The Far North - Norway - page 780

Restaurant ( 90 50 60 80; mains Nkr125-225; 2-10pm Tue-Sun) , housed in one of the out-

buildings.
Its maritime artefacts could be an extension of the museum and, if the wind isn't whip-
ping, you can dine on the jetty with the sea sloshing beneath you.

Luftskipsmasta HISTORIC SITE

This oil-rig-shaped airship mast on Vadsø island was built in the mid-1920s as an anchor
and launch site for airborne expeditions to the polar regions. The expedition of Roald
Amundsen, Umberto Nobile and Lincoln Ellsworth, which floated via the North Pole to
Alaska in the airship Norge N-1, first used it in April 1926.
Two years later it was the launch site for Nobile's airship, Italia , which attempted to re-
peat the journey but crashed on Svalbard. Amundsen - together with 12 steamships, 13
planes and 1500 men - joined the rescue expedition and disappeared in the attempt, be-
coming a national martyr as well as a hero. It's well worth the breezy 600m stroll across
the grass flats to savour the rich variety of aquatic birds in the small lake just beyond.

Vadsø Church CHURCH
(Amtmannsgate 1b; 8.30am-3pm Mon-Fri mid-Jun-mid-Aug)
As so often is the case in these small Finnmark communities, the church is the most inter-
esting structure architecturally - and all too often the only building to have survived the
devastation wreaked by retreating Nazi forces. Vadsø's didn't. Built anew in 1958, it's
simple enough yet rich in symbolism. The twin peaks are intended to recall an iceberg, the
Orthodox-inspired altarpiece looks metaphorically over the frontier and the rich stained
glass depicts the seasons.

Sleeping

Vestre Jakobselv Camping CAMPGROUND
( 78 95 60 64; www.vj-camping.no ; Lilledalsveien; per person/site Nkr10/150, cabins/r from
Nkr500/450; May-Sep)
Rooms and cabins are very reasonably priced at Vadsø's nearest campsite, 17km west of
town. Only 200m from a fast-flowing salmon river, it's a popular venue for fisherfolk.