NEW BLOG address

This one has reached capacity. Darn video clips.

I have created a new blog. Just click on http://murphyoslo2010.blogspot.com/.

Thank you for your continued interest.

I got stuck in an elevator today. The rescue was quick and painless but my palms were sweaty.

Never a dull moment.

km

Calm before the storm - Oslo 2010

Oslo 2010 brings together 2,000 of the best and brightest polar researchers under one roof June 8-12.

The early results presented here focus on the most remote and endangered areas of the Arctic and Antarctic.

I’m here for two reasons. One, because I produced and co-hosted an IPY-funded radio show on CKLB radio in Yellowknife that won two national radio awards. I'm interested in the people and the politics of Canadian research.

I’m also here because the sea ice, tundra, polar bears and seals that scientists study are the backbone of indigenous cultures around the world.

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SAS Flight #4411 to Oslo

I had the good fortune to sit beside Josephine Stenersen during the flight to Oslo.

Josephine has lived in Tromso since 1973. She's English (from Worcestershire) and downplays the fact she speaks Norwegian fluently, as well as Danish and a petit peu of french.

Her husband is Norwegian. Her two sons and their teenaged children also live in Tromso. The family has a summer home in Denmark, where they escape to every spring. European snowbirds.

Josephine is a teacher and a writer who has worked closely with the Sami of Norway.

Our conversation caught the attention of a member of the cabin crew.

Josephine, thank you for a lovely chat. I plan to post more of our interview when I'm back in Yellowknife. In the meantime, please get started on your autobiography! I look forward to reading it.

One more thing before leaving Tromso

Allison D asked about my hotel room at the Clarion Bryggs. This is it.
And this was the photo over the bed!!! Kooky.

Goodbye Tromso

Four reasons I avoided the hotel's roof-top hot tub. Friendly but a little too friendly.

What I love about Tromso are the moments within the moments. Or perhaps it is the way I'm looking at the world.

It has been a great five days.

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Arctic wildlife

This truly is...

Polaria is part of Tromos's Polar Environmental Centre. It is a museum with two live seals, touch pools, fish tanks, stuffed birds and a movie theatre featuring a 14 minute film about Svalbard: a group of islands bewteen Norway and the North Pole. The film reminds me of photos of Devon Island in Nunavut and Banks Island in the NWT. It illustrates the geographical and wildlife similarities among circumpolar countries.

I also visited the Polar Museum. This museum pays homage to polar explorer Roald Amundsen, amung other Norwegian explorers. Amundsen goes down in the history as the first person to successfully sail from east to west through the Northwest Passage in 1906. Not to be confused with Henry Larsen who captained the St. Roch through the passage from west to east in 1942. Dare I say, Amundsen is to Norway as Gretzky is to Canada:a national hero. I am open to being corrected.

Fantastic artifacts in this creaky old building, once a "bonded" warehouse meaning it was a holding place for imported goods. Artifacts of interest include a well used ivory toothbrush, an antiquated instrument for measuring ocean currents and medicine chests like this one.

Another exhibit of interest was the trapper's cabin, complete with trappers and barking dogs. These cabins were found on Svalbard island.

Within the Polar Museum, there are enough stuffed and skinned polar bears, seals and musk ox to refurbish all 33 airports in the NWT (for those of you unfamiliar with northern airports, they often have stuffed northern wildlife in the waiting areas).

Loved the hunter/trapper mannequins.

Although, I lacked the kroners to purchase seal skin products, several interesting items were for sale. G-string panties anyone?

km

Thanks for your Comments

Nick Lawson, there is fish with every meal. Boiled, baked, fried, smoked and salted. Even breakfast includes pickled herring. No, I have not tried the pickled variety yet, but I will for you. Hardboiled eggs and caviar-in-a-tube are also popular. I LOVE the spelt bread which is really a cracker. The cheeses are also delicious. Here is a link to a map of Norway. It provides some perspective. http://www.mapsofworld.com/norway/norway-location-in-world-map.html Tromso is about the same latitude as Inuvik but a warmer climate because of the Gulf Stream. It rarely goes below zero in the winter and the harbour never freezes although Tromso receives lots of snow, again in the winter. Apparently Norway ranks just behind Sweden in terms of the best standard of living.

Jason, you are correct. Norway's northern coastline reminds me of Newfoundland. When can we go back?

Joanne, no worries. No tattoos.

Here's a question. What's the difference between the two buttons on the back of Norwegian toilets? I think I know, but I'm too embarrassed to ask the front desk.

Walking the Streets of Tromso

The sidewalks are tidy and interesting. I’ve not seen any poverty. No panhandling. No shopping carts. Just loud, young military men on leave in search of young women in crazy shoes and short skirts. This is the place.

Not only are the streets clean. But people too.I often catch a whiff of fresh laundry. Not perfume. A just-stepped-out-of-the shower fresh. Very pleasant.

I noticed several men dressed like this, rushing like this. Not all look as relaxed as this fellow who offered a little wave.

Some of these photos were shot from the hip. Others are from behind a post or corner. And still others while just walking down the street.

First stop when you're a 20-something off-duty military guy in town for the weekend?? The bank machine.

Here's a couple of guys hanging out, enjoying a moment of short-lived sun. Note the cell phone.

Cell phones are everywhere. Everywhere. More than Yellowknife.

Shortly after I took the photo of blondie with a rose, he fell flat on his face and needed hugs of reassurance from his buddies. Which his broad shouldered friends were happy to do..while talking on their cell phones.

Lots of teens in hoodies and sweat shirts and plugged into Ipods (which BTW I discovered can be charged on a PC.)

Apparently ripped jeans are back which is great for someone who lived through the first go around.

Speaking of streets....

Gryllefjord and back

What a trip! Thirteen hours to an area so remote my Lonely Planet guidebook does not even mention it.

But worth every twist and turn.

Gryllefjord is like most northern coastal communities in Norway. It is a fishing town. The population is just 378, all who speak one of Norway’s two official dialects Bokmal, which literally means “book language.” The scenery is breathtaking. It is like someone pushed their thumb into snow-capped mountain range, let sea water fill the gap and dropped in several hundred quaint wooden wharves and fishing boats.

Appreciating Gryllefjord’s natural beauty was easy. Getting there was not.

The trip began at 7 am with a ferry from Tromso to Finnsnes.

The 1 hour 40 minute ride was calm at times.

And rough at others.

Finnsnes is not designed for tourists, which is weird given ferries arrive there several times a day, including the massive Hurtigruten. There are no museums, no galleries, and no attractions in this small city of 4,000 (a town conspicuously absent from my guidebook).I had more than four hours to pass, so I took the advice of a hotel worker and walked to the apex of a large bridge linking Finnsnes to the town of Senja. He said view from the bridge “spectacular” and he was right. What he failed to mention was the bridge’s sidewalk was extremely narrow and exposed to passing traffic

So, up I went, aware I was the lone pedestrian on the bridge, but relieved given the space constrains.

At the Finnsnes bus station I nearly stepped on the wrong bus to Gryllefjord, which happens when schedules are posted in a foreign language (my fault, nobody else) . Once on the correct bus, we twisted and turned along a road so narrow cars routinely pulled to one side to let us pass. When we arrived in Gryllefjord at 2 pm I was delighted but a little green around the gills. Before disembarking, I showed the driver my crumpled bus schedule and pointed to the return time. “Yah, Yah,” he said with a smile. “Please, please,” I thought to myself. I didn’t plan on eating. I packed my own salami and blue cheese sandwich but when the only bathroom (or water closet -WC) I found was in the town’s one café it seemed only fitting to buy lunch given I’d stunk up their one bathroom. Canadian guilt.Feeling brave I ordered a whale burger. “I can do that,” the owner said not very convincingly (more due to effort than availability) “but we also have the buffet. Come. See," she instructed. I ended up with a delicious spread of fish, homemade tartar sauce, and bread.

Just before I left, the owner’s daughter and grandson stopped in for lunch.

I spent the rest of the time wandering the streets in awe of the sea to sky mountains, cute houses and unpredictable weather.

And then …the wind blew the clouds away.

The bus, driven by a different driver, arrived at 5:05 pm sharp. Indeed all travel, whether by air, boat or bus has been remarkably punctual. I plopped myself down and stared out the window.

And even though it appears we are driving on the left side of the road we are actually right in the middle. (No audio with this clip)

Hard to believe it is June (Also no audio with this clip.)

The rest of the trip, including the ferry back to Tromso, was unremarkable, or I should say without incident. Back in my hotel room at the Clarion Hotel Bryggen, I pulled open a Tuborg (a Danish beer) and stared at my computer. I wanted to work. I also wanted to check out the rooftop hot tub. But the call of my bed was greater than the call of the wild. Can somebody please close the curtain. I need to sleep.

Friday June 4 Tromso

Tromso Harbour at 4 a.m.

On the Streets

This video entry is dedicated to my mom, Marjorie Murphy, who sent me an email wondering why I was posting little black rectangular boxes. Of course, these little black boxes are video entries but without an achor image like regular photos. Just click on the bottom left hand corner to play. I love my mom.
A big thank-you to Joe Hill of CBC North Yellowknife for suggesting the Kodak Zi8 cam corder. It is fantastic! Small, easy to use and great video and audio quality. The external mic makes all the difference. It is audio even Phil Morck would approve of.

Euro Spar

Euro Spar is the equivalent of NorthMart or the Co-op, the difference being Euro Spar stocks its shelves with an impressive selection of beer and sweets, both of which I've tasted. Can't wait to try the ice coffee in the tetra pack.

After that, I headed to the tourist office to plan out tomorrow's trip.

Walk about Tromso

This afternoon I wandered Tromso’s one way streets. Lots of references to the Arctic, like this tattoo shop.

I found a lovely little café, where I had a latte and an orange and watched people rush through the rain. When leaving the café, I called out “Taak”, which means thanks. However, given my mispronunciation, what I actually called out was “roof!”. The proper way to say it is "Tuck", not "Tack." Lesson learned.

Harbour City

This is the view from the hotel. Apparently the hotel's roof-top hot tub has the very same view. I will check it out later today. I had good sleep. Now it is off to find a coffee and sandwhich. I must say the currency is throwing me. Hard to know what you are spending.

Touch Down Tromso

It was wild to arrive at midnight in daylight (granted overcast as this video shows) . Similar of course to the NWT but exciting to see snow-capped mountains. I have more to say about the sights, sounds and smells of northern Norway but I must sleep. I noticed bikes for hire when I walked into the hotel. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

Rockin' and rollin'

Check out how you get to a gate if you are late at the Oslo Airport.


You propel yourself on a moterless scooter.


Love the Norwegians and their propensity for carbon neutral travel.

Wheels Down in Europe

Helllooooo Norway.
Touched down in Olso at 8:30 am Yellowknife time June 2.
Customs was a breeze.
While waiting for my luggage I ran into Emily Moss (pictured here). Emily is a Canadian glaciologist who will be presenting at the IPY Oslo Science conference next week. Her fieldwork is on Devon Island, in Nunavut’s high arctic.
I zeroed in on Emily because of the black cylinder slung over her shoulder. You know the ones. Canisters of choice for scientists traveling with poster presentations. Fly fisherman have also been known to stuff a rod or two in them. Emily planned to catch train to Trondheim that night.
I flew to Tromso but had a four-hour wait at the Oslo airport. I had ample time to curl up on a bench and doze with one hand on my camera bag and the other clutching my passport.

Vancouver to London- 9 hour flight

Who, please tell me, flies first class??
It is a question that nagged me all night as squirmed in my dark economy aisle seat while flying across Greenland. This photo is of the cabin was taken circa 2 am.
While envious of the leg room my business class counterparts enjoyed, I was delighted to have easy access to the bathroom. I am pleased to report it was a spacious bathroom with lovely smelling hand soap.