Tromsø

Our lovely tour guide persuaded this morning's coach driver to take a route to the Planetarium that utilised the city's tunnel network. First time I've ever seen a tunnel with a roundabout in the middle!

At least one of these tunnels is carved into the mountain. They're very impressive.

The view from the Planetarium was bleak this morning as the snowstorms came and went. At one point the skylift, which the cross-country skiers had taken to reach the mountain top they planned to "cross", became visible, but at no point did we wish we'd taken it.

After two very interesting Planetarium presentations ("Northern stars" and "the Northern Lights", the latter narrated and photographed by Ole Salomonsen, who has spent years searching for the perfect aurora) we had time to explore the Science Centre, with its wealth of kid-friendly experiments about energy, climate, waste, carbon footprints, and all that good stuff. We just messed about with the infrared camera :o)

After returning to the ship for lunch, we set off on a hunt for wool and souvenirs. Sadly the wool hunt proved fruitless, but we successfully tracked down, stalked, and caught some elusive Norwegian souvenirs so the afternoon wasn't without its highlights.

We also caught sight of "the other" Tromsø cathedral while we were out. Something we wouldn't have made a separate trip to see, but were happy to snap when we saw it. A Catholic denomination (there are roughly 500 left-footers in Tromsø apparently), and the only wooden cathedral in the country.