Gatwick to Bergen by Germania - a German line on a chartered flight. Bus to the boat. We sailed at 22.30. A comfortable cabin, a good breakfast and then a stroll on a draughty deck with camera in hand.
There and back is a 12 day trip calling at 34 ports in each direction (the same ones). Some stops are only for 15 minutes and many are in the middle of the night. Cargo, post, cars and passengers - as well as those of us on a scheduled cruise.
First port at which we can disembark is Alesund. The pic is of the port from Fjellstua which is a 418 steps climb out of the town - after some steep slopes.
Our ship is berthed just out of sight so here it is in close up - the first time we've seen it!
Day 3 we were in Trondheim. We went on a very dull bus tour around the town which we figured later we had neither booked nor paid for. Not all so clever as we were actually booked to do the same tour on the return call to Trondheim and not being aware of that we were hailed over the ship's tannoy as passengers who were delaying the excursion! Pat was in the toilet at the time and as the broadcast message said we had just 2 minutes to make it .... Well we did (two minutes? - I doubt it) but, truth to tell and no surprise, the trip was just as worthwhileless. That (legitimate trip) was day 11 and the pics are shown there.
In the bay of Trondheim we passed Mulkholmen, a former prison, fort and monastry - and execution centre.
The Norwegian coasline is some 83,000 kilometers - debateable as Wikipaedia says 101,000 (GB is 31,000) - largely because of the many islands.In spite of GPS, lighthouses are still considerd useful aids for navigation. This one, at Ljeungskjaer is a small but smart 5 storey building.
At 7am on day 4 we reached the Arctic Circle. Later in the day lucky passengers partook in the Arctic Circle ceremony by having ice poured down their necks. A sizeable number of brave idiots voluntered to be done. As with a public execution the crowd was so eager to witness the victims' humiliation I couldn't get within camera shot. Hurtigruten being designated carriers of mail they are also able to impress an official Arctic Circle stamp on postcards.
15 minutes at Ornes. By the time the ship has tied up and untied there's hardly enough time to throw the mail bag over the side. So much for any 'fragile' stickers. On to Bodo
Stealing away from Bodo as an early sunset brings closure to another day.
Day 5 and we are docking at Tromso.
This is the day to meet the indigenous Sami and their reindeer. We are told to wrap up well as it will be cold out there. It was. Our guide was a 19 year old Sami girl who so bright, so articulate, so competent that she gave the impression that she could achieve anything she set her mind to. A future prime minister? Warning: beware equating indigenous with anything inferior let alone ignorant.
Another evening. It's scenically attractive here but warmer and more comfortable on the ship!
We dock at Hammerfest at 6 am (or so the sailing shedule says). On our return the time will allow us to visit. Meanwhile we sail on to Honingsvag and although snow has not fallen on us - much blue sky every day - there is plenty of evidence that winter has done its stuff.
We have three and a half hours here in Honningsvag. We get back to find the re-entry door shut (sounds like a space ship). We're not really locked out. The tide has fallen and the ship has to adjust its gangway (they don't shout 'mind the gap' and there was a crew member on our side of the divide to reassure us).
Day 7. We reach Kirkenes where East meets West. The final point of the Schengen area and one of the most guarded borders in Europe. Even so Russians living within a few kilometers of the border have a free pass into Norway and vice versa. Many Russians live in Kirkenes and some streets are signed in both languages. Kirkenes is as far as we go. After three and a half hours we will be on our return leg. Hardly anyone about and not a lot for us to see. One memorial is to Russians soldiers who forced a German withdrawal in 1944.
One reason for some travelling to the Arctic is to see the Northern Lights. They show up any time of day or night but are not so easy to see in the daytime. When they appeared there was normally an announcement over the tannoy saying which side of the ship to go. If the hour was late many who had gone to bed struggled to make themselves warm and windproof before rushing on deck. As far as I was concerned once was enough after which we switched off the tannoy at night. There was a paper giving advice on camera settings which frankly weren't the best but by the time I'd got to know better we had left the lights behind.
We sailed back around the North Cape calling on Honningsvag while we were still tucked up in bed, arriving at Hammerfest at 10.45 on Day 8. Hammerfest - as the first pic shows - claims to be the northernmost town in the world. That claim must depend on what qualifies as a town.
In the shopping districts of the towns we've visited the roads are clear but the pavements are not. Paul had one gentle but fairly gracious slide to the ground in Hammerfest. It didn't draw a large crowd. The most striking landmark was the church.
At Harstad, Day 9, we disembarked for 'a taste of Vesteralen'. We first visited Trondenes Church, said to be one of Norways most important cultural heritage sites from the late Middle Ages. The guides (for two coach loads of English and one of German) told us we would all go into the church where there would be 'a ceremony' in English and German. Perhaps without much knowledge of what would happen, no one objected. We were first seated in the church and then the robed Minister produced a service sheet containing a psalm, a hymn and a prayer! The volume and quality of the singing was amazing. It being February 20th we stood at the sanctuary rails and in a brief liturgical moment renewed our vows 58 years after making them at St John's Boscombe. We completed the Common Worship Renewal of Vows liturgy back on board. Next to the church was the Trondenes Historical Centre with a sensory exhibition from Viking times to the present.
We then went to Hinnoya and on through the landscape of fjords and mountains, rejoining the ship at Sortland.
On Day 10 we didn't leave the ship and Day 11 brought us back to Trondheim where we took (just) our aforementioned bus trip which finished at the Nidaros Cathedral. The guides had a lot to say - and said it very well - but to us the strange thing was that the building was not, unlike even English parish Churches, an hisorical archive. It seems that Norway has always been ruled by other powers and has little history of its own.
We had enjoyed exceptionally bright weather but perhaps these two pics - the first from a hill above Trondheim - are more likely to be encountered. We were so fortunate.
The Cathedral outside, inside, and the Sami memorial
And, lastly, an unusual coming together. Taken from the precints of Nidaros Cathedral these buildings are the Jewish synagogue, the Salvation Army Citadel, The Baptist Church and the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Just why didn't they call it Holy Huddle, Religious Row or Worship Way?
After Trondheim it was a race for home. An evening call at Kristiansund gave a good picture of the colourful little towns we had seen all the way up the coast.
We didn't see Bergen - dark when we arrived and straight from dock to airport on the return. So we had better end with a shot of the ship and the snow. The end of the day with Hurtigruten.
To complete our Norway experience we thought sitting by a Fjord in summer would be a great contrast to whizzing up the coast when snow was on the ground. Again we flew to Bergen - this time by Norwegian Air. It was a surprise to find that although our hotel was only 120 miles north of Bergen the coach would take four and a half hours. Right at the end we took the ferry across Sognefjord. It was getting dark and the weather seemed to be closing in a bit.
Our room didn't have a grand view but it did have a settee as well as an easy chair - and plenty of space to move them in but no tea making gear - regrettably we'd decided not to pack our immersion heater which used to do the trick. Next morning we woke to sunshine, the beauty of the fjord and the splendour of the hotel. 190 rooms, built in Swiss style. Everything was so comfortable and the food was excellent with the dining room overlooking the fjord and coffee on the balcony.
Sitting by the fjord is what we had planned. No problem, as they say; these three pics were taken within the hotel grounds.
And from just beyond the door!
A little down the road (a Unesco Heritage trail) is this chap. King Bele. The German emperor Wilhelm II, gave this statue of King Bele to the Norwegian people. It sits atop of a large mound wherein excavations did unearth a body but it's all a bit of a myth. Across the fjord Wilhelm also erected the large statue of Fritjov Den Frøkne, said to be in love with King Bele´s beautiful daughter, Ingebjørg.
Now this is not a myth, just a mythuse of the camera.
On King Bele's way is the church used for Elsa's wedding in Frozen. It was built at the request of and, it so happens, in the memory of the young widow of the owner of 'our' hotel. An English holiday chaplain ministers there during 'the season'.
One day there was an excusion to Bergen by Express Boat - four and a half hours through the Fjord and the outer islands, just the same time as by road! Some people (incl Pat) sat inside. Given poor weather, bad visibility and a dull day it could be a less than exciting experience but we had a gorgeous day, bright and sunfilled travelling through the calm fjord waters so even from inside it was good.
Paul spent most of his time on the aft deck. It was hot and a great experience. Up front was ok but five minutes at a time the maximum pleasurable - being blown inside out and pinned back against the superstructure.
Bergen is a world Heritage City. Like the rest of Norway it is built mainly of wood. The first pics are from the viewpoint reached by funicular.
The rest of our time was spent wandering around the harbour area.
Sorgefjord is 120 miles long and 3000 feet deep. Beyond Balestrand the mountains close in a bit giving very steep sides but from us to the sea it is generally wider and much more open. Perhaps less dramatic but certainly with it's own beauty.
As well as Bergen we did a couple of excursions. One was to see some of the old ways and old life style. The lady - over 90 - had herself lived in such a house. This stave church was said to be 12th century. And it's wood! Just what happened to the death watch beetle? The timber is treated and certainly the village hut shown is dated as 16th century and original - as with the other houses assembled on this site as a museum. Roads fit for transporting goods are very recent so everything went by boat. The boat museum had many whole old craft and showed all the construction methods
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Our other trip was on the last afternoon. Yes, it was rain. Boyabreen is a side branch of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier. We visited the glacier museum and then the end of the glacier. Just as well they move slowly - otherwise there wouldn't be much future for the car park and restaurant!
The last pic was taken in the glacier museum. It neatly ties together our two trips summer and winter, north and south, land and sea. I guess we won't go to Norway again. So glad we did.
