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June 07, 2024 - Ålesund + Flight to Tromsø
Waking up late (having dismissed multiple alarms) my jetlag seems to be gone. I quickly realize I hadn’t factored an 11am checkout time into my sleep schedule the night before, as evidenced by a knock on my door from the hostel attendant checking to see if I’d vacated yet. Gathering my belongings, I stash them in the parking garage with my car rental and then take my bearings for a second. I decide to hike up through the park that occupies a mountainside towering over the city, following a paved path that rises up to a viewpoint with a cafe. On my way up, I stop once or twice to look out over the rooftops - this is a view I’d seen in photographs before, but it feels surreal now to actually be here in this place. I pass the cafe perched at the top; there is an observation deck you can pay to access, which seems a bit silly given a natural rock outcrop a little further up the path you can climb on free of charge. I make my way through a final patch of shrubs and clamor atop a concrete slap with a weather vane and several benches. There aren’t so many tourists up here, and the view is phenomenal. Ålesund is a collection of islands connected by tunnels, bridges, and boats. From this viewpoint I have a panorama of these land masses dotting the blue waters, criss-crossed by the wake of boats, sprinkled with brightly colored reds and yellows of buildings. It’s sunny here, but off in the distance I can see dark clouds collecting and swirling between several mountains, somewhat obscuring the slopes from scrutiny - this is the direction I came from the day before along the scenic drive.
After a while I head back down to the cafe for breakfast and a much needed coffee. Sitting in the cafe overlooking the picturesque town of Ålesund, I feel emotional in an almost negative way. Unsure why, I gulp down the liquid in my mug; maybe it’s dehydration, though the coffee won’t help with that. I suspect it’s because I’ve been shifting around nonstop, with this is the first moment I’ve had to truly reflect on my journey so far. Since leaving my apartment in Michigan early Monday morning, I’ve only stayed in place for a single night. It’s now Friday and I’m still coordinating the time tables concerning when I need to return the rental car and hop on a flight to Tromsø in the far north of the country. With the latter in mind I bus my table, exit the cafe and head back down the trail to Ålesund proper. Wandering through the city center with Charli XCX in my earphones, I pause in a gift shop; based on the contents, it seems they love fairy tale trolls and Moomin here in Norway. I continue down to the water’s edge, walk past all of the boats, and eventually circle back to my car. There’s one more thing I want to see during my brief stay here that lies across a cove from me currently. I follow a long road around a curving bit of land that wraps back around the cove to the opposite side. There are mostly just houses here, but I eventually reach a park, and am able to go on foot beyond this down to the water’s edge again. Here sits a massive pyre built of crates on a platform out on the water. This is the Slinnbålet, a bonfire that’s lit every year for a Norwegian holiday happening later this month. The structure is only half-built in its current form (it was taller last week but it became unstable and toppled). The mid-summer tradition constitutes the largest bonfire in the world, and the temporary structure is impressive even in its unfinished state. Taking a moment to shoot a few photos with an infrared filter (a technique I’ll be utilizing more regularly later in the trip), I walk back to the car and drive to the airport.
The road is congested on the way out of town, and I stop at a grocery store to refill the gas tank. The store is fairly large and nice inside, comparable to a Plum Market back at home. Moving on, I drop off the car, quickly pass through flight security, and am soon on my flight (first to Oslo and then to Tromsø). My connection is delayed, so I have dinner in the Oslo airport. On the way in to Tromsø, the plane drops low over snow covered peaks, clouds hugging tight to the slopes like a blanket. Once in Tromsø, I’d planned to pick up another rental car so I could drive to a small town called Hammerfest the next day. Because my flight was delayed, I’m unable to pick up the car and proceed to hail a taxi instead. My driver was born in Nigeria, and has been living in Tromsø for two decades; he loves it here, and speaks highly of the city. I’m staying downtown - it’s incredibly bright here at all hours of the day, and as I get out of the cab I see a city bus up the street dropping off people according to a schedule on an electronic ticker. There are a bunch of people out and about, walking between hotels, restaurants, and bars. I’m shocked by how lively it is. I drop my stuff off in my room upstairs, noting the great view of the city and the harbor from my window. Popping over to the Kiwi convenience store across the street from the hotel, I grab a few groceries and some Moomin shaped animal crackers (they really love that character here).
I try to get some sleep back up in my room, but even black out curtains can’t quite hide the sunshine outside. I’m also stuck debating on whether I should go back to the airport in the morning and pick up the rental car reservation - I’m tired of moving around so much, and I can already tell I’d like to stay a few more days in Tromsø than my itinerary currently allows. Turning this over in my head, I drift off to sleep.
location: alesønd, vestland - tromsø, troms (NO)
ext air temp: 67 F
relative humidity: 39.5%
dew point: 41.7 F
wet bulb: 53.6 F
ground temp: n/a