Kim's journey

Wednesday, 13 March
Steps: 8525 with 8 flights
Songs: Ave Maria and Sami joik
Cruise day 5

Stokmarknes – Sortland – Risøyhamn – Harstad – Finnsnes – Tromsø – Skjervøy

Most of the above stops happen in the night. The ship docks and delivers mail, picks up cargo and sometimes new passengers. We see new faces on board all the time.
This morning, I slept in, the went for a lecture on the Sami culture. Again, very informative, but not lively.
Our longest stopover was in Tromsø. We decided to go on a tour of the town. We were taken to the cable car and went to the top of the mountain that overlooks the city. The view was impressive. I started out on a walk along the edge, but when my whole foot started sinking into the snow, I turned around.

After that we were taken to the Arctic Cathedral, which was not as exciting as it looked. You have to pay to go in. David reckons this is just extending the collection! However, the acoustics are incredible. Our tour leader whistled Schubert’s Ave Maria perfectly which was impressive in spite of the acoustics, but you could hear him clearly, loudly throughout the church. It was amazing.
From the church we went to the Polaria Centre. Interesting architecture, that is shaped as icefloes pressed upon the shore. Unfortunately, it is rather shabby inside. We saw 2 short films on the so called panoramic screen and then a brief tour of the aquarium and the seal pool, which houses 2 large bearded seals and 2 harbor seals in a pool smaller than the seal pool I remember from PE in the sixties. It was rather sad.

What I learnt: Joik has been part of the Sami culture since ancient times. Joiking is used to express relationships to people and nature. Traditionally, there are no words. the music is beautiful and haunting.

Tuesday, 12 March
Steps: 11830 with 12 flights of stairs
Song: Peer Gynt by Greig
Cruise day 4

Brønnoysund – Sandnessjøen – Nesna –Ørnes – Bodø –Stamsund – Svolvær

I was awakened by the announcement that we would be crossing the Arctic circle in about half an hour. I jumped up, showered and got into warm clothes. I tried to get David up and about, but had very little success. I raced up on deck expecting it to be packed and there was only a handful of people. I spotted the orb that marked the spot and as we crossed the ship sounded its horn. It gave me a thrill.

Later in the morning, we had an Arctic circle ceremony, where King Neptune pours a ladle of ice water down your back and you are rewarded with a shot of some liquor. The brave men of our team took part. The woman were more sensible. Nutcase John took his shirt off, so they poured the water down his pants. He had ice blocks stuck down his long johns!

You can also send postcards with the Arctic circle postmark. We sent one to both grans and one to ourselves in Swaziland. It will be interesting to see if it arrives in Malkerns before Burgersdorp or Johannesburg.

At 12:30, we docked in Bodø.  June and the guys decided to walk to aeroplane museum. Gaeleen, Cherise and I took a bus to the city center. There is not much there. only one of the ugliest churches we have seen so far.
Most of the town of Bodø was destroyed by a German airstrike in 1940. Not sure why,  there were only 6000 people living there at the time and I can’t imagine it was very important strategically or in any other way.
There is a block that has been covered by a glass roof to create a mall, where we wandered around.  Local students had stalls displaying their entrepreneurial projects. I found it very interesting and bought some material squares that have been treated with beeswax, which you can use to seal dishes instead of plastic wrap.

At 7pm, at Stamsund, we got on a bus and were taken to “Meet the Vikings” at Lofotr in Borg, Lofoten. This consists of a Viking dinner in a Chieftain’s house which has been reconstructed on the remains of an original dwelling, which was inhabited from about 500- 900AD. The “Chieftain and the Lady of the house” host the evening, serving mead and a meal of lamb, turnips, wheat and scones with jam and cream all on one plate. There are also replicas and finds from that era on display.
The meal was a bit rushed and the audience was a bit heavy going. No-one really responded except our SA group. The dancing was a bit dismal, 2 steps to the left and 1 to the right, repeat and the crowd could not even get that right. Then, rather abruptly, we were herded down to the souvenir shop and onto the bus. On our way home, we could see the lights in the sky, but had no time to stop. As wee drove to meet our ship in Svolvær, we got to ask our tour guide questions. He is actually an archeology student and I learnt more about the Vikings from him than on any other occasion.

At 23:20, we met on deck for a drink in a special mug because we were passing Trollenfjord. It was basically rum and sweet tea and it was was quite delicious.
I slept in clothes because I was so sure we would get a call for the lights, but unfortunately there was too much cloud cover.
What I learnt: There was no race of Vikings. “Viking”actually refers to the profession of men who chose to sail out on ships and trade, also loot and raid, with people from other lands. So to say you are descendant from Vikings is equivalent to saying you are descendent from pirates.

 

Monday, 11 March
Steps: 15700 with 10 flights
Song: I am sailing by Rod Stewart
Cruise day 3
Trondheim – Rørvik

We sailed on open sea again through the night, but I had taken a seasick pill so I slept like a bomb. Our ship docked in Trondheim from 6am to 12 noon. Trondheim is 3^rd largest city in Norway. It was founded in 997 and has approximately 180 000 inhabitants.

After breakfast, we decided to catch a bus to the Nidaros Cathedral. We didn’t find the bus stop, so ended up walking. It took about 25 minutes, looking at the city as we went. In some places the snow had turned to ice and was very slippery. It was also freezing.
The cathedral was very impressive, a huge gothic building with a huge rose window. It began as a wooden chapel erected over the tomb of St. Olav, the Viking King who became the patron saint of Norway and was built in stages which took over 200 years and also renovated in subsequent years. Unfortunately they don’t allow pictures of the interior.
We crossed the old city bridge and walked through the old wharf and back to town. We waited at the bustop for the 11:14 bus, which did not arrive! Very strange, so we had a good walk back to the boat which was leaving at 12.

After lunch I went to lecture on Vikings, learnt a bit more about them, but the presenters are so monotonous and dull it was hard to stay awake.
We had a good dinner and went to bed early, but at about 9:30 we  were woken by an announcement that the northern lights were active, so we got dressed as fast as possible and rushed up to deck 8. The deck was packed and it was so cold with icy wind blowing straight through you. There was a vague light in the sky and we waited for about half an hour, but nothing developed. I went back to bed to thaw out and we had another announcement after midnight. Se we trundled up again. This time there was a good show, nothing breathtaking, but definitely worth getting up for.

What I learnt: Until the moment I stood on that deck to look out for the lights, I had no idea what cold was.

Sunday, 10 March

       

Cruise day 2
Steps 11087
Song: There’s got to be a morning after (theme from Poseidon Adventure after wave hit in middle of the night)

We docked briefly at Florø at 4:30. I woke up briefly and was soon back asleep. We travelled along the coast to Måløy and then around breakfast time we crossed the open sea to Torvik. The change to open sea was definitely noticeable and everyone was staggering around. We definitely had not found our sea legs yet, and felt very queasy. Luckily, at 12 we docked in Alesund and had a 3 hour stop over, so we could walk around the town. Half of our party decided to climb the 419 steps to the top of the hill, but we were happy to walk around the lower part of the city. Alesund is renowned for its Art Nouveaux architecture and there are a lot of beautiful buildings. As with all Norwegian cities we have been to, there are a lot of statues.

We then had a 3 hour stretch along the coast to Molde. We watched a presentation about the Northern lights which was informative and the pictures were amazing. At 6pm, Terry arranged that we would all gather in one of our cabins to play lie dice and drink the beers that he had smuggled on board. Trouble was, he forgot the lie dice at home. We played a few rounds of Matches instead and a few rounds of Indian poker until I won all the coins!
We have been seated together at the 8:15 setting and dinner is a fine dining affair. We started with some fish carpaccio, followed by lamb and veg and finally Caramalised apples. Delicious!
What I learnt: What I like about being in the First World is the random open spaces for anyone to use; the attention to detail, even on park benches and the fact that they are not destroyed or stolen.

 

 

Saturday, 9 March
Steps 7339
Cruise day 1
Lazy day! After a leisurely breakfast, we went pack to our room to update blog, pack our bags and sort out some personal admin stuff that needed attention.
While I was packing, I turned on the TV. I could choose between cross-country skiing, ski-jumping, some other type of skiing and in English, we were treated to the original Bonanza, (I kid you not), followed by MacGyver, (can’t believe those fashions that we wore), Friends and then 2 and a half men (with Charlie)! There was, of course, Teresa May speaking about Brexit, but that was not really an option I wanted to consider.
We checked out at 2pm and took a taxi to the Hurtigurten dock, where we checked in and were subsequently joined by our cruise mates. We were allowed on board at 6pm, had a chance to explore the boat and find our cabins. Our cabin was quite spacious and has a window, which is very important! Our Captain is a lady, which pleased me and the crew are all very friendly and helpful. It is freezing on deck, but the interior is kept pleasantly warm. There is a pub/lounge, a bistro, a restaurant and a quiet lounge at the front of the ship with large windows. Most of the passengers are our age or older.

We had a welcome talk and this was followed by a splendid buffet. At 9:15 we had to attend the safety talk and I finally fell into bed at about 10. The boat set off at 23:00, but I was fast asleep until 12 when we obviously hit a large wave and things went flying. David slept through.
What I learnt: A do-nothing day every once in a while is essential

Friday, 8 March
Steps: 15013
We got up early as we had a busy day ahead of us. We planned to visit all the museums which were only open from 11 to 3pm. The sun was shining and we had a brisk walk to the Funicular which goes up to the top of Mt Floyen. From the top you get a really good view of Bergen. They were busy renovating the restaurant there. David enjoyed watching them do some construction and drilling. We walked to the lake and decided to walk the 3km back down to town. However, luckily plans changed as I needed a pitstop, so we took a quick loop back to the station.  We took the funicular downhill and as we got off, it started to snow. By the time we had made it to Starbucks, it was showing heavily. As I might have mentioned before, snow is not my natural element and I was a bit glum. The snow stopped after about 15 minutes and we set off to the museums only to find that they were closed for renovations! We finally gave up on visiting museums and returned to the hotel to do some washing.

Later in the afternoon, the sun was shining again, so we took a little ferry across the water and walked to aquarium. The wind was icy. As we got to the aquarium, it started snowing again. The aquarium was pleasant enough, but not anywhere near Cape Town standard.
It was still snowing when we had had enough of the aquarium, so we caught a bus back to town. We went to the Fisketorget (fish market), which is held outdoors in summer, with a smaller indoor version in winter. It was fascinating to see all the different fish. We bought a takeaway of tempura prawn, salmon and cod as a snack. They were delicious.

Later we met up with the Beckermans and went to nearby restaurant for a light supper.

What I learnt: Street artists in Norway have a good sense of humour and it is possible for McDonalds to be tasteful.

Thursday  7 March
Steps 14333
Song: not much music in my brain at the moment

We slept late and after breakfast we decided to buy a Bergen pass, which gives free public transport and entrance to museums. You could buy them at the hotel, but David said we should go to the Visitors Centre because he had learnt so much from the one in Oslo. So I found it on Google and we walked (15 minutes). It started to drizzle at minute 5 and there was no cover. By minute 10 it was raining hard and at minute 15 there was no visitor’s office.  Just a fishing office. We found a bench in a loading dock that offered some cover and waited for the rain to stop. We went back to the hotel, bought the pass and set off again.
We looked in some of the old wooden buildings and shops along the “Brygge.” Some sell Christmas decorations all year round.

We stopped for an Irish coffee while we perused the brochure. The museums mostly closed at 3. By now it was 2:15 so not much point in going to a museum. So we decided to just catch a bus instead. As the bus approached, I put my hand into my pocket to retrieve my pass and it was not there. Panic at the bus stop! Bags were searched, but no sign. I went back into the coffee shop and there it was, on the floor under my chair! Equilibrium restored, we caught the next bus. They do run every 10 minutes or so.
The bus ride was very interesting. We travelled through a long tunnel into the suburbs and watched how 4 young kids (6-10 year olds) hopped on the bus, unaccompanied, and made their way home from school.
When the route was over, we hopped onto a returning bus, passed through centre of Bergen and out to the West until we found a large shopping mall. We wandered around and bought an additional small suitcase. I was very impressed by the facilities for moms.
Then I found a home decor shop .. for pets!

We returned to our hotel and later decided to go for supper at Basilia, a restaurant Nadine took us to in Colorado. It is an “Eat as much as you like” concept, with a sides buffet and then a variety of meat on skewers which they bring to your table. I was ready for a red meat feast. So we hopped back on a bus, and followed our progress by watching the blue dot on Google map. David suggested we get 1 block closer by staying on the bus till the next stop. Big mistake, we were back through the tunnel for a 15 minute drive back to the shopping centre. Now experienced, we knew how to find the bus home which arrived in 3 minutes and had a delicious meal.  We took a scenic route walk home to digest our meal.
What I learnt: Always buy what you need when it is available and get off the bus when you know the time is right.
Chuckle of the day
The hotel was hosting a conference about sustainable seafood. For 2 days the lobby was filled with mostly men and a few women all wearing dark pants, white shirt and dark jacket. Where’s Waldo?