Breakfast rant

Norwegian Breakfast by Rodgers & Hammerstein:

Herring and Mackerel and Salmon and Kippers
Wiping the schmaltz from my lower and top lippers
Caviar from sturgeon with egg and a pickle
These are the things giving my tummy a tickle!

Wow. The breakfast included at the Scandic Ishavhotel in Tromsø is a little more robust than the staple Comfort Inn stale crescent rolls with sweaty scrambled eggs from a box.

There were row upon row of hotplates and manned stations. Waffles, omelettes, bacon & eggs, stewed mushrooms and stewed tomatoes, granola and muesli for days, a full salad bar with cold meats & cheeses and I swear a full bakery like at a store with everything from baguettes to rolls to at least 5 kinds of bread that you can slice yourself thick or thin to your preference.

Now to the fish:
There was smoked salmon, cured salmon, gravlax with a dijon mayonnaise "onnaside". Smoked mackerel which was smokin' good. Caviar from a toothpaste tube so it wasn't the quality stuff that Russian mobsters eat off a hooker's ass or whatever but did I mention BREAKFAST INCLUDED?

Herring could be had in so many styles -- pickled in wine vinegar (my favourite!), with a sweet mustard sauce that was new to me but really fantastic or with that gross cream sauce that personally, I cannot stomach but hey, one man's herring is another man's...uh, herring.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some varieties but it was too early to efficiently document the hentai fish buffet porn.

The night before, I had had the unfortunate experience of a strong smell of cigarettes infiltrating from the hallway. I was really confused and consulted my online reservation to make sure I had selected a non-smoking floor...in fact, the entire hotel was supposed to be non-smoking.

The people at the front desk let me know that they had been made aware of the issue on my floor and were handling it. Different countries have different customs and when groups of people travel, they don't always get the rules translated appropriately.

Still, I couldn't stay in my room with that smell so I ended up sitting in the lounge. Side benefit: trying the Scandinavian version of an Irish coffee made with Aquavit instead of whiskey. There was also a bit of orange zest blended into the cream so it really tasted bright.

Overall, despite the cigarette issue, I thought the hotel was a great value, had nice customer service and I loved the location. After breakfast, I consolidated my carry-on into my big rolling duffel bag, stored it at reception and checked-out.

I  bundled up and walked through the high-street of Tromsø. The whole city was covered in rainbow flags so it must have been Pride Week. I saw lots of kids with rainbow facepaint on their cheeks and plenty of LBGTQ folks readying their banners for a parade.

On the other side of town was a really beautiful museum of natural history and marine life called Polaris. It would have been a nice way to spend some time but honestly, knowing that I was about to spend a week at sea in their actual habitat, it seemed a bit silly to visit a brick and mortar representation. I've only heard great things about it though so definitely have a tour if you have the opportunity.

In the park, I found the regular kind of park bench which could seat up to four people in a pinch but they also had this cute little single serving model for solo park-sitters.

The main shopping mall was warm and crowded with Saturday shoppers ramping up for Jule (Christmas). I stopped into the wine store and picked up a bag of rosé. Yup, a bag of wine. I figured that on a rocky boat, it would be easier to deal with than a glass bottle not to mention space-saving and more lightweight to discard. Pack it in, pack it out! Credit cards were accepted everywhere in Norway including on the bus from the airport. I really appreciate that because I don't like using cash.

I tried my bank card at a local ATM and it worked perfectly but I didn’t withdraw any money (mostly because I didn't have any until my kind colleague back home ran the payroll.) It’s such a convenience to be able to travel cash-free but know that you can access it if necessary.

After dejectedly reading restaurant menu after restaurant menu hoping that my appetite would return after that insanely fishtastic breakfast, I gave up and returned to the hotel lobby to collect my bag and rendez-vous with my tour-mates at 2:30 pm.