Sat
27 Oct
2018

We are about to cast lose one last time this year in the Arc­tic. Nor­t­hern lights, beau­tiful sce­n­ery in stun­ning nor­t­hern win­ter light con­di­ti­ons, Orcas – hopes are cer­tain­ly high; we will see what the next week will bring. But the­re is still some time befo­re we will actual­ly set sail.

SV Anti­gua and Rolf in Trom­sø: rea­dy to go!

Trom­sø has been the door to the Arc­tic for a long time and it still is. Many ships have left for high­test lati­tu­des from here and this is whe­re many of them came back to civi­li­sa­ti­on. So does Anti­gua right now, and we are mee­ting old fri­ends such as MS Stock­holm and SV Noor­der­licht.

SV Anti­gua next to MS Stock­holm in the har­bour ofTrom­sø.

Of cour­se the­re is always some­thing to do befo­re a ship can lea­ve port. I take my hat as an arc­tic aut­hor and soon I can smi­le: my gui­de­book Spits­ber­gen-Sval­bard is now available for sale at Pola­ria in Trom­sø, in all three lan­guages!

It is a beau­tiful day with a clear sky and love­ly light. Hop­eful­ly we get more of this next week, that would make some peo­p­le hap­py! We even get a nor­t­hern light abo­ve Trom­sø. Not very strong and fain­ting next to all the arti­fi­ci­al light and the almost full moon. But it is a start, fin­gers crossed for more soon!

Weak nor­t­hern light abo­ve Trom­sø.

The­re is also time to visit a place that may almost be coun­ted as part of Spitsbergen’s cul­tu­ral heri­ta­ge: Mack’s Ølhal­le. This famous beer hall belongs to Mack’s bre­wery, foun­ded in 1877, and it used to be the first place to go for famous win­te­rers such as “Polar Bear king” Hen­ry Rudi and others, who refuel­led here after a long arc­tic win­ter, spen­ding the ear­nings of many hard and cold months in weeks or even just days. Hen­ry Rudi’s place is still mark­ed with a sign that has got his name!

Mack’s Ølhal­le in Trom­sø: Hen­ry Rudi, the famous “polar bear king”, and other arc­tic win­te­rers refuel­led here after a year in the Arc­tic.

I don’t want to lea­ve a las­ting impres­si­on as Hen­ry Rudi, who almost seems to have lived here during his short sum­mer visits to Trom­sø, my visit was a bit shorter.

Macks Ølhal­le in Trom­sø was cal­led Hen­ry Rudi’s office. You could rely to find him here in his days.