Wednesday 28 September 2011

The Most Beautiful Voyage in the World

Kristiansund - one of the last Hurtigruten stops before Bergen
Or so goes the tagline for the Hurtigruten. Although I can't say I have been on every possible worldly voyage, I can quite comfortably say that it can't be far from the truth. However, I have to admit, that it has some very good competition from the land based transport from Bergen to Oslo - or at least, the first 3 hours of it.


Although we had some super cheap (NOK 199) train fares booked for the 7 hour train ride from Bergen to Oslo, much of the first half of the journey was by bus due to track-works that were taking place. A bit annoying I thought, but in actual fact, the ride really was so absolutely beautiful that I can't say any of us cared too much. The journey along the fjord just outside of Bergen, right up to the point near Geilo provides some of the most spectacular views I can possibly imagine one can see from a bus or a train. Huge mountains dropping sharply into crystal blue ocean, beautiful small villages perched amongst green pastures at the foot of mountains, rocky cliffs, unbelievable waterfalls, and pure, green, clean landscapes. Unfortunately the dirty windows and the constant movement made good photos almost impossible - I guess this is something you will have to do for yourself...


Bergen itself is also a gorgeous city. It is famous for being rainy around 2 out of every 3 days (the statistics vary depending on the source, but no source quotes less than that...) True to form, we were not disappointed and although we had a couple of hours of dry weather, the clouds lowered onto the mountains and the heavens opened up.
Thankfully, we did indeed get to see Bergen in a great light. After arriving in town we quickly dropped our gear off at the hotel and then took the funicular up the Fløyen mountain for a great view of the city. We then embarked on one of our walking tours and despite getting a little wet, saw some interesting sights around Bergen. The inner city has a great little harbour, and this one fantastic little neighbourhood with really narrow cobble-stone streets, old houses, tiny gardens out the front, and like the rest of Norway, lots and lots of bright colours

Monday 26 September 2011

On The Top of The World




Trondheim - our last major stop
The Coastal Steamer has been running along the Norwegian coast for over 100 years. For the past few years, it has also been known as the Hurtigruten - the name of the most recent company to run the route. Every day, a ship calls in at each of the 34 ports. Each ship takes 11.5 days to sail the return trip from Bergen to Kirkenes. Whilst not designed as a tourist experience, tourists have become an integral part of the journey, I think, primarily, to keep the business afloat. The traditional role of delivering mail and goods, and ferrying locals is apparently not that lucrative. Anyway, we hopped on board the MS Richard With in Kirkenes for a 5 night journey down to Bergen. We didn't really know what to expect - apart from a lot of peace and quiet and some beautiful sights. What we got was so much more...


Wednesday 21 September 2011

It's The End of The World As We Know It, and I Feel Fine

Not in the sense of time or epoch, but if the earth was flat, this would be pretty close to the edge. Kirkenes isn't quite the northernmost town in Norway, but I think it could be described as the most remote on the mainland. Past the 'hump' of the northern bit of Europe, north of Finland, and only a handful of kilometres from the Russian border lies a a very sleep, yet seemingly industrial town of around 7,000 inhabitants. This is the last stop of the Hurtigruten ferry - a transport which has been the lifeblood of many of the 34 towns and villages it stops at along its journey from Bergen right up here into the Arctic Circle. At times, especially in years gone by, when roads became impassable and planes had no chance of landing - the Hurtigruten ferries made there way here to deliver goods, deliver mail, and ferry passengers. Today, although still working boats with a practical purpose, passenger cabins have been created for those 'tourists' who want to simply experience the beauty of the Norwegian coastline. This is where my parents and I start our voyage.
Fantastic panorama of Kirkenes thanks to the wall outside the local shopping centre.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Where Two Seas Meet

A not uncommon sight in Denmark, but always beautiful!
Nearly 15 years ago, my uncle took me to the meeting point of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic and tried to use the "Mayer sense of humour" to convince me that I should be able to see the different shades of blue, and that is precisely where the oceans meet.

After being in Denmark for nearly a year, I figured it was time to go to the place the Danes refer to so lovingly as the where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet. Many think (or so they say) that you can see the oceans meet. People say that you can see the oceans meeting because of the way the 2 currents meet - now I'm not oceanographic expert, but basic laws of physics tell me that it doesn't really make sense for there to permanently be 2 opposing currents which happen to meet up at a certain location in the ocean - the tides alone should put an end to that. Lastly, there is the famed light of Skagen. The special luminous effects which have brought many Danish painters and photographers to the location to capture the special lights. Now given that this isn't the only location with a beach at the given latitude, I was a bit sceptical about this too. None-the-less, I'll use anything as an excuse to travel and see something new...