Cruising Day 7!

06-09: We had a pretty rough night last night on the Barents Sea. Both of us got physically ill, and the ship was really bouncing around. In the middle of the night, it calmed down. We are in Kirkenes today with an excursion to a snow hotel. Kirkenes means church on the peninsula. There is a population of approx. 3,550 in the city and a bit more than that in the outlying areas. It looks a lot larger than that. Many of the homes look so similar. That is because after WWII Sweden sent the necessary supplies to re-build the town. They call them “Ikea Houses”. Many of the signs here are in Russian because we are just 7.5 miles from the Russian border. There use to be a very open border where Russians and Norwegians could drive over freely with a simple visa. You got the visa just once and used it many times. That has stopped for the Russian side. The Norwegian people can still do this but not the Russians. It has hurt their economy and the guide said the town is dying. They hope the iron mine will open again and bring prosperity. The Finland border is approx. 28 miles away.

Everything is running at about thirty minutes late. That might be due to the rough waters yesterday. The drive was beautiful but the snow hotel was a bit of a disappointment. We thought it was a good-sized hotel with a bar where we would sit and have the hot drink and sausage, according to the description. Instead, we started out on a walk to go see sled dogs, and on to see reindeer. We changed shoes to boots provided and then onto the very small hotel with a temperature of 27-28F. There was a bar and we stood around having a tiny glass of elderberry juice. At the entrance there is a large carving of a King Crab and a few colored lights around. We perused the five or six snow hotel rooms. They have a block of ice for the bed with a mattress and a skin over them. There are different carvings in each room. You are given a sleeping bag but there is no restroom. If you need that, you must go outside and down a path in the middle of the night. A few people opted for that from our ship. Next, we were supposed to go to the restaurant and get a hot drink and sausage. With just 12 minutes remaining and quite a walk up a hill to get there and back, we just skipped it. Our guide brought us back a reindeer sausage, which was very good. After a lovely drive back to the ship, we had lunch in the Havly Café. We are a bit tired of the lunch menu. Stuart had a burger and I had Bolognese; both were hot and tasty, a pleasant change. We played a few cards then went back to the cabin and took a nap. We are hoping the water will not be as rough as yesterday. 

Cruising Day 6!

06-08: We were up early for our breakfast because we have a tour today to the North Cape. We were really looking forward to that! We stopped in Honningsvåg where we boarded busses for the 40-minute drive to the North Cape. In Honningsvåg there are approximately 2200 inhabitants in the town. The fishing industry is the livelihood for most who live here. We were told the population is decreasing some in the area, especially at the fishing villages. Where we docked there were dried fish heads hanging on massive wooden A-frame racks (hjell) near the harbor, Norwegians don’t typically eat these but it is a huge industry to ship then to places like Nigeria and Indonesia. They have already used the dried body portion of the fish as another food source.

The road to the North Cape was paved but very narrow in some places with cliffs on both sides in many areas. We did arrive safely and has some astounding views. Along the way we saw many white Reindeer herds. The Indigenous Sámi people bring them from other locations here to have their young. They feed and grow all summer and actually swim back to the home destination! This culture has been practiced for thousands of years across the Arctic regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. It is not merely an occupation, but a vital way of life that dictates a calendar of eight distinct seasons and deeply shapes Sámi language, traditions, and connection to the land.

The North Cape is the official most northern point in Europe. There is another point that is actually 0.9 miles farther but even discovering that, the Cape remains officially the spot! We walked all around and saw the various monuments, markers, and more. The circles at the North Cape (Nordkapp) plateau in Norway are known as the Children of the Earth monument. The iconic steel globe at the North Cape (Nordkapp) in Norway is simply called the Globe Monument. Erected in 1978, it sits perched on the edge of a 307-meter-high cliff and is a popular landmark marking the dramatic end of the European continent. We dressed warmly as we expected wind and more, but it was quite warm in the sun. It was an enjoyable trip.

When we got back, soup was served for us in the Havbillk Bar at 2:45p, which was our lunch. We were so warm we didn’t want hot soup so we went to the café and got cold drinks and ended up with some pizza too. We played a few hands of Phase 10 and then went back to the cabin. Today we have experienced the most motion on the ship. There are big swells that give quite the rolling motion to the ship. We had another 10-minute stop, of course we did not get off. Stuart is working on his laptop and I am writing this and sorting photos! We called it an early night since we had to get up early for our tour tomorrow. In addition, we have taken Dramamine and we are not feeling too great.

Cruising Day 5!

06-07: Rain today with breakfast and cooler a little bit cooler weather. No sunshine, (but the sun is out!) lots of huge peaks covered with snow. The lower rolling hills are very green and pretty. It was a full day of beautiful scenery. We learned a little more about the fish farming industry and how they feed the fish. It is quite interesting. We are surprised about the big cities like Tromso, with roughly 80K inhabitants (shown Below). I did not imagine big cities with large airports so far above the arctic circle. Right now, it is light all day long. I don't think that's as bad as being dark all day long in the winter.

We played geography quiz tonight in the Havbillk Bar, and that was fun. We also played five crowns with a new friend Janine, from New Zealand. This day we finally stayed up later than any other, so we are getting used to the time change! We enjoyed the scenery a lot today. It is so beautiful with bright sun and reflections of the majestic mountains in the water.

Cruising Day 4!

06-06: Early this morning we crossed the Arctic Circle, around 7a. We weren’t dressed and outside, but we had a good view of the marker from our window. From now on, for the trip north we will not see the sun set. We are truly living the Midnight Sun theme! Our first stop today was in Ornes. We were there less than 10 minutes. We were supposed to be there the full 10 minutes but the duty was done and we left. They unloaded a few items with a forklift and 2 or 3 people got onboard. It was a pretty town with a population of 1,650.

It is fairly nice weather in the 50s but on the outside decks there is wind and it is very cold. We went to deck 8 outside to listen to what we thought was a lecture. Actually, it wasn’t. There was a contest about who would guess the exact second we would cross the Arctic Circle and here they announced the winner. Some honor - but NO. They gave her a little Havila flag and then put a huge ladle of ice and water down her back. They offered anyone who followed suit a free drink – NO way! It was so cold with the wind I was surprised anyone would want to do this. However, most people were loosening their jackets and prepping for the cold ahead. We headed back to the cabin. Most of our day was following the maps and enjoying the scenery while playing cards!