Temple & Iceberg Trails: A Journey Through Asperger's

And so the Norway adventure ends

After breakfast this morning we headed into the snow to have a last walk around the city centre and purchase some small items – luggage space at a premium with all the bulky clothing.

Bravely we left the spikes at the hotel and skidded our way accross the side walks. Tip – if your shoes allow it, walk in the fresh white snow. If it is dark and glistens – its re-frozen and slippery like hell. Here the road less travelled is the safest. Dunno what will happen tomorrow as there was rainfall earlier this evening and that is a recipe for slippery ice for sure.

Back in the room we started the big pack – Colin decided to fly with his bulkier snow boots, but I packed my Joan of Arctics in the luggage and will fly with the sneakers – taking my chances the few 100 m to the bus stop and at the airport.

The rest of the day was spent… honestly… sleeping, hence me catching up with the blog at 1:30 in the morning. I did not even read any of the books I loaded on the tablet – save the Betty White book or listened to any of the audiobooks I brought along.

After packing was completed we had a celebratory MACK beer (Product of Tromso MACK brewery – most northern brewery) on the porch of the hotel, watching people walk their dogs in the rain.

Trying to check in for the flight  Oslo-Istanbul was a problem as they changed the schedule slightly and we had to call Turkish Airlines Help desk to confirm the new schedule on the system. Only then were we able to check-in online. This was a scramble as we could net get the hotel phone to call anywhere but reception, both phones are SMS roaming only and the SIM Card in this tablet is for local calls and data only. Eventually I had to purchase skype credits (new experience) and skype call Turkey to sort out the admin. The gentleman was very helpful and after a few minutes we could do online check-in for the flight to Istanbul. The flight to SA only opens at 2am for check-in, so the alarm was set for that – an exercise in futilty as I will probably still be awake at that time.. LOL.

Tomorrow morning is literally wash & go as the bags are packed and clothes laid out. Only the most necessary items are still around and will be taken as hand luggage. Then its airports and transits… Maybe I’ll remember to get a Pistacio Magnum ice cream in Istanbul this time.

On 16 Feb it snowed like crazy in Tromso.

We decided to wait for the snow to clear a bit before we ‘hit the city’ after breakfast… well, it did not. It just got worse and we spent the day watching the snow come down at various speeds.

At 15:00 we went for a waffle downstairs and then got dressed as warmly as we could for our reindeer experience.

As we walked to the Raddison Blue hotel meeting point we wondered if going out and reindeer sledding in this blizzard is very wise, but when in Rome….  Sure thing, the guide showed up and around 16 persons joined us for the evening.

After kitting out in snow suits we drove to a small island (luckily the bridge was still open) and proceded a up-hill hike to where the reindeer waited. The uphill hike in the powder snow with a too long -snow suit was not what this PMS girl was expecting. I was hot, unfit and kept tripping up on the too long legs and eventually got there wheezing and coughing and with a splittin headache. I’m not sure if that was bloodpressure related or the combination of the heat of the snow suit and my heart condition acting up. Normally I would have not pushed myself that hard, but there was nowhere to go but up and nowhere to sit down in knee deep snow. The last time I felt that way was when I got altitude sickness high up in the atlas mountains in Morocco after a uphill hike and I ended up throwing up next to the road – I could just see that happening again.

I was still wheezing when we sat down in the sled-train. Each sled was pulled by a reindeer and the sleds were tied together in a train, so that the sled behind you had a reindeer walking next to your sled. No pictures (flashes scare the animals) and no touching the animals either…

By now the skies have cleared (WTF????) and the guide leading the sled-train pointed out some light grey streaks of northern lights as we went along.  It was all and all a much gentler experience than the dog sledding, altough at one point he did allow them to get up to a trot and our reindeer almost ran into the sled in front of it, so much did she enjoy the run.

While the other group has their sled experience we sat in the warm lavvo set up for the brave ‘over-nighters’… the ones who were staying the night. That was untill someone said there were Northern lights outside and everyone piled out – cameras in hand… tripod central.

Initially it was grey whisps and I thought – you got me out here for this??? PMS – remember. And then it happend – a show that exceeded my expectations – green moving lights all over the sky – you do not know where to look. As one boy put it so well – This is worth the cold feet. Even my little camera (without a tripod) got a few nice shots – the point was to experience the lights, not photograph them – for me anyways.

With the show above and the walk down-hill to the bus even my frozen stiff snow suit pants was funny in the end.

Chattering about our luck we returned to the site where we got the snow suits and went to a bigger Lavvo where we had a meal of Reindeer stew, bread and berry juice. Our sami hosts told us more about their way of life, showed us their traditional snow shoes, mittens and jackets and shared their propsal ritual – a sled ride now replaced by a more modern car version.

Outside the lavvo there were other reindeer that was more used to people and could be photographed and petted, if you so wished.

After hot chocolate we returned the snow suits, bid our hostess good night and returned in the once again driving snow to the city centre.

It was a lovely entertaining, informative evening – Thank you Sami Lapland adventures.

We had a cup of coffee on the porch outside the hotel and watched the snow fall down into the ocean.

On Monday 15 Feb we ‘checked out of the snow hotel’ and caught a flight to Tromso for the last leg of our journey.

Surprise of the morning – 500ml Coke Zero at 45 NOK for 2 at the tax free airport shop. Never been so happy to have a coke in my life – my precious 😛

The flight was uneventful and we took the flybussen to within a few 100 meters from our hotel. Dragging the luggage around in the snow was quite a new experience and I have new respect for Samsonite.

While we were waiting for check-in (our room still being cleaned) we stored the luggage and walked to Tromso outdoor to pay for the winter activity trip that evening. They also took the opportunity to fit the snowshoes to ensure that we get the correct size. That was the main mission for the day – and it was much easier to find the shop that I thought it would be. We had a coffee and complementary waffle and then only was our room ready for check-in.

To my surprise we got allocated a loft room, instead of the room I initially booked. The view is definitely worth the schlep of getting the cases up the last floor of wooden steps. Getting them down again for check out tomorrow morning… we’ll cross that bridge when we get there…

We only had time to unpack a few essentials and arrange for something to eat when we come back before we had to head out into the snow to meet the guide at a different hotel.

I was quite worried about the success of this outdoor activity excursion, given the wind and amount of snow falling. A UK family with two young girls joined us and we drove to a park area on another ‘island’. Here we were given the opportunity to try cross-country ski-ing… nope, I cant do that and I feel claustrophobic being ‘clicked’ into those ski’s.

Given that feeling, I gave the snow-shoes a miss – further clicking of boots into gadets required…. shudder.

I enjoyed the plastic snow mats that you can use as sleds down-hill and did this quite a few times.

Our guide made a fire at ‘base-camp’ and we had warming berry juice and some traditional cinnamon cakes during our breaks. It was fun watching the kids play and ‘dad’ re-discovering his ski-skills.

The weather cleared up so the trip was enjoyable, but we did not see any Northern Lights. The speed at which the weather changes in Norway is amazing. Blasting snow one minute, clear skies the next. By the time we were returning home it was snowing heavily again.

As we missed supper, the hotel prepared some bread, cheese and cold meats for us, which was very lovely and deeply appreciated. Hot chocolate rounded off the meal.

And yes – we were stiff (as if we had run a marathon) the next day. Playing around with the kids is not for ‘sissies’…

Then it arrived – my 43rd birthday and the night we will be spending in the snow room at the snow hotel.

The morning we had breakfast at the restaurant and decided to have the Bubbly we had been saving from the cruise. We put it ‘on ice’ outside the cabin, made a toast and proceded to clear the cabin and re-pack our luggage as we will be flying out to Tromso the next morning early.

Lunch was wilderness toasties at Gabba again and then we settled into the ‘common area’ at the snow hotel to await the introduction/welcome at 5pm. I caught up on some sleep as the tablet did not charge the previous night and battery was very low.

At 5 we gathered in Gabba and after toasting our reindeer sausages in the fire and making burritos with provided potato-flour flatbreads we were introduced to the wild-life of the area (taxidermy examples around the restaurant) and also the history of the hotel.

Then we had a welcome drink at the ice bar – berry juice, before we could look around the hotel, check out our assigned rooms and collect a sleepingbag from the ‘warm room’ which also houses the bathrooms/showers and sauna. Sleeping bags deposited on our beds, we went up to the restaurant (2nd floor) for instructions on how to make the best of the night (how to wiggle into sleeping bag), what to do with your clothes to keep them from freezing etc.

A three course meal followed, but we did not drink much, keeping in mind that this could mean trips to the bathroom later.

When they announced that the icebar will be opened I had a vodka in an ice glass – just because its my birthday.  Bit of advice – those glasses are damned cold if you are not wearing gloves.

Eventually around 22:00 we decided it is time to hit the sleeping bags.

We were assigned room 12 – quite far from the bathroom – if you keep in mind that room 25 is next to the entrance to the warm room/bath room area. Our room was decorated with a fox on the wall and a plant sculpture at the foot of the bed. I was very worried that some time during the night I was going to kick over/damage said sculpture.

It was quite a mission getting into the sheet provided and then into the sleeping bag, but once you are in and cocooned it is quite warm. As the light in the room stays on permanently and there is no outside light it is quite disorientating as far as trying to tell what time of the night it is.

Eventually around 5 am I got up to use the bathroom and then we slept further till around 7 and hit the showers. The showers were heavenly and just the trick to bring you back to temperature.

After breakfast we were presented with a certificate to confirm that we made it through the night.

Soon it was time to follow our luggage to reception and catch a ride to the airport. Before this we made a last round through the husky area, said goodbye to Ozzy and checked on the puppies we met on the first day.

I am taking home a soft toy husky – his name – Ozzy of course.

Time to play catch-up from the Clarion With hotel in Tromso…

On 13 Feb we spent the day relaxing at the snow hotel.

The morning I finally made a ‘snow angel’ in the thick snow outside our cabin. Some of the powder went into my sleeves and it was freezing, but worth it.

We had lunch at the Gabba restaurant – wilderness toasties. Toasted raindeer and cheese sandwitch – toasted in foil in the central hearth. This was accompanied by ‘curiosity cola’.. a Uk herbal drink that tastes much like ‘iron brew’. All this was served in wooden plates/mugs with a wooden knife/fork.

The evening we arrived at the dog area and kitted out for our husky ride. At -2 degrees C it was a little warm for the dogs and we had to make regular cool off stops for them to eat snow or roll round in the snow. Our musher was a gentleman from Germany who joined the team about four years ago and helps train the teams.

It was awesome to experience this and to have the evening meal of hot berry juice and freshly toasted wilderness toasties in a Sami tent in the country-side. Because it was snowing we were unable to see any Northern Lights, but the snow looked like glitter in the light of his headtorch. We even went on a frozen Fjord and could make out some faint Northern Lights from there, but the almost full moon made it difficult to see the colour.

The dogs love the opportunity to run and the attention lavished on them before and after the outing. One of the dogs in our team was named Ozzy and he loves it when you scratch his back – just where his tail starts. The other was a young fluffy boy who is really shy, but once we started the trip, he was very impatient to ‘hit the road’ again when we stopped for breaks.

Due to the cold and (mostly) the gloves I did not take any pictures during the excursion. The picture posted was taken as they were preparing for a midday outing the morning we left the snow hotel.

Yesterday was our final morning on the ship as we disembarked at Kirkenes.

Trying to re-pack was, shall we say interesting, as it was a struggle to get everything into the cases in the first place – thank heaven for travel vacuum bags. I decided that the waffleweave robe welcome gift from hurtigruten was coming home with me… so I ditched one pair of hiking boots which has been hurting me to no end on the way in. If I wear thick enough socks with my sneakers I do not feel the cold and they take less space in the luggage. Given the excursion planned for the day – the snow boots were the shoes of choice for the day.

Sitting with the BlueTooth keyboard on my lap and the tablet/screen on the windowsill – Colin calls this ‘long-distance’ blogging 😛  We are watching the ‘traffic’ go by as staff travel between the restaurant and the Gabba building and reception – along the outside of the snow hotel. The snow hotel just in front of our window… resembles a white marshmallow caterpillar with the ice bar at the ‘head’.

Beyond that the 150 odd huskies are lounging around, some lying on top of their kennels… enjoying the breeze. At around -2 degrees today, they are hot as they prefer temperatures -20 and lower.

And a new round of guests just arrived for a snow hotel tour.

Some staff went walking with three of the huskies this morning. They were bouncing around everywhere, running around in the deep snow, having a ball of a time. It was fun to watch.

Earlier a ‘maintenance’ crew went by with a ladder on the snowscooter…

Currently it is not snowing, but the sky is grey and cloudy. At around 8:30 light snow was drifting down, swirling around us as we walked to the restaurant for breakfast – making tracks in last nights fresh snow.

But I digress – Kirkeness arrival…

Breakfast felt quiet, a kind of no-mans land as cabins were cleared for check out and breakfast was ‘something to do’  while waiting to arrive at port. The staff reminded patrons that it is 8:20 and they were supposed to vacate cabins by 8:00.  That was kind of funny – for us anyway.

We wheeled our luggage accross the ice on quay to our waiting bus and the guide Ernst confirmed that they will drop us at the Thon hotel after the excursion. He is a retired guide that ‘takes a tourgroup every now and then when his wife complains that he has to do a task around the house’

He was awesome, sharp and full of jokes. Very different from most of the locals who can be quite sullen.

Our first stop was the old bombshelter in town, where we saw a video about how the Germans invaded Kirkenes (due to its proximity to Russia’s Murmansk harbour town – the only ice-free Russian port where allies could get supplies into russia). Eventually 3 weeks before the end of the war, the town was freed by the Russians and the 3000 citizens who was mostly hiding in a mining tunnel outside town could come out – to a city devasted by war.  He was one of the children in that mineshaft.

After the war the russians helped the town to rebuild itself and due to labour shortages experienced currently, natives within a 30km radius of the town can cross the border without visas and many russians come to Kirkenes to work and return home at night. There are also several russian fishing trawlers in the harbour that fish king crabs (on quota) in the Norwegian waters outside the town.

The border has seen some migrant action the last few months with around 5 000 migrants (mostly from Syria and Afganistan) entering here from the Russian side. They were housed and registered in the new bomb shelter and sent to other places in Norway. Other than that the border is quiet, we did not wake sleeping dogs by going past the blue sign.

Back in town we dropped the passgengers returning to the ship at the quay, and we got dropped at the quayside Thon hotel to pass the around 1 hour untill the Snow Hotel pick-up. The hotel is very modern, with great views from the lobby bar/restaurant over the water. They have AWESOME cuppuchino – the best we’ve had so far in Norway.

Upon arrival at the snow hotel, we were welcomed and registered by the owner and our luggage tagged for delivery to our cabins. Johannes – the person responsible for building the snow hotel each year gave us a tour around the facility, explained about the huskies, showed us the baby puppies and let us feed the resident raindeer (on lease from the Sami as Norgwegians are not allowed to own reindeer).

He then showed us around his ‘baby’ – the snow hotel with the Viking Theme for this year. The decorations change each year, but somehow there is always a Marilyn Monroe and Taj Mahal themed room – by popular demand. These are closest to the heated showers and washrooms and can sleep families (more than two persons). No luck for me getting a room close to the bathroom on Sunday night then 😛

We then went to our wooden cabin where heated interiors (under-floor and aircon) and our luggage awaited us. It is awesome and the bathroom ‘window’ is a northern light themed lightbox. There is also a little portch and a dressing room where you can hang your coats and wet shoes and store the luggage.

Supper was nettle soup and fresh bread . followed by rack of lamb, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Dessert was creme caramel with cream. Massive portions and very good.

We watched for some Northern lights, but it was too foggy and the forecast did not bode well for possibility of clear skies. We eventually gave up and turned in for the night.

Tonight we have the husky ride from around 5pm untill 10 pm, with a picnic dinner along the way. The forecast for Northern lights looks good, with less cloudcover expected. We’ll see what the evening brings.

This afternoon is lunch at the Gabba Restaurant – the one with the hearth in the middle – less formal that last night’s setting.

PS – This morning after breakfast I made a snow angel in the snow next to our cabin. Bucket list – check!

Last night Colin managed to photograph some green tinge of Northern lights during one of the sessions. I was quite dissapionted because all I saw was grey cloud-like formations. I did read that some-times the colour can only be seen on photographs, but not with the naked eye. I kept on hoping that maybe there will be more to this… Hope springs eternal.

Sitting here in semi-darkness before our window staring out at the night sky – its just way too cold to sit on the balcony.

We just left a town called Berlevag on the last night of our journey to Kirkeness. The suitcases are packed (kinda – I still have to put my blanket back – its in current use – the balcony door is a little drafty). This blanket will always hold dear memories to me – its a grey fleece Hurtigruten branded blankie – part of the suite guest giftpack, but I love blankets so it’s going back home with me and will always remind me of this experience.

It was an early breakfast day with the North Cape excursion leaving around 11:30. We were seven Hurtigruten busloads visiting the centre. A small number of guests went dog-sledding instead. We drove through the small town situated on an island – white winter wonderland. Apparently we were lucky as we had no wind or snow and could see the landscape clearly. Normally it is snowing/fogggy and all you can see is the bus before you. We even saw the summer huts of the four Sami families that come to the island with their reindeer in summer.

The last few km’s is very tricky and we in winter is only accessable twice a day (if you are lucky) and then you drive in a convoy – after your vehicle is checked for correct spike tyres with snow chains for backup. A snow plough clears the way and leads the the convoy. Some times it is not accessable, even with the help of the snow plough.

We arrived at the centre safe and sound although the wind has picked up and it started snowing. At least we got a chance to take pictures at the ‘globe structure’, but were unable to see the ‘true Northern point’ due to fog. After the pictures we looked at the exibition and it was time to board the busses again.

We had a safe journey back to the quay and boarded the ship with 3 minutes to spare. I lost one of my crampons/spikes along the way – bummer. The friendly lady at the boat shop told me that I was advised to purchase the wrong size and that is why it fell off. I now have a smaller size and hope they will stay put this time – loads of trapezing round the snow will be required at the snow hotel.

Having missed lunch session due to the outing we had pizzas from the on-board cafeteria available to the customers who use the ferry-serivce. It exceeded expectations and was too much for me to finish.

We started packing and I went outside to take a picture of the Finnkerke  – a rock formation that looks like a church and is a Sami Holy site. In the evening it is lit up to enhance the experience. While waiting for the picture moment I saw the clear sky and the beginnings of an aurora. I called Colin to bring the camera that can shoot auroras because at this stage it still resembled grey clouds. He said – those are just clouds… I said no… they are auroras and then it happenend… it turned a bright green and started dancing in a ribbon accross the sky – awesome. So bright that even my little compact camera got a good shot in ‘auto-mode’. It lasted around 3 minutes.

Well there it is… what we came for. Bucket list item checked. It was sooo awesome – I have to see it again – hence my aurra watch post in front of the window. Its cloudy here, so I probably will not be that lucky twice in one night.

Did get a pic of the rock formation too, but the excitement of the aurora overrode it 😦

Dinner was buffet style tonight – all the seafood you can eat – including fresh king crab, shirmp and langoustines. I tried the crab, but the shrimp and langoustines looked like too much effort and way too many legs… I much preferred the fresh green asparagus spears.

Tried the pannacotta with cloudberries, it was really good.

Tommorrow at 7 we have breakfast, we have to vacate the cabin at 8am and we arrive at Kirkeness at 9. We then board the busses for the excursion (Russian border visit) before we return to the town where the bus will drop us at a hotel. Here the snow hotel will collect us at 13:00 for our three night stay outside town at their premesis.

Will check in again, signal availability permitting.

Woke up this morning to the balcony covered in snow – what a wow for a born and bred Cape Town girl.

The day was pretty much uneventful with our next excursion only taking place at 14:30 when we arrive at Tromso.

Following a leisurely breakfast we went up to the sun deck to check out the snow and take the progress photo. We are so far north now that Colin had to indicate our place on the map – this shorty cant reach.

Feedback from the 23:00 fish cake and Troll ‘snapps’ gathering last night. It was cold and raining so most people collected their drinks and fish cakes and headed indoors into one of the many lounges. Present company included. It was too dark to make out the spectacular narrow straight we were sailing through, all I could make out is that those rocks were cringe-worthy close to the ship – could almost touch them. Dont know how they do it and that in the pitch black dark.

The drink was an interesting mix of dark rum, berry juice and back (warm) tea.  The mug is kind of cute – a small beer tanker which is going to find a place in my ‘memories’ cabinet at home.

We went out on the balcony to see the Gisund Bridge in Finnsness and Colin pelted me with snow from the balcony. I tried to get him back, but honestly – I throw like a girl! I would probably miss a 2 tonne troll if it stood right in front of me.

Spent the balance of the day reading (Betty White’s – If you ask me) and Colin playing on his PS Vita.

Before the excursion to Tromso we stopped at the shop store to get some ice grips that you put over your shoes. This helps when the ice is slippery underfoot as they have little stubs that improve grip. My snowboots with their generous proportions required a large. There weren’t any that would fit over Colin’s Merrel boots in stock. However they handle slippery ice quite well due to the design of their soles.

The Tromso city tour was informative and enabled us to orientate ourselves for when we return to the city on the final leg of our trip. We saw where the bus will drop us and where our hotel is – quite close to where the Hurtigruten stops when in town.

We visited the Polarium where we saw a documentary on wildlife in the arctic region. After this we walked through the small aquarium where the stars of the show are a few charismatic seals – there is even a place to take a “sealfie” with the seal – if you time it right (with the seal swimming by behind you). 

It was rather crowded with all the Hurtigruten passengers being there at the same time, so we may return later to have a more quiet look and browse the gift shop.

Outside the Polarium is a preserved hunting vessle in a glass enclosure. What was more interesting was the rows of wooden picnic tables next to it – all covered in snow… Difficult to picture families having a snack there on the waterfront in summer when you see them so forlorn.

We crossed the iconic bridge to the mainland and visited the Artic Cathedral. Not a ‘real’ cathedral as there is no bishop in residence – actually just a ‘parish church’. However it is quite stunning from the outside and the stained glass windows (added later to block the bright summer sunlight) glows in the night. Apparently the original plain glass window let in so much sunlight that people started attending services wearing sunglasses.

We returned to the ship and a welcome cup of coffee – bless the kettle in our cabin. Despite a few stars twinkling between the clouds as we left Tromso – no glimpse of Northern lights so far. By the  way it is -3 degrees C and was dark by the time we returned to ship with some time to spare before departure at 18:30.

Waiting for our second seating supper at 20:30 and we have a load of washing in the laundry. Tomorrow night is the ‘big pack’ again as we vacate the cabin before 08:00 in Kirkeness.

Apparently there is a “presentation of stockfish” at 21:45 on deck 9 tonight…. not sure what that entails.  Tomorrow is the visit to the North Cape visitors centre. Not technically the most northern point in Europe, that is a few km’s away, but this site is more scenic and ideal for a visitor centre… or something like that.

Dissappointed that I will not be able to join the Polar Bear Society at Hammerfest. Apparently they only open at 09:00 am and the boat docks there at around 5:15am for 45 minutes. What are the chances that ‘business sense’ and ‘sanity prevails’ and they open to the ‘relatively captive audience’ which is the Hurtigruten cruise passengers? Not holding my breath 😦

Will collect the day 6 tour program on the way from supper and see what the schedule says.

Hold thumbs that the skies clear and we get a glimpse of the Aurora, that is after all why we are here in the Arctic Circle.

Okay – time to get the washing in the dryer…..

Yesterday we visited Trondheim – a university town and Norwegian pilgrim site (Nidaros Cathedral houses the tomb of St Olav – Norway’s Patron Saint).

We started with a bus city tour pointing out various sites of interest and stopped off at a lookout point for a photo stop. This was the ideal place to testdrive my Sorel Joan of Artic Snowboots that took up so much space in my luggage. They worked perfectly – ankle-deep in snow and they did not even feel damp outside.

We then visited Nidaros Cathedral where a very amusing local guide told us the history of the building. The ongoing cleanup (as he says … every 100 years) did take away some of the atmosphere for me.  Maybe Gothic cathedrals just isn’t my thing. Anyways I purchased a rosary at the gift shop – to add to my collection of rosaries from Catholic Pilgram sites. We passed the “Bridge of Happiness” ‘s red arches (Gamle Byrua) en route back to the ship.

The balance of the day we spent lounging around the cabin reading, sleeping and Colin playing games on his PS Vita. we did go out on the balcony to photograph the Kjeunskjaer Lighthouse as we passed it. As Colin said the captain ‘showed off’ his navigation skills by passing though a very narrow gap between islands… quite impressive – even more so with the sunset in the background.

At lunch I gave in and eventually tried the reindeer. It is quite good, once you get over the idea of it being Rudolph’s cousin.

This morning just after 7am we crossed the Artic Circle. It does seem colder and greyer this side of it, although we have yet to strike temperatures under zero degrees Centigrade. I think we brought some of Cape Town’s heat wave with us to Norway.

For a laugh after breakfast we went to the quay at Ornes – just to take pictures. They bundled us back on the boat – as it only stopped here for 20 minutes and the rule is 10 mins before departure everyone must be back on the boat. We departed late as they had some issues with the cargo door closing. In typical Norwegian fashion they were very understated about it.

This delayed the Artic Circle ceremony, but somehow in his busy schedule Neptune still managed to fit us in and make an appearance for some photo shots. I joined in the fun and received a ‘blessing’ of ice water down my back – courtesy of our captain. I donated the sweet liquer provided to take the edge off the cold/ease the shock to Colin. It was all good fun and the clothes affected is hanging in the bathroom to dry.

We are now readying to dock at Bodo where some will go to see the Saltstraumen strong sea currents and whirlpools. Some will go on a winter hike in the area. We decided to skip both as we will have our nature experience in Kirkenes.

Tonight at 23:00 while sailing through the narrow strait of Raftsundet we will have fishcakes and drink Trolfjord snapps while maybe, just maybe the Northern Lights will appear, now that we are within the artic circle.

Yesterday we spent the day in Bergen, waiting for the transfer to the Hurtigruten pier at 17:35 to board the MS Trollfjord.

Breakfast was very good and included a melon type fruit with a leathery skin which I have yet to identify. Today I’m sure it was included in a stirfry for lunch. We noticed that they like their bacon VERY crispy here.

Data was purchased and set up with the help of two gentlemen at the NetCom store close to the hotel. Mission 1 accomplished we went in search of a money exchange so that we can pay in NOK. This we found in the area of the Tourist Info office (Above the famous Fish Market) in the Bryggen area. This used to be the old port and is probably Bergen’s most famous landmark – the rows of colourful wooden houses lining the waterfront.

Following some picture-taking we strolled into a KIWI PRIS which is a supermarket. Here we realised that softdrinks are beyond affordable and we will have to settle for coffee/tea during this journey. A 1.5 litre coke zero is around 30 NOK – my fellow South Africans – that is around R60…. and 2 litres of long life milk – 20 NOK (R40). Make that BLACK coffee/tea. A bag of potato chips (Lays or similar) was around 39 NOK (R78) …. ouch!  Makes me appreciate the all-inclusive package n the cruise soooo much more.

We settled for the familiar – Burger King for lunch – McDonalds was just way too busy and given food prices we did not want to take a chance with the unknown. I ate that burger and sipped that precious coke zero very appreciatively.

One think however was free and quite unexpected – sunshine and blue skies in the city of rain. We had a beautiful sunny day and almost the entire population was in the main square (nearby our hotel) to enjoy it. Kiddies were climbing the rocky outcrop at the Ole Bull statue in front to the hotel. We have noticed that the local kids cannot resist rock climbing – no matter what the age. If there is a stone – they will climb onto it – awesome to watch 🙂

We hung out in the hotel lobby untill it was time to go to the port. Check-in was quick and after a safety video and the obligatry hand cleaning before embarkation – we found our way to our cabin. Minutes later our luggage was outside the door. Very efficient – Hurtigruten staff.

We went down for supper – all the salmon you can eat, I did not have the reindeer (still working my way up to eating rudolph) and copious options for dessert. The apple tart was less sweet than I expected – a good choice for my pre-diabetes diet. We have a wine package included as part of our suite offer – I can see this is going to be a problem. One bottle of wine with dinner each evening for the duration of the cruise. And there was sparkling wine chilling on ice in the cabin (welcome gift )…  Well, lets just say that the champers is in the frigde and the rolling of the ocean, jetlag and the wine from supper made for an interesting first night. No-one was drunk, but we were a little off balance and very tired (there was cold medicine somewhere in the mix as well). Woke up at 2am-  having missed the big – “leaving Bergen port” moment – bummer.  We’ll see if tonight is any better 🙂

After breakfast we walked around the boat, checked out the ‘sun deck’ – there was actually someone in a bikini in the jaccuzi – brave lady. Met some tourists from Australia and had a chat. Following lunch we set out to visit the aquarium at Alesund and watched how they feed the fish in the big tank. The penguins did some ‘synchronised swimming’ move in their enclosure – no, it’s not part of a show, they just seemed to move around like a group of ballerinas in the water.  The penguins in cape town’s aquarium don’t do that. The sea lions hid in the farthest corner – clearly “off duty” on this Sunday. There were some very big crabs and lobsters and eels and dogfish. The best show for me however was the kiddies treating the rocky ‘decor’ as their personal jungle gym. I saw a sign and expected it to say… stay off the rocks.. but they know their ‘customers’… it  said “Climbing the rocks is at your own risk” 😛

Then we went up Mount Aksla to a lookout point and restaurant popular with the locals. There were many locals walking their dogs and enjoying the mountain hike in the show. Saw a pond frozen over and this would probably double as a natural ice skating rink. We took some pictures and headed back to the boat…. after we stopped to collect a group-member that failed to adhere to the scheduled times. Lesson here (as mentioned before) if these people say they leave at 12:00, they will wait untill 12:01 and then they go – with or without you.

Our guide pointed out that – once again – we were lucky as we had no rain during our visit.

Back at the boat I purchased some laundry tokens and located the passenger laundry facility. Figuring out how to work the washing machine was quite an interesting exercise (even with english “subtitles”), the tumble dryer was even more ‘fun’. But the washing is dry and the non-dryer friendly items are dotting our cabin. Hopefully the central heating will work its magic and they will be dry by morning.

We had the most beautiful sunset this afternoon and in the minutes before there was shafts of sunlight flooding the cabin, something I did not expect to see on this cruise.

OKAY… blogging interrupted by a Northern Lights accouncement – weak Northern Lights in front to the ship. Unusual this low below the arctic circle. Mad rush to put on shoes and jackets and get to the sun deck. Went out in my cotton track suit pants – dont care if I freeze – I’m not rushing around for warmer pants right now… One way to mobilize everyone on the ship and get them talking and bumping into each other in the dark, staring at the sky. There was a feignt glow which one man proclaimed to be “the glow of London’s lights” 😛  I think I saw a shimmer of green moving above the horison… yay!  but then decided that its early days yet and hopefully the lights will put on a lovely show closer to Kirkenes.

Back in the cabin now and feeling is returning to my legs… a burning sensation. Guess I’ll have to study the instructions on how to photograph the lights tomorrow, I thought I had more time, at least untill we reach Tromso.

Time to go to supper (we got allocated to the late sitting) and check which bus we have to get on for the Trondheim excursion tomorrow morning – we leave the ship at 8:45 – so early breakfast.

I’m sure the dinner conversation is going to buzz with our early stroke of luck… Maybe , just maybe the hazy clouds we witnessed was a shadow of the real deal.

Time to put on some jeans – I have an appointment with some salmon and 1/2 a bottle of wine.

See you flipside