Cruising in Norway - Part 3

The last leg of our journey saw us travelling back south from Finnsnes to Bergen and it was this part of the trip that made me realise just how different the landscape it between this mid-section of Norway and the north.

Day 9 was another day of double excursions for me starting with a hike with the Expedition Team at Vesterålen, which was a little bus ride, followed by a little ferry ride, another little bus ride, and then a really good hike where I got to try snow boots for the first time.  The snow boots were definitely an interesting experience, but once you got used to the new feel and new way that you need to walk it actually became quite fun.  

The views from the top of the hill were as beautiful as we were beginning to expect on this trip and we even got to look at some dry large moose hoof prints in the snow.  Thy are absolutely massive.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see any on the actual walk, but did get a glimpse of one as we were driving back to the ship.  

We also got to hear a little bit about Vesterålen, which is a group of islands that, slightly unusually for Norway, has a large amount of land that can be used for farming.  Apparently they grow really good strawberries there as well and are famous for it.  Maybe we should return in the summer to test this out.

The lecture for the day was on the history of Hurtigruten.  Not really something I would normally go to but more interesting then I was expecting.

We also got to attempt another look at Trollfjorden, this time with more natural light.  It still wasn't possible to get a good photo of it but it was much easier to see all the way down to the end this time.  We also got to hear the troll story, involving a troll king who kept lossing his one eye and didn't listen to his daughter, connected to the formation of this fjord.

After an early dinner I set off for my last trip which was called 'Lofoten by Horse', Icelandic ponies to be precise.  These are an interesting breed with tough, stocky little legs and a good thick coat.  Their gallop is also very different from other horses in that they always keep one hoof on the ground at all times, making it a bizarrely smooth run.  There's no bumping up and down, and you feel quite safe on the saddle.  I had quite a stubborn boy who was sweet enough but really didn't want to go very fast at all, but instead wanted to go down every route no one else was taking (and which suspiciously looked like it led back to the barn).  They also showed me footage of him working out how to get out of his harness.  He required quite a lot of cajoling, but I liked his personality.  The only downside to this trip was that it was dark, cloudy, and snowy so you didn't really get a good view of the land around you or the night sky.  So whilst it was interesting getting to know more about this interesting breed and remembering how natural riding feels, maybe summer time is a better time to do this.  Especially as the circuit you take is quite a closed circuit.

Day 10 tooks us back from Bodø to Rørvik, and therefore back over the Arctic Circle.  The ceremony this time was a spoonful of cod liver oil.  

As a vegetarian this obviously wasn't something I could have but my Mum very kindly took two teaspoons of cod liver oil so that I could get a free Hurtigruten teaspoon as well (thanks Mum!).  This teaspoon now sits proudly with the few bits of cutlery I have.  

The Point of Interest was the mountains labelled the Seven Sisters with the Suitor waterfall on the opposite side (unfortunately this waterfall isn't that obvious this time of year).  This is my favourite troll story and is, as you would expect, very weird.  It also, as you would expect with Norwegian folk stories, has a very sad and dark ending, that just seems to be how they go.

After lunch there was an opportunity to learn some Norwegian Folk dancing, which my Mum and me jumped on as we love that sort of thing.  Not surprisingly there wasn't a lot of men, but we didn't really need any and had a good laugh trying out some traditional and some children's dances.  The first dance did seem a little sedate, but when you picture it with their traditional costumes it would actually look quite fluid.

Our longest stop was at Brønnøysund.  My Mum had a trip booked but I didn't.  However, she did give me the task of trying to find a couple of books were looking for.  Unfortunately it was Sunday again which meant there wasn't that many places open and after an unsuccessful potter around the centre I shot off towards where the quiet seemed to be.  

I found a nice little treed hillock beside an inlet all covered in snow and ice, and so so quiet.  After 10 days on a ship surrounded by people the whole time this was a nice, much needed break.  I stayed there as long as I dared before heading back.

Our last full day was day 11, starting at Trondheim and ending the day a Ålesund.  As before, our longest stay was at Trondheim and this time we got to see it with all the shops open.  To be honest it wasn't that much different then when it was Sunday.  

We tried to find another book shop for some of the art books we were looking for but had no luck this time either (it obviously wasn't meant to be).  However, we did pop into a souvenir shop to buy some gifts for friends and family, and where I basically spent £50 on trolls.

The Point of Interest was the Munkholmen island again, but I just went up to look at the view as the day was so clear.  There was also a talk about how to fillet a salmon.  I went as I thought there might be some interesting facts, but there wasn't much for a non-fish eating individual, so I went back to staring at the scenery.

The highlight of this day was the talk on 'Norwegian History in a Nutshell'.  It covered a lot of information pretty quickly, including previous Kings, how Norway is such a young country, and its current relationship with Europe (interesting information from a Brexit point of view).

And so began the start of 'the last time'.  Dinner was the last time we would sit and eat with our fellow table 25-ers (a great bunch of humans).  As well as the last time we would get to be out on desk 7 staring up at the night sky.  Due to that I wrapped up really warm and, despite the cold, sat outside on a desk chair, with a warm cup of tea, for as long as I could handle.  I've never felt so British. 

The last day was the sail from Torvik to our end point of Bergen.  We packed up our bags in the morning and left when outside to be collected and taken off the ship for us.  This was followed by what was probably the best lecture of the whole trip, 'A Typical Norwegian'.  Full of information, including the unexpected, very funny, and an interesting look at how Norwegian's see themselves.

The last thing we did was to go and stand out on desk 7 as we passed through Steinsundet for a listening section of Norwegian classical and contemporary music.  

It was a lovely way to end the trip, especially as there was a lot of sunshine and clear skies in which to view the sea and mountains.  

I think I can safely say that I am not a traditional cruise person and won't be doing any real cruises any time soon.  But this was a great trip and I really enjoyed my time on board.  The staff were great and really helpful (with so much work clearly going on behind the scenes), and the Expedition Team really put in a lot of work in taking expeditions, giving talks and information, as well as answering all our very many strange and wonderful questions (and there were a lot).  Not a job that I could do for the length of time that they do.  Definitely a big thank you to those guys.

One of the things I liked most about the Hurtigruten Cruise was the Hurtigruten Foundation they had set up which donates to a select number of organizations and causes with an environmental agenda.  Your able to contribute to this cause directly or just by requesting your room not be cleaned on a regular basis (you can also apply for funding from this foundation if your work is in one of the areas they operate in).  It could just be green wash, but I'm trying not to be too cynical about these things and at least it's something.

And now to leave you with my favourite song that I got from this trip as a thank you for making it this far.

Cruising in Norway - Part 2

The next four days took us all along the very north coast of Norway.  Though the coast of Norway could all be described generically as mountains and fjords, this area has a very different feel to the rest.  Though it could be described as 'stark' I actually found it the most beautiful region with its towering, pointed mountains and everything bathed in whites and different tones of blues.

Day 5 saw us sailing from Stokmarknes to Skjervøy and we started the day with a lecture on the Sami culture, looking into where they came from, the treatment they have had to endure over the last few hundred years, and the steps that they have taken to be recognised as one of the only indigenous people in Europe.  It was an introduction into their culture and a good starting point for learning more about them.

Today's Point of Interest was an island just outside of Tromsø (the day's longest stop) called Rystraumen.  Due to the currents that run around this island it is possible to see whirlpools forming, but it wasn't really the right conditions this time though there was some movement in the water.  The island also has an interesting connection to some oxen that were brought over to Norway and which lived on the island for a while (which didn't turn out very well for the oxen or local people wanting to use the island).

The main square of Tromsø is beautiful with it's centuries old wooden buildings and we had a lovely few minutes looking at the Domkirk (church) right in the centre.  This was particularly interesting to see as we knew that no buildings like this existed further north in the county of Finnmark as most were destroyed during WWII when the retreating Nazis carried out a 'scorched earth' policy.  We knew that the Polar Museum was unfortunately going to be closed when we were there and we weren't too interested in looking at modern art, so we headed for the Perpektivet museum.  Unfortunately this turned out to be closed as well due to repairs to their windows and by now it was far to late to get a bus to the Tromsø museum on the outskirts of the town.  In hindsight we should have just gone straight to the Tromsø museum from the cruise, especially as it had an exhibit on Samis, but we know for next time.

However, on our wanderings around Tromsø we did get to see some amazing snow carvings, found a lovely coffee shop to have a hot chocolate in, and get some wool for my Mum and a knitting book for me which contained some patterns of the traditional gloves you see sold everywhere here and which I wanted to give a go myself.....at some point.  It is written in Norwegian adding an extra challenge to this, though the lady who sold me the book very kindly gave me a sheet that contained translations for the most common Norwegian knitting terms - so well organised.  We had really put on the layers for this trip (again) and I found myself stripping off almost everything whilst walking around (again).  But after this I finally learnt my lesson and started wearing just what I needed based on the amount of activity I was expecting to do.  

We did have a little disappointment on Day 6 when the strong winds we were dealing with meant that we weren't able to do the trip to the Fishing Villages we had hoped for (there is a Christmas shop there and I had hoped to get some traditional Norwegian, wooden Christmas decorations there) as the road was unsafe.  

However, that did mean we were able to actually see the northern most city of Norway, Honningsvåg and I'm glad about that.  It was a lovely place to potter around and the museum was definitely worth a view as was a shop called West of the Moon which contained work from local artists. 

I wasn't able to find the statue of Bamse (a dog during the war that saved many sailors lives), which is a shame but, if I'm honest, I didn't look as hard as I probably should have done.  It was mainly because I had seen the statue of him in Montrose and thought it would be nice to see the cousin from across the North Sea.

This day saw us sailing from Øksfjord to Berlevåg and saw us dragging ourselves out of bed again during the early hours of the morning when the Northern Lights call came.  But again we only saw the grey, almost cloud-like feature with no real colour and we were beginning to think that we would never actually see the Northern Lights in their full colours.  Then in the evening we watched a documentary about Vardø and Pomor Trade.  The Pomors were from the northwest of Russia and they traded goods, especially grain, for fish from those living in Finnmark (the northern most county of Norway).  The coastal inhabitants of Finnmark were particularly poor at the time so this was a hugely important source for them and an interesting subject I had never heard about before.

The weather got particularly rough that night and the boat was swaying around, even with the stabilisers on.  There's something very interesting about feeling yourself being ever so slightly lifted off your bed and then plonked back on.  Not necessarily the gentle rocking you want to send you to sleep.

Day 7 was the day that saw us almost reaching the boarder with Russia as we moved from Båtsfjord to Kirkenes and then back around the north coast with the final port for the day being Berlevåg again.  We arrived in Kirkenes a lot later then expected due to the bad weather and this gave us a lot less time to spend there.  We did, however, still get to go on the excursion we had booked which was to look at the Snow Hotel.  This is built every year for over winter and each room in the hotel has it's own separate and unique carvings on the walls.  Apparently they tell the artists what they would like in the reception and bar area and then leave them to do their own thing in the bedrooms that they have.  

They are absolutely amazing and I would definitely like to stay one night.  The weirdest thing was that the walls didn't feel wet at all or as cold as I was expecting, though you would still need the sleeping bags that they provide.  Fun fact about the Kirkenes Snow Hotel: they don't have a room 13 (or a cabin 13) as no one ever books it.  People are funny little things.

There were also some reindeer at the hotel (but only neutered males as only Sami are legally allowed to own reindeer of both sexes which aren't neutered) and a whole lot of huskies as they also do husky sledge rides there.  

All absolutely gorgeous, though some more friendly then others, and my favourite named pair were the ones called Sorry and Dynamite.  We decided not to do any of the husky sledge trips, especially as my Mum would spend the whole time feeling sorry for the dogs.

We did get to see Kirkenes as we drove from the port to the hotel, but not as much as we had hoped and it would be interesting to return to see what it really looks like.  It's also a shame we didn't get to see the museum, which contained items by the Sami artist John Savio, but another time perhaps.  I had also planned to do the Ice Sea Swimming that was going to be available when we reached Vardø, but the delay due to the bad weather meant that we couldn't stop there long enough to have time to do it.  I would have loved to have been able to say that I had swum in the Norwegian sea, north of the Arctic Circle, during winter but it wasn't to be.

In the evening we got to have story time with one of the Expedition Team, Haakon, who told us two stories from his childhood.  One was the the seven fathers of the house and the other was, of course, a troll story where a troll was tricked by the young boy into doing all his work and eventually killing himself.  Haakon even did voices and so deserves credit for that.  The funny thing for me was that I recognised these stories from my childhood as well as we actually spend about four or five years in Norway until I was 12.

Of course, the best thing about that day was the Northern Lights.  After story telling we got all bundled up in our gear ready to spend a very long time outside as the forecast was a good one.  And it was good, in fact it was absolutely spectacular.  I took some photos with my phone as evidence that I actually saw them and then just stood back and watched. 

They are completely mesmerizing and very serial, and I can completely see why the Vikings thought that they were bridges to Valhalla.  That is a memory that will stay and a sight I don't think I could ever get bored of.  We went to bed cold and tired but very happy travellers.

And so onto Day 8.  The night was a lot less choppy and tiredness probably helped with the whole sleeping side of things.  This day took us from Mehamn back to Tromsø just before midnight.  Our longest stop was at Hammerfest (which I think sounds like a battle metal band or metal concert), but before we reached there the Point of Interest for the day was the island of Melkøya.  Melkøya is where the natural gases collected from the Snøhvit gas fields are processed before being sent to the mainland.  Surprisingly interesting talk despite the fact that I'm not really into the collection of natural gas and oil.

We hadn't booked any excursions at Hammerfest but I decided to try and tackle the zig zag path that takes you up to 'Mount' Salen.  This turned out to be much more difficult than the possibly icy path I was expecting, with snowfall cover a section of it so deep that you couldn't even see the hand railings.  It required a bit of climbing to get to the top and only me and one other fellow cruise member (or nutter) gave it a go, practically everyone else went to see the church.  However, it was worth the scramble and the freezing winds at the top as the views were spectacular and the feeling of being alone after seven days on a cruise amazing.  I spent as long as I could based on the time we had at Hammerfest before descending down the long route back to the ship.  I did quickly pop into the Polar Bear museum beside the port, mainly to look at the shop as I had no interest at looking at all the stuffed animals and animal skins they had there.  You can also become a life long member of the Polar Bear Society, which sounds fun but I didn't have time to join up before the ship left the port.

We did then have a very interesting, and one I was looking most forward to, talk on Norwegian polar explorers.  These included the well known Roald Amundsen (even us Brits know about him - the man who beat Scott to the south pole), an interesting man called Fridtjof Nansen who we don't learn about in Britain but really should, and most interesting to me was a woman named Cecilie Skog who I definitely want to find out more about.

The forecast for the North Lights wasn't particularly good for that night, but we decided to stay out and have a look for them anyway.  We still got some sightings and they did produce some beautiful colours, but nothing like the night of day 7.  We were spoilt that day.