Norway
Norway had long been on our bucket list – ever since Gill`s Uncle Dennis many years ago travelled up the country on the mail boat – before the days of North Sea oil and it`s boost in road, tunnels and infrastructure building. Nowadays there`s no need to use the old mail boats because it`s become a major cruise line destination. However the old way still exists via the Hurtigruten company if you have enough spare time to handle 30 odd stops and very little time on land. For us it was the big liner company and the longest trip – 14 nights, right up into the Arctic Circle and North Cape- the northernmost point on mainland Europe. The cost means that many will be limited to a single week but sailing out of Southampton you will lose a day in each direction `at sea` and can`t reach the remote northern parts where the native Sami race live – their nation inhabits Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia across the northernmost parts of Scandinavia.
The first observation that struck us was that contrary to our expectations that the trip would just be a long procession of steep fjiords in point of fact every single stop along the way was different from the rest. We started in the quite southerly town of Stavanger which has a relatively mild climate thanks to the impact of the Gulf Stream and a fast boat took us up the first of our fijords so gaze at Pulpit Rock (see the photo below) which is a stunning slap of rock almost 2000 feet above Lysefjorden which it os possible to hike to, stand atop and gaze down from. Back in Stavanger itself the town is essentially all colourful wooden buildings with a few tourist trap eating places on the waterfront. I nice little market and some great back streets to explore. Then by contrast our next day - in Flaam - we were on a rail journey up to 1000 feet and snow (in August) with spectacular waterfalls along the way. A full excursion from Geiranger took us up even higher - passing not only the tree line and snow line but high enough to see permanent glaciers on the mountain slopes.
Next was Trondheim with it`s amazing cathedral (see pictures) which was started in 1070 a.d. and was finished around 1300 a.d. before burning down later in 1708. It was subsequently rebuilt of stone and the facade is surely one of the most striking you will ever see. And then on up across the Arctic Circle to North Cape - the most northerly point on mainland Europe which is also as far east as Cairo. For a piece of fiarly barren rock it`s well worth the visit as they have built a big visitor`s centre there with museums, displays, a tourist shop fullof trolls and knitted things (naturally), a cafe/restaurant where we had probably one of the BEST chocolate muffins in the entire world! We were blessed with one of the rare dry days and the views and photo opportunities were spectacular. Oh and reindeer posing along the way waiting to be photographed. On then back southwards to Tromso with it`s incredible moutin range backdrop and cablecar ride to look down on the city and Arctic Cathedral and an excellent museum covering many aspects of Sami life. All in all evry stop was remarkably different from the previous one and a great experience.
And don`t forget all the wildlife. Insect life seemed to be very lacking - very few butterflies. But that was compensated for by marine life - we spotted different types of jellyfish , sea urchins, starfish and although we didn`t spot any there are whales and seals aplenty. Oh and the birds. Masses of different seabirds - cormorants, puffins, hooded crows - we even spotted a swallow perched on a wire thinking about migration back south again. And, of course, the reindeer. These seems to be wild and graze the very short vegetation that you get this far north but they are in fact all owned by about five Sami families. Apparently they are very herd orientated so as long as you have the lead male under control the rest will follow him which is just as well as they seems to spread out at random. And then there are the trolls!!! Unlike internet trolls these are quite cute - or at least those sold to tourists are!! See some pictures below. Food is dominated by the sea and fishing. As you get further north you find fish drying - hanging under the eaves of houses - that`s how it is stored ready for eating later in the year. Some looks quite gruesome
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