Day 8 – the night before we passed 66.5° north latitude which means we are north of the arctic circle and docked at the beautiful “Gateway to the Arctic”, in Tromsø, Norway. Most noted for being a viewing point for colorful Northern Lights that lights up the nighttime sky in fall and spring.
The City is distinguished by its centuries-old wooden houses which served as a base for arctic exploration. The most distinctive structure is the Arctic Cathedral (built in 1965), with its peaked roof and soaring stained-glass windows, dominates the skyline and is often referred to as Norway’s response to the Sydney Opera House half a world away.
This blog will be a bit different as we produced a video (thus a vlog?) of the sites we saw in our short stay.
For those who simply want a few photos:
The Tromsø’s Fjellheisen is a fairly quick, 5 minute cable car to the top of the mountain that overhangs the City giving the best view of the islands and Municipality of Tromsø and enjoys the North Atlantic draft of the gulf stream which keeps temperatures moderate. Touring is great for summer months of Midnight sun, but also the fall/spring seasons for witnessing the northern lights.
We arrived on a Sunday and unfortunately most quaint stores in the walkable downtown were closed for the day.
History is preserved in the Polar Museum a testament to the conditions of polar exploration for famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who explored the north as well as the south poles. 
A stop at Tromsø is definitely worth it if your planning a Norway trip someday. We would love to come back and explore more of the area.