from the Arctic Cathedral

Arctic Cathedral concert performers:  Bodil Onsoien, soprano; Georgy Ildeykin, cello; Linde Mothes, piano/organ

arriving back at the ship after the concert - another late night, but it was still light

the screen on Deck 3, right outside our cabin, where we entered/left the ship for excursions; this screen gave all arrival and departure times for the various ports and showed the live-feed of our journey from the the front of the ship