Goodbye Hurtigruten - and Tusen Takk - Thank you very much ! Tourism was always part of the basis for the Coastal Express though with brochures printed in several languages…
Gale force winds were blowing all day today meaning that the ship was rocking about a lot leaving many people feeling nauseous - including me. The on board shop was doing. roaring trade in sea sickness tablets - even the crew were taking them. The decks were closed, which meant you couldn't even get a breath of air. Everything began to feel very claustrophobic. Unfortunately, seasickness on Hurtigruten is something you may well have to put up with if the weather is rough - which it often is - so come prepared!
Vesteralen Hike Yesterday, we made a brief stop at Hammerfest - the Northernmost town in the world. It is a tiny place, but there is a really interesting Restoration Museum…
The Snow Hotel Kirkenes 25 tonnes of ice and 15000 cubic metres of snow are shifted each Winter to build the famous igloo Snow Hotel Kirkenes.Every year, the hotel is built…
Where East Meets West On the Edge of a Forbidden Frontier Kirkenes - the turning point of the Hurtigruten's voyage - is just a few miles from the Russian border…
World’s End at the North Cape The ship docked at Honningvãg this morning - the capital of the North Cape. At 71 degrees north, this is as far north as…
What ARE the Northern Lights? The northern lights are a physical phenomenon that occurs when electrically charged particles from the sun hurtle towards the Earth. The light becomes visible when…
Entering the High North - Tromsø The sunrise was beautiful this morning - a gentle pink light hung over the coastline for quite some time. A beautiful Norwegian sunrise Mount…
Crossing the Arctic Circle We are crossing the Arctic Circle at 7.30 this morning. You could have bought a postcard with a special stamp and posted it from here all…
It’s time for the Snowshoes! The Nordlys docked at Trondheim this morning allowing us time to lace ourselves into our snowshoes (snøskoene) for a hike through the deep snow covered…
Day 2 - Friluftsliv Bergen We left Bergen at around 10 last night and headed for the pretty Art Nouveau port of Ålesund. If you wanted time to visit Bergen…
Tomorrow, we embark on "the world's most beautiful voyage" on the Hurtigruten line, departing from Bergen and travelling over 2,500 nautical miles to the Top of the World at the North Cape. We hope to see the Northern Lights (there is a guarantee of a free cruise of you don't) en route and then retrace our steps slowly back South down the coast to Bergen. The voyage will last a total of 12 days, crosses the Arctic Circle twice and visits 34 Nordic ports along the way.