Arctic Circle Tiki Bar
The Arctic Circle meets the South Pacific as we experience true Norwegian culture while sipping exotic drinks.
Northernmost blah, blah, blah
Tromso, Norway is home to a lot of places which claim to be the world’s northernmost version. In fact, so many tourists flocked to the “world’s northernmost McDonald’s,” that I had to wait several minutes for my turn to take a photo of this poster:
Northernmost Tiki Bar
Meanwhile, one block away, the world’s northernmost Burger King, goes about its day with little fanfare.
While I tend towards the Burger King level of excitement regarding the latitude of various fast food chains, there was one “northernmost” place I was truly excited to visit: the world’s northernmost tiki bar!
Surprising connections
At first glance, a tiki bar in Norway simply seems ironic. After all, given the climate, and without a palm tree in sight, there are no obvious connections between the Arctic Circle and the South Pacific.
However, as Larry and I soaked up the ambience at Tromso’s cozy Misfit Tiki Bar the idea made more and more sense to me.
Norway is a coastal country, after all, with strong connections to the sea. While tiki mugs and bamboo decor are reminiscent of far-flung climes, fishing nets, glass buoys, and an overall nautical theme pairs well here.
A Life-long Love
I have a life-long fascination with tiki decor and its alluring promise of exotic culture and locales. Growing up, I enjoyed my dad’s exotica record albums, took Polynesian dance (poi palls, anyone?) and found the mid-century vibe intriguing.
In my twenties, I owned a coffeehouse, where I served Italian sodas in a variety of tiki mugs found in thrift stores. (Sadly, my ex-husband smashed them with a hammer and tossed them into the recycle bin, claiming we needed to declutter our kitchen.)
Midnight Visit to Tromso
These days, I’m slowly rebuilding my tiki mug collection while living out my childhood dreams of traveling the world. Even so, it took me three tries before I finally managed to visit the Misfit Tiki Bar. The first two times we came to Tromso, it was closed.
Last night, however, our Hurtigruten Coastal Ferry stopped in Tromso for an hour and a half. Many passengers were excited to attend a midnight concert in the local cathedral. While I’m sure that was enchanting, I had my heart set on a different experience.
Lucky for us, the Misfit Tiki Bar is only a 5 minute walk from the ship. Well — thanks to slick, snowy streets and our lack of winter boots, this actually turned into a 15 minute walk, but we made it in one piece.
Worth the wait
We rushed off the boat and reached the Misfit by 12:15 a.m. Since we only had an hour left, I ordered drinks while Larry found a place to sit. The bar offers beer, mulled wine, and so forth, but we didn’t come all this way for that — we wanted fancy drinks!
Specialty cocktails take time to make, and the bartender had a few orders ahead of ours, so I eavesdropped on boisterous locals at a nearby table while I waited. (Lucky for me, one of them was Irish, which is why they chatted in English.)
Impromptu Viking chant
When the group found out I’m from Texas, they peppered me with questions about barbecue and cowboys, then tested my Norwegian pronunciation skills by having me say the word “Tromso” over and over.
“The weird ‘o’ at the end sounds like a gut punch,” one of them explained.
Between my attempts and their replies, we must’ve sounded like a Viking call and response chant celebrating the solstice. By the time I mastered the guttural vowel to their satisfaction, the cocktails were ready.
Specialty Cocktails
I ordered a Bearded Dancer, which contains: Pineapple Rum, Mango & Ginger rum, Lime, Passionfruit, Ginger, Mango, Bitters.
Larry, meanwhile, tried a Guavity, which features: Meir Pink Aquavit, Banana Liqueur, Guava, Coconut, Lemon, Bitters, Pineapple Soda, Orange Flower Water.
Both drinks were pretty to look at and refreshing to sip. The flavors were varied, but not heavy-handed — not an easy balance to achieve.
In short, they were delicious!
Friendly Locals
Before long, another group of locals struck up a conversation with us. It was a shame we were so pressed for time because everyone at the Misfit Tiki Bar was incredibly friendly and eager to chat.
These folks were genuinely sweet, and their sincerity shone through when they repeatedly said, “We hope you are enjoying Norway.”
As they joked about how the tiki bar was a shining example of “true Norwegian culture,” something dawned on me…
Weekend extroverts
You see, the coastal ferry we’re currently traveling on offers daily lectures about Norway. One of the crew members, a gal named Svenja, recently told us that Norwegians tend to be quiet and reserved during the work week.
“But when the weekend comes, we have a bit to drink. Then, we will talk to everybody,” she explained. “So I suggest you visit a bar while we dock in Tromso. This will show you how we are at weekends, and you can have a true Norwegian night out.”
Svenja was right
From what we experienced, Svenja was right! This made our trip to Tromso’s Misfit Tiki Bar successful on two counts: not only did Larry and I sip cocktails at the world’s northernmost tiki bar, but we also enjoyed a true taste of Norwegian culture.
While you’re here, check out my other blog posts at the following links: Tui’s Travels and/or Tui’s Tombstones. Enjoy!
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