Hurtigruten Day 9

Hurtigruten Day 9

After going to bed at 2am I was not keen to be up and about at 7.45am for our call into Harstad.  The time for our departure was 8.30am which doesn't give much time to get too far from the ship.  The thing is if the ship is late getting in to port it still leaves at the designated time if all their unloading and loading is done.... you often don't get the full amount of time in port which is frustrating and tends to be happening on a regular basis.

I was woken in the process of docking so decided to go onto the open deck for the usual photo opportunity.  Thankfully the sun was shining and the sky is blue so we are in for a nice day.  All the Germans will be up on deck sunbaking!!

Later in the day at 2.15pm we had a stop at Stokmarknes for one hour but we were late arriving so that cut our time back to around 45 minutes.  As everything is close at hand we were off the ship and walked a loop around the waterfront and back down the Main Street.... all done within the allocated time complete with pictures!  Stokmarknes is where Hurtigruten was founded more than 120 years ago.  There is a Hurtigruten museum but not enough time to visit.  A lot of these towns are very small and around the harbour is where all the action is.

At 6.30pm we had a longer stop in Svolvaer.  On the northern journey we had a 2 hour stop here so have seen most of the sights.  We still took the opportunity to walk on land with Peter going to the museum and me just pounding the streets as most shops were closed.  

Due to the time of our visit in Svolvaer our dinner time was brought forward to 5.15pm!!!  We have never eaten our evening meal this early even with the grandies!

This made our scheduled repeat visit to Trollfjord at 5pm conflict with our dinner time.  The spectacular Trollfjord is only 2km long and 100m wide.  Luckily we cruised through the fjord on time which only made us slightly late for dinner.... mind you there was a very long line of people waiting to go into the dining room.... reminded me of the early dinner seating on Princess where they can't get in there fast enough.  This time we had good reason as we had to be dined and off the ship by 6.30 to maximise our time in port.

The rest of the night was spent out on deck soaking up the sun and admiring the stunning scenery that we were cruising through.  Just beautiful!

Day 10 of 12 tomorrow.

Docked at Harstad

The cityscape from the ship

Graffiti art at the dock

Leaving Harstad

Another ski jump

Cruising through beautiful Vesteralen islands

Some bridges we only have half a metre clearance!!

Stokmarknes 

The Library 

The Hurtigruten Museum building

A popular restaurant and bar

The Trollfjord 

Cruising into Svolvaer 

Lovely water reflections around the harbour in Svolvaer 

Cruising through Lofoton

Almost a full moon

Hurtigruten Day 8

Hurtigruten Day 8

After promising myself an early night and no more sunsets at midnight I still managed to go to bed after midnight!!  At least with an inside cabin it remains dark until you turn the light on!

It's another rainy, foggy day!  The weather in Norway certainly changes quickly from sun to rain to sun!!  Not much sun lately although they are promising a sunny day tomorrow... we will have to wait and see.

Today we have a schedule stop for 2 hours from 10.45am to 12.45pm in Hammerfest.  The shore excursion's desk have proper tourist City maps of the places that we are visiting available the day before so you can plan your time in port wisely.   Why can't Princess do that instead of the useless maps that they provide??  From looking at today's map there doesn't seem to be much to do other than walk the streets.  At least the Hurtigruten ship docks right in the heart of the town or city which makes access very easy especially with the limited time we have in most ports.  Mind you in some ports it's more than enough!

Just before we arrived into port the Expedition team were offering Energy coffee out on the back deck.  Coming from a tea drinker it was very nice.  The water was boiled with cayenne pepper, coriander and chillies plus I am assuming coffee and milk.... a bit like hot chocolate with a zing!  It was yummy!!  Hope it provided lots of energy to climb the mountain to the lookout at Hammerfest.

Hammerfest is the most northern city in Norway and was almost completely destroyed in WW2.

Armed with our trusty map we hiked up to the top of the hill to checkout the views over the town.  It was heavy going on the way up but the view made it all worth while.  Also at the top was an old Sami camp and a very tranquil lake.

Back in the town we headed to the church and then to the Polar Bear museum which was in the tourist centre (and free) just near where our ship was docked.  It was listed as the number 1 attraction in Hammerfest on Trip Advisor.  There were a couple of nice wool and craft shops which I managed to look in and made a purchase of a ball of wool with a pattern to knit some Nordic socks... a good craft project for our cruise next year! 

All in all it was a nice little town with not much happening and not many people around.... all these little towns are a bit like ghost towns you hardly see anyone and lucky if the shops are open.

Plenty of time left to relax until 11.45pm when we are stopped in Tromso.... known as "the gateway to the Arctic" for the midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral.  This is a ship's excursion and one that I have booked.  The acoustics are fantastic in the church and the concert was very enjoyable and well worth another late night! 

Tomorrow will be a recovery day as it was 2am before I was in bed!!

I need more sleep.... please....

Hammerfest harbour and the hill behind that we climbed

The view from the top of the hill

The track to the top

A Sami camp at the top

A very peaceful and tranquil lake

Snow traps to control the snow drift in winter

Graffiti art

Painted letterboxes

A graveyard tour

The organ inside the church

A beautiful stained glass window

Lots of these little light catchers in the church... would make good patchwork panels

The church

The Polar Bear museum

Hammerfest.... the northern most town in the world!!

Passengers that have been on an overland tour waiting to reboard

The Arctic Cathedral in Tromso

Inside the Cathedral

Our concert performers

This is 1am!!

The Arctic Cathedral all lit up

Hurtigruten Day 7

Hurtigruten Day 7

This morning at 9am we arrived into Kirkenes which is the half way point and where we turn around and head back south.  Unfortunately the weather is not the best with misty rain but it is not that cold.

Kirkenes is located in the north east in northern Norway close to the Russian border.  Kirkenes is also known as the capital of the Barents Region and the gateway to the east.

We have no excursions arranged so will just take the 20 minute walk into the town.... just follow the pot plants!  My research before we left home told me that there was nothing to do here unless you are on a tour and that pretty much sums up this place.

In the town there is a town square that has a market... only two stalls today.... and not much else other than the church.  We did find a secondhand shop which was one of only a few shops open where we did buy Peter another fold up umbrella for 10NOK... about $2AU and his 3rd for this trip.... let's hope it lasts till we get home!!

I did also find a sports store where I bought a new jacket to replace my near new Kathmandu jacket that Peter jammed in the bathroom door and completely demolished the zipper!

Nothing much on for the afternoon other than resting and watching the new passengers orientating themselves.  There are a lot of groups on tour on this ship... one being Grand Circle Travel and they come on with their own guide.  Every announcement is repeated in 3 or 4 languages!

At 3.30pm we had a FREE walking tour in the port of Vardo to the Memorial to the Witches burned in Finnmark.  This exhibition commemorates those who were executed during the witchcraft trials in Finnmark from 1600 to 1692.  During the trials 111 women and 24 men were prosecuted for practising witchcraft.  Of these 77 women and 14 men were executed.  The use of torture was common during the trials.

We were scheduled to stop here for an hour which was just enough time to walk to the memorial and back via the Fort.  Our tour leader set a brisk pace which was just what I needed to energise myself as I was feeling the effects of another late night.... 1am to bed!! I don't think my body can take much more of this holidaying.... late nights, early mornings, beautiful food and no alcohol free days!!  I need to go home to rest and recuperate!!

What will Day 8 bring??

Walking to the city centre

Russian Memorial erected in honour of the Red Army which liberated Kirkenes in 1944

The Town Square

Mothers in War Monument in honour of those who were mothers during WW2.

Photos of early life in Kirkenes 

Inside the church

The Church

A flag pole held up by a bear

King crab traps

Walking to the Witches' monument in Vardo

Memorial to the Witches burned in Finnmark

Working through the monument 

The eternal flame in memory of the burning of the Witches 

The Fort

Leaving the port of Vardo

We have restocked our king crab tank!