Norway > The Hammerfest Polar Bear Society

We sleep in. When we get up, it’s raining outside. Mist hangs over the mountains. What luck that we went to the North Cape yesterday. In our cabin, we make coffee and eat a cheese sandwich. We also have mango juice. At eleven o’clock, we leave Skarsvåg. We drive back the same way to Honningsvåg. The view is different. Thick patches of mist cling to the road. The navigation system is very helpful for judging the curves. What a different picture compared to yesterday. In Honningsvåg, we see a large cruise ship docked.

Norway - The small center of Hammerfest

This probably explains the many tourists at the North Cape last night. Once we pass through the Nordkapp Tunnel again, visibility improves. It’s even dry at times. We drive until Olderfjord, then get back onto the E6. Around half past two, we arrive in Hammerfest. Hammerfest is the northernmost city in the world. Our hotel is just outside the center. We walk to Salen Hill. Here, there is an 86-meter-high viewpoint over the center of Hammerfest. The bay and harbor are clearly visible. Using a zig-zag path, we walk down and reach the center of Hammerfest. First, we look for Norwegian currency. So far, we’ve paid everything by credit card, but it’s also useful to have cash. There’s an ATM in a shopping center. At the end of the street is the Polar Bear Society in the tourist office. An exhibition is dedicated to the polar bear and the nature around Hammerfest. You can also become a member of the Polar Bear Society here. The €25 fee seems a bit much for a small souvenir. Instead, we spend the money on a T-shirt. It still supports the Society. The church in Hammerfest stands out. A modern building towers in the center. Inside, the church is simple and modern. It’s still too early to eat, so we walk back to the hotel. In the evening, we have dinner in the center at a place that’s somewhere between a snack bar and a restaurant: order at the counter, eat at tables. The owner proudly tells us that he regularly visits family in Groningen.