Tromsø - Norway - page 383

Moments

Aurora Borealis: The Northern Lights

The northern lights are one of nature's most spectacular and mysteri-
ous phenomena. In the right conditions, they can be seen in the night
sky north of the Arctic Circle in winter. The most practical place to view
them in Norway is Tromsø. If seeing these lights is one of your goals,
plan to be in Tromsø for at least 3 days in order to increase your odds
of getting the right atmospheric conditions. Anytime in the period
from November to March is good, but the end of December with its 24
hours of darkness is best.

Storgata 5. & 77-62-45-80. Tours 100NOK ($14). Oct-May Mon-Thurs 9am-6:30pm, Fri 9am-7pm, Sat
9am-3pm; guided tours at 1pm. June-Sept Mon-Thurs 9am-5:30pm, Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-3pm. Guided
tours at 1 and 3:30pm. Closed Sun.
Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum The Art Museum of North Norway traces art
and applied art from 1838 to the present day, with special attention paid to
northern Norwegian artists. It features non-Norwegian artists as well, along with
sculpture and photography. Anything by Edvard Munch, Scandinavia's best
known artist, attracts the most attention, even if it's a lesser work. Lesser-known
artists such as Christian Krohg and Axel Revold are displayed, along with the
romantic peasant scenes of Adolph Tidemand and the beautiful rugged Norwe-
gian landscape paintings of Johan Dahl and Thomas Fearnley. The National
Gallery in Oslo frequently sends up major works for temporary exhibitions.
Sjøgata 1. & 77-68-00-90. Free admission. Mon-Sat 11am-4pm.
Polaria Polaria is a Disneyesque scientific homage to the ecologies, cli-
mates, and technological potentialities of the Arctic. Inaugurated in 1998 in a
location beside the waterfront, immediately adjacent to the world headquarters
of the Polar Institution of Norway (a deeply respected subdivision of the Nor-
wegian Ministry of the Environment), it's one of the most frequently visited
attractions in town, attracting as many as 90,000 visitors a year. Its design
resulted from a contest wherein 45 noted architects from North America and
Europe each submitted their respective designs. The result as viewed from the
town evokes a weather-tight factory, industrial-looking in wood, glass, and stain-
less steel, that looks like it could survive the harshest Arctic winter. Viewed from
any of the boats out on the harbor, its stainless-steel surfaces resemble a jagged
ice floe pressed into fragile but irregular vertical alignments.
The self-defined goal of this attraction involves “awakening a respect in every-
one that enters for the Arctic environments,” and the dioramas and tableaux—
some with artificially induced snow flurries behind thick sheets of Plexiglas, will
leave you with a deeper understanding of the complex and delicate ecosystems
of the Arctic. There's an IMAX-size movie theater where an 18-minute film, shot
mostly on the Norwegian/Russian island of Svalbard, celebrates the beauty and
biodiversity of the Arctic. There's also an aquarium holding what might be the
ugliest fish anywhere, some of them close enough to reach out and touch. In
fact, where the signs indicate, you can reach out and touch some of the species—
a favorite of families with children, but an act that always leaves us feeling a bit
queasy. (The halibut, we're told, are among the most vicious. Watch out—they
bite, so they won't be signposted as one of your options.)

Kids