Cruising in Norway - Part 1

As you saw in my previous blog about packing I went on a Hurtigruten Cruise with my Mum along the north coast of Norway for around 12 days.  I thought I would write a few blogs about what I actually got up to, but first I wanted to let you know a little bit more about the cruise itself.

Our cruise was the Northern Lights cruise as there was a guarantee that you would see the northern lights on your trip.  It's a 12 days trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back again with lots of activities and, of course, lots of staring at the night sky for the Aurora Borealis.  The main thing to remember is that this isn't like a normal cruise with all the entertainment that is apparently usually expected (but who needs that with the scenery you get) and is more about getting to see a bit more of Norway.  The ships are also still working ships, ferrying mail and locals from one port to another, so expect a lot of stopping but with not a lot of time at each port and many of them will be visited at night while you sleep.  However, I actually preferred this and think that the usual type of cruises would be too much for me.

And now for the actual trip.

Day 1 was actually mainly a travel day with us flying from Bristol to Bergen where our ship (the MS Nordlys) was traveling from.  And yes I did say fly, unfortunately.  It's not a great aspect of the trip but I am going to work on my carbon footprint the rest of the year to counter act that.  When we landed in Bergen there was snow everywhere, even on the runway, and we were told on the coach to the ship that this was very usual for Bergen as the Gulf Stream also gives them the mild temperatures we get in the UK.  Made me very glad I had brought all of the thermals I did as it was looking like Norway was also experiencing a cold snap.  Once the bags were on the coach we didn't have to worry about them as they magically appeared at our room, and then it was just sorting out our belongings, a buffet dinner, and watching the health and safety video before just relaxing.  The first night on 

the cruise definitely lets you know that this is a working ship and I would definitely recommend ear plugs if you're on the lower two desks - lots of engine noise.  I'm not normally someone who can deal with ear plugs, but got used to them.

During Day 2 we travelled from Florø to Kristiansund.  The longest stop for us was at Ålesund, which is a beautiful town to walk around.  In the early 20th century there was a large fire which burnt down almost all the wooden buildings and everything was then rebuilt from scratch with the help of Kaiser Wilhelm (slightly ironically) who took vacations in the area.  Because of this almost all the buildings are in an Art Nouveau style that was popular at the time, with a Scandi twist.  

Snow boots were definitely needed but it wasn't as cold as we were expecting and I had to remove some layers pretty quickly.  One thing I definitely noticed during the whole trip was that even though it's cold, it's a dry cold and not the damp cold I'm used to here in Britain, so you don't need to layer up quite as much as you would otherwise expect.

Tonight we ate at the set table we had been given and met the six other people we would be spending the next nine dinners with.  Three of us (myself included) had eating requirements and we think that's why we were placed together, but I have to say we were very lucky with the people they choose to put us with who were a great laugh.  We probably became the noisy table with all the laughing we did, but we've made some great friends which we plan to  keep in touch with for a very long time.

Day 3 saw us travelling from Trondheim to Rørvik.  We had a particularly long stay at Trondheim (about six hours) and that allowed us to properly explore the town.  My Mum particularly wanted to see the cathedral as last time she was here she had damaged her knee and was in a lot of pain, so we did a walking route recommended on a map provided on the cruise ship.  

As it was Sunday none of the shops were open but that did mean we were able to amble around with ease, but also meant we only had around 20 minutes to check out the cathedral before the next service.  

Firstly we passed the statue of Olav Tryggsason, the viking King founder of Trondheim in the 900s.  Behind his foot is the head of a slave called Kark who murdered his master (and Olav's enemy who he had put a bounty on) King Haakon in the hopes of getting the reward.  However, this was not allowed for slave's to Olav cut off his head as well and put them together on stakes - lovely.  

The cathedral was very beautiful and the vaulted ceilings were absolutely amazing, the acoustics must be great.  The stain glass windows were also beautiful and it was interesting to see the Norse carvings on the structure similar to the Celtic ones we have in our churches here.  You're not allowed to take any photos inside the cathedral so you'll just have to take my word for it........or go yourself.

We then carried around to the Old Bridge with the red wooden structure and which has a bike lift we couldn't see because it was covered in snow.  From there you get a great view of The Wharves made up of wooden buildings right up against the river's edge.  

Then we took a left and ended up in the Bakklandet area, which is a place worth travelling to Trondheim to see in it's own right.  It must be irritating having so many people wonder past your home taking photos, but it is a lovely little section and, at this time of year, very quiet.

The 'Point of Interest' (a Hurtigruten Cruise term) for today was the Munkholmen island opposite Trondheim which has been used since Viking times (mainly for executions and to display severed heads - nice) and has been a monastery and a prison.  You can actually visit it during the less bitter months, but that wasn't something we were able to do this time.

After dinner we headed up to the open section on desk 7 to look at the sky for the norther lights.  Whilst there were some on display they didn't look anything more then just streaks of grey.  What was frustrating was that people would say to us 'You could see green colouring just 10 minutes ago'.  This just made us more adamant to see them the next time.

Day 4 was a day of not a lot of sleep as we travelled from Brønnøysund to Svolvӕr.  We got a call at around 2.00 am telling us that the northern lights had been spotted, so we quickly put all our warm clothing on and rushed upstairs.  As before, on day 3, we only really saw them as grey, cloud-like features so after a while we headed back to bed.  

Then at 7.00 am I dragged myself out of bed to see the globe which marks the crossing over the arctic circle.  It was pretty dark and so you couldn't really see it too well (and definitely not get a great photo of it), but I'm glad I made the effort to be conscious when we crossed over.  

Later at 10.00 am we had the ceremony to celebrate this crossing, which included having ice cold water with ice cubes poured down your back.  They got some amazing photos of people, but I actually didn't feel that it was as bad as I thought it was going to be and the cloudberry liquor more then made up for it.

My first expedition (this is the word the cruise uses, but I'm not entirely sure any of the trips can really be called that.  Still, it feels it feel like you're doing something exciting) was to go on an Arctic Coastal Walk at Bodø.  Bodø was an interesting place in itself, though not pretty, based on the fact that pretty much all of the buildings are from the 1950s after the town was destroyed during WWII during a Luftwaffe attack.  

However, the coastal walk was stunningly beautiful, especially in the cold and snowy setting.  The weather was particularly cold on this trip as the wind blowing in dropped the temperature by about 6 degrees when it was already -10.  Even the lovely ladies taking us on the guided walk said that this was much colder then expected with temperatures using being -2 degrees Celsius for this time of year.  

They talked about the geology of the land, the cold coral reef just off the shore (bits of which get washed up during storms and end up on the beach to be ground down into sand), Doggerland and the flood that covered it, and of course the Vikings as a few burials had been found in this area.  Very cold but worth it.

We then decided to go to our first 'Gathering with the Expedition Team', which was very informative and incredibly funny, and then watch the documentary they were putting on about the Norther Lights before I headed off for my second excursion which was to the Lofotpils Brewery in Svolvӕr.  This is a small, family started and run business, and the tour didn't take very long but was packed full of information and worth it.  

We also got to try a number of the beers they produced, which seems to basically be one of each style of beer, and my favourites were definitely the Pilsner and the IPA.  Unfortunately we couldn't buy any as it was after 8.00 pm, but if you're ever in that area I would see about getting a tour if I was you.

The last call of the day was a trip up Raftsundet to look at the Trollfjorden fjord, a very skinny fjord that they aren't able to travel up this time of year due to the dangers of avalanche and rock falls.  However, they did shine quite a strong light down the fjord to allow us to attempt to look down it as best we could.  During this time the expedition team talked us through some of the struggles the fishermen fishing in this location had, not with the fish which were apparently abundant, but with other people.  Such as a fight that took place between traditional fishermen and those with steam powered boats at the mouth of the fjord.

We also got to try some berry tea (with or without alcohol) and some of us who weren't vegetarian tried an interesting looking fish cake which looked like it had the same texture as tofu.  We did get to keep the enamel mug as well, so that has been added to my collection.

It was cloudy and snowy that night so we knew it was very unlikely we'd see Northern Lights that night or be woken up during the night to see some.  I have to say I was kind of glad about that, I needed the sleep.

Book Review: What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?

'What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?' is one of the many books that I had sitting in my mini library not being read, despite the fact that I really wanted to, partly because I didn't really have the time and partly because I had so many books to read.  But, I'm glad I decided to finally pull it out of the box all my books now sit in and give it a read.  

The author, Tony Juniper, is a British campaigner and environmentalist who advises on sustainability and was the Executive Director of Friends of the Earth.  However, if you think that the Friends of the Earth connection means that this book is going to be wishy washy, slightly hippy, and full of emotion instead of facts you'd be very wrong.  Instead, it is very to the point and full of researched data, coupled with information that Juniper has collected in his role as a sustainability adviser to many companies and governments.  All this whilst still being a very easy read.

The book itself looks at the services that nature has been and still is providing for us completely free of charge and which we completely take for granted.  In fact, these services are so taken for granted most of us don't even realise they are happening.  If put into actual financial terms it has been calculated that these services are worth twice the global GDP.  These services include bees pollinating our food, the recycling of nutrients and carbon capture in our soils, oxygen production in forests, birds protecting crops from 'pest' species, corals and mangroves protecting coastlines from storms, and the, as yet, untapped genetic codebook in the natural world which still have potential pharmaceutical uses.

However, the loss of these services would not just be a financial one with us having to actually pay to do the services ourselves, but there are also additional negative knock on effects which are far more important then the loss of finances.  Take, for example, the Indian vultures whose populations have been decimated by the use of the painkiller diclofenac in livestock which the vultures fed on.  The concentration that had accumulated in the vultures bodies has led to kidney failure in the birds and the loss of these birds meant that the free service they provided of removing carcasses from the landscape was gone.  The financial cost for this service to be done by humans is large and practically unattainable for many people in the area.  But the main knock on effect wasn't the finances but the rise in rabies related deaths in the human population.  With no vultures around to be the led consumers of the carcasses stray dogs began eating the meat and their population dramatically increased, along with the number of dogs carrying rabies and the number of dog bites in humans.  

Perhaps the most interesting part of this book was the way it looked at how our financial systems are run and the idea that pervades through them that nature and economy are separate issues and, of course, that we shouldn't allow one (nature) to affect the growth of the other (finances).  But, as Juniper points out, this is a false economy.  So many of our industries rely on these free services (fishing being the most obvious one) and destroying nature would have a serious negative impact on the global economy.  And yet, most of our economic advisers and ministers seem to be incapable of moving away from the old school idea we have of economy to include this crucial component.  Some companies are starting to realise the important steps they need to take, including M&S and Unilever, but we really need our Governments to take the next step too.  These services aren't limitless as we live in a closed system and losing them would be devastating.  

This is a great book and I would definitely recommend reading it (especially if you're a financial adviser).  The phrase 'but we just can't afford it' just isn't accurate now that we know just how much we rely on nature to keep us safe, healthy, and alive.  The fact is we can't afford to not put nature first.  I will end with Juniper's ending sentences (and my favourite in the book) which is 'The alternative is to carry on as we are now.  After all, what had nature ever done for us?'

Packing for a Cruise to Norway

Firstly I wanted to apologize for not putting up a post last weekend.  I know it's not a big deal, but I did promise myself that I would keep up this one post a week I've been managing.  My only excuse is that I was enjoying the feeling of floating on the Norwegian Sea without having to worry about getting anything specific done.  And now onto the post.

Almost a year ago now I was sitting with my parents and lazily said (after a commercial of course) that it would be interesting to go on a cruise just once at some point in my life, just to see what it was like.  What I didn't know was that my Mum had stored that thought away and later booked us on a cruise with Hurtigruten Cruises on their northern lights trip along the coast of Norway.

I have been to Norway before but that was a very, very long time ago and I couldn't remember what the weather had been like this time of year.  I looked at the weather forecast and it predicted predominantly clear skies, but very cold temperatures of below -10 degrees Celsius (which is actually pretty cold even for parts of Norway this time of year) so the main theme I went for was warmth.  Thankfully that's something I already own a number of items of.  There wasn't a lot of room so I wanted to be as precise as possible and this is what I ended up taking.

Mainly thermals, lots and lots of thermals.  To be precise I took 4 short sleeve thermal tops, 1 long sleeve thermal top, 2 thermal leggings, 1 pair of thermal trousers, 2 knee length thermal socks, 4 short thermal socks (and a few pairs of none thermal mainly for exercising in), thermal hat, thermal headband, and lastly a thermal buff.  For warmth I also packed my only Merino wool jumper (which I basically wore every day), my gillet (which I also basically wore every day), my puffer jacket, my good old Norwegian jumper that used to be my brother's, my old faithful 3-in-1 fleece and waterproof jacket, a wool scarf I've had since I was a child, a couple of non-thermal buffs to protect my face, Merino wool gloves, and waterproof gloves.  Also in the bag was my work out gear, a pair of jeans, a pair of walking trousers, a dress and tights for 'just in case', pajamas, a towel and flannel, a swimming customer, and a whole lot of underwear.

Shoes wise were my snow boots, my running shoes (which I forgot to photograph), and some ballet shoes.

Also coming along were some books for when the long nights drew in, obviously my diary, and my binoculars that come with me on every trip.

My wash bag was probably larger then it should have been, but with dry, sensitive skin and the medicine I'm taking at the moment I didn't really have much of a choice.  For that purpose I brought my Soap Friendly aloe vera soap, Palmer's body butter, night and day face oils, The Body Shop lip salve, and The Body Shop hand cream.  Suncream is also definitely a must for travelling in this part of the world, despite which my face still got a bit of sun.  It was also recommended that we bring ear plugs as the ship is a working ship and we would be able to hear the engine, especially when going into port during the night.  Also with me were my Lush Dirty tooth tabs, my safety razor, the Georganics charcoal dental floss, and Georganics bamboo tootbrush.

Lastly was a bag with some of the makeup I'm trying to use up.

Of course the big question is, did I use / wear all of it? And the answer, for the most part, is yes.  The temperature and activities I was doing on the trip changed regularly so having all the clothing items I had which would allow me to layer up or down depending was a great choice (even if I do say so myself).  As for things I didn't use. I didn't touch the makeup at all, but really who was I kidding, nor did I wear the 'just in case' dress, tights, and ballet slippers.  The towel also wasn't used, but I still think I would take it again.  Unfortunately I didn't get to use my swimming custom (more on that later), but would also bring that again later.  I also didn't use my body butter.  But that's not because I didn't need to, I actually really did, but because I was lazy and am now paying the price for it.

All in all I was probably warmer than I needed to be most of the time, which just proves 'There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing'.