The Northern Cape

The northern most point of not just Norway but all of Europe. The cape is 71 degrees north latitude, 5 degrees north of the arctic circle.

Walking to the edge of the cape, the visitor center is in the background. It was a cool(45 degrees) and windy day.

At the monument near the cliff of the cape. As close to the top of the world that we will ever get.

A view of the arctic sea from 1,000 feet above the shore on the North Cape.

A couple of trolls in the visitor center.

Tromso, Norway

The largest city in northern Norway, 50,000 inhabitants. Home to the northern most university in Europe, “The Arctic University of Norway”, 13,000 students. It was the starting point for man explorers, including Ronald Amundsen’s adventures to the North Pole and South Pole in the early 1900s.

Oldest pub in Tromso, operated by the Mack brewery. Mack brewery is the worlds furthest north brewery.

We got a great presentation about cod fishing in Norway. The fishery is apparently thriving as years ago Norway instituted a quota system for protecting the resource. We are at Full Steam, a restaurant and pub that has a museum attached in the back. We had a presentation about the history of cod fishing and how they used to dry the fish to preserve it for years. You could reconstitute it and a make a high protein paste. This allowed explorers to go on voyages of several years and have a source of protein available during their trip. We also got to see a cod liver and the where the eggs/ roe come from.

Even Patty sampled the cod caviar ( cod roe). She used lots of sour cream, very little roe! I thought the roe was better than sturgeon caviar, it did not have a strong fishy taste.

We also sampled fresh, not processed cod liver oil. It was not very fishy tasting.

The young man giving the presentation is 17 years old and about to start his second year in vocational school to be an electrician. He gave a very good presentation. He said he is interested in history, especially the history of the fishing industry. He is holding dried cod. There is still a market for these dried fish in Asia and Spain! Dried cod is what they use in lutefisk. This young man said that many Norwegians will still eat this at Christmas. I can remember my mom talking about having lutefisk when she was a child. It is processed using lye. Mom, who enjoyed all seafood said lutefisk was terrible. I have never tried it.

Our evening stop in Svolvaer, the capital of the Lofoten islands…. Still part of Norway

A cod fishing village with a small but very unique and sobering private World War Two museum. It is mainly a collection of artifacts from Norway’s involvement in World War Two.

The owner of this fantastic and impactful collection, Mr William Hakvag. He is holding a sailor’s uniform that was found on the ocean floor many years after the war.

He had many mannequins dressed in authentic nazi and Norwegian uniforms and many pieces of equipment, including weapons, radios and personal affects.

He has several cockpit instrument panels. This is from a Messerschmitt 109, one of germanys best fighter planes.

This is a piece he got from Germany. It was found in an old home and upon inspection and taking it apart to reframe, several interesting things were discovered. It Had A H signed in the corner and 4 other paintings were under it. They were paintings of 4 of Disney’s “7 dwarfs”. These were thought to have been done by Adolph Hitler. Hitler was an artist in his younger days and an admirer of Walt Disney!

Hitler’s magnifying glass and Eva Braun’s purse

This is a recreation of the Gestapo headquarters commanders office in Svolvaer. It gave me goose bumps!

Chilling reminders of a madman’s plan to change the world. The owner now has an agreement to donate his collection to the local city museum and they promise to keep the museum intact and on display as a reminder of a terrible war in hopes that the world never repeats this event

Bodo, Norway….. a RIB boat ride!

Gateway to the arctic, located just north of the arctic circle. It’s also home to the worlds strongest whirlpool, maelstrom Saltstraumen. It’s only awe inspiring at the extreme of the tide changes. We didn’t time our visit very well and the whirlpool was barely noticeable at slack tide.

Patty is getting suited up with anti exposure suit, Gloves, goggles and flotation harness. The water is cold and so is the wind as we go fast on the RIB boat(rigid inflatable boat) .

A fast ride in search of whirlpools. Whirlpools weren’t very good but the guide was entertaining and knowledgeable about the geology and the fishery business.

300 horsepower outboard makes for a fun, fast and exciting ride. The rock formations were cool to look at and talk about.

This is where the whirl pool is located……. When it’s halfway to high tide or halfway to low tide is when we should be here but our ships schedule dictated when we could go on the ride. It was fun because the guide made it fun.

We saw a sea eagle, similar to our bald eagle. It has a 7 foot wingspan.

Alesund, the art nouveau city of Norway

This was a three hour stop and a nice walk around with our trip leader. Most of the city burned down in 1904 and only one person died trying to save some property in her house. Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany liked the city so much that he sent several ships with supplies and carpenters to build temporary housing. He also invested in rebuilding the city and Wilhelm liked the Art Nouveau architecture and since he donated money and craftsman he had the town rebuilt in that style.

Getting on and off the ship is quick and easy

Patty, in her Norwegian hat, pays close attention to Daniel, our trip leader.

Art nouveau is less garish, more subtle than the Art Deco of the 1920’s that we have seen in Miami, Florida. I learned something today….. I thought art deco and art nouveau were one and the same.

Art nouveau …..many details, relief sculptures, curves and colors

They used every available space to erect buildings. That is a separate skinny house between larger buildings!

We’ve seen this in other Norwegian cities. The cites have repurposed old phone booths into small libraries. Great idea! In Alesund they are quite nice and well stocked.

Trondheim, Norway… a 3 hour stop

Trondheim was once the capital of Norway, its current population is 180,000. It was founded in 997 AD and is now a major university town and as well as having a major fishing industry. It is also an important pilgrimage site for followers of St Olaf, a Norwegian King and Catholic Martyr. We walked about the town with our trip leader and spent 30 minutes in Nidaros Carthedral. This church was originally built in 1000 AD but has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. It is a destination for St Olaf pilgrims.

A common theme thru out Norway; clean streets and well kept older homes and businesses.

Many beautiful flower beds and it’s already late September with cool temps and fewer hours of daylight.

Lots of bikes and lots of hills in Trondheim. This is an assist for a bike and rider. You sit on the bike and put your right foot on the slanted silver ramp. Then push a button, either slow or fast to help you up the hill! Several bike riders in Trondheim are riding electric bikes!

Walking across a bridge near St Olaf’s cathedral.

The organ was originally built in 1741 and has been extensively restored in the 1990s. The stained glass is beautiful too.

The sculptures were started on the west side of the church in 1929. The sculptures were of historical and religious figures.

The detail is amazing , the middle character is St Olaf as the king

The sculptor took artistic freedom during a restoration of the church in recent history. Look close at the face….. it’s Bob Dylan, the musician. This sculpture is on the roof and the powers to be accepted the repair without a problem as the naked eye can’t discern the detail.

This sculpture is hidden near the roof and is difficult to see. It’s a good luck charm. The story goes that an unfinished cathedral will never collapse and this sculpture has one more brick to install.

Life on board the ship

We finally board the Hurtigruten ship, The Nordlys( English translation, Northern Lights). It’s a commercial shipping, mail carrier, car ferry, passenger ship that has capacity for 471 people. It was down played to us …. Don’t expect it to be a typical cruise ship. There isn’t a theater. Casino, or swimming pool. However it is very comfortable, nice dining room with good food choices, a nice lounge with a full bar(7 different beers on tap). The cabins are comfortable with decent bathroom.

Our journey starts in Bergen and stops 31 times before getting to Kirkenes. We get off in 8 of these stops for walks about town, visits to museums; and a wild ride on a RIB boat!

A sister ship heading the opposite direction. We travel most of the time in the fjords, we occasionally go out to the North Sea and then back to the fjords. The North Sea can be a bit rough. Further north we will be in and out of the Norwegian Sea. Non- drowsy Dramamine has kept Patty happy!

Nice dining room and good food. Check out Patty’s plate vs my plate. I think Patty will lose some weight on this trip, I hope not to gain weight. We’ve been walking more than I do at home. One day we had 17,500 steps! I’ve enjoyed the fish for breakfast lunch and dinner! I probably don’t need my fish oil supplement on this trip!

Our first stop, Urke, a small village of 53 people.

Kayaking is popular. Not enough time to kayak, this was a 2 hour stop.

Getting on the tender to return to our ship

We’re on the tender heading back to our ship

Bergen, gateway to the fjords

It’s the second largest city in Norway and has a population of approx 285,000. It has the title, “rainiest city in Europe”…. Averages 89 inches of rainfall and rains approx 280 days per year.

Our tour group from the top of the funicular overlooking Bergen

Bergen in the background, a rare sunny day. We’ve been lucky with the weather. Heaviest rain has been at night or when we’ve had indoor plans or some of our bus rides.

A walk with a local guide in an old part of Bergen. The guides name is Patrick and spoke perfect Midwest American English! Come to find out…. He is from Chicago and married a girl from London and they moved to Bergen a few years ago. In Europe, like the USA,Norway has trouble finding enough local people for the jobs that are available.

A few old homes still preserved in downtown. Because all the construction was wood and the homes were built close together there were big fires that would burn large parts of the city every 50 years or so.

Lots of hill side homes. The funicular can be seen in the middle of the hill and the top of the hill has a restaurant that dates back to 1920

We took a 30 minute trip out to a salmon fish farm. The water was to rough to ride zodiacs out to the pens and see the fish up close. So, we had conversations with a fish farm employee and two museum visits about life in the old days and a history of outboard motors. Norway lays claim to early outboard motor development. There is a controversy about fish farming and this company is proactive in explaining, in a convincing manner, how fish farming does not adversely affect the wild fish habitat. A controversial topic for sure.

A great presentation and discussion about Norwegian prison system. This young lady is 37, mother of three and has been a prison guard for 12 years. Norway concentrates there prison system on rehabilitation and they make life for most prisoners very nice. The prisons are more like a small college campus. The cells are like dorm rooms. The maximum sentence for any crime is 21 years. In 2011 there was a home grown terrorist that set off a bomb in Bergen that killed a few people and that was the distraction for the larger crime of going to an island summer camp and used guns to murder 66 young people. He is a right wing neo Nazi, he is beyond evil. The controversy is how can this guy come up for parole every five years? He is unique in the prison system, he is in isolation to protect him from being killed by another prisoner. It might be time to rethink the prison system in Norway.

Time for the reason we booked this trip. We board the Hurtigruten boat for the fjord trip to northern Norway. We will make 31 stops in 7 days/6 nights before we get to Kirkenes, Norway. We will travel in and out of the fjords with occasional diversions into the North Sea. Then we will go on to Lapland, Finland and Sweden.

Flam to Bergen

We took an old train up the narrow and steep Flam valley. Beautiful scenery.

The old Flam train

Kjosfossen waterfall, free fall of 305 feet

The Kjosfossen water fall is the only photo stop on the one hour train ride.

Flam and controversial topics

A beautiful small town on a fjord in Norway. The controversial topic we discussed was how large cruise ships impact the small town. The town has 250 residents, how do they deal with one or two cruise ships that have 4000 passengers on board?

We visited a 5th generation family that raises sheep and quail. They don’t like cruise ship visits because of pollution and the visitors don’t spend any money. The cruise ships can dump “gray” waste water in the fjord. The family thinks that is one cause for the decline in the salmon population.

Patty likes the sheep!