Timdar Travel Blog

Woke up to a bit of a shock – my flight was cancelled. I was due to fly to Oslo in the morning, negotiate the various obstacles at Oslo airport and be back at Heathrow by late afternoon. The cancellation meant I had an extra day in Tromso, but will be spending the night in an Oslo Airport Hotel. If all goes to plan, though, SAS will not only pay my expenses today, including the hotel, but also compensation which will cover the flight costs as well.

So got the chance to do some low-key sightseeing that I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to.

Arctic Cathedral

Main Cathedral

And enjoyed watching people a bit like they were coming out of hibernation, blinking at the light. And also it was ridiculously warm again.

And the cruise ships arrived, disgorging what appeared to be thousands of passengers who seem to devour the town. Gave an impression of what it might be like when the summer season kicks off and it gets really busy.

And back at the bottom. Job done! And were we a bit stiff the next day …

… or not, as I’ve just found out my flight has been cancelled. Hey ho – but looks like an extra, unexpected day in Tromso.

Anyway, back to yesterday. Jo had finished her work, and so we had a free day. We had been recommended to try Ersfjordbotn, but when we found out the bus only ran every 2 hours, Jo came up with the radical suggestion of hiring a car, which we did. First place couldn’t take payment due to a major Norwegian payment problem, but Hertz did and so we had an electric car all day.

Great lunch at a cafe on the fjord, and then followed their recommendation of a short hike nearby.

I was reflecting on the bus from the airport that I was keen to get to the apartment so that we could find our bearings before it got dark. Needn’t have worried – here’s the midnight (actually 00.06) sun.

A couple of views from my morning walk

Jo didn’t have to be in work until lunchtime, so we could find a decent coffee shop for brunch

And note the sitting outside in shirtsleeves – crazy.

While she’s working, guess what – I’m walking!

Cheer up for goodness sake ….

Perhaps reflecting on the chaos at Oslo airport yesterday. Thought 1 hour 20 minutes would make changing planes easy. How wrong we were.

– long queue at passports which was moving painfully slowly. After a few minutes we plucked up the courage to barge in at the front (and quite a few followed)

– breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward to a coffee and a sandwich. But we had to go through security again, and there were only 2 people on duty. So whenever there was a query with anyone’s bag the process halted completely. Then the airport crews came through and got priority.

– things are now getting tight, and we can see our plane to Tromso is boarding. But we’re through – we can make it. But hold on – another queue for boarding passes. Four gates but two not working so slowed down again.

– then our gate is right at the other end so had to run the last 200m (and get our boarding passes scanned again)

– we weren’t the last on, but only just.

So well done Oslo – you make it my number 1 worst airport experience.

Can’t believe we’re here. It’s a bit like a dream, especially as it’s nearly 11pm and broad daylight.

After a day’s travelling (including a very stressful change at Oslo) we headed out on a glorious evening – warmer than at home!

Well here we are. Well inside the Arctic Circle.

Bus in from the airport

View from apartment