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...

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.

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...

Viva la Revolucion

Traditional dress

Koprivshtitsa a beautiful historic town in Central Bulgaria and was the scene for our second day trip. As there was also going to be a kind of folk festival happening in town, we thought it would be a good time to visit. Although the town was in fact rather beautiful and a fascinating place from an historical perspective, the performances at the festival left a little to be desired. Unfortunately, the singing, which was very poorly amplified by the loudspeakers was pretty ear piercing. The dancing though, at least was something a bit different and got my attention for a few minutes!

Popping Over to Plovdiv

I managed to fit in two lovely day trips during my short stay in Bulgaria (or rather, two day trips were fitted in for me).

The first was to a city in the centre of the country called Plovdiv - described as one of the most beautiful cities in Bulgaria. Well, to be perfectly blunt, with Sofia as my reference point, it wasn't going to be hard to beat. Turns out, Plovdiv really is a rather beautiful city with its own special character, and an amazing old city that has a well preserved Roman and Turkish influenced architectural side to it. Enough for a day trip, perhaps even an overnight trip - but definitely a city you can spend a few hours wandering around aimlessly in...

 

Making A Jewish Mother Proud - Bulgarian Style

This typical train station is indicative of my overall impression of
Communist buildings in Bulgaria...

Well, it seems like Jewish mothers have some competition - Bulgarians! Never would my mother be so proud of the way someone extended hospitality towards me and worried about me so much more than one would think possible, than with my friend and guide in Bulgaria.

Mineral water springs in the centre of the city - the locals are constantly
filling up water bottles to take home so they can enjoy the good minerals.

The warnings I got prior to and during my trip made me think I was entering the third world: Don't cross the street when the green man appears without first checking for cars (only to have my guide cross at a red light instead). Don't go north of this street, it's very dangerous. I wasn't allowed to walk around by myself at night. Warned about getting ripped off left, right and centre. Concerned that there were lots of ugly buildings around. Worried that I would be too busy and get tired. Concerned that there was more to see and do. Very tiring. But wow, what an absolute pleasure! My experience in Bulgaria could not have been better, and despite all the bad things I had heard from my friend, the country was a pleasant surprise for me.

Yet another great photo, thanks to my guide & photographer. This is the old mineral bath house

There are no Kangaroos in Austria

Or so says the famous t-shirt at the tourist shop in Salzburg. Yet again, the shitty weather seems to follow me on my holidays, but is unable to dampen my spirits nor lessen my enjoyment of new places. I flew into Salzburg on a beautiful sunny morning and disembarked the plane (on one of my new, favourite airlines, Air Berlin - due to the fact that you get a chocolate every time you get off a flight) to the glorious sight of alpine peaks surrounding Mozart International Airport. Wow! What a sight! I had seen photos of the airport before, but it really did feel like a scene from the movies seeing the beautiful peaks against the blue sky with a spattering of white clouds about. I couldn't have asked for nicer weather either.

Possibly the coolest toilets in the world - thanks to Red Bull

I was picked up by friend from the Aero Club in Canberra who I had come to visit. And in true Aero Club style, our first stop was Hangar 7, a futuristic building on the far side of the airport built by the founder of Red Bull, who I discovered is probably only second to Mozart in terms of being the favourite child of the town. This guy has money! Inside were a collection of flying machines from all different ages, though mostly modern, fancy planes. All of them in pristine condition. We had an enjoyable stroll around the place, all the while theorising how we could fly such aircraft...

Inside Hangar 7 - notice the conference room hanging from the ceiling