The last port of the cruise - Bergen, Norway

The weather greeted us with miserable grey clouds and rain.  All the other towns we've visited have been small, and I suppose I hadn't really thought about the fact that Bergen is actually a very large city.

 Peter and I were escorting again - Intro to Bergen and Funicular, not a tour we'd have chosen ourselves to be honest, but then we would have missed out on so much.   Surrounded by seven mountains, the fjord at it's centre and with masses of history, Bergen is actually a really good place to visit and our tour took us for a drive through so much of it's history. 

A view across the river during our tour.  Medieval Houses alongside the modern.

We heard tales of exploding ships and fires ripping through the city.  We were shown the old houses and parts of town as well as the new.  I have to say, I found Bergen really lovely, especially the old wooden houses.  

At the end of the tour we were taken up a funicular to the top of one of the mountains (I couldn't tell you which one), to enjoy the views.  What I found surprising, although it makes perfect sense to be honest, is that the funicular is not just there for the tourists to get a view from the top, it's there for the commute up the hill for the citizens of Bergen.  There were actually four stops leading off to various suburbs on the mountainside. Needless to say, the views at the top were brilliant.

The tour was only for the morning, so once back to ship, we had a bit of lunch and ventured back out to see if we could find on foot some of the brilliant things we'd seen from the bus window.  Unfortunately the weather had different ideas, as soon as we started to walk away from the ship it started chucking it down.  And it didn't stop.  

We did manage to get to the Hanseatic Wharfe - actually we were sheltering from the buckets of water coming out of the sky, and we stumbled into the alleys between the buildings.

We were absolutely made up.  The space between these buildings is just incredible.  The Hanseatic Wharfe warehouses/shops were built shortly after a fire in 1702, and as we stepped into those alleys, it was like stepping back in time. 

It reminded me of all the spaghetti western films, those wild west towns built of wood.

We wandered up and down the stairs, and over the balconies.  There are lots of little shops and small businesses both upstairs and downstairs. 

It was absolutely brilliant.   Shame about the rain, but it really didn't spoil our pleasure in the place at all. 

After popping in and out of some of the souvenir shops, we gave up trying to see anymore and went and hid in Starbucks for a coffee and free wi-fi.  By the time our coats had stopped dripping it was more or less time to get blown back to the ship (with a little bit more rain chucked in).

Still, we've enjoyed our day here and I only have good thoughts of Bergen,  I'd like to come back to be honest, mebbe another cruise then?

Tomorrow is our last sea day, and then we arrive back in Tilbury.  So that's it, the end of another holiday.  I have to say I have really enjoyed this one.  I really think I would like to come back and see more of Norway and it's fjords.  Not straight away though, I've got to go to Iceland next.  Cool eh?

A mountain outside Andalsnes

So today we're in Andalsnes and the wind is coming at us in furiously strong blasts - stopping us in our tracks almost.  It's also freezing, so not pleasant at all.

Fighting our way through the weather I got to Tourist Info and grabbed a map.  I happened to notice a few walks outlined on it, and since it's "our thing", Peter and I decided to give it a go.

There's a steep little mountain right alongside the port, and the walk route seemed to be heading to the top.  Looking up, we didn't think we'd get any where near the top, after all we were on holiday and just fancied stretching the legs a bit.  We set off to reach the first view point marked on our map, it's quite low down on the hill.

And it was really easy to get to.  The Norwegians obviously feel that everyone should be able to reach these places, and a ramp had been installed all the way up.  If you were fit enough, I think you might be able to get a wheelchair or pushchair up to the viewing point

Looking out from the first viewpoint, An easy walk with a ramp to get you to here.  That's Romsdalsfjorden in front of us. 

Once there, we decided to continue going up.  The next stop is a lovely wooden shelter with benches and tables.   The wind howled through the trees tops occasionally, but we felt sheltered down underneath.

View from the log shelter.  That mountain across the river is called Varden (I think)

An we kept going up. As you can see, this little mountain has steep sides.

The Norwegians really do like to help people do these things, there were rails and chains on several parts of the walk.  If you look at the photo above, you can see a rail running diagonally just up and to the right of Peter.

There are boxes containing notebooks in which you add your name to the list of people who got that far.

They've installed rock staircases around many of the awkward bits.  And we still kept going up, stopping to enjoy the views time and time again.

We knew there was another view point quite a way above us.  As we got higher, we met other passengers coming down, they told us what to expect. The last couple we came across told us about a platform that they'd seen from below.  We kept going up

Once we'd seen the platform, we had to carry on.  Bear in mind that I am wearing me jeans, and although we've brought some extra layers and we are both wearing decent walking shoes, we have no water or food with us.   We'd agreed that we'd keep going until 12.30, at which point we would turn round and go back down, and not worry about how far we got.  We were thirsty though, luckily there were loads of icicles about, and we also found a spring marked drinking water (we think) just a few feet below the platform.

Anyway we got to the viewing platform - 537 m above sea level, that's 1761 feet.

And yes I did walk out to the end.  I even walked on the scary bit where you can see through the floor, but only a foot or so.  I didn't like it.  The views were just as wonderful as expected.

Anyway, we went a little bit further up - I reckon we probably added another 100ft or so onto the height.  It is easy to do because of the rock staircase our Norwegian hosts have built.  The only issue is that it's a little bit exposed.

But it was absolutely wonderful!  We were so lucky with the weather.  There was no wind, the sun was out, and it was glorious.  (I don't think I'd be sitting so comfortably if we'd have felt the wind like we did down on the port)

Looking out from the height of our climb.  I think the mountain we're on is called Nesaksla 

A beautiful day.  Just fantastic

We sat up there, enjoying the sun and the views for a good few minutes, and then we knew it was time to go back down.  Going down is easier than coming up of course, but it still took us a good hour or so.

We pottered around the town before going back to the ship, it didn't seem to have a lot to offer us during our quick look see, and then we were back on board, satisfyingly tired, in that good way you get. 

Here's a picture of the mountain, I've marked where the platform is (lower arrow), and my guess as to where I think we got to.  As you can see, we still had quite a climb to reach the top if we'd have continued.  Nesaksla is 715m or 2345 ft high.

Peter and I have decided that if we come this way again, and the weather is right, we'll do it properly and reach the summit. 

Anyway, that was Andalsnes.  I think I enjoyed this port more than most.  Tomorrow we're in Bergen, I wonder what that will be like?

Second to last sea day - and a bit more green in the sky

Sea days are the days when Peter does his classes, but we also managed to listen in on the story teller and then one of the lectures.  We really like Doreen the story teller, a very funny lady.

After the evening show, Peter and I wrapped up and went out on deck in the vain hope of a last showing of the Northern Lights.  Many of the other passengers had the same idea it seems - there were loads of people out there.

Peter has finally honed his photography skills in terms of capturing the elusive lights, and was able to put them to the test when we finally saw a few hints of the green curtains of light.  The camera managed to see more than we did, and the pictures are actually quite good.  It's a shame that we never managed to get any pictures of the same quality from the earlier light shows, but no matter, it was nice being out on deck under the moonlit sky. 

Tommorow we're in Andalnes - without any tour duties.  Looks like I might end up shopping!

A ride on the Ofoten Railway

Narvik from the ship

Today we're at Narvik, and escorting a tour on the Ofoten Railway which once once described as the eighth wonder of the world. The train journey runs from Narvik uphill to Riksgransen which is in Sweden.

I didn't take any pictures on the train ride up (thankfully Peter took lots of film), but I can tell you that the views were awesome. We overlooked Rombarksfjord and its surrounding mountains as we travelleds and it was wonderful. We were lucky in that we had a beautiful sunny and clear day and travelled up in the best light of the morning.

But as I said, I didn't take any pictures on the way up, (too much reflection off the window glass), but I did take a few pictures on the coach ride on the way down

At Riksgransen, the long red building below is where we get tea and cake before setting off on the journey home.

A Troll - Norway is full of them, did you know?

Some of the fantastic scenery

Sunset at 2.30pm.  Our tour guide told us the sun does will not reach the houses at the bottom of the valley again until March.  

A fantastic evenings show

Tonight we got dressed for dinner as usual, Informal, which means a jacket for Peter, and a bit more than a pair of jeans for me. We watched the evening show, the Marco Polo orchestra letting themselves loose with a series of jazz melodies, and then Peter took part in the Blankety Blank quiz thingy (he's one of the celebrities you know).

The snow had stopped and the sky started to clear, and I went downstairs to change into some warmer clothes, bringing our coats up to Scotts Bar so that Peter and I could go out on deck afterwards, just to see what the world looked like in the dark.

A beautiful night cruising down the fjord

As soon as Blankety Blank finished, we were outside. And straight way they began to appear. The green curtains of the Northern Lights were over our heads, beautiful, mystical wonderful and seemingly alive. And then more and more bands and curtains of light took over the skies. There were pinks and yellows in the greens as the whole sky glowed. It was absolutely magical.

The cruise director announced the lights to the rest of the ship and people were pouring out onto the decks. We were invited up to the bridge to see better. Cameras clicked away whilst Peter and I stood watching the colours twist and curl across the sky, fading in and out left, right and overhead. It was awesome.

The thing is, neither of us had a camera with us, and neither of us was gonna leave. We stood and watched the best light show ever.

Eventually it faded to a few green bands across the sky and Peter went to get our cameras. Despite our vainest hopes and most desperate patience, the lights never came back like that again. Peter did manage to get a few pictures of some later glowing bands, so here's the best one.

I can say I've properly seen them now. How awesome is that!

Alta - no escorts today

And it was really nice. The snow has continued overnight and on into the morning, sometimes falling quite heavy.

Since Peter and I aren't on any tours, we decided we needed to get off the ship, exercise the legs and get some fresh air.

The Tourist Information girl revealed that one of the only things worth visiting in Alta is actually a little way outside the town. The Rock Carvings at Hjemmeluft date back 2500-6000 years and Alta Museum is located right next door. We took the schuttlebus into town and then caught the "Bybuss" (city bus) which took us to the musuem.

Judging by the display in the museum, the rock carvings are quite fantastic. Graffiti in the prehistoric age it seems. Unfortunately we should have thought about this a bit. The carvings are all outside.......... on the ground............ And the snow had covered them!

So we didn't get to see them at all, although I think they would have been quite fascinating. We did get to see the views from the museum though. Brilliant!

So we caught the Bybuss back into town and then went to see the new, Northern Lights Cathedral. An amazing building, all credit to the architect.

It costs to get into the cathedral (30 krona).  Paying to go inside a church is not something we are used to, but it was worth it. 

Whilst we were there, the organist started to play and sing, which she did quiet beautifully. A magic moment in that space to be honest. Just awesome.

After the new church, we decided we'd go find the old church. A nice little leg stretch in all that snow. The old church wasn't open, but it did look very picturesque amongst the gravestones. I loved how red the berries on the trees looked against everything else.

From the old church we walked back into the town centre and wandered through the shopping mall before catching the shuttle bus back to the ship. Again it was an early finish as the ship left Alta at 2.30pm. It's starting to get dark actually, but the snow has gone and the sky has began to clear. People are whispering that if it continues, we might get to see the Northern Lights. That would be class!

Tomorrow we're in Narvik, and escorting again. It's a tour I'm looking forward to as it promises fantastic scenery. Class eh?

Honningsvag - White Out!

Well, it's been snowing  a bit!  Last night and this morning we've been watching the whizz past the windows horizontally.  It's not that heavy, just persistent.

As you can see - you can't see beyond the rail of the ship, the snow and sleet is really persistent. 

Peter and I are looking forward to today's tour. A visit to the most northern point of Europe, a bit like John O' Groats, but the Norwegian version. We stood waiting in the shelter of the buses as the freezing wind blew snow at us.

The buses filled, and we set off with everyone in high spirits. The passengers were in awe of the Norwegians' ability to ignore the snowy conditions and drive around the city without a thought for the packed ice beneath their tyres. But, as the bus climbed up into the mountains, hearts sank and the passengers became silent. We could all see how bad the conditions were getting, the wind was whistling through the door beside me, buffeting the bus across what could be seen of the road.

After 30 minutes, the four buses came to a halt and the drivers had a conflab. A few phone calls later it was established that the road ahead was closed and it was far too dangerous to carry on. Sadly, we had to turn around and make our way back down the mountain.

Back down at sea level, the snow was very wet and cold. Peter and I decided to stay on board in the dry. We're were just here for the morning anyway, and the ship set sail for Alta at 13.30

Alta.........? Nope! Tromso and a Cable Car

About 10 minutes after I finished the last blog post, it was announced that the ship needed to undergo further inspection.  Therefore we were to dock into Tromso whilst the Norwegian Authorities did whatever it was they needed to do.

So all change then.

The shore excursion team had to suddenly rearrange everything for that day, and suddenly 3-4 tours in Alta became 3-4 tours in Tromso and Peter and I were escorting. 

Our tour took in the Tromso museum, a drive around the city and then up onto one of the nearby mountains, Storsteinen, by cable car.

Our tour guide called himself "The Black Viking", and was very entertaining.  At the museum I discovered that the Norwegians did what many of our nations have done, and persecuted the native people of the country.  In Norway's case, it was the Laplanders, who are actually known as Sami.

Due to the fact we started what was a morning tour in the afternoon, by the time we reached the cable car station, it was dark.  What a fantastic view!

Tommorrow we're in Honningsvag, where Peter and I are due to escort on coaches heading for the North Cape, the most northern point in Europe. I'm really looking forward to that one.

Leknes and onward

Yesterday we were both in Leknes and in the news.  Whilst Norwegian TV sent helicopters overhead to keep a close eye on the situation, Peter and I got on a tour bus.  We were escorting a trip to a Viking Museum.  On the way, we stopped for photo's of the tiny little village of Unstad on the North shore of Lofoten Island.  Breezy to say the least, but the views were pretty spectacular.

Then the bus took us onward to the Viking Musuem.  A Viking Longhouse was discovered on the site in 1981, and it turned out to be the biggest ever found in Northern Europe.  As well as all the relics and artifacts found, the Norwegians went on to build a replica.  Neither Peter or I would have chosen this as a preferred tour, but even so, we found the longhouse interesting.

It gets dark early this far north, it was very dark by the time we reached the port at 4.30pm.  The tender took us back to the ship and we waited on board for the tide to lift us off the sandbank.

Tugs pulled us away about 5.30pm, and then we spent a bit of time in the bay whilst the engineers played with engines -we think he was probably clearing mud from the filters, and therefore the engines kept starting and stopping - and then finally, around 8pm, we set sail for our next port - Alta.

Thing is we've not got to Alta yet, we're parked in the middle of a fjord just outside Tromso.  Apparently the sandbank did cause a little bit of damage after all, and we are staying here until the engineers resolve a technical issue.

Alta this afternoon, and we've not got any escorting duties, so we get to wander around freely.  Awesome.

Marco Polo in the news again..........

OK, the ship getting stuck on a sand bank was a bit inconvenient, and probably had the Captain cursing a bit, but for the passengers, it just added interest.  They all managed to get away on their respective tours, and Peter and I escorted the two busloads to a Viking Musuem

However, for the Norwegians this is big news, (they don't have much to do around here), we've had news helicopters overhead, the coast guard come pay a visit and Norwegian folk rubber necking as they drive by.  Apparently we've been headlining the tv, the radio and the newspapers.

Cruise ship stuck in Norway

Well, at about half past 5, the tide came in, and tugs pulled the ship out.  Easy peasy and without fuss.  I bet the Captain and the pilot wished they'd known that earlier today.  We've had all sorts of fun n games with tugs and winches n stuff.

The tour wasn't too bad either.  I'll try and update the pictures as soon as I get a chance

Oooops! Drama at Leknes

Today's port of call started with a lot of funny noises coming from the ship as we arrived.  Followed by announcements that the wind had caused problems parking the ship.

What has actually happened is that the ship has sort of run into a sand bank, and now appears to be well and truly stuck.  Tugs and winches seem to have been involved, but we ain't going nowhere.

We've been told by the shore excursion teams that the excursions will go ahead, as soon as they get the tenders sorted out.  Everything is severely delayed at the moment.  Me n Peter are due to escort a tour this afternoon - we'll wait n see how that goes.

In the meantime we've been admiring our wonderful surroundings from the ship.  It's quite lovely here, and the sunrise was beautiful - we didn't get out on deck with cameras early enough to capture it though.  The photo's show what we got so far though.

In search of the Northern Lights

It's 10 past 10 and we're sitting in the Captain's Club cooling down after all the excitement. 

WE'VE SEEN THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!

OK, apparently they were a 3-4 on the scale (I'm assuming the scale goes to 10), but as far as I'm concerned 3-4 is an impressive start.

I have to tell you though, it was b****y freezing out there and the wind was strong enough to push people around.   We stayed as long as we could before the risk of frostbite set in. 

It was absolutely awesome. 

Olden, Norway

To be honest, Olden looks very similar to Eidfjord, except Olden is at the end of Nordfjord, and Eidfjord is at the end of, well, Eidfjord.   I think the reason the little towns look so similar is down to our untrained eyes.  We are not used to spotting the differences in the mountains and the "fingers" of the fjord.  It is no reason to be disappointed though, Olden is beautiful.

Our escort duties today were to go visit a glacier. It was one of the things Peter really wanted to see, and the fairy godmothers in the Shore Excursions team worked this one for him.  Thank you ladies.

The bus follows the river Olden through the village.  Due to the amount of rainfall West Norway has had over the last couple of days (the most for the last 200 years apparently), the rivers are overflowing.  The bus stopped for a photo break and so we could see the river close up.

Then it was on to Lake Olden.  Just beautiful, and you can just see the Melkevoll Glacier from here

 

This picture was taken through the window of the bus

The back into the bus for Briksdal Inn.  Here the buses stop and we were transferred to "Troll Cars" (8 seater buggies) to take us a fair amount of the climb towards the Briksdal Glacier.  You could of course walk this part of the tour, and many people did.  But for the less fit or able the Troll Cars are excellent.   There was a problem where part of the Troll Car route had been washed away in the recent downpours, but the intrepid Norwegians had come up with a transfer system to get the tourists past that bit.

Not the washed away bit, A waterfall en route. 

The Troll Cars can't take you all the way though.  There's a walk of about half a mile to get you to a decent viewing point.  And it's not an easy walk.  The path is rocky, cracked and uneven.  And there's a little bit of a climb to it.  But the view at the top is worth it.  Peter loved it and got as close as possible to the glacier.  I decided it could really only look good when you could see it all on one go, so I stayed back.   

We have been so lucky with the weather.  Rain was forecast, but it held off and we even got the odd patch of sunshine.  Awesome.

Unfortunately for a few of the passengers on my tour bus, the path was a little bit too much for them.   They never did quite make it to the top, and we had to hold the buses a little longer for them, so that once they'd got down, they could at least enjoy a coffee  from the Briksdal Inn. 

For anyone thinking of taking this tour by the way, save yourself for the cakes provided with the tea and coffee at the Inn (they're provided free as part of the tour).  They are GORGEOUS, and if you walked up to the Glacier, then you've easily earnt yourself at least three. 

Once we were back at the ship and had eaten lunch, Peter and I had an amble around Olden.  As I said, it's a beautiful little town.

A wooden church.  The Norwegians are mostly Lutherians it seems. 

Inside a wooden church - all wood, and wonderfully simple.

Tomorrow is a sea day. Peter will do his classes, and I will mebbe read a little more. Good innit?

Northern Lights Cruise - Eidfjord, Norway

We left Tilbury two days ago.  Yesterday was a sea day and Peter ran two painting classes.  Today is Wednesday and we were up early this morning, I wanted to see the fjord as we sailed in, and we were on deck just after sunrise (7.45).

And it's just as lovely as expected.  The mountains rise steeply from the water into the clouds.  Actually, these mountains aren't that high in truth, but they look it from the still water of the fjord.  Stunning

Peter and I had agreed to escort a tour to go see the Sysem Dam and the Voringsfoss Waterfall,  basically a bus trip with a couple of stops.  The scenery we drove through was absolutely stunning, and I regret my decision to be a good escort and sit on the inside seat of the bus.

The Dam was a little bit of a let down to be honest, I sort of expected a dramatic concrete structure I suppose, and it wasn't.  It might be 260ft high, but because of the way it's built of natural rocks and gravel, it's quite tame really.

The waterfall is not tame.

The bus took us to the Fossli Hotel just above the waterfall, with its fantastic views.

It's a shame the weather wasn't a little better, but then again, if it hadn't been raining for the last two days, we certainly wouldn't have seen the flow that we did. 

Then it was back to the bus to travel once again through the glorious scenery of Norway.   Sadly it was really raining now, and when we got back to the ship, we decided that despite the fact we had an hour's shore time left, it was far too wet.  So we went back on board for lunch

We did take a few pictures of Eidfjord from the ship though

Unfortunately, as the morning had progressed, I realised that the cold that I've been fighting off for weeks was having another go at getting the better of me.  With Peter still coughing as a leftover from his cold, and me with a drippy nose, we decided it was best to hide out in the cabin this afternoon and not breathe all over everyone else.

Amazingly, just about as quickly as it started, my drippy nose dried up at about 6-7pm, Spooky eh?   This was extremely convenient cos we needed to go upstairs for dinner in the Bistro.  I even felt it was safe enough to watch "Bruce Thompson, The Original One Man Band" from the back of the Marco Polo Lounge.   And I'm glad I did, it was an excellent show, full of fun and laughter.

Tomorrow we're in Olden, escorting again and off to see a glacier. Hopefully there'll be no more hints of colds or drippy noses.