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Up later this morning and it is still raining. We visited Narvik's War Museum which only opened in July 2016. We watched a movie on Norways' involvment in the WW2 and the near destruction of the city. Some of the exhibits were interactive and very interesting. Narvik was targetted in the war because of its ice free port and the iron ore.
Gary, Betty, Pete and I walked to the nearby shopping centre and had Hungry Jacks for lunch. After lunch Pete and I had a optional city sightseeing tour. Our guide was very informative but also very boring. As it was still raining heavily, we could only drive by most sights and take photos from inside the coach. We saw the Narvik Luthren Cathedral, the eight sided church made of wood, University of Narvik on top of the mountain. The railyards, docks and the Commonwealth War Graves.
Narvik was founded as an all-year ice free port for the Kiruna and Gallivare Gälliveiron mines. During the construction of the railway, the coming port was called Victoriahavn (Victoria harbour) until 1898, when the name was changed to Narvik. The town was officially founded in 1902. The Ofotbanen railway line connects Narvik to Kiruna in Sweden, passing through the mountains dividing the two countries.
LKAB,the mining corporation, still ships the majority of its ore from Narvik (a total 25 million tons a year).
After our tour Pete and I walked around the supermarket and shopping centre and met up with Gary and Betty for tea and watched another magnificent sunset from the 16th floor of our hotel.
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