Museum: Polarmuseet (Tromsø)
The Polar Museum in Tromsø is located in what looks like a red barn, but it’s surprisingly spacious and charming once you get inside. Most of the museum’s exhibits are focused on the Arctic, not surprisingly because it’s located in the Norwegian polar north. There are displays about hunting seals and other wildlife, in addition to displays dedicated to Norwegian polar heroes such as Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen. It’s in the context of Amundsen’s expedition to the South Pole that most of the museum’s Antarctic content is displayed.
There are relics both amazing and surprising, such as a gas tank from the airplane Amundsen flew to his doom in the Arctic. One of his sled dogs from the Antarctic expedition has been taxidermied and mounted for view.
Although Amundsen is not from Tromsø, he left from the city on his way to rescue an Italian ballooning expedition and died in the attempt. Perhaps for this reason, there’s a statue of Amundsen in the city, a bust, and a huge relief in the side of a building close to the Polar Museum.