Hurtigruten

Just a reminder that you can click on any of the pictures below to view a larger version!

On the evening of the 9th February, I boarded the MS Nordlys in Bergen. The Hurtigruten is also known as the Coastal Express, and is the postal service operating along the coast of Norway between Bergen and Kirkenes, stopping at many ports along the way. We didn't set sail until after 10pm, and I stood out on the deck while we left Bergen.

Above: MS Nordlys and my cabin: room 618. Below: Leaving Bergen and the view from the deck the next morning.

The second day was not greatly enjoyable for me. Just as we were finishing breakfast, we had our first open-water crossing, and we had another that night which we started just after having dinner. I thought that I might have been becoming bullemic, as lunch was the only meal that stayed down that night.

The boat is docked in Maloy
Maloy

Me on the deckSomewhere between Torvik and Alesund

After lunch, we stopped in Alesund for a few hours, which gave us the opportunity to disembark and have a look around the town and stretch our legs. I joined a walking tour of the town and we visited the Art Nouveau Museum. The whole town burnt down in 1904 and was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style which was the in-style of the time.

Alesund

Above: Inside the Art Nouveau Centre and a building in the Art Nouveau style. Below: An owl, typical of the Scandinavian Art Nouveau style and a lighthouse which is now a hotel room!

That night, I disembarked at Kristiansund and took a quick walk down the pier. After that day, I took every opportunity to get off the boat and get some fresh air whenever possible.

The statue of a fisherwoman on the pier in Kristiansund (covered in snow!)

The next morning when I woke up, we were docked in Trondheim. After having breakfast, I went for a walk around the city which is the second oldest in Norway.

Gamle Bybro (The Old Town Bridge)

The view from Kristiansten Festning

A hill that leads from Gamle Bybro to Kristiansten Festning, note the object in the lower left quadrant of the photo.

The bicycle lift! I would like one of these installed at the bottom of Punchbowl Road please!

Above: Later that afternoon we passed Kjeungskjaer Fyr, considered to be one of the most beautiful lighthouses along the Norwegian coast. In the evening we docked at Rorvik where the MS Lofoten was also docked. I went on board for a look as it is a ship from 1964 and is a listed and protected monument.

Above: something else which is listed and protected which I found on board MS Lofoten!

The next morning, at around 7:30am, we crossed the Arctic Circle. The night before we had to put in a guess of the hour and minutes and seconds on when we thought we would pass it. I had put in 7:09am, so unfortunately, I didn't win.

There is globe on a piece of land along the course of the Hurtigruten which marks the point (roughly, as there is no piece of land on the exact point) where we cross the Arctic Circle.

Me, just as we'd crossed the Arctic Circle and the view as the sun was rising

I got a bit carried away taking pictures of this sunrise...

More sunrise...

More sunrise...

Ornes

In the afternoon we stopped in Bodo for a few hours. Apparently there isn't a lot to see in the town of Bodo itself, so I joined a bus tour which took us on a short spin around the town, then took us to Saltstraumen to see the maelstrom. The commentary on the bus itself was quite dry and entertaining, and the maelstrom was amazing to see.

Saltstraumen maelstrom as seen from the bus on the bridge

Saltstraumen maelstrom as seen from the shore

Once we were back on the ship, we had a special presentation on one of the decks to celebrate the crossing of the Arctic Circle. Here we were joined by Neptune, who "baptised" us all with freezing water and iceblocks. I ended up quite wet with icy water even down the back of my pants. We were also given a special drink which was some kind of liqueur, a certificate to say that we had crossed the Arctic Circle, and a hurtigruten beanie.

Neptune arrives on deck 7.

Neptune and the tour leader Eskild "baptise" one of the passengers, while one of the crew pour drinks.

After dinner that evening, we docked in Svolvaer, where I visited Magic Ice, an ice sculpture exhibit, where I had a special vodka drink from the bar which was served in an ice glass.

Later in the evening we had free fish cakes on the deck and a special drink which Keeka, Chris (a young English couple that I sat with for dinner every night) and I think was rum mixed with very sweet warm tea. This was to celebrate our sailing past Trollfjord, a very special fjord which the Hurtigruten sails through in the summer months, but only sails past during the winter, as it is so narrow it would be quite risky going through it in the dark!

Trollfjord

The highlight of the fifth day of my cruise was visiting Tromso. Here, I caught a bus with other passengers on MS Nordlys to a wilderness centre where we went dog sledging! Here we paired up, and a team of 12 huskies pulled each pair around a track on the grounds of the wilderness centre. It was great fun, although quite bumpy, and my stomach muscles were sore afterwards from trying to keep in position (I kept sliding forward with every bump!). Afterwards, we had a chance to pat some of the other dogs as well as a 2 week old puppy. We also had tea and coffee and scrumptious chocolate cake in a Sami tent.

Tromso

A couple of the other teams of dogs
The view from the sled

Me in my sled with a couple of the dogs in front

Above: Eyes just open- one of the 2 week old pups, and inside the Sami tent.

That night during and after dinner, we saw Aurora Borealis. Unfortunately, it has been the worst year since 1930 for the Northern Lights, so I feel very lucky that I saw anything at all. I won't put any pictures of it up though, as you can't even see it with the most elaborate imaginoscope in any of my photos.

Above: Somewhere between Hammerfest and Honningsvag Somewhere between Hammerfest and Honningsvag

On Saturday afternoon (day 6 of the cruise), we arrived in Honningsvag. I disembarked here and boarded a bus which took me to Nordkapp (North Cape), the most northern point on the European continent (well, the northernmost point accessable by vehicle anyway). Here we were able to walk around the centre, check out the Children of the Sun sculpture, check out the view from the lookout, and partake in some free soup (which was pretty much bonnox). Our guide on the bus gave us lots of information about the sights we were seeing from the bus window on the way there (which included fish drying on stocks, and the northernmost beach in Europe) and on the return journey she talked to us about Sami culture.

Honningsvag Sculpture opposite the Children of the Sun Project Me at Nordkapp Nordkapp

Back on MS Nordlys that evening, we were called out to the deck to see the special mountain formation of Finnkirka, which is important to Sami people. During this time, we saw a small fishing boat which pulled up along side us and one of the men in the boat jumped on board! A few minutes later it was announced that if we went up to deck 7, we could meet the fisherman and his King crabs which he had brought with him!

Above: the small fishing boat alongside MS Nordlys, and me and a King Crab. Below: King Crabs.

That night we had a seafood buffet for dinner. There was plenty of variety of fresh and tasty seafood, plus some non-seafood dishes too including Reindeer Stew which was DELICIOUS! My mouth is watering just now as I'm thinking about it!

The next morning we arrived in Kirkenes shortly after breakfast. This was my final stop on the Hurtigruten. Before leaving the cruise entirely, I joined an excursion to a Reindeer Park and Snow Hotel just outside of Kirkenes. Here, we fed the reindeer their reindeer moss, had a drink in the Snow Hotel, then looked in all the rooms of the hotel, and finally we were treated to a snack in the hut alongside the hotel which consisted of a special reindeer sausage in a flatbread made from potato. Quite tasty, but quite chewy also. As I spent one night in Kirkenes, I had considered booking into the snow hotel. After looking inside, I was glad that I hadn't- while it would have been a bit of a novelty staying there, it would also have been slightly uncomfortable I think.

Last morning on deck of MS Nordlys View of Kirkenes A Reindeer A room in the Snow Hotel

Above: an engraving on a wall in the Snow Hotel and me on a snow seat in the hotel. Below: The Snow Hotel from the outside.

After the visit to the reindeer park and snow hotel was over, the bus driver dropped me off at my hotel in the centre of Kirkenes. After checking in, I had a walk around the town, seeing the sights, which took all of about half an hour! In the evening I was just going out the door to find some food and a man who I recognised from the cruise told me that it was -14 degrees celcius outside! It actually didn't feel that cold though, as there was no wind. The next morning at the airport it was -22 degrees!

Above: The burning metropolis that is Kirkenes, and looking out to sea from Kirkenes

Above: Bears on the lamp-posts outside the Russian consulate in Kirkenes
I really enjoyed the cruise (despite not being a very good sailor!), and I would love to do it again during the spring or summer (sometime in the next 20 years or so) just to see the scenery in a different season, and also to travel down some of the beautiful fjords which I didn't get the opportunity to see because of the season.