Heading South

When traveling south we docked at many of the same towns that we docked at when we were going north, but at different times, so were were able to see new things.

One stop was Vardø, where we went on a little walk to stretch Bob’s sore leg. We found the Vardøhus Fortress which is the world’s northernmost fortress. This present day fortress was built between 1734 and 1738 and it was maintained as an operative facility until around 1950.

When we were in Vardø it was a beautiful, sunny day. That night there was an announcement inviting us to come on the top deck to see the Northern Lights! We were excited because that was Bob’s wish: to see the Northern Lights. The lights were beautiful, and yes, they did dance, but the clouds rolled in, and that was our only sighting.

Hammerfest was our next stop, and it was such a pretty town. We found the new and beautiful church, some houses that I really liked, and we noticed the snow fences high above the town. There were huge snow fences above many towns in Norway.

Because our ship was not huge we were able to navigate into a very beautiful, very narrow fjord and, of course, there were a few houses way back where we never thought anyone would want to live.

On the way south there was another ceremony as we crossed the Arctic Circle. This time, if you volunteered to drink a spoonful of cod liver oil, you were given a souvenir spoon. Bob said his mom made them do that when he was a kid and he volunteered, but I told him that I had enough spoons and passed.

One afternoon we went on the top deck because we were going to pass another Hurtigruten ship. They passed out flags, played patriotic music, and encouraged us to wave at the other ship. It was a contest, they said, to see who was having more fun. Well, I’d say our ship won because there was not a single flag being waved from the other ship!

Our final excursion was to a marble mine. It was a cave, so I kept my eyes closed almost the entire time, but Bob enjoyed it.

This is the route our ship took, leaving from Bergen heading north across the Arctic Circle to Kirkenes, and back to Bergen. It was a fun trip, and perfect for a guy with a sore leg. We’re back home now, Bob’s leg is better, and hopefully he’ll be ready to hike and bike again.