The Route to the North Cape - Norway - page 427

the rest offer wooden floors. Each comes with a small and immaculate private
bathroom, all with showers and eight with tub/shower combinations. The Rica
has the most dining, drinking, and entertainment facilities in town. Friday and
Saturday nights are especially popular here from 10pm to 3am. Sometimes live
bands are brought in and the cover can run up to 15NOK ($2), depending on
the evening.
Løkkeveien 1, N-9150 Alta. & 78-48-27-00. Fax [phone]. www.rica.no. 155 units. 876NOK-1,395NOK
($124-$198) double. Children under 15 stay free in parent's room. Rates include continental breakfast. AE,
DC, MC, V. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; disco; sauna; laundry service/dry cleaning. In room: TV, minibar.
WHERE TO DINE
Han Steike (Beef House) STEAKS/GRILLS The most appealing and
one of the most popular restaurants in Alta sits in the center of town, behind a
relatively drab gray-painted facade that you'll imagine can withstand virtually
any snowstorm. Inside, you'll find a warm and cozy steakhouse that's accented
with what locals refer to as “Norwegian stone” (gray flagstones) and dark wood
paneling. Your waitstaff will ask you what size you prefer for your grilled beef-
steak, veal, whale steak, lamb chops, spareribs, reindeer, salmon, or cod. Know
in advance that the “average” appetite might go for the 150- or 200-gram size; a
hungry diner might opt for the 300-gram size; and someone who's been felling
timber in the forest all day and who hasn't eaten since breakfast might conceiv-
ably gravitate toward the 400-gram portion. Anything you order comes with a
choice of sauces that include mustard, horseradish, peppercorn, mushroom
gravy, or hollandaise.
Løkkeveien 2. & 78-44-08-88. Reservations recommended. Main courses 170NOK-359NOK ($24-$51). AE,
DC, MC, V. Tues-Sun 2-10:30pm (last order).
ALTA AFTER DARK
The chief hot spot in town is Alfa-Omega, Markedsgata 16 ( & 78-44-54-00 ),
attracting a crowd whose average age is from 30 to 40. There is no cover, and
the place is definitely inspired by Cuba, with recorded salsa music, pictures of
Havana, and Cuban cigars de rigueur. There are seats for 40, but often 70 to 80
patrons crowd in here. One section is a very laid-back bar, the other's a con-
temporary cafe. It's open Monday to Thursday from 11am to midnight, and
Friday and Saturday from 11am to 2am. Its only drawback, according to some
of the young and restless clients we met here, involves its lack of facilities for
dancing.
If you want to go dancing, the town's only disco is Panella, which is situated
on the lobby level of Alta's Rica Hotel, Løkkeveien 61 ( & 78-48-27-00 ). Sport-
ing a color scheme of black, red, and blue, and describing itself as a grown-up
place for adults (most of the clientele is over 30), it allows guests of the Rica
Hotel to enter free, but charges nonresidents between 40NOK and 150NOK
($5.70 and $21) each, depending on the musical venue (live or recorded) on the
night of your arrival. It's open nightly from 8pm to between midnight (Sun-
Thurs) and 2am (Fri-Sat).
6 Karasjok: Capital of the Samis
178km (110 miles) NE of Kautokeino; 18km (11 miles) E of Finnish border
This is the capital of the Samis (Laplanders), with a population of 2,900 inhab-
itants. Of these, some 90% are of Sami descent, making Karasjok, along with its
neighboring town of Kautokeino, a seat of Sami culture.