Voyage along the Norwegian coast – Southbound
If there are any lopers out there disappointed at the severe drop off in my loping:chilling ratio during these Norwegian adventures, I have to admit that I’m kinda with you.
I was hankering for a hike – but one which wouldn’t leave me stranded in Northern Norway.
I discovered one place to quench my restlessness – the promenade deck! Here, any loper can go round and round in circles to their heart’s content, then turn around and go round and round the other way – to unwind, if you will.
I clued into this practice pretty early on in the voyage, so much so that this happy loper won the prize for the most laps of deck 6 on the northbound voyage – 80 laps made 20 km in 5 days – Woohoo! Kinda paltry compared to what I did on the swcp, but that’s just the chill quota kicking in – which I think was well-deserved.
Day 7 (part 2):
Most days deck 6 was far from treacherous, but on the morning we sailed in and out of Kirkenes – the farthest point in the voyage – overnight snow prepared the usually grippy surface for slippery fun and games.
The last time I came to this part of the world I spent quite a bit of time exploring Kirkenes, but I was still keen to get off the ship and do a cold shoe shuffle in the sparkling fresh snow.
I’d layered up, but was still envious of Di’s fabulous flappy-eared fur hat and her awesome hot pink ski pants. Totally on trend, Di.
Most people were heading off on guided tours, but fellow aussie Katherine (not sure of correct spelling, sorry) and I decided to navigate the snowy roads on foot and see what we could find,…
…which of course lead to our first snow angel attempts. Here’s Katherine in the groove at the war memorial, and, if you can make it out, my first attempt at a snow angel.
Nearby is the Andersgrotta – the WWII bomb shelter – which we couldn’t get into since we weren’t with an official tour group. I did poke my nose in though – just to assuage my curiosity.
The centre of town isn’t all that exciting, so we decided to check out the Grenselandmuseet (the Border Museum – Kirkenes is very close to both Russia and Finland), high on the hill overlooking town. Check out this commuter on cross-country skis!
With little time to explore, we managed a quick skim through the museum’s exhibitions on the impact of the two world wars on the town…
…and local Sami culture.
I had another go at a snow angel outside the museum,…
…before we hoofed it downhill through town and back on board the MS Trollfjord where we discovered a dozen or so cheeky stowaways!
Mmmmmm…king crab.
Leaving Kirkenes felt almost like a new voyage. The waters were choppy, and looming grey clouds had over-taken bright blue skies. That sounds like the start of a grumble, but it’s not. I loved having an excuse to curl up with a book and just feel the world go by – utterly relaxing.
Here’s a few illustrative pics…
(Did anyone else see a UFO? Or four?)
That weird blue strip of light on the northern horizon was there for all of five minutes. So beautiful.
Someone must have profiled my taste buds, because dinner that night was right out of my wildest culinary dreams. Reindeer and rhubarb! Yum!
Day 8:
It’s hard to conceive of the sheer size of Norway. Rarely is there a building or bridge or boat or person in range to give evidence of the relative scale, so it’s difficult to do the place justice when photographing the landscape. You’ll just have to take my word for it when I say the water and the land and the sky are massive. Floating around within that enormity feels crazy wild and freeing. Oh, and did I say it’s beautiful?
Midmorning we docked at Hammerfest for a couple of hours. Just long enough to pick one or two places to visit.
Accompanied by Peter in a we’re-going-in-the-same-direction-so-might-aswell-explore-together kind of way, I visited the Gjenrisingsmuseet (Museum of Reconstruction) – which shows the absolute destruction and subsequent reconstruction of Hammerfest after WWII.
I found these model communal dorm ‘homes’…
…and the plans for new housing…
…strangely fascinating. I particularly liked this earthen house (for all those Scandinavian hobbits).
The views from the lantern on top of the museum rivaled those from the MS Trollfjord. Well…almost.
We had just enough time to wizz through the Isbjørnklubben (Polar Bear Club).
Seeing taxidermied animals is always a mixed emotional experience. It’s my city brain that causes the gut wrench, but it’s hard to believe the deaths of these animals were all down to Nature. Having said that, it was undeniably fascinating to see and feel these animals, and products from the animals, up close.
Back on board, we trundled south-west through calm waters. A lovely afternoon of lazing with the occasional educational interlude from the expedition team on Svalbard and the history of polar exploration.
Day 9:
Having lazed for most of the last few days, it came as a rude surprise to have to wake up super early (still dark, thanks very much) and be fed and watered in time to be first off the ship when we docked at Harstad. All this crack-of-dawn-craziness was due to a decision I’d made way back on day 1 to do the Taste of Vesterålen tour.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon as the ship took off without us…
…and we were on our way to the beautiful Trondenes Church (where the local Vikings where given no choice but to accept the new Christian God in favour of their many Gods – sorry Odin).
The remains of prisoner of war huts were scattered next to the cemetery on the far side of the church, but it was cold and there wasn’t a whole lot to see.
I hoofed it to catch up with the rest of the bus group that had found the Trondenes Historical Centre, a museum that focuses on the Medieval period – culture, lifestyle, and the conversion from Viking beliefs to the Christian religion.
This last map of Norway (north pointing to the left) was seriously stunning. I’d go back to this museum in a heart beat.
The excursion may have been called Taste of Vesterålen, but really it only covered Hinnøya Island. This isn’t a criticism, but for anyone looking at a map, the label is misleading.
From Harstad we drove around the eastern edges of Kvæfjord to the tiny farming town of Vik, where stawberries apparently grow exceptionally well and where I learned the reason why so many buildings in Norway are painted a rich red colour.
Until the riches of oil and gas were discovered, Norwegians made their livings from farming and fishing – not quite a subsistence economy, but close. Imported lumber came raw, and all farmers could afford to use for paint was a homemade mix of earth and animal blood. Initially, this was used on all buildings, till the sun’s heat turned the ‘paint’ rank and living in the buildings became unbearable. All but the poorest paid the heavy price to buy enough white paint for their homes, but the other farm buildings were kept blood-red. These days the red paint isn’t coloured with blood, but the tradition remains.
At the head of the valley at Vik, a table lake sits slightly higher than the fjord, connected only by a short and shallow run-off stream.
At low tide fresh water rushes out. At high tide sea water rushes in. This makes perfect conditions for mussels to flourish. Do you see any?
In the middle on this branch of the fjord is Kvæøya (Potato Island) where, you guessed it, farmers traditionally grew potatoes.
A curious food trifecta: strawberries, mussels, and potatoes. Sounds like a chef challenge to me.
We caught the vehicle ferry between Revsnes and Flesnes…
…giving us time to enjoy a traditional snack of coffee, brown cheese on waffle, and cinnamon-buttered flatbread (you’ve seen the flatbread the day I walked up to the shieling, but brown cheese is a norwegian delicacy that deserves a mention – it’s ‘cheese’ made from whey. Tastes like savoury nothingness, sticks to the top of your mouth like peanut butter. Not delicious).
Continuing across the range toward Sigerfjord, we sidled up to see the sleeping troll in the mountain. Can you see it? (Nose is the highest point, chin to the left).
For those of you not in the know, trolls turn to rock when struck by sunlight. (I’m probably reading far too much into it, but this might just be the first warning known to man about the dangers of falling asleep in the sun).
Crossing the high bridge across the sea to Sortland, we finally caught up with the MS Trollfjord.
It’s a wonder actually that the bridge didn’t come cumbling down the way the captain was laying on the horn. Deafening! But impossible not to grin at his exuberance.
On the way north, high winds had prevented the ship from getting close to Troll Fjord which has an incredibly narrow 100m wide mouth between steep walls and peaks upwards of 1000m high. Now heading south, an announcement came over the loud speaker that the crew would try again.
The approach is through the also narrow, 20+km long, Raftsundet straight.
Unfortunately, with night closing mid-afternoon, seeing the Troll Fjord mouth proved near impossible. The ship’s bright spotlights illuminated the edges as best they could, but my phone camera wasn’t quite up to the challenge. Sorry lopers.
Day 10:
A lovely day that started with a disgusting spoonful of cod liver oil. Yuck!
Goodness knows how I was convinced to take my ‘crossing-the-Arctic-Circle-medicine’. I absolve myself of all responsibility.
Here’s a beautiful pic.
And some more.
A bit after lunch we passed The Seven Sisters – a range of seven majestic mountains. I was roped in by Julien to play Lekamøya (the dashing maid who tried to save the day), as he told the tale of the seven sister princesses who fled south away from Vågekallen, a mad horseman, who found them swimming naked in the fjord. They all forgot about the sunrise and so turned to stone. The story is a bit more involved than that, but I’m sure all you lopers can figure out how to work the amazing Google machine.
Running around on the deck being chased by a imaginary troll on an imaginary horse was enough activity for one day, so I retreated to my cabin to warm up and watch the world go by…
…with the bestest of views…
…till we arrived in Brønnøysund.
Did you know that in Europe everyone is legally required to carry photo ID? This I learned from Ellen (one of my dinner companions) as we trooped off the ship for a quick look around town.
Ellen was weighed down by ID and every other conceivable thing that might be required if the ship happened to leave her behind. I took my phone and my ship card – much to Ellen’s disgust.
Apparently there are Stone Age cave settlement remains nearby, but the most interesting thing we found was this geometrically-pleasing church.
Thankfully, neither of us had to test our overland preparedness. Made it back with double-figure minutes to spare. Phew!
Later that night we jumped ship again in Rørvik to visit the MS Polarlys for a little game of compare and contrast.
Results are in: MS Trollfjord is way more awesome.
Day 11:
Last full day in Norway!
A sleep-in proved more enticing than another visit to Trondheim city centre, but the open water eventually lured me out of my cocoon and was I ever glad.
Check out this whirly-whirly. In the gusty wind, they popped up all over the place.
The rest of the morning mostly consisted of me ooing and aahing over the amazing clouds. Go ahead and pick a favourite.
Like half the world’s population, I have learned a lot about Vikings from the Marvel movies (which are, of course, all true ‘historical documents’, right?), but since there’s always more to learn I paid attention during this lecture…
…which definitely clarified a few points.
Late afternoon I tested my wrinkle-limit on the hot tub overlooking lighthouses at Gryp and Kvitholmen.
I didn’t have any company in the tub, but an american couple swung by and we got to chatting, and, well, I’ve noticed that people tend to talk politics in hot tubs. That being the case, you can probably guess what, or who, was the hot topic. Let’s just say I didn’t meet a single Republican on the ship.
Dried out, I enjoyed a delicious final dinner with great company – thanks for being awesome table-mates Ellen and Peter.
This would have been the clincher for a fabulous last day, but just as I was bunking down for the night, out came the Northern Lights! This far south from the Aurora Oval, it was amazing to see them light up the sky.
What more could a Penloper want?
Day 12:
This last day on board was seriously stunning.
Gone were the towering mountains and snow. Instead, we passed hundreds of smooth, rocky islands. Some bare, some forested. The only thing that could have improved the view was a ray or two of sunshine.
Every time I walked around on deck 9, I noticed this artwork of cod carved from weathering wood. It hasn’t really fit anywhere else in this blog, so I’ve left it for a final and, I think, fitting treat.
Well, my fellow lopers, it’s been a pleasure to recount highlights from this amazing voyage up and down the coast of Norway. I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along for the ride.
‘Til next time…happy loping 🙂
Penloper
p.s. below are pics of pics taken by my fellow voyagers (I forgot to enter the competition). Which one do you think won for best photo?
PenLoper 