Tromsø - Norway - page 388

Husfliden As we mentioned in the review of Hekle-Kroken above, winter
nights in Tromsø are long, dark, and very cold, and many locals labor, from
within their well-heated and weather-tight homes, at arts and crafts. If you're a
knitter, a quilter, an embroiderer, or a leatherworker, this shop stocks your raw
materials. There's also a small inventory of handmade sweaters knitted by peo-
ple loosely affiliated with the store. The staff here tends to be elderly, kind-
hearted, grandmotherly aficionados of the arts-and-crafts scene. Sjøgata 4. & 77-
68-56-30.
Intersport Sports Huset This is the biggest sporting-goods store in town,
with subdivisions that focus on the equipment you'll need for every conceivable
sport, in any season, that's practiced in this severe Arctic climate. Scattered over
two separate floors of a showroom in the heart of town, the store stocks bicycles,
hiking equipment, white-water rafting and kayaking equipment, all manner of
skis, and a state-of-the-art collection of boots, backpacks, and severe-weather
clothing. Frankly, the staff isn't always too well trained here, and some don't
seem to have a clue as to what it is they're actually selling, but if you're motivated
to figure out the inventories on your own, there are many worthwhile options.
Storgata 39. & 77-66-11-00.
Keane Kunstgalleri Established in 1908 as a window-making shop, this
place has evolved into a combination gift shop, framing gallery, and art gallery.
The third- and fourth-generation owners spend a lot of their energies showcas-
ing the paintings of about 70 Norwegian artists, many of them residents of the
country's far north, and all of them are clustered within the same sales and mar-
keting union. You can pick up some unusual examples of handmade glass, post-
cards, and posters. If you decide to invest in an original painting, etching, or
lithograph, prices range from 25NOK to 40,000NOK ($3.55-$5,680) depend-
ing on the artwork's size and the reputation of the artist. Strandgata 30.
& 77-61-52-50.
7 Tromsø After Dark
The bitter cold, coupled with an appetite-inducing position immediately adja-
cent to the blustery fjords of the North Sea, seem to unite into a setting that's
conducive to hard partying, hard living, and hard drinking in sybaritic Tromsø.
This, coupled with a large student population and a passionate interest in all
things sports-related, make victory and defeat an event whose joys or sorrows
can easily be fueled or quaffed with drink.
Evocative of some Alaskan cities, Tromsø has more pubs per capita than any
other town in Norway. Nightlife here mainly consists of heavy drinking on a
massive pub crawl. In Tromsø the party goes on 24 hours a day, summer or win-
ter: “In winter you drink all night because of the darkness,” said one local pub
crawler. “In midsummer we drink all night because the sun never sets.”
Amtmandens Datter This pub was previously recommended as an Internet
cafe. Smoky and mellow, it is also one of the most frequented pubs in party town
Tromsø, drawing a mostly male crowd in their 20s to 50s. Patrons also come in
here to read the newspapers and play board games. Believe it or not, there are
even books to read. It's open Monday to Thursday noon to 1:30am, Friday and
Saturday noon to 3am, and Sunday noon to midnight. Food is also served until
7pm Monday to Saturday. The pub is part of an entertainment complex that
includes yet another two pubs, the Victoria Fun Pub, attracting a broad age
range, and Subsirkus, which sometimes features live bands, attracting a young