Tromso to Lyngen

Woke up dry and warm this morning, despite a night of hard rain. After packing up and breakfasting at the campground, I decided to take in some ARCHITECTURE, so I took the bus to self-styled ISHAVSKATEDRALEN (Arctic Cathedral), which claims to be the northernmost cathedral in the world (this is, of course, disputed).

It's a strange little cathedral, kind of a Sydney Opera House on a budget. That's it from the back side.

The payoff for the oddly composed exterior is the arctic light washing the interior walls.

I guess the exterior makes a bit more sense in context.

I strolled across the bridge and back into town, stopping in for a pint at the Mack Brewery, which claims to be the northernmost brewery in the world (again, disputed). At 11am, the place was packed, including a half dozen people dressed as Disney characters. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them. Upon stumbling back into the light, I was greeted by a full-on small-town parade, with traditional costumes and everything.

Also, fisherman's hats.

I caught a bus to Lyngseidet (after a stop at the Tromso H&M for flip-flops; I managed to bring 2 lefts and no rights across the ocean), and was greeted by my host for the next 7 weeks, Haakon Karlsen (Haakon was the 1st king of Norway, I think. Not my Haakon, another Haakon. Haakon is fun to say). The FabLab is a short drive up into the mountains. The lab occupies a newly-built Viking-style log barn, but I felt right at home when I saw the Mcmaster-Carr catalog on the shelf.

Also, there is a LEGO loft.

My home for the next few weeks is the AMERICA HOUSE, which I'll have to myself most of the time. It's a small log cabin with beds for 5, a living room and kitchen, and the most technologically advanced shower I've ever seen.

This is the most spectacular of the 5 waterfalls I can see from my back porch.

I hit the sack early, but woke up around 2am and puttered around for a bit. This is what Norway looks like at 2am. That's 3 more of the 5 waterfalls, by the way.

Fortunately, I made it back to bed and racked up a total of 12 hrs sleep for the night. I needed it.