At the northern most reach (71 degrees latitude north) of the European continent there is a visitor center designed to hold several hundred tourists who might be more inclined to mill around inside, shop for souvenirs, and drink coffee on a stormy, unpleasant day than to be out of doors.

It was cold when we were there, about 10 Celsius, and windy, however not unbearable to be outside. We had the requisite photograph snapped while we stood on the marker, mailed postcards to grandchildren to get a special postmark affixed, watched a short film about the geology and wildlife of the area, got back on the bus and went back to the ship!

Yet there was a special feeling to the place, perhaps created by expectation, perhaps not. Who can say? Two members of our group had been in South Africa late in 2006, and can now say that they had been on the southern most and northern most points of the eastern hemisphere in one twelve month period.