WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2021

TerriRichardson112 wrote: »

Penny: - 8 years ago we spent several days in Tromso in February on our Northern Lights cruise. It had been quite a mild year, and there was no snow in the town at all, and all the ice sculptures had begun to melt. All the festive decorations were still up in the town. We attended a wonderful evening service in the cathedral. I have very fond memories of our visit and the friendliness of the local people.

Terri - Tromsø is where we're moving! My guess is that you attended an evening service at the Arctic Cathedral (below), not the Lutheran or the Catholic Cathedral in the center of town.

Photo by Anjana Subasinghe, Creative Commons

When we first moved to Tromsø back in 2004 we lived in the house with its red roof just peeping out of the trees at the right-hand side of this image above where the road is lost from view. Our current apartment in Tromsø is a kilometer farther along the same road. (We lived there for 6-7 years before relocating to Svalbard.) We still have that apartment, but when we move down again, I hope to be spending most of my time at our second home on the island 40 km northeast of town.

Like you, I've found the people in northern Norway both friendly and welcoming. In places where the sun doesn't rise for weeks or months at a time, we have to learn to get along.

In Longyearbyen we sometimes get visitors who hope to see the Northern Lights, but Tromsø is a MUCH better place to see them! Svalbard is too far north. Tromsø in February is perfect for Aurora-watching.

cityjaneLondon wrote: »

Penny thinking of you, A LOT! Congratulations on that 10 k . That's beyond me I think, though I'm still doing my 5ks regularly.

I've been thinking about you, too, Heather, remembering our stroll around Longyearbyen. None of the cruise ships came last year because of the pandemic. Now the big ones that burn crude oil have been banned and will probably never return. Even the smaller ones like your Saga Line ship will have to stop coming unless they run on refined fuel or electricity. What will Longyearbyen live on when we no longer have hordes of tourists booking day trips with the local guides and rummaging through the shops?

I got out for my run today and did 7 km, despite the snow. Apart from feeling all goody-goody about exercising despite overwhelming odds I was rewarded with bird sightings: ptarmigans, black grouse, oystercatcher, a sea eagle – and I heard my beloved curlew give a single brief warbling drill. Life is good.

/Penny, feeling virtuous and lucky not far from the