Yesterday when we got in from our excursion to Tromsø, there were Certificates in our names certifying that we had crossed the Arctic Circle yesterday aboard the MS Kong Harald. So it is official! Mind you, we have now crossed the 70.26 degrees north latitude and 21.6 degrees east.
Last night was interesting as we ventured into the true open sea waters across the top of Norway about midnight. The motion of the ship has increased markedly and I am glad to going to bed to be 'lulled'. I was just glad that Donna or I didn't fall out of bed!
We woke this morning to hammering and other welding type noises. "Hope that they're not trying to fix a hole in this bucket", says Donna and now I can't get the words of the damn song out of my head! We are sailing up through the Strait of Magerøya toward Magerøya Island. This island is the furthest north that you can travel by road in Norway and the North Cape is the most northern tip of mainland Europe.
Honningsvåg is the most northern city in Norway. The North Cape has been a beacon for adventurers from around the world for centuries. Today we were given a unique and unforgettable insight into the incredible way of life in this isolated territory, far above the Arctic Circle. We are now at 71°10' 21" north of the Equator and at the end of the northernmost road in Norway. The
landscape is rugged and bare with not a tree to be seen outside of the gardens in Honningsvåg. I am surprised that on this trip we have not seen much wildlife. Plenty of birds, but no whales, or seals, or porpoises, no foxes or martens or even rabbits. Today however we do see reindeer in their natural habitat and we are told that every house in Honningsvåg has a cat to deal with the only rodents on the island - the plentiful mice!
Our guide tells us that Honningsvåg averages one fine day each two weeks, so we are lucky that today is clear but cloudy. As this is the end of summer (in a week) and rain is forecast for the next three weeks, it was their last fine day this summer. It is also
unseasonally warm at 8 degrees, although the wind chill makes it feel colder.
So far, this is the first day we have resorted to beanies and really that was to keep or hair from whipping across our faces!
Methinks that we might have over-packed on cold weather gear - although it appears that we might be glad of them tomorrow both literally and metaphorically when we take a bus trip to the Russian border!
The North Cape Plateau soars to 307 metres almost vertically above the Arctic Ocean. The iconic globe sculpture has become the symbol of the North Cape. At the North Cape Hall we viewed a panoramic film about Magerøya Island through the seasons and 'experienced' the northern lights in a light
tunnel. Took a photo with the globe at the top of the earth and another at the marker for the International Hiking Trail from Italy to North Cape - inspired by Francesco Negri an Italian priest who first did this expedition in 1664! Wonder who he was trying to avoid!!In those times, there were no roads (first constructed in the 1950s) and early explorers would have travelled by boat and then scaled a near vertical cliff. Mad or what?
The reindeer are herded by the local Sami people - the indigenous peoples of the Finnmark (across the top of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia). Each year in winter they herd the reindeer to the mainland for feed and then at the start of summer they transport them (by ferry) back to the island. Reindeer are mottled colours in the summer, and have a white coat in the winter. There are some reindeer that have white coats year round - these are albino and have red eyes, and wait for it - red noses! Hello Rudolph!!
There is a Post Office (box) here and you can send postcards stamped with the North Cape - we didn't worry about that.
In 1988, seven children from across the globe were invited
to the North Cape for one week to produce a monument to the 'Children of the Earth' - a symbol of cooperation, friendship, hope and joy.
Sadly the Kysten Restaurant is closed tonight so we have to resort to eating at the buffet bistro. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it is just that our two experiences at the Kysten have been so memorable. On the menu tonight was local Salmon, Reindeer strips in a cream sauce served with mashed potato and
a berry mouse with hazelnut crunch for dessert. These were the three regional specialities for us to try. Of course there was plenty else on offer as well - prawns, crab claws, various cold roast meats and salads. Both Donna and I are so full. We have resorted to two meals per day and still feel like we are over-eating.
Tonight's meal is finished with cheese plates and a sample of the Norwegian Akevitt
(Water of life) which is made from distilled poteter. This is a harsh liquour with a distinct flavor from a variety of different spices and herbs. Caraway is by far the most popular, but dill, cardamom, cumin, anise, and fennel are typical ingredients as well. Akevitts vary in color from clear to a light and even caramer colored brown. Some akevitt is aged in oak casks, which give it a brownish hue. The longer it is stored in the oak casks, the darker the hue will be. Norwegian akevitt is aged in oak casks for anywhere from 1-12 years. Clear akevitt is known as “taffel.” Not to everyone's taste.
We have to re-pack our bags now andhave them ready to be off-loaded at the port of Kirkenes in the morning. Wish us luck - they are getting fuller by the day.
Riikka and Runo and the boys are getting excited as we get closer. Tomorrow we will try to arrange a hire car for our trip to Helsinki and we hope to reach Riikka's home in Jyväskylä by Wednesday night.
Description
We are getting so full. If ever anyone is told that they need to eat more, may we recommend taking a cruise. All you seem to do is eat! We opted not to have breakfast, but to have an early lunch. Same offerings as other days - there is variety in the hot dishes but we are skipping them for salads and cold salmons and meats, cheeses and crackers, fruit and dessert.
Today there is no cider available - sacré bleu! So we tried a Mack Ginger Beer - nice enough, but not a patch on the cider for lunch.
Tromsø is the Arctic Capital. We begin our shore excursion here with a trip high above Tromsø in the cable car to a mountain ledge at Storsteinen, 471 metres above sea level. It is from here that most of the trips to see the northern lights depart. No chance of us seeing them as we are coming out of the time of the midnight sun, with the sun setting just in time for the moon to shine for a few hours. Last night, just before we travelled through the Trollsfjord, Donna managed to get a lovely photo.
As we are travelling further north towards the North Pole, there is more and more permanent snow visible on the mountain caps. Doesn't matter that the altitude is low, the latitude is higher and higher.
Tromsø's old town is characterised by old timber buildings while its recent (1965) Arctic Cathedral dominates the low skyline. Tromsø sits on the island of the same name and until the 1960's almost all development was contained on the island. Across a small channel, on the mainland, there was farming. By the 1960's the population was swelling and as the island is sea-locked, development had begun on the adjacent mainland areas, although access was not practical for work, school or shopping. By then, there were sufficient numbers on the mainland and demand for more development and so a bridge was built.
Even today, Tromsø struggles for land for development and down near the harbour there is active land reclamation going on. Our guide explains that half of the land on which the port is sited was not even there two years ago.
We leave the boat and catch a bus through the centre of town, detouring because of a major music festival that starts tonight, and dodging roadworks before entering a tunnel that OMG has roundabouts in it! Sarah (guide) explains that much of Tromsø's road network is underground to ensure access in the winter months and that the network runs north-south and east-west, hence the need for the roundabouts. She also explains that it takes much of the traffic off the inner city streets. Up through narrow residential streets the bus travels to the cable car station. A number of times, cars need to reverse to allow the bus access - must annoy the locals during the tourist season.
The actual cable car ride is only short. The views from the top looking down on Tromsø, its ski jumps and other sporting fields, the long fjords and waterways where cargo ships are miniaturised and the mountain chains under snow and cloud stretch as far as the eye can see. It is postcard perfect and one of the views that often grace Norway tourist pitches.
On the way back into the city, we stop at the Arctic Cathedral, a Lutheran Cathedral - very sparse and sombre on the inside without the stunning stained glass window behind the altar - and this was only put in because the sun was blinding worshippers!
Our final stop is at Polaris - an aquarium plus educational centre that is attached to and benefits from the adjoining multi-national Arctic Research facility. Kind of twee, although they showed a panoramic movie of the areas of the northern Arctic that are almost impossible to visit. More Oh. My. God. scenery and I wish that I could be looking at it with my own eyes in nature.
The other attraction here is the seal feeding pool where they have two small leopard-spotted Harbour Seals and two Arctic Fur Seals that are about four times the size. Like all these feeding operations, the seals do tricks for their dinner and these were no different. Cheeky and a bit of fun.
We arrive back on the ship just before 6pm and tonight have a booking in the Kysten A La Carte Restaurant for a King Crab Meal.
Prosecco on arrival, 500 g of red King Crab with hot melted brown butter, charred lemon halves, a dill mayonnaise and a chilli aoili. Served with bread and butter and a pineapple and melon salad. SUBLIME. We washed it all down with a French Chablis. Ended the night with a Cheese Board - Camembert, Hard Goat Cheese, and a delectable Norwegian Blue paired with Cloudberry syrup, Carrot marmalade, fig relish, toffeed nuts, strawberries and raspberries. We finished with Coffee and Cognac. Wonder what the poor people are eating tonight?!
Died and gone to heaven!
Talk about King of the Sea!!
I didn't sleep all that well last night. Before I had got into a deep sleep we had docked at one of the overnight ports where the Hurtigruten vessels pull in to collect daily food supplies and make freight deliveries. Our cabin is very close to the gangways - both passenger and freight and for some reason, last night seemed noisier than previous nights. Still, little price to pay for being close to the excursion exit points - literally just outside our door.
When ships pass in the night (and in the day), there are three horns sounded from each vessel. Before you realise this, as the horns sound you start to count, waiting to hear for the evacuation alarm. Must admit, the first time was a bit alarming as we got to the sixth horn, until you realise that the second round of three blasts sounds different to the first three. Phew, no need to get wet!
The ship is in and out of open waters at the moment. You can immediately feel the change without even looking out the window. When we hit open waters, unprotected from islands, islets or rocks, the swell increase is quite noticeable.
We are back into the exploring today with two excursions. Firstly, we are headed for Bodø - the second largest town in northern Norway and home to 70,000 people.
Bodø lies just north of the Arctic Circle. It is also the end of the line for the Norwegian rail system.
Bodø was bombed in 1944 and assistance was provided by the Swedish government to rebuild parts of the ruined town. In return, the city now has a sector dubbed the Swedish quarter. Today, Bodø is a very fast growing town. There is very little manufacturing. Rather, it is a city of communications, access, tourism and learning. The 'high school' was granted university status a couple of years ago and is now home to 7,000 students.
There is a very noticeable amount of building and roadworks happening with new civic and private investment happening. Its a nice mix of traditional timber homes and modern high-rise apartments.
After our whirlwind drive through the streets of Bodø, we leave to drive 30 kms north to the point where we can observe the effects of the Saltstraumen current.
Our driver and guide Michael was obviously very proud of his home. As we boarded the bus, he handed out samples of Arctic Salt in rather unique little tins. This salt is harvested at Saltstraumen where the ocean currents rush into the fjord.
The Saltstraumen is the strongest tidal current in the world with water speeds reaching up to 22 knots. Up to 400,000,000 cubic metres of seawater forces its way through a 3 km wide strait every 6 hours! The Saltstraumen has existed for about 3,000 years. Depending on the conditions, there can be up to a 1 metre difference between the level of the seawater and that of the water inside the fjord. Today, we have arrived about halfway in to the turn of the tide and the Saltstraumen is just beginning to develop. If you look very closely, you can see eddies forming at the edge of the current. Too bad we are not 2 hours later when it would beat its peak. We are told of the maelstroms that can occur and the loss of life over the years. Michael was saying that only yesterday a small ship was pushed on to the rocks when it lost its engine. Both the crew and the ship were saved.
The scenery en-route is a little ho-hum - just kidding! Like the rest of the Norwegian coastline to now, it is a mix of towering mountains that plunge to the sea, small lakes and streams dotted with rocks and rocky outcrops and glacial plains that are farmed and settled.
The high mountains, like in other parts of the world are the cloud nurseries and we see clouds forming high in the mountain valleys. At times, they tumble over the ridges and cascade down the mountainside.
Out at sea,we can see squalls where it is raining in one view and in the next there is bright sunlight reflected so sharply that we need to squint while looking out the windows.
Back on board we have missed the lunch service. We could have had an early lunch, or
packed something to take with us, but all we seem to do is eat, so we chose not to have anything after a good breakfast this morning of eggs,sausage, pancake (pikelets) with jam and sweetened whipped butter, yoghurt and fruit. Instead, we head up to the cafe for a hot drink and the obligatory cake - today's afternoon delight! There are a number of points on board where you can have instant coffee or tea for nought, but personally, would prefer to pay and have the real deal!
We rug up a bit more for our next excursion - an evening journey for a taste of Viking life on the Lofoten Islands.
This trip we journeyed from Stamsund to Borg before continuing to the Lofotr Viking Museum. We are met at Stamsund by our guide Christian, dressed in Viking garb. He tells a good story in preparation for our visit to the local Chieftan's house - a fully restored full sized reconstruction of a traditional Viking home. Chieftan Olaf and his wife Olsen met us at the door. They then introduced us to some of the other members of the household including Olsen's sister - alive for 18 winters, and their slave who had been found by a local farmer as a baby and given to the chieftan when her own family came along. Picture a flamboyant Baldrick and you have him in one!
Into the banquet hall we file where we feasted on a traditional Viking meal of Lamb roasted on the fire, swedes, carrots, barley gruel, 'bread', sour cream and ligonberry conserve. The meat was cut with a knife, but the meal was eaten for the most part with your fingers - much to the chagrin of some of our fellow travellers! Served with goblets of mead and water. Every time something significant was said, it was time for a toast - a reverberating 'Skul' - and
then a hearty swig of the mead. They generously refilled the goblets of all those who partook a generous swig. True Aussies in style, we celebrated with the chieftan with gusto. Donna was one of the lucky ones who got to join in the dance at the end of the meal.
All too soon our visit was at an end. The ship had sailed on and we drove for just under an hour to reach it, now docked in Svolvær.
Tonight we are promised something special on the outside deck just before midnight - we are sailing in through the Trollfjord and in this narrow channel, you can almost reach out and touch the cliff walls on either side of the ship! Coupled with a moon hanging high in the sky over open water, it certainly made sitting up worth it. Too dark for a photo,but forever in our mind's eyes!
Another memorable day in a very memorable part of this beautiful world.
Turns out that Bergen has the highest rainfall in all of Scandinavia. And today proves that well and truly. But I will have any one day of rain to appreciate the brilliant clear sunshine that follows - especially if that is tomorrow when we get to go to Geiranger and the Trollstingen Pass to Molde where we look down along the length of the fjords.
Today began again with a bit of a scare. Got up to go to the bathroom early and in returning to bed, walked along the mirror that is the length of the room and gave myself a fright when I passed the magnified section for makeup or shaving. OMG I am NOT an early morning person. Note to self: avert your eyes when passing mirrors! 😂
Breakfast was included at the Best Western Hotell Hordaheimen, the first that has been so on this trip thus far. Breakfast was great - good selection of hot and cold, fruit and cheeses, meats and salads, cereals and yoghurts, eggs of all cooked varieties, bacon and sausages. We ate our fill before returning for our luggage which they held for us for the day.
Then we set out on foot to go around to Bryggen, 900m around the front of the port and through the local 'farmers' markets. What do you think they farm around here? Well, that would be fish, oysters, prawns, mussels, crabs; and berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries and cherries; and small-goods made from moose and deer and whale. That was the some total of the offerings at the markets, mind you there were many multiples of sellers in each category. And one lone soft serve ice cream vendor at the very end. As we (under our umbrellas) walked past each of the sellers, they would have one of their staff dedicated to touting for business mostly young girls. And they were very good at it! Marchiella caught our attention showing us the ENORMOUS Norwegian Oysters and the smaller and smoother Fjord oysters. And the trolls guarded the condiments!
Bergen was once the capital of Norway and it was ruled from the old part of the city - Byrggen. Bryggen has existed since just after the Viking Age of 1070 and as it stands now was constructed after the Great Fire of 1702. You cannot help but wonder at how it does burn to the ground far more often. The last fire was in 1955. We heard sirens and saw a fire truck coming screaming along the road and the crowd collectively took in a breath! Its ok, its none of the row of historic shop fronts that we duck in and out of to escape the rain. In fact Donna is sure that it is those wet days that is what is protecting the timber from burning again!
The front of the shops are wonky and nothing is really straight. While all lined up, they are very picturesque, up close you can see the strain reflected in different ways - a door that does not lineup with its lintel, a set of steps narrow and steep that go up on an angle, whole buildings that tiredly lean against each other as though to prop themselves up. A number of them are empty with historic displays in their windows and a few others are under renovation. The shops that front the quay in these shops are the big name tourist outlets and one or two woolen shops or adventure gear shops. We can only begin to guess what the rents must be like in a city that is very expensive. I did support the local commerce with the purchase of a Norway coastline cross-stitch kit. Don't ask, it doesn't matter, I like it!
We had read up on Bryggen before we arrived here and know that there are a number of timber floored alleys and arcades and that towards the back of these are local artisans - we found jewellers, woollen goods sellers, artists, leatherworkers, christmas decoration shops etc. I have been waiting to get here to buy a new cardigan to replace the one I left on the plane, accidently. We found ourselves in Susan Fosse's shop where I found just the thing. Again don't ask, I'm not telling!!
The boards are damp underfoot and I am terrified of slipping. After seeing two other people do just that, I am happy to leave these little timbered gems for the cobbled streets outside. The rain turns quite heavy for a while and we, along with a whole lot of other tourists, take shelter in doorways and under awnings. For a little while we even hanker down into a wall, protected from the worst by our umbrellas.
Finally the rain lets up enough for us to walk back to the taxi rank and get a cab back to the hotel where we stayed last night about 1:30 pm.
We can go down to the terminal - it opened at 13:00, but cannot book our luggage in until 15:30. The hotel is warm and dry, and we can get a glass of wine and some nuts to while away the time. Donna ventures out to see whether we can walk around to the Terminal with our luggage, but reports that it is located in the next port around the headland and up and over a large hill. Settles that, we will cab it.
The hotel concierge brings our luggage from the luggage room and orders us a taxi, telling us that the fare we should pay is 153 NOK. Glad he did that because when we got in to the taxi, the driver asked how we would be paying (I always pay card as there is a record and less likelihood of the meter not being turned on) at which point he tells us the fare will be 240 NOK. We disagree, and so he says well 160 NOK, but we stick to our guns and invite him to go and check with the hotel concierge. At this point he becomes rude and sullen but agrees to the fare. I can only think how many tourists he has ripped off. Will let the hotel know as we took the cab number.
And so finally we find ourselves at the Hurtigruten Ship Terminal. We only booked this in July, but it feel like a lifetime ago. Check in is done and we head upstairs to the cafe to wait boarding which is running an hour late. Console ourselves with a hot chocolate and a waffle while we watch the rain come and go. Come 5 pm when the crew open boarding, there is an almighty rush - as though to get the best seats! Hang on, we all have allocated cabins, so what is the rush.
Finally we are on board. Safety briefing done and dusted. Cabin located - quite spacious even if not a suite with a WINDOW that does not open on to a deck so we can have an uninterrupted view from here. We decide to wait a little while before heading up for dinner and let the panicked hordes go first. Just as well we did, there was still a line up at 8:30 pm. From here on in, we are allocated seatings, so it should be ok.
Dinner for all and sundry tonight is a buffet. Cold meats and fishes, hot dishes, salads, cheeses and crackers with fruit spreads, and desserts. We skip the hot dishes so we can have a little of the rest. The reindeer meat with lingonberries was 'interesting'. Beefy, but not, gamey, but not. Something in between the two. will be good to try it hot for a comparison!
We set sail right on 21:30 and pass out through the port areas, hugging the coast for a little while before we head out in to the open water of the Atlantic Ocean at the lighthouse. OMG the ship is rocking and rolling aghhhhhhhhh and the rain is slamming in to the window. Hopefully it will just rock us to sleep. Guess that I am about to find out. Time for bed - nite all.
