Day 65 Cruising the Norwegian Sea

 Days at sea are always welcome as they give us time to catch our breath.  There have not been too many of these days on this leg of the cruise.  

Today was a little special as we crossed into the Arctic Circle.  To mark this momentous moment all guest were invited to attend the pool deck so that we could celebrate together.  Blue noses and blue shots were issued to anyone that wanted to try them.  Brrrrr.  They were very strong drinks, but, I did manage to down two of them.  It was a lot of fun.

A few days ago passengers were asked if they wanted to be notified if the Northern Lights appeared in the night skies.  Of course we did, so we registered our interest with reception and they said they would ring us in our suite if they appeared.  Well.  Apparently 600 of the 700 passengers registered their interest making it an impossible task to ring every suite so the captain decided to send a brief announcement into all suites instead.  Last night around midnight we got the announcement that the lights were on the starboard side of the ship, the side that we are on.  With excitement we tore out of bed and raced out to our balcony to see them.  We looked and looked and couldn't see the green lights in the sky, however, I continued taking photos.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the photos this morning and found a tiny bit of colour!  It was a little too cloudy to get the full effect but it was still fantastic to see this phenomenon.  If we have clear skies over the next few nights we still have another few chances of seeing the Northern Lights.  I hope so.  It was an added bonus to have a full moon.

We are slowly creeping our way northwards toward North Cape and the weather is absolutely beautiful.  Today we have a high of 19 degrees!  The sunsets have been glorious and this is the photo I took yesterday.

Day 64 Trondheim, Norway

Trondheim is Norways third largest city.  It was founded in 997 CE by Viking King Olav Tryggvason. In 1681 a great fire tore through the city.  Following this disaster the town was redesigned using a grid system with wide streets and a quadratic layout.  It makes it a very easy city to negotiate by foot.

It was another one of those days that started off cloudy and showery but turned into a glorious sunny autumn day.  Our tour today was "Trondheim by Bus and Tram".  It was a lateish tour for us, commencing at 11.25, but that was actually perfect because we had a late night (for us) and slept in till quite late this morning.  The Trondheim Marathon is being held today so the streets are chaotic in the city centre.  The buses were all running late trying to negotiate the traffic and it also meant that our tour route changed a little as we couldn't get to see a lot of the city's highlights.  Nonetheless our German guide made the best of it and threw in a couple of extra things for us to see in the outer parts of the city.  

Our bus made its way through the city and our guide pointed out things of interest.  One of the streets has umbrellas strung along the length and our guide tells us that it is to celebrate the summer months.  They are usually removed the first day of Autumn but because it has been so warm, they have been kept in place.

We reach the tram stop and we are all herded from the bus to the 1950's vintage tram that will take us to Lian.  The tram line has been operating since 1924 and it is the world's most northernmost tram line.  We stop a couple of times at some great view points and it takes us around an hour before we reach the tiny little tram stop of Lian. 

Next we are taken to the Trondheim Ski jumps.  These ski jumps, unlike the one we previously saw, can be used all year round as they have a surface that is extremely slippery.  Unfortunately there was no one practising today.  It would have been great to see.

Our drive continues through the countryside and we pass a very old wooden church and many wooden houses with the grass roofing.  We stop at another viewing point with lovely views across Trodenheim.

This is only a two hour tour so in no time at all we are back at our ship.  We decided to not go straight on board the ship but rather, catch the shuttle bus into the city centre so that we could walk around and see some of the things we missed on the tour.  The shuttle dropped us very close to the Royal Residence that is a stunning piece of architecture built in the 1820's.  It is one of the largest wooden structures in the whole of Scandinavia.

As I mentioned, the Trondheim Marathon is being run through the centre of Trondheim so the streets are teeming with people.  We had thoughts of finding somewhere to eat lunch but every restaurant we passed was packed to the brim with customers so we just had to be content to walk and head back to the ship for a late lunch.  Trondheim architecture is a mishmash of styles from the lovely timber houses with their pointed gabled roofs to the most modern of architecture.  It makes for a very interesting place.

As I was reading the city map that was given to us, I found a place that said "church beneath the street".  We found it eventually inside the library!  When the foundations for the library were being excavated the remains of the church and three skeletons were unearthed.  It is a church from the 12th century and the remains have been artfully displayed in a courtyard inside the library.

We left the city centre and walked down to the waterfront to head back to the ship.  The marathon runners were still hard it and the city gets right behind them with plenty of people waiting along the roads to cheer them on.  

This next photo was taken from the Havila Voyages website.  We passed these colourful waterfront houses in the bus but I couldn't get a decent photo of them from the bus window. They are pole homes with the poles driven into the water.  Quite amazing really.

I will leave you with a photo of the show we watched last night in the theatre.  It was a musical production with the theme being Broadway hits.  We don't get to see many shows because they don't start until 9.30pm that is usually too late for us, but because we had dinner last night, it worked out perfectly.  Hence the late start to our day.

Day 63 Kristiansund, Norway

 As we make our way north along the western side of Norway towards the very top of the country,  our next stop today is Kristiansund. This is another city that is spread across four islands, connected by bridges and a unique passenger ferry system which holds the distinction of being the world's oldest public transport system in continuous operation since 1876.

 Kristiansand was almost completely destroyed during World War 11 with only 20% of the city left standing.  The re-building effort resulted in distinctive post-war architecture that sets Kristiansund apart from other Norwegian cities. 

We didn't have a tour booked today, instead we decided to do our own walking tour around Kristiansund.  I downloaded a rough walking path with Google Maps and we were off.  The first thing we came upon was the Clipfish Woman that celebrates the Norwegian delicacy, Klippfisk (or dried and salted Cod).  Traditionally the fish was dried on rocks and was also known as Rock Fish.

We head away from the waters edge, through the town centre, and start heading uphill towards the former Opera House circa 1914.  You cannot see inside, and I wish we could have, because the building is beautiful and it is amazing that it is still standing after the war.  

Adjacent to the old Opera House are two lovely parks with beautiful plantings.  Even though it is now Autumn the flowers are still in full bloom.  The park is also studded with various statues and water features and I particularly liked the reclining horse.

We are walking a big loop back to our ship so we make our way back down the hill towards the waterfront.  The day is gradually improving as we woke to rain this morning. The rain stopped by the time we began our walk and was just overcast but now the sun is shining brightly. My photographs reflect the changing weather conditions.

Today our son Kurt would have turned 46.  We are heading to the onboard French restaurant, Chartreuse tonight to reflect and reminisce. xx💙

Day 62 Olden, Norway

We pulled the curtain in our bedroom wide open around 5.30 this morning to watch our ship glide quietly through the Nordfjord.  On both sides of the ship are soaring misty mountains with tumbling waterfalls and  colourful houses along the waters edge.  What an enchanting entrance to Olden.

Despite its small size, with a population of just under 700, Olden has become a major tourist destination with over 100 cruise ships visiting annually. One of the main draws to Olden is its proximity to the Briksdale glacier that we will be visiting on our tour today.

Our bus follows the Oldeelva River and on to Oldedalen valley for around 45 minutes before reaching Briksdale Inn.  The drive is truly spectacular and Philip and I discuss whether we have we ever seen anything more beautiful.  I don't think so.

Once we arrive at our destination we are transferred to Troll Cars, or as we would call them, ATV's, with seating for 8 people including the driver.  We leave as a group of four vehicles and slowly make our way up the steep mountainside towards the glacier.  These ATV's are the perfect vehicle for the job.  I wondered why each set of seats has a waterproof tarpaulin but it becomes perfectly clear as we pass over a raging river that covers us with water and mist. The drive takes us around 20 minutes and the magnificent glacier rises grandly above us.  The vehicles can only take us so far.  We now have around 700 metres of uphill walking before we reach the glacier.  The first quarter is very steep but it flattens into a gradual uphill after that.  I am a little short of breath but I think it might be the altitude.  We are a little bit disappointed that we didn't get right up close to the glacier, as we have in other places, but it is still worth our while to come here.  Glaciers always surprise me at how blue they are and the colour of the water flowing off them into the stream is the same crystal clear blue.

We stay at the glacier for around 45 minutes that gives us only just enough time to make it back down the path to reach the Troll Cars.  Thank goodness it is now downhill. The weather has been kind to us with just light showers drifting intermittently over us and the temperature is still mild.  The wind however is very strong and I watch as people everywhere are chasing their hats as they alighted from the buses!

Back at the Briksdale Lodge we make our way to the restaurant where we have tea, coffee and the most amazing display of cakes and slices waiting for us to devour, and devour we did!

We return to the ship the same way and it is just as scenic as it was on the way back, albeit from a different direction.  Instead of heading back onboard we wandered around the little township.  We like to spend a little bit of money in each place we visit, to help their economy of course, 😁 so Philip bought a cap (I think this is number 3 this trip) and I bought a gorgeous cheese slicer that I know will be put to good use.

Front

Back

We don't depart Olden until 8pm this evening and tomorrow we will be docking at Kristiansund.  We actually thought we were heading back to where we were a couple of days ago - Kristiansand - but that stupid King Kristian, that kept naming towns after himself, swapped the "a" for an "u" and decided that was a good idea…….

No tours booked tomorrow.  Just a stroll around the town.