Hurtigrut-End

My Hurtigruten cruise is coming to an end. After twelve days, it turned out to be about six days too long. I’m glad I got to see some of the beauty of northern Norway, and I learned a lot along the way.

But I will never do a cruise again, at least not as a solo traveler.

Here are the highlights from the trip south from the Arctic Circle back to Bergen

Tromsø

We arrived in Tromsø on Monday night just before midnight. I had a hard time staying awake for the midnight concert at Tromsø Cathedral, but it was a nice program of mostly traditional Norwegian and Sámi music, performed by a singer, saxophone player, and keyboardist on organ and piano. It seems like an odd combination, but it was actually quite effective, even if I may have nodded off briefly once or twice.

Vesterålen

On Tuesday morning I was signed up for an excursion from Harstad to Sortland, in the Vesterålen archipelago. Laura, the head of the ship’s expedition team, touted this as the most highly rated excursion of the entire voyage.

Church

Our first stop was the famous Trondenes Church, a medieval stone church on the edge of Harstad. 

The pastor of the church greeted us as we entered. Our guide told us he would tell us about the church, but after we got inside and took seats in the pews, he began a worship service. I was stunned! I have never been on a tour where any kind of prayer took place, not to mention a service replete with hymn singing and Bible readings. It only lasted ten or fifteen minutes, and I would have left, but I would have had to climb over five people in the pew. (One woman did walk out. She must have been sitting on the aisle.)

Museum

A short walk from the church was a historical museum. I walked through quickly. There was really nothing particularly interesting.

Adjacent to the museum was a recreation of a small medieval farmstead. After I walked through, I went down the the edge of the fjord and watched an oystercatcher foraging. This was the highlight of the visit to Harstad.

Scenery

I was still peeved about the church service when I got back on the bus, but as we drove through the island of Hinnøya (the largest island in Norway outside the Svalbard archipelego), my mood brightened. The scenery was really lovely.

After we were back on board in Sortland, I went to talk to Laura (head of the expedition team). I asked her if she was aware that they conducted a worship service in Trondenes Church. She didn’t indicate that she was unaware, but asked if the local guide on the excursion told us before we entered the church. I said that he did not. She said she would make sure future guests are informed of this. 

Later that evening I received this note at my cabin:

I thought this was very gracious and later thanked Laura. (The monetary compensation, I told her, was not necessary; it comes to about $89 US.)

Another pass through Trollfjord

We passed through Trollfjord on our way north, and we did it again on the way back. It wasn’t as special this time, because it was mid-afternoon (last time it was midnight). Also, last time the water was as smooth as glass; this time not so much.

On the other hand, this time we got to see some eagles, which was fun. It was hard to get any good photos of eagles in flight, but I tried. And I tried to get AI to do some enhancement, but it really just replaced my blurry eagle with a completely different one that is more in focus.

Even if the top photos are the ones I actually took, the bottom photos more accurately reflect the moment.

The scenery was still magnificent in this stretch of the voyage, and I didn’t need AI to enhance these photos at all.

Lofoten beach hike

Back in the Lofoten Islands, I signed up for an excursion that was a rather long drive to a beach, where we did a hike along a path connecting it to another beach.

This was one of the best excursions of the trip. There were only about twelve participants. The hike was mostly flat, but we walked at a good clip, so it felt like exercise. And the scenery was beautiful. The trail, about 5 km from Uttakleiv to Haukland, went along the sea on our right, with sheer cliffs on the left. Two members of the expedition team, Sven and Christian, were our guides, and for the first time on the entire trip I had a chance to have a actual conversations with them. (One of my criticisms of this cruise would be that the onboard staff has made little or no effort to establish any kind of personal relationship with us. If I am known at all to them, it’s as “309” (my cabin number). 

Leaving the Arctic

When we crossed into the Arctic last week, we were baptized with ice.

As we crossed the Arctic circle back into the — whatever it is that is not the Arctic — we had a different ceeremony. 

Supposedly, doctors wondered why people living in a realm where it is dark for much of the year still manage to live long and healthy lives. Research led to the conclusion that a diet high in Omega-3s, such as are found in fish oils, is responsible for the good health of Arctic residents.

So we were given a spponful of cod liver oil to celebrate our good health as we left the Arctic.

The Seven Sisters

In Norwegian folk mythology, trolls, who figure prominently in these stories, turn to stone when exposed to sunlight. Many of the mountains in Norway are thought of as trolls. Rockslides are what happens when angry trolls throw rocks down at humans and other creatures.

This story comes from the Hurtigruten website:

Suliskongen, the Troll King of Sulis, had seven troll daughters. These seven sisters irritated him so much that, one day, he couldn’t stand it any longer; he employed the beautiful maid Lekamøya to look after them.

Lekamøya and the seven sisters were bathing in the sea when the troll Hestmannen, the only son of Suliskongen’s enemy, spotted them and became consumed with desire for Lekamøya. Being a youth at the mercy of his passions, he mounted his horse and charged across the sea towards them.

Lekamøya saw him coming and commanded the seven sisters to run. The group took off, charging along Norway’s coast. It didn’t take long for Suliskongen’s daughters to notice that Hestmannen was an attractive troll prince, and the only son of a troll king. In quick succession, one after the other they stopped to let him catch them. But Hestmannen galloped past them all; his heart was set on Lekamøya.

As the sun started to rise, Hestmannen realised his chase was futile. He was not going to catch Lekamøya before the sun’s rays hit the ground. Instead, he fired his arrow at her in rage.

Fortunately for Lekamøya, the sight of seven sisters, a beautiful maid, and a giant horseman stampeding along the coast had attracted some attention. Among the onlookers was the Troll King of Sømna, who threw his hat in the way of the arrow to shield Lekamøya. The arrow pierced the hat, puncturing a hole straight through it.

At that moment, the sun rose, turning the seven sisters, Lekamøya, and Hestmannen to stone. As they fell, they formed the striking array of rocks and mountains in the region. 

Lekamøya and Hestmannen ended up elsewhere. As for the King of Sømna’s hat, read on.

Torghatten

I booked an excursion to hike up to the hole in the rock called Torghatten. You can see this hole from the ship, though on the northbound route I was sleeping when we passed it.

Torghatten, you may have already guessed, is the hat of the King of Sømna. And the hole is where his arrow pierced it.

The hike was uphill, steep at places, but it was all a well-maintained trail with steps, so it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been.

The views were spectacular. It was well worth the climb.

The Atlantic Ocean Road

The final excursion was a drive on the Atlantic Ocean Road.

After a stop to visit the stave church at Kvernes and a seafood dinner, we drove across the eight bridges that make up this road connecting several small islands with the mainland.

Some final thoughts

Norway is a beautiful country, and seeing the northern part has been a long-time bucket list item for me.

I originally hoped to rent a car from Oslo and explore by land, dropping the car somewhere in the north and flying back. Unfortunately, all the research I did indicated that there are no rental agencies that handle one-way rentals like that. So I decided to go with Hurtigruten.

There were so many things I didn’t like about the shipboard life, but I don’t want to dwell on them. I suppose for some people this is a wonderful way to see coastal Norway. For me it wasn’t.

Nevertheless, I loved what I saw. Twelve days of glorious vistas did become somewhat routine. In the beginning I wanted to spend all my time on deck watching the mountains go by. But after a while I was content to run outside occasionally for a good photo.

I started this post while I was still on the boat approaching Bergen. I’m finishing it in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, awaiting the second of my four-leg journey home. Even though this was just a three-week trip, I’m ready to get home. I think the joy of travel for me typically lasts exactly as long as the trip I’m on. But in this case, I was ready to get off that boat and go home a few days ago.

One thing I’m not looking forward to is sifting through the nearly 1000 photos I took. I’ll share a link to my photo album when it’s ready. There are a lot more stunning photos than what I’ve included in my three blog posts from this expedition.

For now, ha det bra!