Tromsø
Tromsø was the first stop on our Svalbard and Norway 2019 trip. We had visited Tromsø previously; it was the starting point of our Eurotrip 2017 and we were able to see the midnight sun. Since we had to stop here on the way to Svalbard, why not make it a stopover? We arrived in Tromsø around 5:30 PM, grabbed our backpacks, and headed out to the bus pickup in front of the airport.
If you ever visit Tromsø (and most Norwegian airports), you can take a bus (Flybussen) from the airport to downtown and all the hotels. The cost in Tromsø was $12-15 per person roundtrip and they drop you off near your hotel. In our case, it was next to the hotel (Quality Hotel Saga) and a short 1-minute walk. The hotel we previously stayed at (Enter Amalie Hotel) was a block away from the current hotel and both are centrally located and near the harbor. We had a great view from our room; we were on the second floor with a view of an old church across the street.
We Made it to Tromsø
After traveling for almost 24 hours, we needed to clean up and update our clothing selection as it was 80F the day before we left Atlanta, and Tromsø was around 13F when we arrived. This was our first chance to try our new Merino wool base layers and other clothing we had purchased for the trip. We were not only tired from the 3 flights we had to take to get to Tromsø, but we were also tired of the food on those flights and needed something real to eat and a walk to stretch our legs.
All dressed in our new clothes, we headed out to find a restaurant with decent and reasonably priced food. Norway is not a budget dining destination for the most part unless you want fast food. We wanted a sit-down restaurant meal. There were a few pubs open, and some other restaurants that would have a $$$$ price rating.
Stroll Around Tromsø
After about an hour of walking around, we decided to try a restaurant (Egon Tromsø) that was busy with people of all ages and had a reasonable selection of food and prices in the $$ range. We both ordered pasta due to its warming abilities. This restaurant is like several others in Norway that we visited: you pick your table, pick your food off the menu, then you go to the counter to order and you provide your table number. The food arrived in about 20 minutes; it was warm and exactly what we needed.
Are you Forgetting Something?
After eating, we put on our outer layers and left the restaurant for a short walk around town. About 4 minutes into the walk, my wife started to panic and checking under all the layers – she couldn’t find her purse! We immediately turned around and made our way back to the restaurant. Her purse had all the credit cards we would be using (I had a set as well), our passports, and other travel documents we needed. This is not a good way to start the trip! We would have been completely screwed had someone found it before the restaurant did and secured it behind the bar. The crisis was averted, and we proceeded to walk around the downtown and harbor area. After our evening stroll, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the trip to Svalbard.
Tromsø is famous for the Aurora Borealis and midnight sun. It also has the northernmost traffic light in the world, in case you were wondering where that was located. The skies were partly cloudy and there was too much light pollution to see the Aurora Borealis. We had hoped to see the northern lights. Unfortunately, it did not happen. We always had Svalbard for the next 3 days to get a chance to see them.
Flight to Longyearbyen
Our flight the next day was at 12:30 PM and we needed to be at the airport around 11 AM; the bus would be at the hotel around 10:30 AM. The hotel included a great breakfast buffet with my favorite food item BACON. Until this trip, I had not noticed that a lot of restaurants in Norway will ask “Would you like bacon with that?” The only reasonable answer to that question is YES! We had a couple of hours to burn before the bus would arrive, so we took a quick stroll around town to snap a few daylight pictures. So far, everything was going great, breakfast was great, the bus was on time, we made it the airport, checked in. Svalbard here we come is all I could think about.
Checked In and Ready for the Arctic
We checked in for the flight; everything was still going as planned other than a slightly delayed departure of 2 PM, 90 minutes later than scheduled. No big deal, that is a short wait. We went to the gate, cleared passport control, and found a place to sit down. At approximately 1:15 PM, there was an announcement in Norwegian only. I could only pick up a few words, and the rest I gathered by the reactions of the people around us. This did not look good. I spoke with the person at the gate and they stated that there was a mechanical issue with the plane and the flight had been canceled. They were waiting on an update from Stockholm (SAS was the airline).
The Wait Begins
We were told to wait in the main waiting areas or the check-in area as they would be providing info there. SAS handed us 2x NOK100 (about $20 total) vouchers to use in the airport for food, etc. As I mentioned before, Norway is not inexpensive, neither are airports. We left the gate area and had our exit stamps voided in our passports.
We thought the best option would be to wait in the check-in area as it was next to the baggage claim area, in case they returned our backpacks due to the cancelation. I usually have good luck on trips, and we expected this to not be a major setback. We had snowmobile trips booked for the next 2 days in Svalbard; this should not be an issue. They will be able to provide another flight or repair the aircraft and we would be off to Svalbard, no problem.
Status Updates or Not
An hour went by. We went to the desk to get an update and they said Stockholm is working on it and should have an update soon. We decided to treat ourselves to some fine dining using the 2x NOK100 vouchers. A beer is about $12, most meals were $18 or more. We opted for coffee and hot chocolate in a shop and a few pastries to snack on to hold us over.
Every hour on the hour, I went to the counter to get an update. Same response, Stockholm, Stockholm, Stockholm. At approximately 4 PM, there was an announcement that our baggage is at the carousel. I grabbed our backpacks covered in ice and snow from sitting on the tarmac for 4+ hours. Ok, now this is not looking good, are they putting us up in a hotel, another flight, still no information.
Not Looking Good for Day 1 in Svalbard
I decided now was a good time to let the tour provider in Svalbard know we are delayed and might miss the first snowmobile trip the next morning at 8:30 AM. We continued to ask for updates; no good news except they are rebooking all passengers and will provide an update soon. At least we are getting closer to an answer. We made a couple of calls to SAS to get more info and they were telling us the earliest they could rebook would be in 4 days. At the time I had not realized that all flights had been locked out in the system for the next few days.
We had no updates until 7 PM when there was an announcement that all rebooking is complete and to pick up the new tickets at the counter. We received seats on the 5:15 PM flight to Oslo then a flight to Svalbard the next morning at 11:15 AM. There were two things wrong here: the wrong direction and it was already 7 PM. So, we were already two hours past that flight departure time.
Change of Plans in Svalbard
I contacted the snowmobile tour provider in Svalbard to let him know we were not going to make it for the trip the next morning. We were told the flight was now scheduled to leave at about 8 PM and we should go to the gate area for additional updates. SAS did provide two more vouchers for NOK300 total. Most of the restaurants were closed by then or packed full of stranded passengers. The same plane that was grounded for technical issues on our initial flight was the plane they were using to fly to Oslo.
The Hits Keep Coming
The flight was again delayed; now departure was going to be 9:30 PM. They were waiting on the part and a mechanic to arrive from either Oslo or Stockholm. The part and mechanic arrived at 9 PM and completed the work within an hour or so. At this point, we were past the frustration point and just wanted to leave the airport. We received an update at 10:30 PM that the plane was cleared to fly and we would begin boarding shortly. Our backpacks had been sitting on the tarmac again for 3+ hours in snow and sub-freezing temperatures.
Finally Aboard
We boarded the flight at about 11:15 PM and headed to Oslo for the night. We arrived, grabbed our backpacks, and headed for the bus to the hotel and completed check-in at about 2:30 AM. The breakfast buffet started at 4 AM and I was tempted to wait for the buffet. We headed to bed and set our alarms for early to get the buffet and the bus to the airport. Luckily, there were no issues with the flight and we were finally off to Svalbard.
Delayed and Cancelled Flights do Pay in Europe
After we returned home, we filed a claim with SAS and we received 250 euros each for the cancelation. Our tour guide in Svalbard also gave us a partial refund of the missed tour, even though it was not his fault. The two refunds did cover the cost of the missed tour. The first tour was the one we really wanted to do, so we may have to go back to Svalbard in the future.
Share this:
Discover more from GeezerAbroad
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
1 Comment