Day 17 - Homeward Bound

Last day in Norway

We awoke to heavy rain this morning so took our time getting up and having breakfast.  We stayed in our room until just before check out when the weather had improved a lot.  We left our cases in the luggage room and ventured out to walk around a few places we hadn’t visited before including Nygardsparken and Johanneskirke.  We were out for about 2 and a half hours before heavy rain and hail started so came back at hotel where we can get tea and coffee while waiting to leave for the airport.

The number 1 tram goes direct to Bergen Airport and stops very close to the hotel so very convenient. 

A few pictures from this morning:

Gull with a ring - there are thousands of them around 

so surprised to see a numbered ring

Female mallard taking a nap at the park

Lake at Nygardsparken

Statue at Nygardsparken

Johanneskirke

Memorial to the homeless in Bergen

Tufted ducks on Lille Lungegardsvann

Day 16 - Arrival at Bergen and end of Hurtigruten cruise

Our last day on board MS Finnmarken
We again did not sleep well due to the ship rolling in the strong winds and high waves.  Our cabin was on the 7^th deck and we watched waves hit against our window .  The rise and fall of the ship felt enormous and it was around 2.00 am before it got to the port and stopped for a few hours so we were able to get some proper sleep.  We did dock at Floro as scheduled which is the first/last port from Bergen.

Floro

We had to vacate the cabin by 10.00 so sat in the lounge area until lunchtime and managed to get a good seat looking out of the front windows of the panoramic lounge.  Again as we entered open sea it became very rough and it was very difficult to walk around so most people were just sitting down.    There were also frequent hail storms.  

The expedition team played 40 minutes of Norwegian music at 10:30 and asked that everyone listened in silence.  It was really nice and very relaxing and gave a chance to reflect on everything we had done over the past 12 days.

The very rough weather went on until about an hour before we arrived in Bergen and then as we sailed between the islands along the Norwegian coast things became a lot calmer and the sun came out and we arrived virtually on time.  The scenery north of Bergen is also very nice with lots of small communities on small islands and on the mainland.  We didn't see this on the northbound voyage as we left in the dark.

Sailing towards Bergen

Sailing towards Bergen

Sailing towards Bergen

The Hurtigruten Terminal at Bergen

We have travelled 4650 kms (2900 miles) on our cruise and seen some fantastic scenery and met some really nice people from all parts of coastal Norway.  It is an experience we will never forget.

Bergen again
We checked back into our Bergen hotel and went for a walk around the town.  It was quite windy but sunny and we walked around some of the back streets that we missed last week.  I wished we had been travelling home today as many of the others were but we have another 24 hours in Bergen so we will make the most of it.  We found a local Norwegian pub and had a drink then bought a take away pizza for our evening meal and had an early night.  At least we wont be kept awake by a rocking boat tonight.

Houses in high ground above Bergen

Monument to the homeless

Day 15 - Stormy day at sea

Another leisurely morning

We had another very rough sea overnight – the worst yet.  It really did feel like a roller coaster and we looked out in the early hours to see very high waves.  It took a long time to get to sleep and even when we did it was disturbed by the turbulent sea.

We eventually woke around 5.30 to find us approaching Trondheim.  We were only there until 10:00 and as it was a long walk to the city and we had seen everything on our list the previous week, we decided to concentrate on packing ready for our departure the following day.

We then had a leisurely morning in the panoramic lounge watching the tiny islands on the west coast of Norway which are now green with very little sign of snow.  So spring has arrived in Norway along with the March winds!  We  which were making the boat rock a lot.  

Scenery today

Change of plan

We were just finishing lunch when an announcement was made that a very bad storm was forecast further south at around midnight when we would be sailing in open sea.  Therefore the ship would make a stop at the next port – Kristinansund - then speed up and leave out the next 3 ports in order to get past the open sea before the storm really kicked in.  This meant that our last excursion to the Bergstad Marble Mine was being cancelled and for the first time we did not get off the ship all day.  We did go on deck quite a lot and didnt need a coat as it is now quite warm if not windy.  At the daily update meeting we were shown a short film of what we would have experienced if the ship had stuck to its normal route and it was not pleasant.

Kristiansund

Kristiansund

Scenery south of Kristiansund

Ship alongside ours in rough seas

Our next stop will be at Maloy where the Captain hoped to dock at around 1.30 tomorrow morning, some 4 hours ahead of schedule.  This will give everyone a chance to get some sleep tonight.  However we were all warned that for 90 minutes, the ship would have to enter the open sea where there would be waves of around 12 meters high and this would be very uncomfortable.  They also have been sealing the portholes in the cabins on the lower decks to prevent water getting in.  We are on a higher deck so not affected.  

Norwegian Folk Dancing

The crew laid on some entertainment for us on the last evening in the form of a demonstration of traditional Norwegian Folk Dancing in which we all had a chance to participate.  3 dances were demonstrated and then we had a go ourselves.  It was very funny and very enjoyable.

Expedition Crew and Hotel Manager demonstrating 

a Norwegian Folk Dance

Day 14 - Leisurely day sailing the fjords

Leisurely day

The sea was very rough overnight as we sailed from the Lofoten Islands towards Bodo on the mainland and there was a lot of noise as things moved about in cupboards and as the ship hit large waves.  Therefore it took a long time to get any sleep as it felt like we were on a roller coaster at times.  The high winds and waves continued until mid afternoon and we were later told that the wind speed had been an average of 7 on the Beaufort scale and had risen at times to 10 which seems to be quite high as the maximum is 12.

There was another ceremony as we crossed the arctic circle but this time it did not involve any ice.  We were offered a spoonful of cod liver oil, which they marketed as the “Viagra of the north”.  Paul had initially refused to take part until he saw that all those taking part were being given a very nice Hurtigruten spoon and soon realised that he would never hear the end of it if I took mine and he didn’t.  So we are coming home with 2 new spoons.

Ships officers waiting for the moment we cross south 

from the arctic circle

The arctic circle marker - no snow on the island now

Paul taking his cod liver oil

There were no long stops scheduled for today and we had no excursions booked which was just as well as it has been extremely windy today.  Not a cold wind as it was quite comfortable to go outside without a coat, but a very strong wind which forced the ship to cancel the stops at Nesna, Sandnessjaen and Bronnoysund so any photos of these ports are from a long distance.  Bronnoysund is exactly halfway between the most northerly point (North cape) and the most southerly (Lindesnes) in Norway.  Todays talk was on Myths, Legends and Folklore of Norway which, as usual, was very interesting and funny at times.

We did see the 7 sister mountain range near Sandnessjaen although there was quite a lot of cloud on the mountain tops.  There were 2 mountains in the sunshine on the opposite side of the ship which looked very impressive.  What we did notice as we moved south today was the gradual reduction of snow as we are now seeing more grass and bare rock on the islands and on the shoreline.

The seven sisters mountain range

Mountains opposite the seven
 sisters

We also saw a mountain with a hole right through it called Torghatten.  The hole is 160m long and around 30m high and 22 m wide.  Norwegian folklore says that this was the Kings hat that he had thrown towards the seven sisters to protect them from an evil troll who was looking for a wife.  An angry troll who was woken by the noise fired an arrow at the hat and all were turned to stone.  The more logical reason is that the mountain was pushed upwards after a period sitting at a lower level during which time the sea had gradually worn a hole through its layers of rock.

Torghatten - mountain with hole through the middle

The farewell dinner was held this evening as some guests are leaving tomorrow at Trondheim.  We were given a glass of champagne on arrival and were joined by the Captain and many of the staff.


Rorvik - our only stop today
We did stop at Rorvik this evening - the only stop of the day so we got off the ship and had a walk around the town which seems to thrive on the Cod fishing industry.  The town is spread over a large area and there wasnt a lot to see near the Hurtigruten dock except for several supermarkets and a pub which was closed.  We found a few shops but not what you would call a town centre.  We also got caught in a short sharp snow storm which was almost like hail at times.  It left a covering on the ground within 30 seconds.

Rorvik Town Centre

Bench outside of town after short snow storm

Day 13 - Vesteralan and Lofoten Islands

Vesteralan Islands

We were up early this morning for our next excursion – visiting the Vesteralan Islands, which along with the Lofoten Islands lie about 250 kms west of mainland Norway.  The tour took us from the port of Harstad to a very old stone church where we had a short service by the priest.  The priest said the same reading and pray in 4 different languages (Norwegian, English, German and French) and then we sang a hymn but each had to sing in their own language and without any music so it was a bit of a row.  We then visited a very interesting history museum followed by a drive around the islands stopping at various view points.  We rejoined the ship a few stops on at Sortland but the coach stopped over a bridge just as the ship was arriving and we were able to see it pass beneath us on the bridge and in recognition of those visitors on the tour it sounded its horn 3 times.  Sortland attempted to attract tourists by painting all of the buildings blue.  They started but then disagreements over the shade of blue to use started so the whole project stopped.  There are still some of the original blue buildings in existance.

Trondenes Church

Fjord at Harstad

Ferry across Fjord

Frozen Fjord on Vesteralan Islands

Fjord with some ice on Vesteralan Islands

Bridge at Sortland

Blue buildings at Sortland

Other visits

After lunch we docked at Stokmarkenes which has the Hurtigruten museum.  It also has the former MS Finnmarken ship as a museum piece but it is being restored at the moment.  We didn’t think there was enough time to visit this so just had a walk around the town instead.

Stokmarkenes - previous Hurtigruten MS Finnmarken ship

Attractive pub in Stokmarkenes

The ship sailed through the very narrow Raftsundet, as we had done late in the evening on day 4.  The peaks each side of this stretch of water rise up to 1000m and this is what separates the Vesteralan and Lofoten Islands.  Again the ship stopped at the entrance to the Trollfjord.  This time it was in daylight so we got some good photos.  The ship is not allowed to sail into the fjord during the winter as there is a risk of avalanches.

Raftsundet channel

Raftsundet channel

Entrance to Trollfjord

Entrance to Trollfjord

Svolvar, Lofoten Islands

We had an early dinner and then got off the ship when it stopped at Svolvar and visited a bar called Magic Ice.  This was a bar in a freezer!  Entrance was through a large metal sliding door which was shut behind us.  Inside there was a bar, together with tables and chairs all made out of ice.  All around the bar were sculptures of boats, flowers, animals and many other things.  There was even an ice slide which I had 2 goes on and it was great fun but got a very cold backside.  We had a cocktail which was served in an ice glass.  A really unusual place and well worth a visit.  The temperature in Svolvar was 4C and all the snow was thawing and there was large puddles of water everywhere so it was a bit difficult walking around.  Before returning to the ship we looked around an art gallery with paintings from the artist who is commissioned to produce the artwork around the Hurtigruten ships.

Paul on ice seat

Ice fish

Paul with cocktail in Ice Bar

Frozen Roses sculpture

Ice ship

Jean on ice slide

Drinking from an ice glass in ice bar

Day 12 - Hammerfest and start of journey south

After a much calmer sea overnight we both slept well.  There were 3 stops in the night but we slept through all of them.  There was no early morning docking to get up for so we took our time getting ready for the day. 

Hammerfest

We had a 2 hour stop in Hammerfest which claims to be the most northerly town in the world (the other places we visited are not classified as towns as they are more villages). It now has to call itself the most northerly town on the European mainland as another Norwegian town has been created at Longyearbyen , Svalbard.   Hammerfest is a lovely town, very small and easy to get around.  It was the first European town to install electric street lighting The town has been wiped out three times.  The first  was due to a hurricane in 1856 after which it was rebuilt but then burnt to the ground in 1890 and again rebuilt.  Then it was almost completely destroyed by the retreating Germany Army in the second world war, as was done to many other Norwegian towns, to remove all means of shelter for the advancing Russian Army.   It was certainly the busiest of the Norwegian towns we have visited with many cars on the roads and people (other than tourists) in the streets and shops.  It is the home of the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society created in 1963 to support Arctic conservation and endangered animals programs.   We visited the church which has been designed in the shape of a stockfish drying frame and walked along the main street.  Some of the others walked up to a viewpoint over the town but we could see them struggling against the icy path so we decided not to do this. 

We had a talk and a “point of interest” today about the Norwegian Gas industry.  We passed an island called Melkoya which is a large liquefied natural gas site very near to Hammerfest and providing the town with much employment.   Natural gas is drilled at a site on the seabed about 160 kms north in the Barents sea and piped to Melkoya where it is processed.

Hammerfest Church

Hammerfest Church

Hammerfest Bandstand

Hammerfest - Polar Bear

Hammerfest from ship

Hammerfest - Iced up drainpipe

Northern Lights

The Aurora Borealis made another appearance tonight.  Again we were told during dinner and everyone rushed out.  We finished our meal and then went out and saw some really nice displays but it soon clouded over.  The ship is docking in Tromso for an hour or so at midnight so we will look out for the lights again then.

Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis