Program – Programm - Programme
Dag - Day - Tag 5
Tuesday 02/03/2010
00.45 - 01.00 STOKMARKNES
02.30 - 03.00 SORTLAND
04.15 - 04.30 RISØYHAMN
06.45 - 08.00 HARSTAD
We meet the southbound Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald. 02.30 - 03.00 SORTLAND
04.15 - 04.30 RISØYHAMN
06.45 - 08.00 HARSTAD
Harstad has a population of 23 ooo, the local newspaper has over 15 000 subscribers. Most recently, the town has become the headquarters for the oil exploration in the region.
07.00 - 10.00 FROKOST - BREAKFAST - FRÜHSTÜCK
The beautiful mediaeval church Trondenes can be seen on our port side.
10.45 Movie about Tromsø in English in conference hall Deck 4
11.15 - 11.45 FINNSNES
14.30 - 18.30 TROMSØ
The largest city in North Norway. It only takes 4-5 minutes to walk to the city centre.
14.30 - 18.30 TROMSØ
The largest city in North Norway. It only takes 4-5 minutes to walk to the city centre.
Tromsø is the capital of Arctic Norway and the gateway to the Arctic Ocean, referred to as the "Paris of the North". The town has 63 500 inhabitants and the municipality covers 2 558 km2. 42 000 people subscribe to the two local newspapers. (Norwegians like reading newspaper.)
The site of the first settlement is linked to the mainland via a 1 016m long bridge. These days, the volume of traffic is so great that a road tunnel has been built under the strait.There are traffic tunnels under the entire town centre. It is quite spooky.
We didn't go to have a look at the town - but instead, we went Dog Sledding! (J. was keen to ride the sledge himself which actually proved to be much less complicated and much more fun than I originally thought. We swapped half way through and now I understand why the polar explorers lost some parts of their body to frost. My fingers and toes were freezing - and it was only -10C and I rode the sledge for maybe 10 minutes.)
The centre where we went is called Villmarkssente (Wilderness Centre); they even have a page on Facebook ("Tromsø Villmarkssenter - Tromso Wilderness Centre") - you can follow their preparations for the Finnmarksløpet race.
After the ride, we were shown around ...
... and offered a tea and a cake in a Sami tent.
The Sami tent is a pyramid shape with a fire in the middle and, pragmatically, a hole in a roof (on the top of the tent) to let the smoke out (unlike the traditional South American dwellings that don't have any holes and the family therefore sits in the smoke).
ca 19.50 We pass the Lyngen Alps on our starboard side. They consist of many peaks and glaciers that range up to 1800 meters.
20.15 MIDDAG- DINNER- ABENDESSEN- DiNER
21.45 Lecture given by the Captain. Outside on deck 7.
20.15 MIDDAG- DINNER- ABENDESSEN- DiNER
21.45 Lecture given by the Captain. Outside on deck 7.
This wasn't really a lecture but a sales pitch on the famous Norwegian product - the dried fish. :-)
22.15 - 22.45 SKJERVØY
22.15 - 22.45 SKJERVØY
Today's offer from the Souvenir shop were pictures of the Northern lights with a 15% discount.
Program – Programm - Programme
Dag - Day - Tag 6
Wednesday 03/03/2010
02.00 - 02.15 ØKSFJORD
05.15 - 06.45 HAMMERFEST
07.00 - 10.00 FROKOST - BREAKFAST - FRÜHSTÜCK
Today is the North Cape day.
Only today (!) you can get a North Cape stamp in the Souvenir shop.
09.30 - 09.45 Havøysund
We meet the southbound Hurtigruten MS Midnatsol.
11.45 - 15.15 HONNINGSVÅG
Excursions:
The North Cape - coaches are waiting for us about 300m to the left.
Here in Honningsvåg you may visit the North Cape Museum. It's located in the same building as the Tourist Information. The museum deals with the history of North Cape tourism and local coastal culture the Village of Skarsvåg - visiting the Santa
Went to the Honningsvåg Museum instead.
Honningsvåg with its 2 800 inhabitants is the capital of the North Cape. The municipality has 3 500 inhabitants. 1 300 people subscribe to the local newspaper.
A car ferry used to be the link with the mainland (Kåfjord) but a new road opened in 1999 with a 6.8km undersea tunnel replacing the ferry.
In spring, the Norwegian Army's landing craft transport around 3 000 reindeer over Magerøy Strait to their summer pastures on Magerøy island. In autumn, when it is time for the reindeer to return, the animals and their calves born in May and June, swim across the 1 800m wide strait.
The Honningsvåg harbour has developed into a large fishing port, which in turn led to growth in the fishing, processing and refrigeration industries and trade in capelin fish meal and capelin oil. The Norwegian State College of Fisheries is located on the outskirts of Honningsvåg.
Between 4 000 and 5 000 ships enter the harbour every year, bringing trade and industry to the area. Ships also bunker here.
In the picture is the Honningsvåg church. It was the only building left standing after Rendulic razed the town down to the ground in 1944.
The North Cape
The North Cape has been a popular place to visit for centuries. Some history from the Honnigsvåg museum.
800 - 1030 Vikings are passing the cliff called Knyskanes, on their trading expeditions to Bjarmeland, e.g. northern Russia
1553 North Cape was named by Stephen Borrough of Richard Chancellor, members of the Willoughby Expedition, when their ship Edward Bonaventura passed North Cape searching for the North Eastern Passage to China.
1664 The first tourist on the North Cape. An Italian priest Francesco Negri from Ravenna.
1795 Louis Philippe of Orleans visits the North Cape, then a young prince in exile, later the King of France.
1799 The Italian Giuseppe Acerbi and A.F. Skjoldebrand from Sweden travelled together to North Cape. They published the first illustrated book about travelling to North Cape.
1838 The steamship Prinds Gustav starts the first regular route to Finnmark between Trondheim and Hammerfest.
1873 Oscar II, king of Sweden/Norway visits North Cape. A monument is erected in memory of his visit on the northernmost point.
1875 Cook Travel in London organizes the first packaged tour with destination North Cape.
1891 The German Emperor Wilhelm II erects a cairn on North Cape.
1892 A champagne pavilion is built on North Cape to serve the tourists.
1893 The first coastal steamer sails along the Norwegian coast
1914 During WWI, all tourism to North Cape stops.
1928 All rights to the ground of North Cape and Hornvika are given to Nordkapps Vel Ltd. (founded in 1927 with tour companies and steamship companies being the main shareholders). A new quay built in Hornvika and a new cafe and post office was opened on the plateau.1944 The buildings in Hornvika are burnt down by German soldiers. Only the cafe on the plateau is still standing.
1956 Road between Honningsvag and North Cape open on 30 June.
Architectural competition for a new restaurant on North Cape. 1st prize winners were Paul Cappelen and Tobjor Rodahl.
1959 The North Cape Hall was opened.
Bamse - Norwegian sea dog and a WW2 Hero
- the largest dog in the Allied Forces
- a Gunner's mate during hostilities
- had his own bus permit
- a football enthusiast?
Bamse (pronounced Bump-sa) was a large St. Bernard dog who lived in Honningsvag, Norway, with Captain Erling Hafto and his wife. When the youngest of their four children, became seriously ill, Bamse guarded her bedside for twelve days and nights until the crisis was over. World War II broke out and Captain Hafto took Bamse with him on the minesweeper as a registered crew-member.The ship was stationed in Dundee and Montrose during the war, and Bamse became a great favourite of everyone. Wearing a personalised steel helmet, Bamse stood guard in the foremost gun tower and that was his action station until the war was over.
The crew in Montrose and Dundee took up a collection for Bamse's bus pass, which hung around his neck in a plastic wallet. Bus drivers stopped whenever they saw him and Bamse clambered on to the top deck aware that dogs were not allowed downstairs.
Bamse knew when the crew had to be back on board ship, and made his way around the pubs of Montrose dragging his sailors back before the curfew ended. When a pub brawl involved one of his men, Bamse stood on his hind legs (all six foot of him with his 2ft wide chest), clamped his paws on the offender's shoulders, and that was the end of the fight.
(from Visit Angus website)
He saved two human lives during the war for which he had received a medal. Bamse is a PDSA Allied Forces mascot and an international symbol of freedom for Norwegian troops. Bamse has a statue in front of the museum in Honningsvåg.
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.. few more from Honningsvåg ...
15.10 Sale of Hot chocolate and danish pastry on Deck 4
16.30 Short movie about the Sami history in the conference room Deck 4
The Sami inhabit a large area from the north of the Kola peninsula through the Finnish and Swedish Lapland to northern Norway, and including the inland areas of central Norway as far south as Femunden. There are far more Sami in Norway than in Sweden and Finland - estimates suggest between 30 000 and 60 000.
The majority of Sami in Norway live like any other Norwegians. Statistically, only 10% of Sami keep reindeer for living (2 800 reindeer farming Saami of which 2 100 in Finnmark, northern Norway). During the winter, their reindeer live off moss which can be found under the snow on the mountain plains. In the summer, they graze in coastal areas and on some of the islands (also around the North Cape).
The Norwegian Sami are made up of 3 language groups - the northern Sami living in Finnmark, Troms and part of Nordland. Lule Sami, living in the south of Narvik and around Tys Fjord. And the southern Sami, living further south in areas bordering Sweeden. All their languages belong to the Finno-Lappic group.
The Sami language has the same standing as Norwegian. A Sami parliament is elected by all Sami people registered in Norway; the first parliament was opened by King Olav in the Sami capital of Karasjok.
You may not know that a mother of Renee Zellweger is a Norwegian of Sami origin.
You may not know that a mother of Renee Zellweger is a Norwegian of Sami origin.
ca 17.00 we can see the mountain formation "Finnkirka" on the starboard side. We meet all outside on the deck 7 because we expect visitors on board.
Finnkirka, not surprisingly, is a piece of rock that looks like a church. It is reputed to be an ancient Sami place of sacrifice. We were there long after sunset so the photo is poor to say the least (long exposure on a moving boat ...)
Now, regarding the "visitors". They were quite big, had some claws and didn't speak any foreign language as far as I can tell. And I think they didn't like it on the boat much. They might have visited the kitchen later, judging by the dinner buffet selection.
We were visited by the Giant Crabs.
I think Hurtigruten organize (or used to organize) dive trips during the summer months where they put you into oversized floating costumes and then slowly drop you in water so that you can swim with the Crabs and see them in their environment (you can probably fish for them as well). The water was some 2C this time so we had Giant Crabs visiting us. They were truly Giant. I'm not a big fan of crustaceans. I like eating them but everything bigger than a king prawn needs to be chopped into pieces for me. I don't seem to be able to eat creatures that are looking at me from my plate, no matter how red they are.
J was brave though and here we go, there's a picture of my husband with a (live) Giant Crab.
By the way - check out this National Geographic article on the Red Crab Army :-)
"The Cold War might be over, but a red army of monster crustaceans—marshaled by Soviet-era leaders—is threatening to invade Western Europe, according to environmentalists."
17.30 - 17.45 KJØLLEFJORD
Excursion: Scooter trip in Lapland
This is the trip my father in law went to and came back excited and full of adrenalin (he was 70 last year).
20.15 MIDDAG - DINNER - ABENDESSEN - DiNER
Just before dinner, Marco called to tell us there are northern lights outside. People were running up and down the stairs as if there was a fire on the ship - down to pick a camera and quickly up on the deck so that we don't miss anything. I was just having a shower when the announcement came. I covered my wet hair with a hat and a jacked hood and later came to dinner with a rather interesting hairstyle. Photos below, in the Northern Lights blog post. These ones were better than the last time - they were green but also purple and blue - looked a bit like an UFO landing.
19.45 - 20.00 MEHAMN
22.30 - 22.43 BERLEVÅG
Program – Programm - Programme
Dag - Day - Tag 7
Thursday 04/03/2010
It was quite windy the last night. The wind was blowing from the wrong direction and despite a fairly rocky journey (I had to open the second pack of sea sickness pills), at 1.30am we were half an hour behind the schedule. I was slightly worried that we'll arrive to Kirkeness too late, will miss the plane and then what?
Nevertheless, shortly after Frokost, we arrived to Kirkeness, bang on time, boarded a bus, got to the airport, checked in, boarded, were told by the air hostess that we're ready for a take off and should keep our mobile phones shut up :-) - and off we went.
Landing approach in Oslo.
I really liked this trip. I've lived in towns and cities for my entire life and I really don't understand why anyone would want to live in a commuter village. At the bottom of my heart though, I am a mountain girl. I love the peace and quiet of the hills covered by snow, the majestic rocky and the omnipresent feel and spirit reminding us that we should stop massaging our egos as we really are just visitors who come and go.
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