Trondheim to Bergen....28th & 29th Decmeber...

More snow on our return past Munkholmen or Monk's Island at Trondheim....

Sister ship The Richard With, named after the founder of Hurtigruten, entering Trondheim port as we leave....
The weather deteriorates as we sail farther south and gets very choppy during the early evening (again no drink spilled !!)  and thank goodness for the late dinner sitting !!!

Sunday 29th....very stormy during the early hours and heavy rain all morning....very choppy again now as we head on "open sea" towards Bergen ...
One of the excursion team takes great delight (his home town is Trondheim) saying that Bergen gets 445 days of
 rain a year !!!
I have mentioned how good it is to see young folks girls and boys knitting but it has also become very popular to "hand Knit" or Halebinding in the Viking tradition...

Well folks no more photos today due to weather and visibility.
We have had a fantastic trip, we have seen stunning scenery, had brilliant informative and amusing lectures, eaten excellent Norwegian food and throughly enjoyed our first visit to Norway....
A great pity about not seeing the Aurora Borealis but we knew it would be hit and miss, the rest of the trip has made up for it...
A final word and it is in no way disparaging to the lovely Norwegian people but we think we know how Gene Roddenberry came up with the Klingon language !!!
Until the next time it's farewell from
The Contented  Travellers.....

Bodo to Rorvik......27th December...

We cross back across The Artic Circle as we head south and  now light by 10am and a beautiful clear sky day....

A short ferry stop at Nesna....

As we leave Nesna we see a really fascinating sight, we both thought a big log was drifting towards the ship until it got close enough for M, with his excellent long sight, to realise is was a "gathering" of Eider Ducks...apparently they gather together for breeding and for warmth...

A second smaller pod.....

Despite the extreme cold we stay outside for 2 hours wrapped in our thermals etc and so worth it as again the scenery was stunning....

The ferries really are the life blood of the Norwegian coastal communities....

The Seven Sisters Mountain Range...here are 4 of the sisters !!!! Rubbish photography....in my defence I didn't want to take my gloves off as it was extremely cold !!!!
I should have done a "pano" shot of course !! But I guess you get the picture (sorry for the pun) 
The Seven Sisters Mountain range are very much part of Norwegian Folklore...

At 2pm we have the most absolutely beautiful sunset....

Even some of the crew came outside to take photos....

We have seen many a stunning sunset over the years but none to compare to this one...

Despite the cold we spent a lot of time outside today not wanting to miss any of the beauty...
Although we have one more day on board the "Farewell Dinner" is this evening as many of our fellow passengers on this trip will be disembarking at Trondheim....
A free glass of fizz followed by another excellent dinner....the fish has been fantastic....
More tomorrow from the very "Sunny" Travellers....

Tromso to Stamsund......Boxing day 2019....

Point of Interest this morning is the Isle of Risoyreena, Norways largest island and bird preserve and it's where we begin to traverse through the Risoyrenna Channel....

Mr H taking the air and enjoying the stunning views through the Channel....

Clear skies today and the beautiful blue light....

Not a good photo as full telephoto and low light but this chap who looks small is a large sea eagle who is quite happily watching us sail past....

The 3 mile long Risoyrenna Channel was dredged to allow larger ships easier access to the Lofoten Islands...before it was dredged it had been a sound shallow bay that at low tide could be crossed on horseback...

One of two hot-tubs/jacuzzi at the back of the boat and yes folks do use them....

The town of Stortland and a short ferry stop...

This and next photo...sunrise/sunset.....

This far north the sun doesn't rise above the horizon so never too sure is we are viewing sunrise or sunset, in fact with only 2 to 3 hours of daylight a day it all rolls into one but is amazing....

2.30pm and Stokmarkness the town where Richard With founded Hurtigruten in 1893....
The museum charts the history of the town and of Hurtigruten....
The Old MS Finnmarken is in the process of restoration....
4.15pm...Next Point of Interest (never a dull moment !!) is the Raftsund Fjord a very narrow channel with towering cliffs....it's dark (sorry no photos) but the crew spotlight the spectacular cliffs and as before our eyes become accustomed to the dark....
I am sure I have mentioned the excellent food but also we have tried many Norwegian dishes, tonight it's Cod Tongues !! Hadn't really given thought to a cod that talks !!
However very fishy taste and interesting but neither of us overly keen on the texture.....
The evening is rounded off by a very funny and informative talk/slide show by Torstein about Norwegian Folklore......
And so another day draws to a close on the Kong Harald.. Again we have seen stunning and spectacular scenery that my photos do not even begin convey, eaten well and laughed and enjoyed....
Until the next post it's goodnight from
The Happy Travellers....

Mehamn to Tromso...Christmas Day 2019...

The Point of Interest on route this morning is the natural gas refinery near Hammerfest....the facility became operational in 2007 with all of the production facilities on the seabed at a depth of 345 metres so as not to interfere with fishing nets....costing billions of Norwegian krona to build it is now yielding a profit of 50 million krona per day and they estimate enough gas to last until 2050....

Our main stop today is in Hammerfest and the 11am torchlight procession to the most northern Catholic Church in the world...

Very atmospheric....

Still very strange to accept that the sun has risen and set and still only late morning....

Hammerfest probably due to the gas field is the only community in Finnmark that has a growing population the rest are declining....

Oops....

Two Trolls or Nisse and very much part of Norwegian folklore....

And two more Trolls...Christmas cheers.....

The call went out there was possible Aurora Borealis sightings...sadly not to the human eye just a smidgeon through the camera...it would have been fabulous on Christmas Day to see the lights but not to be...hey ho luck of the draw and we have had a totally different but fabulous Christmas Day....
Until tomorrow it's nighty night from the Sky Watchers....

Kirkenes to Berlevag.....24th December..

The sea was a bit rough yesterday evening (I didn't spill my drink though !!) and into the night but my anti sickness wristbands worked well !!!
We docked this morning at 09.00 in Kirkenes the most northerly point of our cruise and the most northerly town in Norway....

Thick snow and very clear air, a beautiful pleasant day for the 20 minute walk into town....

Needless to say all vehicles have studded tyres in the winter....they are very courteous drivers and stop if they even think you want to cross the road....

Oh my an RV dealership....anyone for camping !!!!

Low tide....the drop is about 6 feet....

Kirkenes is classed as a small town but much larger than we thought it would be....still can't get over how many people live this far north.....

In 1906 iron ore was discovered nearby and Kirkenes became a major supplier for raw material for artillery during WW1....however early in WW11 the Nazis occupied the town, posting 100,000 troops here. As a result Kirkenes after Malta was the most bombed place during WW11. The town was also an internment camp for Norwegians from all over the country who did not cooperate with the Nazi occupiers....

And the Library....

Kirkenes Church....maybe they need to reset the clocks it's actually 11.15am....

Midday when we return to the ship and already getting dark...fascinating....
After a relaxed afternoon we prepare for the evening celebrations....like many European countries Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve....
At 5pm the Captian's blessing starts the proceedings...
We have a fabulous Christmas Buffet....their main meat at Christmas is pork (well we can't eat reindeer on this day !!)
A huge spread of sea food, delicious salted and dried lamb and so much more.....they also cure lamb in a similar way to parma ham....
Festivities in the lounge after dinner with Santa and carols (Norwegian, English and German) and fun songs around the tree....
The ship was docked from 6pm until 9pm for the whole crew to eat their traditional dinner (no alcohol allowed for them, in fact Hurtigruten ships are strict dry ships for the crew with random drug and drink tests)
Another brilliant day on the Kong Harald....
Happy Christmas to you all from the Merry Travellers.....

Honningsvag to Kirkenes.....Monday 23rd December....

We are called on deck at 10.00 this morning for a Point of Interest...Mageroysundet Island...

Very eerie but magical "twilight" type light and snowing...
This island is the summer home to reindeer herds....many deer were drowned swimming back to the island after the harsh winter foraging on the mainland....a tunnel was built to transport the deer back to the island for the summer, they still swim to the mainland at the end of the summer as fortified by the excellent grazing on the island...

We are now in an area of Norway called Finnmark...
it borders Russia and Finland and has 74,000 inhabitants....hardy stock !!! 

One of our ports of call today is Honningsvag and time to walk around the town...The shops in all the towns have fantastic widow decorations...the Norwegians are really big on Christmas....
One observation of the trip is how many Tesla cars we have seen....

Welcome back on board to Michelin Man and his mate....

One of the most important vehicles in Norway or any snowy country !!!
We had another great evening, excellent buffet dinner followed by carol singing practice in Norwegian, English and German !!!

And finally for today...
The toilet sign at Bergen airport...priceless...the Norwegians have a great sense of humour...
Until tomorrow it's goodnight from the Amused Cruisers....