31/01/2025
Tromso Day Three
Sami Stories, Frozen Fjords, and Tromso’s Premier Gastronomical Experience!
“What a day we have had! Whooo!” Jimmy just exclaimed as we finally made our way back to our apartment after setting off a bit after 8 am. First some highlights of this cold but magical day, and then the full story.
HIGHLIGHT 1: The 14 year old Sami Reindeer Herder who allowed us to mingle among his reindeer and feed them before taking us into his family’s traditional dwelling, a Tota, where he told us about his life, his people, and his song that was given to him by his sister.
HIGHLIGHT 2: The majestic Fjords surrounded by snowy peaks which appeared and disappeared behind the racing, sleet filled clouds.
HIGHLIGHT 3: The 5 course dinner at Tromso’s most popular restaurant, a two and a half hour experience with an open kitchen where we could watch the chef at work, featuring Tromso and Northern Norway’s most famous fare.
First, the Fjords. We woke to a fresh covering of snow on the icy roads and so took a taxi to our meeting place today. There, we met a Sami guide who capably navigated the weather and drove us through the tunnel and then over a bridge across the water to the road that leads along Norway’s northern Fjords, all the way to the Norwegian sea. We made lots of stops along the way, and at each he told about the stories of the different Sami who migrate back and forth along these locations. One Fjord was called “Fish Fjord” in Sami because it is where they could find fish; one was “Whale Fjord” although, the climate change has affected the waters over the past decade, and for 12 years, the whales haven’t been back to this Fjord and instead migrate to the next one up. There was a “Frozen Fjord” that stays iced over much of the winter, and the fishermen fish over the ice and even clean and prepare the fish out on the ice. They leave the leftovers on the ice for the Eagles. The past two years, the Fjord hasn’t had as much ice, and so there has not been the expected ready food for the eagles that has traditionally been there for generations. For now, the eagles are still in this area, but like the whales, they may be forced to move if conditions do not change. The majority of these fishermen are Sami fishermen.
Our guide was a reindeer herder, but there are two types of Sami, and the others are fishermen, likely people who became tired of the migrating lifestyle and settled by the sea to live and make a living. There are 80,000 Sami in Norway, but the true number is difficult to tell from the census taken, because for a time, many Sami hid their identity because of the attitudes that were once held about them. Not quite a hundred years ago, when Norway was first being truly recognized as an independent nation by the rest of the world (even though it had claimed independence since 1814) a wave of Nationalism spread across the land. Our guide spoke of the difficult days of nationalism that gripped the country when his own grandmother was young and Norway was new. There government decided it only wanted its people to speak Norwegian, and to learn Norwegian ways, and began to obliterate the 2,500 year history of the Sami living in Norway. The country attempted to do this by first removing it from the schools, then by banning the Sami language from being spoken in the schools and at work locations. Children were actually punished for speaking their own language in schools.
By the time our guide’s parents were school age, the information about their people was starting to get lost. However, a transformation began to take place during his own generation when he was young, and the country began accepting the Sami people’s culture again. Today, students are able to study about their culture and language in school as an option, and there is even a Sami cultural appreciation day, which takes place February 6 (we will just miss it) where the country of Norway honors the Sami people and their long, rich history. If you think about it, what a similar pattern this is to so many countries, who deny people learning the truth about their heritage, and the damage this can do, not only to the people who are part of that culture, but to everyone else, neighbors and citizens alike, whose lives would be enriched by the gifts, unique contributions, and wealth of knowledge carried by these people. We were heartened to hear that there is acceptance and pride toward the Sami these days, much different that what they faced 80 or so years ago.
An example of the benefit of this acceptance was made obvious by the next member of the Sami people who would share stories with us. We arrived at the reindeer herd near Sommeroy, or Summer Island, near the entrance to the Norwegian Sea, where waves rolled in great breakers, and the roaring winds stung any area of uncovered skin. A fourteen-year-old reindeer herder welcomed us to his land, His family has charge over the reindeer in this region, and he was working as we arrived to his camp. Above the hill stood their traditional tota, a tent made of long wooden poles crafted from straight trees with the bark shaved off. This tota’s covering was made of cotton, though in the early days, the coverings were made of deer skins. He allowed us to feed the reindeer by hand and walk among the herd. This area was slightly greener, in that moss covered some of the stones and mounds sticking out of the snow, as it is a bit warmer here by the sea’s edge. Spring comes earlier in this place, where new green begins to appear in late April, when the rest of the northern region waits until May before their spring begins.
Our being there today was actually e bit of help, as there are a lot of reindeer to be fed, and just his family feeding them. Extra hands eased the workload just a little. After enjoying our time with the (mostly) gentle creatures, he invited us to share some hot tea with him in his Tota.
Stories spilled forth about this family, about how the Tota is normally set up, and how we were lucky today to have nice benches and pelts to sit on. He spoke of the special songs each Sami is given, to be his or her own, a song that matches the personality. Sometimes, it is a chanted utterance describing the sense of the person, if they are active or slower and more thoughtful, if they are joyful or stoic, and this song would be theirs to sing through all their days, and when they pass away, others can remember the person by singing their song with family and friends. The older of the Sami, our first guide, was asked by Jimmy to sing his song, and they guide shyly cleared his throat, and out came this beautiful melody that really did feel like him. There is so much more to tell about this experience, but we will release a video and short video story at a later time.
After storytelling and sharing tea and cookies with us, Janna and Jules wanted to share back. They had brought some Moon Pies straight from Appalachia. This was actually caught on video, to catch their reactions. The young Sami thought it tasted like ice cream, and the older one said it would go very well with hot tea or coffee. They liked them.
We wound our way back to Tromso, about and hour and fifteen minutes later, and arrived in time for a special 5 course meal in the most popular restaurant in Tromso, that seats no more than 40 people at a time, in order to provide the topmost culinary experience. The 5 course meal had been carefully planned by the head chef, a woman who took careful charge of the kitchen, and worked with her two sou chefs seamlessly to craft our meals which were works of art for all the senses. The open kitchen allowed us to glance over regularly to watch the expertise in action. We began with Lightly steamed skrei with pickled artichoke hearts and leeks. Next came a small, heart shaped grilled waffle, served with fish roe, potato cream and browned butter. Then the drool worthy third course which made Jules tell everyone she needed a quiet moment alone with this one. It was Turbot with caramelized onion, crispy fried turbot fat, peas, and turbot sauce. The star of the meal was Rare Reindeer filet with crispy fried quinoa that added texture to the buttery smooth filets, whipped celeriac, marinated beets and aromatic mushroom sauce that combined for a unique, one of a kind flavor. Jules couldn’t quite finish the filet, which made Cissy giddy with delight to finish it. To top off the meal, a perfectly light and fresh dessert, not too sweet, of Sour milk Sorbet floating in a Raspberry soup, milk chips, and crystalized white chocolate. Nancy and Boo shared a cheese platter, which had Viking Blue Cheese, Norwegian White Cheese, and Knight Cheese, served with thin fruit bread and apricot jam. They both chose the Viking blue as their favorite. We dined, talked, reminisced, and planned some future adventures over the two and a half hour experience.
Tomorrow, we wake at 5am to ride snowmobiles across three countries. If you have any questions, just drop them in a comment and we will try to answer as quickly as possible. The answer to yesterday’s question is yes, the reindeer do smell a bit like cattle. Good night, for now, from Norway, where it’s been dark since 2:27pm!
Where will your story take you next?
