Two Alta pubs, as the ice slowly melted

Apart from a thriving and modern shopping centre, there isn't that much to see in the town of Alta. In the previous post, we covered the town's location, its role as a well-protected naval anchorage, that provided a safe refuge for the Nazi battleship, Tirpitz, as well as its troubled history in the final weeks of World War II, but in what continues to be something of an enigma, we haven't really looked at why our cruise line decided to mark our visit with a two-day stay. Speculation remains that it was Alta's location, and reputation as a centre for snow-related outdoor activities, that appealed to the organisers of our Norwegian cruise, but leaving this aside, what attractions are there for those who live and work in the area?

My own, admittedly rather limited and somewhat biased research, was based on things that Alta can offer to beer lovers, like me, but in the end that didn't boil down to much either. I travelled into the town on both days of our stop-over in the spectacular setting of the Altafjord, taking thee free shuttle-bus on both occasions. My research had revealed just a couple of potential candidates in the form of a restaurant called Nori, and an establishment known as Puskas Platebar & Pub. This self-styled beer café was the clear winner, and was the place I patronised on the first day of my visit.

There was a real good feel to Puskas, with its well laid out, Scandinavian style interior, a good selection of Norwegian beers, plus a pleasant and friendly girl working behind the bar. She was chatty and informative, as well, and served me up a bottle of Dream Porter, from Oslo Brewery, which weighed in at 6.5%. She also fixed me a waffle, filled with slices of traditional, Norwegian brown cheese, plus a large dollop of sour cream. Describing the waffle as a traditional Norwegian bar snack, this tasty offering  proved more filling than it looked, and was also a good match for the porter, with its well-balanced mix of milk chocolate and liquorice flavours.

As well as its beer selection, Puskas was a place that specialised in vinyl. Just round the corner from the main bar, there was a separate area where punters could look through the pub's extensive record selection, and then buy any that took their fancy. I didn't realise this, until I got chatting to one of the pub's other customers, an individual who'd travelled to Alta on the same cruise ship as me, and confirmed by the girl behind the bar. 

This fella seemed pleased with his vinyl purchases, but not to the extent of revealing what they were. "Geeky", would be the right word, but each to their own, so as this fellow cruiser quite obviously didn't want to chat further, I left him to it. I was tempted to stay for another, but with an evening excursion booked to Helman Husky Lodge, I thought I'd better get back to the ship, grab a light evening snack from the buffet, don my thermals and then meet up on the quayside, with the rest of the party.

That excursion gave me my first sighting of the Northern Lights, but the morning after I took a further ride  into downtown Alta, primarily to pick up a few more goodies for Mrs PBT's. I was unable to persuade her to accompany me, a decision that given the slippery conditions underfoot was almost certainly the correct one. 

Arriving back in Alta I was surprised, and also disappointed at seeing how much snow had melted. Walking around in the slush wasn't what I'd anticipated from Alta. One of the tour guides later confirmed that the unseasonably warm temperatures were an anomaly, and really we should have been experiencing  temperatures of minus five to minus twenty! Whatever the reason for this "glitch" it was already starting to affect some of the local attractions, not least of which where the rather sorry-looking, snow sculptures, melting slowly outside one of the entrances to the shopping centre.

Undeterred, I grabbed a coffee from one of the interior kiosks, before having a further look around. Wanting to sample something different, I decided to give the ultra-modern looking Nori Restaurant a try. My prime reason for doing so was to grab something to eat, alongside a beer or two. Nori seemed  quiet when I pushed the door open and after waiting to be directed to a table, I enquired about a snack to go with the Tromso-brewed, Isbjorn Pilsner. I ordered a toasted Foccia, filled with avocado, olives and tomatoes, all very healthy, but what I really fancied was a couple of freshly filled, cheese cobs, as stocked, and served, straight from the bar at the legendary Great Western, in Wolverhampton!

Nori didn't get any busier, so after drinking up and finishing my Pilsner - supplied by the ubiquitous Mack Brewery, from Tromso. I settled my tab and headed off towards the town's gift shop, primarily because I wanted a souvenir fashioned from the locally quarried, and ultra-hard, grey slate. It's the mineral that the town is best know for, but, as I soon found out, it's most expensive sliver of rock. So, another fridge magnet to add to the growing collection at home. The shop was busy selling all sorts of souvenirs/tourist tat, but you don't go that far north without coming away with something local.

I then made my way back to the shuttle bus, and re-boarded the ship. I went up to the top deck with Eileen, after dinner, which was the time that the Northern Lights put in their second appearance. Mrs PBT's was especially pleased, as she'd missed out on this spectacular light show, the previous evening. We watched as our ship slowly slipped anchor, and began our departure from Alta. Little did we know this was going to be our last sighting of land for five days. Returning to the cabin Eileen mentioned our steward had warned that the sea was likely to be rough, once we left the sheltered waters of Altafjord, and had advised not to leave any glasses. full or otherwise in a place where they could slide off.

True to the steward's word, the seas became increasingly rough during the night, and the following morning we discovered that our ship would not be able to call at Narvik, as originally scheduled. The captain's midday announcement confirmed we would not be able to berth there, and worse still, the area of deep depression we were experiencing, was the first of several such weather systems. So, with no port to call at, we grudgingly settled down to five days of being tossed about on the high seas, experiencing the worst that the Norwegian Sea could throw at us.