Tromsø - Reindeer! And a Messingen...

This is one of the hotels where breakfast was included so that is first today. Then I nipped over to Visit Tromsø to check my booking for today was okay. I was asking the lovely lady there about some possible activities for the afternoon and what a shame there were no concerts in the Arctic Cathedral. She asked what I liked and I said theatre and she told me about a production on tonight so I might go and see it. I know not to expect too much when, as I was leaving, she actually called me back and said, "it's one where you'll say, 'the lighting was good'!

Then over to the meeting point to meet Ronald. It's just me on the tour - love that! I had booked to do reindeer sledding but of course, same as the dogsledding, no snow. This is the alternative and though a sleigh ride would have been lovely, I'm happy I get to meet and feed the reindeer.

It's only a short drive there and here are the reindeer. They are all resting when we arrive but once Ronald gets the bag of lichen, they approach pretty quickly.

There are two lavvus - the Sami tents. The big one is for the purposes of the tours and the second is the actual size they are. These are more realistic than the luxury one from last night!

We had a look in the little one - they all have a fire pit and a chain hangs over it. You can hook the chain up to different levels to control the amount of heat applied to the cooking. There is twigs and branches all over the floor. They would lay this on the snow and then put the reindeer skins on top.

It was too small to get a good photo of it.

The Samis are sort of in three main groups - the inland ones who farm sheep and cows and such, the seaside ones who fish and the nomadic ones who herd reindeer.

There were three spirits for women in the tents - one guarded the door and protected the family as they went in and out. One guarded the kitchen and protected the food - made sure it was plentiful and healthy. One guarded the fire and made sure the woman was fertile. Ronald said even women his grandmother's age would never drink a coffee fully. They always threw a mouthful into the fire for the fire spirit.

We then went into the larger tent where the vegetable stew was ready. (It's normally traditional reindeer stew but obviously not today). We have that with crusty bread. And it's delicious.

After lunch, Ronald shows me the winter gear of the Samis - made of reindeer, seal and arctic fox. They use every bit of the animals so as not to waste anything. They sew the clothes with reindeer tendons.

Apparently if they go up north in modern-day winter gear, the old timers say, "oh, you're not staying long..." The red colour is for the area they come from - different area, different colour.

The upturned point in the shoe is not just decorative, it was originally used to strap a short ski onto. And they're designed so the front of the underside, the fur goes backwards so it gives a grip on the snow and vice versa for the rear of the underside.

He has a backpack full of things the nomadic Samis would have taken with them - coffee satchel, pot for boiling, cup and butter container...

 He told of the courting ritual, which involved the boy and girl catching eyes at church and then secretly dating. When the boy wanted to ask to marry her, he sent a proxy - didn't go himself. The proxy would go and ask if he could court and it was up to the girl to decide. If it was yes, the boy came with his entire family, walked around the lavvu three times - with the entourage - and the proxy went in again to officially ask. If the girl came out and took the harness off the reindeer, it was a yes. Then the boy would give her the proposal box...

This could contain all sorts of things. This one was Ronald's grandparents and when he gave it, it contained a silver spoon to indicate that he would look after her well. Ronald is a great storyteller and it was all really interesting and I did love seeing the winter gear! 

He finished off with a bit of a native song, a joik. These are individual songs for each person, so a mother would sing a joik to each of her children and each one would be different and reflect each child's personality. Apparently they had been banned from singing these songs for a few decades when a puritanical person ruled. Then one guy made it his mission to bring them back and he said on his deathbed that he achieved his life's mission - that's a nice way to go out!

We stopped for another look at the reindeer on the way out and back into town. Here I headed up past the library to the town hall...

..also passed the underground tunnel carpark - there is so much stuff underground - roads, roundabouts, carparks... It is because the land is so mountainous and it makes it easier when the snow is heavy...

At the town hall I got a ticket for tonight - took a bit of explaining and gesturing with the people behind the counter because I didn't know the Norwegian name! And it's The Full Monty so that's hard to explain - I pointed to a poster that might have been it but it might have been a strip club!

I found a great coffee shop - the front section had really interesting merchandise - homewares and bric-à-brac. Then there were some tiny studios - obviously artists come in and work in there and display their goods. Today there was a woman handstitching some beautiful clothes. At the back was the coffee shop itself, complete with piano. I had a really good coffee and some lemon cheesecake!

Then I headed down to the Polaris exhibition. This is similar in style to the Arctic Cathedral and the designer of one of them had been associated with Jørn Utzon of the Sydney Opera House fame. You can see the similarities with all three...

Inside they have a panoramic movie screen where they show an amazing film on the area - animals and landmarks - stunning! 

Then you can go around to see the seal feeding and training. They have two harbour seals and two bearded seals - these two are not common and are huge! The training is great fun to watch.

I come out of there at 4:00 and it's like this...

Crazy! When I came to Scandinavia 25-odd years ago, I came in the summer and saw the midnight sun so it is actually nice to see the other side. Paul last night was telling us they have fairly strict alcohol selling laws coz they don't want people to start drinking in the winter time, when depression can set in.

Went past the library again - I like this building - and there were so many people inside!

Then it's home for a moment to download the photos, then to a place I spied this morning for a really good pizza, then back for a coffee to get ready to head out again. And as I'm walking back, there are the northern lights again! I've seen them three times now!

And I'm off out again - to the Hålogaland Teater to see I Blanke Messingen - or as we know it, The Full Monty - in Norwegian - brilliant!! Walking towards the direction of the theatre and a guy stops me at some traffic lights to ask directions! Really? I get this all the time but I didn't expect it here. He's down from Hammerfest on business. We walk together until we get there.

I like how they reflect the name of the show on the building. You can just make it out, on the right...

Lovely theatre but it's right next to a weird construction site/open car park sort of mess.

Can't take any photos inside. They have the racks for coats, as they have everywhere else, so I put my coat in there too.

I asked about the translation for the title and the box office girl said its literal translation is 'shiny brass', which means 'no clothes on'. So it's like if we say 'full Monty' it doesn't mean anything literally, but the term means 'no clothes on'.

The show was fabulous! I could follow it well enough as I know the show anyway. Didn't laugh when everyone else did, obviously. It was weird after songs - a bit of uncertain applause until someone actually clapped out loud, then people joined in. A couple of times there was nothing!

 Great staging, terrible wigs, great characters, excellent band. I really loved the guy playing big Dave and Malcolm had a beautiful voice for the funeral song. Loved the show and loved seeing a bit of hometown theatre here.