Norway

FINALLY, I AM ON BOARD THE OCEAN PRINCESS, WHICH IS VERY FAMILIAR AS I WAS ON IT A MONTH IN 2012 & TWO MONTHS ON A SISTER SHIP IN 2013.

THIS VOYAGE IS BILLED AS THE 'VOYAGE TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN', NOT 'THE VOYAGE TO THE NORTHERN LIGHTS' AS SOME, YET TO BE DISAPPOINTED PEOPLE THINK IT TO BE.

HERE WE GO, LEAVING THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER BEHIND WITH NOT A BLUE BIRD IN SIGHT...

JUST A SEAGULL...

AND COMING INTO THE PORT OF BERGEN, OUR FIRST PORT IN NORWAY & MY FIRST TIME HERE TOO.

AND YOU HAVE ALL HEARD HOW EXPENSIVE NORWAY IS, WELL I BEG TO DIFFER....

AND THIS LADY IS THE FIRST OF A SURPRISING NUMBER OF BEGGARS I SEE IN NORWAY...

SOME REALLY NICE ART WORK ON DISPLAY....

I WAS TAKING THOSE PHOTOS WHILE WAITING FOR MY TOUR TO START & COULD NOT FIND THE START POINT. I WENT TO ASK IN THE TOURIST INFO PLACE AND SPOKE TO AN AMERICAN TOURIST FROM MY SHIP WHO INFORMED ME HE WAS GOING TO A GREEK CONCERT. WHAT A STRANGE THING TO DO. ALL THE WAY TO NORWAY FOR A GREEK CONCERT.

I LATER FOUND HIM ON MY TOUR WHICH IS TO AN EDVARD GREIG CONCERT.

UP INTO THE HILLS BEYOND BERGEN WE GO....

AND ARRIVE AT EDVARD GREIG'S HOUSE ....

WHERE WE GET A SHORT TOUR & THEN ENTER THIS BUILDING FOR A PIANO RECITAL OF GREIGS WORKS...

THE LITTLE HUT IS WHERE HE COMPOSED HIS WORKS IN UTTER SERENITY..

HERE IS THE END OF THE CONCERT & YOU CAN SEE THE HUT BEYOND THE PIANO.. WITH THE WATER BEYOND IT..

AFTER A WONDERFUL HOUR OF MUSIC WE HEAD BACK TO BERGEN WHERE I HAVE SOME FRESH SHRIMP, SOME MUSSELS & WHAT I UNDERSTOOD TO BE A HERBAL BEER..

NOT MUCH OF OF A VIEW FROM THE SHRIMP SHACK BUT, .......

CONTINUING NORTH, WE ENTER THE WONDERLAND OF GERAINGERFJORD.

THIS LADY, MARLENE, WAS ALSO IN MY DOVER B & B. SHE CONSTANTLY GOT MY NAME WRONG & I HAD A BLOCK WITH HERS TOO.

SHE SURE DID A LOT OF SWIMMING...

PASSING THE SEVEN SISTER WATERFALLS..

WE ARE GOING TO TENDER ASHORE DOWN AT THE END...

PASSING SOME LOCALS....

I AM GOING TO WALK UP INTO THE HILLS, ALONGSIDE A WATERFALL....

I AM PRETTY POOPED BY THIS TIME & HEAD FOR THE HOTEL IN FRONT. TAKE OUT A MORTGAGE FOR A BEER & SIT CHATTING WITH AN ENGLISH COUPLE OFF ONE OF THE OTHER CRUISE SHIPS IN TOWN.

THEN HEAD BACK DOWN AGAIN.. THIS CAR IS IN THE HOTEL LOBBY.

AND THIS SNOWMOBILE AT A MUSEUM

ANOTHER LOCAL IN TOWN....

AND THE TENDER BACK HOME

EMMA, MY LOVELY MEXICAN CHAMBERMAID, TAKING A LITTLE BREAK IN DECK. SHE DOES NOT GET TOO MANY OF THOSE..

BACK DOWN THE FJORD...

SOME EXCLUSIVE ADDRESSES. NOT TOO MANY NEIGHBOURS

AND BACK OUT TO SEA.. AFTER A VERY RELAXING DAY....

IF YOU DON'T LIKE DOGS, YOU SHOULD SKIP THIS ENTRY...

IT'S A TOUR TO VISIT A DOG SLEDDING CAMP ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TROMSO.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF DOGS.

300 MAYBE.

BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO CROSS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE...

AND A SHORT RIDE TO THE DOGS

WHO ARE VERY BORED TO SEE US. THEY HAVE SEEN TOURISTS BEFORE...

WALKING THROUGH ALL THOSE KENNELS WAS QUITE THE EXPERIENCE.

THE DOGS WERE VERY EXCITED BY NOW AND JUMPED ALL OVER US.

YAPPING AND YOWLING AWAY LIKE CRAZY.

BLUE EYED DOGS. EERIE!

PUPPY ALERT....

EVEN SMALLER PUPPIES.... A FEW DAYS OLD....

SOME OF THESE DOGS COMPETE IN THE IDIDAROD IN ALASKA....

THIS IS OUR GUIIDE. I THOUGHT SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ENGLISH, HER ACCENT WAS SO GOOD. BUT THE OCCASIONAL WORD SAID SHE WAS NOT.

AN EXCELLENT GUIDE AND AN EXCELLENT DAY....

A NICE LOOKING LIBRARY...

AND WE STILL HAVE SOME TIME AT THE POLAR MUSEUM IN TROMSO...

TIME FOR A SNACK ... A SAUSAGE ROLL TO YOU...

AND ANOTHER MORTGAGE FOR A BEER SITTING OPPOSITE THIS STRANGE SIGN..

AS FAR NORTH AS WE ARE GOING - THE ISLAND OF SVALBAD, ALSO KNOWN AS SPITZBERGEN

WE SAIL INTO MAGDALENAFJORD ,TO SPEND A WHLE GENTLY GOING ROUND IN CIRCLES, VIEWING THE GLACIER AT IT'S HEAD

WHILE THE BAND KEEPS PLAYING .... PASSENGERS ARE UP LATE PHOTOGRAPHING THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT..

SOPHIA & TRE WORKING AT MIDNIGHT WITH THE SUN BEHIND THEM. TRE WAS CONSTANTLY BEMUSED BY THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN & A FEW OTHER CREW MEMBERS GOT A LITTLE CRANKY WITH IT TOO.

THE LOVELEY SOPHIA AGAIN. SHE IS FROM CHILE & WAS 18 BEFORE SHE SAW RAIN. ANOTHER AMAZING CONCEPT. PARTS OF CHILE JUST ABOUT NEVER GET RAIN. HOW WEIRD IS THAT?

ONE EVENING I OVERHEARD A MAN, DRESSED IN A TUXEDO & HIS JAMES BOND GIRL WIFE ASKING FOR A MARTINI & WENT OVER TO TELL THEM MY MARTINI STORY. SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN BUMPING INTO THEM AS THEY WATCH FOR WHALES & BIRDS ON DECK.

I HAD MENTIONED TO THEM THAT I WAS HOPING TO GET THE CLASSIC SHOT OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN TOUCHING THE HORIZON AT MIDNIGHT. THE MAN, PETER, SAID THAT AS THE SUN WOULD BE IN FRONT OF US AS WE HEAD NORTH & THE PHOTO WOULD BE TAKEN THROUGH GLASS, I SHOULD PROBABLY WAIT TIL WE WERE HEADING SOUTH & GET A SHOT OFF THE BACK OF THE BOAT OUTDOORS.
THIS MADE NO SENSE TO ME SINCE I AM POSITIVE THAT THE SUN IS ALWAYS IN THE SOUTH WHEN WE ARE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. PETER WAS ADAMANT THAT THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT WOULD BE IN THE NORTH & EVEN EXPLAINED THE MECHANICS OF IT. I REMAINED DOUBTFUL, AS DID MARTINE, HIS WIFE & SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE I BROACHED THE SUBJCT WITH,

GOOD JOB I DID NOT PUT ANY MONEY ON IT AS HERE IS THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT OUT OF THE FRONT WINDOW AS WE TRAVEL NORTH.

THIS GIRL ANAIN IS RUSSIAN, LOOKING WISTFULLY AT THE SNOW & THINKING OF HOME MAYBE. WE WILL BE THERE IN A FEW WEEKS. LOTS OF PRETTY STAFF ON THIS BOAT

MARLENE AGAIN. NOT DRESSED FOR THE ARCTIC...

ONE OF THE DANCERS TAKING SOME AIR .... I ASKED HER IF SHE WOULD MIND GETTING INTO THE HOT TUB SO I COULD TAKE A PHOTO OF SOMEONE DOING THAT ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. SHE DECLINED - CANNOT IMAGINE WHY.

PRETTY PUNY ICEBERGS....

BUT A MASSIVE GLACIER

WEATHER CHANGES VERRRRRRY FAST UP HERE. WE DID NOT GET TO GO ON SHORE & I DID NOT SPOT AN POLAR BEARS... TOO BAD!

WAVING GOODBYE TO THE VERY FAR NORTH, WE HEAD SOUTH TO NY ALESUND. INHABITED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY BY SCIENTISTS AND THAIS.

THAT'S RIGHT.

THAIS - AS IN PEOPLE FROM THAILAND.

MARTINE WILL CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG, BUT I THINK THIS IS AN EIDER DUCK.

I HAD AN EIDERDOWN COVER ON MY BED AS A KID & NEVER CONNECTED THE DOTS... EIDER DOWN!

ARCTIC TERNS MAYBE ..... MARTINE???

AND A LITTLE FAR NORTH WHIMSY.....

IF YOU LOOK VERY CLOSE, DOWN IN THE RIGHT HAND CORNER THERE IS A REINDEER. PETER SPOTTED IT, WHO ELSE?

WHICH REMINDS ME OF THE POTENTIAL FOR AN OVERHEARD CONVERSATION - 'DID YOU SEE THE RAIN DEAR? NO, BUT I DID SEE THE SNOW. DARLING.'

THIS SIGN IS VERY SERIOUS. THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE CLUSTERED AROUND IT THAT MANY DID NOT SEE THE SIGN & WENT OBLIVIOUSLY UP THE ROAD.

SECURITY PEOPLE HAD TO DRIVE UP AND TELL THEM TO GET BACK, RESULTING IN -

NO LOST TOURISTS.

EMMA & RACHEL, ONE OF THE SPA GIRLS WITH THE LOVELY SCOTTISH ACCENT. BOTH DRESSED FOR THE ELEMENTS, UNLIKE SOME OF THEIR COLLEAGUES WHO WERE IN T-SHIRTS.

NOT THE NORTH POLE EMMA BUT CLOSE.

THE LINE-UP FOR THE MOST NORTHERLY POST OFFICE. HAVE YOU RECEIVED MY POST CARD YET? DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH.

THIS STOP IS BILLED AS NORTH CAPE, THE NORTHERN MOST PART OF EUROPE BUT WE ACTUALLY PARK IN HONINGSVAG & WHILE NORTH CAPE WAS OFFERED AS AN EXCURSION, I OPTED FOR A BOAT RIDE TO AN ISLAND REPUTED TO BE COVERED WITH BIRDS.

SO - I HOPE TO SEE A PUFFIN OR TWO.

GETTING THERE, WE HAD TO GO UP AND OVER A PLATEAU AND DOWN THE OTHER SIDE. SOME NICE SCENERY ALONG THE WAY....

HERE'S A FISH DRYING RACK....

NOTE THE GRASS ON THE ROOF..

ONTO THE BOAT FOR OUR TRIP OUT TO STAPPEN ISLAND... THESE FOLKS MIGHT NOT BE DRESSED FOR THIS.
IT IS QUITE PLEASANT ON SHORE BUT I EXPECT IT TO GET A LOT COLDER OUT ON THE WATER. I TAKE THE OFFERED OVERALLS, EVEN IF THEY ARE ABOUT A FOOT TOO LONG. I HEAD FOR A SHELTERED WING NEXT TO THE WHEELHOUSE & DON'T MOVE AS I WOULD TRIP OVER...

NOT LONG BEFORE WE START SEEING BIRDS BUT STILL A WAYS TO GO BEFORE STAPPEN..

CORMORANTS I THINK.....

LOOK AT THE FEET ON THE BLACK & WHITE BIRDS. RAZORBILLS MAYBE.... NO PUFFINS YET...

ANOTHER OF THE SHIPS DANCERS. AUBREY I THINK HER NAME IS. LOOKING A TAD GREEN ALREADY...

A PUFFIN? ..... ONE PUFFIN!

GANNETS .... LOTS & LOTS OF GANNETS....

A PUFFIN? OR MAYBE THE SAME PUFFIN!

THERE SURE WERE A LOT OF BIRDS , THOUSANDS IN FACT, BUT WE NEVER LANDED, SO NEVER GOT UP CLOSE OR HAD A STABLE PLATFORM. THE BOAT MOVED AROUND QUITE A BIT.

GOOD FUN & I WAS DRESSED FOR IT, WHICH HELPED...

HEADING BACK TO SHORE NOW.... HERE'S A FISH EAGLE BEING ATTACKED BY SOMETHING

OUR GUIDE TAKING A PASSENGERS PHOTO JUST AS WE MISSED THAT RAIN COMING IN.

DEFINITELY A PUFFIN THIS TIME....

A SOLO REINDEER....

THAT'S NORTH CAPE IN THE FAR DISTANCE...

AND SOME PRETTY BEACHES .....

THE OUTSKIRTS OF HONINGSVAG & A QUICK GLIMPSE OF LITTLE HERD OF REINDEER BEHIND THE HOUSE..

I DID HAVE SOME MUSSELS IN A RESTAURANT BUT NOT THESE ONES...

TIME FOR A DRINK IN THE ALCOHOL FREE ICE BAR .....

AND HERES SOME REINDEER, THAT I SAW JUST AS I WAS GOING UP THE GANGPLANK TO THE SHIP..

THIS WAS AN INTERESTING DAY - ONE OF THE SHIPS EXCURSIONS TO THE MUSEUM AT ALTA.

ON THE WAY TO THE MUSEUM, WE ARE GOING TO STOP AT A MOCK UP OF A SAMI VILLAGE ... WHERE ONE OF THE SAMI PEOPLE EXPLAINED A BIT ABOUT THEIR LIFESTYLE AND HOW MUCH THEY USED TO RELY ON REINDEER.

IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS THE NORTH AMERICANS RELIED ON THE BISON. USING EVERY PART OF THE ANIMAL FOR SOME PURPOSE..

THIS CHURCH SHOULD BE QUITE SOMETHING WHEN FINISHED...

SOME SAMI OUTFITS..

A SAMI BABY CARRIER....

SAMI NO LONGER LIVE LIKE THIS.

THEY LIVE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER NORWEGIAN, OR FINN, OR RUSSIAN.

I EXPECTED TO SEE A LOT OF REINDEER BUT JUST THESE FEW BEHIND THE WIRE....

THE MODERN DAY REINDEER....

AND YES - THAT'S A SNOW STORM. WELL, FLURRIES ANYWAY.....

WE DUCK INSIDE TO HAVE A COFFEE & CAKE AND A TYPE OF SAMI YODELLING....AROUND A RAGING FIRE... VERY COMFORTING....

AND HERE WE ARRIVE AT THE ALTA MUSEUM...WHAT A SPECTACULAR SETTING FOR A MUSEUM.

WE ARE GOING TO FOLLOW THE TRAIL LEFT & THEN DOWN TO THE WATER AND COME BACK UP FROM THE RIGHT..

THERE IS AN INDOORS AREA OF COURSE BUT THE ATTRACTION HERE ARE HUNDREDS OF ROCK DRAWINGS

ONLY A SAMPLE OF WHICH I PHOTOGRAPHED....

THROUGH A NORWEGIAN WOOD. .....

AND AFTER THE TRAIL WE SPENT SOME TIME IN THE INDOOR MUSEUM AND BACK TO THE SHIP..