Have never been there so am looking forward to this!

Me too.

Day 2.
I slept badly - too many new noises, and a new bed. So I was up early, and one of the first to breakfast. A good buffet, a good choice of warm and cold options available. I stuck to a “Dutch” breakfast of cheese, meat, and an egg with bread. I also had some of the fresh fruit on offer, and took a banana and an apple most days for my lunch.
The sea was very rough that morning and a lot of people went down with seasickness. I felt a little rough but I went out on deck for fresh air and to take some photos, and soon felt better.
I booked the walking tour of Ålesund, rather than doing it myself. It was a good tour with an excellent guide. We visited the Jugendstil centre, which was formerly the home of the local chemist. I found it very interesting, telling the story of the fire and rebuilding of the town, and of how Keizer Wilhelm is still much admired for the help he gave them.
We had rain hail snow and sun all in under two hours whilst there.

It snowed again later in the day, and was generally grey.
I went to the reception to arrange to woken should there be a sighting of the Aurora, and to get an internet login.
Wireless internet was available in one lounge, and there were a couple of computers in the internet café too.

Dinner was early the first evening as we would be crossing more open sea at 8pm. So at 6.30 I went to the dining room and sat in my allotted space. Officially you cannot change places but I was at a table with 7 Germans. I don’t speak German, though I understand a bit of it. So before the meal started I found the restaurant manager and asked if I could move. He found me the perfect table - three English ladies, and a Dutch couple, whom I’d met on the bus to the ship.

We started talking, and it soon became clear the lovely lady sitting opposite me was fellow Fodorite Sueinfal!
The food was excellent, and there was plenty of it. I didn’t mind not having lunch!


Day3
Saw me up early for the Trondheim tour. We had a tour in the bus first - first to a viewpoint, which bore more resemblance to an ice rink than a viewpoint, so we drove a bit further down, where we could get off the bus without breaking our necks. The guide on the bus was not very informative preferring to point out such exciting sights as the train and bus stations. We then went to the Nidaros Dom where the group split into Germans and the rest again. I loved the cathedral, and our guide to that was funny and informative. For the rest it was OK but not very exciting. I could have walked back to the ship from the cathedral, but decided to be lazy and bus it back.

The weather continued to be miserable and snowy, but hey it’s Norway in February. Most of the photos I took during the first few days look as if they are in black and white, grey sky, dark grey sea, white and black landscape. But oh! So beautiful!

Dinner was late tonight, again because of an open sea crossing.
I guess when the ship is full, and they have to have two sittings it’s not possible to move meal times around like that.
Sueinfal didn’t turn up. I hope I didn’t frighten her off!

Day 4
I was up long before dawn to see us cross the Arctic circle. So I had an early breakfast and managed to get some internet time in whilst everyone else was still sleeping or eating. The connection during the trip proved difficult, but with perseverance I always got through.

We had the Arctic circle ceremony on the sun/ice deck - the snow had frozen and over the next few days it became increasingly treacherous. First two crew members were christened. Poor things were there in their kitchen whites, freezing to death while the rest of us were wrapped up snug. They each got half an ice bucket of ice down their necks.
Then the rest of us took turns and were christened. Three ice cubes down the neck, a certificate and it was all over. Good fun though.

Meanwhile stunning scenery continued to pass us by, all in shade of grey.

I got the bus into Bodø. The tour leader made it sound like it was quite a way from the boat. Mch of it was destroyed during the German invasion in May 1940 so it is full of 1950s architecture. Not a nice town to visit. I did like the cathedral - very stark and simple and beautiful, but the rest of the town was not.
I walked back to the ship with another English woman, who had lost her bearings and was relieved to spot a friendly face J.
Bodø came to fame in May 1960 when Gary Powers U2 was shot down. He, and other U2 pilots were based in Bodø.
Nearby is the Saltstraumen, with the strongest tidal current in the world. This was an excusion option from the ship, and one I would take next time.


In the evening we stopped in Svolvaer where we could visit the Lofoten war museum, or the gallery of a local artist Dagfinn Bakke.
http://www.dagfinnbakke.no/

I chose to visit the gallery, and I bought a small lithograph by him, as my main souvenir. It is now hanging on the wall in my sitting room.


My hands became very red and dry and painful during the first few days. All that washing. I decided to try washing them in my shower gel rather than the ship’s soap and that helped - I obviously had a reaction to the soap. I’m glad I took shower gel with me, and didn’t use the soap in the shower too!

Day 5 was a disappointing day for me. I had booked the tour of Tromsø which included a visit to the “Arctic cathedral”. I heard as we docked (!) that it wasn’t going ahead due to lack of interest. I could book for the dog sledding tour or walk around Tromsø on my own.
Since I’d booked dog sledding in Kirkenes I gave that a miss. I didn’t go into Tromsø either. There didn’t seem much point on a Sunday afternoon really. Especially as when it was so cold. I got my money back for the tour not going ahead.
A large group of English people left the ship in Tromsø, so our numbers were even more reduced after that.

We had a talk on stockfish in the afternoon, which I have to say was a bit boring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockfish


This was not a good day for me, and I felt pretty low at the end of it.

Which ship were you on? We took a trip in August one year.
Too bad you missed the aviation museum in Bodo, very interesting WWII history, well done with clear explanations... We only learned about it when all the other tours were canceled due to the weather.I would love to take another Hurtigruten trip and am very interested in your report. Thanks for sharing your trip.

Hetismij, thank you for writing this... I am just now starting research about a possible trip to Norway this summer. Fjord cruise is high on the list. I have NO frame of reference for this and no idea what options I might have.

I am sorry day five was not a good day. Will you post your photos?

I will post my photos asap.
I was on the Vesterålen, third oldest ship in the fleet. I asked about the aviation museum, but the tour guide suggested the town would be better - he felt it was too easy to lose track of the time at the museum.

You are making me weepy, hetismij. I am looking forward to each word.

hetismij, I have been looking forward to your trip report and I am not disappointed.

Looking forward to more

Wow, so this report is so very intersting -- much of this is new to me and I'm looking forward to learning/reading more. It's too bad about day 5 -- sometimes there are days like that, unfortunately. I can't wait to see your photos.

hetismij I am really suprised that you didn't get off the boat in Tromso. It has a large university population and is pretty lively. We felt old at 38!

If you don't see the lights in and around Tromso then I'll be damned. We saw them 3 nights running and there has been a great deal of solar activity recently.

Just prey it isn't cloudy.

Humpty, I was there on a Sunday. People who did go in came back quickly saying it was dead, and far too cold for aimless wandering. I was annoyed and disappointed my excursion wasn't going ahead. If I had been told before we docked I might have gone into town. As it was I had to wait to get my money back, and by then the first people were already returning to the ship saying there was nothing to do, and complaining of the cold.
The main thing I had wanted to see was Tromsdalen church, in daylight to appreciate the stained glass window. If I had known in advance the tour wasn't going ahead I may have been able to work out how to get there and back in the time available, but as it was I didn't have time to do that.

It was overcast the entire time, and snowing occasionally so there was no chance of see the lights, even if they had been happening, which according tot the forecast they weren't.

Day 6 included a trip to the North Cape. It was a quiet morning, with some lovely skies, but the decks were snowy and slippery so it was tricky getting around.
We arrived in Honningsvåg and slipped and slid our way to the bus which was to take us to the North Cape. The guide told us we were lucky it was a lovely day on the cape. We were thinking it was cold, and feeling colder due to the wind, but she was happy, since it wasn't shrouded in fog. We followed the snow plough up to the cape, where it was -16C, with a windchill of -25C. Probably not cold to some of you North Americans but more than cold enough for us effete Europeans!
I followed the guide's advice and grabbed some pictures first then went inside. There was little time to see the film being played downstairs so I had a look at the shop, where I bought myself a pewter necklace, had a coffee and watched the blizzard developing outside.
I am glad I went - I have been as far north as you can get in Europe.

That evening we had a seafood buffet, with, amongst other delights, king crab bought fresh in Kjollefjord.

Day7 was another miserable grey day. We had given up all hope of seeing the aurora by then.
I met Sueinfal at breakfast and enjoyed a long chat with her, before she went to clear her cabin.

We said our farewells to Sueinfal in Kirkenes, where she left the ship. We then went by bus to the snow hotel. I went dog sledding. First hoisted myself into the warm overall, thick boots and mittens then waddled to the sled.
It was not as good an experience as it could have been - there were two people to a sled, and 4 sleds, so the first 8 were selected. Three couples, me and a German girl of Wagnerian proportions. Now I am fat. I admit I am fat, but she was enormous. Those poor dogs. If I hadn’t paid so much for the experience I would have quit as I ended up sitting on the low part of the sled, with only a ½ inch piece of plastic between my bum and the ground. I was warm enough, especially as it was -20C there and snowing the whole time.
I did enjoy the experience but I think I would try it in Tromsø next time as the two English sisters I befriended, Maggie and Sue, had enjoyed their sledding in Tromsø. I heard from others that Tromsø was the better experience too.
After a look around the snow hotel, which was interesting with every room different, and a look at the reindeer they have there, it was back to the ship.
http://www.kirkenessnowhotel.com/english/english-index.html

We had a couple of new people join at Kirkenes, a Dutch woman and a young Austrian. They joined our table as the Dutch couple moved to another one to be with some Germans they had befriended.

The sea was pretty rough again after dinner, and both newcomers suffered. We old sea-dogs barely noticed it .

While enjoying an after dinner cup of coffee there was an announcement - aurora at the front of the ship. A mad dash from everyone to see them. Some went to the panorama lounge, others crowded on the small public area at the prow. I took my camera, and stood on the side, near the front. They were faint at first, and not at all green - indeed at first I thought it was just cloud, but in the photos it is green. This is common apparently. They were not the dancing lights one see in photos and films though but an eerie green light all across the sky. I think it is called cloud aurora.
Seeing them made me feel happier, but I admit I was getting homesick.

Day 8.
It is amazing how a touch of sun improves things .

We were now heading back, and called in at Hammerfest during the day. Like all Northern Norwegian towns and villages it was destroyed by the retreating Germans in WW2, so is now a modern town.
I joined the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society and enjoyed looking at their small museum. I then had a short walk around before heading back.
Sadly http://www.isbjornklubben.no/ doesn't seem to be working - you can read about it here though:http://tinyurl.com/63ewxbz

The sun didn’t last and it was snowing again by the time we got to Øksfjord, but I didn't mind.

I decided against going to the midnight concert at the Arctic cathedral in Tromsø, but others who went enjoyed it enormously, so I would probably go if I go next time. The sky was clear but no aurora tonight.

Really enjoying your report. We were on Finnmarken in May 2007 - this was the ship badly affected by the Noro Virus. We were confined to our cabin for 3 days on the return leg from Kirkenes, it certainly spoilt our trip.

The staff did their best to cope but all in all it was handled very badly. I sent a long letter to the management on my return outlining our experience and some suggestions to make things easier for passengers but unfortunately received a very non committal response.

We sailed on P&O Oriana for 21 days from San Francisco to Sydney just recently - not one incident of Noro reported. Its odd how it affects some ships and not others. Good to see Hurtigruten are keeping up with the hand washing - sorry it affected you but its better than getting the dreaded virus!

Looking forward to reading the rest of your report - sure is some amazing scenery up there.

"I was there on a Sunday"

Sorry missed that bit!

We suffered the same on Sunday - our Sunday was very, very quiet. Just didn't seem like the same town.

I think Tromso is a "how you hit it place".

Hit it as we did : -3oC, high pressure, just snowed, incredible 3 hour midday twilight and the lights 3 nights in a row it is a very different to a very cold or rainy day with cloud.

Strangely enough we had the similar experience in Taormina, Sicily. People rave about the place, for us it was 9oC rain, cloud, no Etna, silly food prices and coach parties. One of the worst places we have visited in Europe.

Congratulations on conquering one of the geographic aspects of Europe.

Mount Elbrus next?

As another poster said above, it is super to read about something new! Looking forward to pix.

hetismij, Thankyou for posting. I appreciate all the details. Did you book your ticket directly from the hurtigruten website or a travel agent? I have problem getting a good deal for May at this point.

I booked through the Dutch agent for Hurtigruten. May is shoulder season (or maybe even high season) so a lot more expensive.
Try contacting Hurtigruten directly - by phone or mail and see what price they quote you. I don't know if there is an official agent in the US, if so you could ask them if there are any deals available.
If you are happy with them assigning you a cabin, and going half board as I did there are deals in May, at least according to the Dutch agents site. Even so it is €1100 more than I paid for my trip! If you want a specific type of cabin then you will probably have to pay the list price.

The final leg:

Day 9 - 24 hours hunting the light .
There is the option of a bus tour through the Vesterålen, rejoining the ship a couple of villages later. Those who did it enjoyed it and even saw elk (moose).
I stayed on board, and enjoyed the most incredible sunrise I have ever seen. The colours were amazing - no photograph can do them justice, and it was a 360 degree affair. Just astounding.
The scenery matched the sky in every way. This was pure tour brochure stuff.

The main stop today was Stokmarknes, home of the Hurtigruten, and of the Hurtigruten museum, which is free for passengers. It was an interesting visit, but truth be told, I am not much of a museum person.
As the sun began to set, with colours to match the dawn we approached the Rafsundet which is indescribably beautiful.
The chef held a demonstration of filleting salmon and served it up as sashimi. Delicious! The rest was be smoked and served up as part of the next nights dinner.
We had a long stop in Svolvaer again, but I didn’t go ashore - I had a nap, just in case we were to be woken for the aurora again.

I didn’t need wakening - at about 10 pm just as we were leaving Stamsund they appeared. Beautiful dancing mystical patterns, this time clearly green, with touches of red on occasion too. I was so mesmerised by them. I have photos but they aren’t brilliant - the boat was moving up and down and at a fair rate of knots too, but I have them and I saw the aurora. They lasted along time, nearly two hours. I went to bed feeling this day alone made the trip worthwhile.

By day 10 we were a long way south and would leave the Arctic. Before that though we diverted of the normal route to wave to the entire school at Seesøyvik - all 8 of them with their teachers, standing there waving and shouting greetings to us.
Once we had crossed the Arctic circle we had another ceremony and were given a souvenir spoon - but only if you had cod liver oil from it first! We could wash away the taste with a shot of Akevitt or apple juice. Guess which I went for!

We had an interesting talk on Norwegian literature in the afternoon, and a walk in Sandnessjøen.

That evening we had our Farewell dinner. We did wonder why we were having it a day early, but it turned out a group were leaving in Trondheim the following morning.
The crew came in and lined up and we raised a toast with them, and enjoyed a good meal. We did speculate that the next night we would be served up what ever was left, or maybe would have to send out for a take-away.

The final two days went by in a rush. We woke in Trondheim, where some people did the excursion I had done on day 3, and some left the ship to head home. We’d thought it would be getting warmer by now but it was still -13C in Trondheim.
After leaving Trondheim I had a visit to the bridge, which was fascinating, and a bit scary - all done by computers of course nowadays, though the captain assured us he still knows how to "drive the boat" without them.
The entire crew work a 22 day on 22 day off system so they keep the same crew together for the same ship as much as possible.

Then on to Kristiansund which looks a lovely town, and where some people saw orca. I didn’t see them though.
Dinner that night was indeed an odd mixture of things - I guess the chef was using up what he had. We had cured reindeer meat as starter, then salmon, halibut and gravlax with vegetables and potatoes, and a sweet soup type affair with berries which was rather messy to eat.

I packed my suitcase that evening, and enjoyed a final evening out on deck. I went to the prow, which though small and slippery and windy was quiet - no engine noise. Just lovely. I reflected on my trip, which for the most part I enjoyed enormously, but my thoughts were turning ever more to home.

Before we knew it it was our last day. We had to leave the cabins early because the next sailing was fully booked and they needed time to thoroughly clean all the cabins. We left the cases outside the cabins, and I used one of the luggage lockers for my photo backpack, though later they provided a conference room where bags could be left, which was then locked. I made sure I still had my coffee mug with me, and spent the morning in the panorama lounge watching the scenery go by.

Docking in Bergen we left through the terminal, collecting our bags, airport style, on the way, and headed for the various buses. The airport was a mess I have to say - I had checked in online, on board, but hadn’t been able to print my boarding pass, so I still needed to go to a self service machine. The only way to check in there is with those machines, and once I had found the KLM ones there was a huge, disorganised queue, and only one person to help those who couldn’t use them. Eventually I got my boarding pass, and then joined the ruckus for checking my suitcase. Signposting is bad, and just finding your way through security and to the right gate was a challenge. It is also a silent airport, so no announcements of flight boarding so I went to the gate and stayed there.
The flight home was full, but I still had a middle seat free between me and my neighbour. We arrived early in Amsterdam, and only three of us were leaving there - the rest were transferring. We still waited an eternity for our cases, but they arrived eventually, and I left to be greeted by my husband. I got home about 8.30 pm. The following morning my husband left for France again - at 4.30 AM!

It was on the whole a wonderful trip, barring a few hiccups. I did enjoy it, despite attacks of homesickness. I enjoyed chatting with people, of all nationalities, including some of the Norwegians using the ship as a ferry to get from A to B. I hope I made a couple of new friends too.

I’ve tried to give an honest account, not a Pollyanna version. I hope you don’t mind that too much, and my experiences don’t put you off trying it for yourself. I wholeheartedly recommend it for singles, couples, young, old, but not for children or teens, at least not in winter.


My husband followed me on the webcam and wants to do it too now, so it looks like I’ll get another go at it all! I’d probably go just a little bit later - maybe in March, so the days are that bit longer next time.
I would certainly go on the Vesterålen again. The tour leader is expecting me (he grew up near where my eldest son now lives), though I could just as easily book a trip when he has his 22 days at home.
I’m trying to convince my husband that Svalbard would be a great place to visit too!


The photos, low resolution I'm afraid so they don't get stolen. They look better at full resolution.

http://tinyurl.com/63mz8de

Maudie - sorry I mssed your post. How miserable for you to be stuck on the Norovirus ship. You have my sympathies.
My brother and SIL were on the Marco Polo trip around Britain which was badly effected by the virus. They didn't get it but had a thoroughly horrible time.

As I said they are now very keen on hand washing and each cabin is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between sailings. I hope you get a chance to go again, and really enjoy the trip.

The absence of Pollyanna is much appreciated.

Quite frankly I stop reading after 7 wonderfuls in the first paragraph of a Venice trip report. There are very few occasions or locations when the superlative "astounding" could be used. St Marks Square or Toarmina are not those contexts.

A winter sunrise in the Artic circle is one of those occasions and the aurora is definitely. So pleased you experienced it.

I agree, trips so far north are not like two weeks on a beach in the Caribbean. It can be demanding.

We spent time sitting in the reception of our hotel in Tromso just watching travellers come and go. There were independent travellers returning from Svalbard, who looked like something out of National Geographic. Looked they they had faced death and returned.

I also agree about the age suitability.

We took our then 3 year old for 3 days to Tromso with a flight in and out of that city. It worked really well with 3 organised excursions. I am well aware that children actually do live in Norway but I agree it isn't a suitable destination for a great deal of independent travel with children and without a degree of local knowledge. Hiring a car and road tripping could be a bad idea.

I think you probably feel as we did. The Caribbean/Italy are simple experiences. Northern Norway is a "lifetime" experience which everyone should try to complete at least once.

Great and honest trip report.

Thank you.

Thank you for a wonderful trip report looking at your lovely photographs brings back so many memories particularly the wonderful sunrise and sunsets, they were almost as good as the Aurora.

I feel guilty as I think I recommended that you do the dog sledging in Kirkenes rather than Tromso - sorry you didn't enjoy it, the one I went on in Tromso was brilliant. You didn't even get to see Tromso!

I didn't like Bodo but looking at your photographs I missed the church which looks lovely.

If you were doing the trip again with your husband would you do the full trip or get off in Kirkenes?



I think I will have to look at prices for the Hurtigruten again for 2012.

hetismij, we survived to tell the tale so we just put it down as one of "those" travel experiences. But it can certainly ruin a holiday!

It was a very expensive trip and a long way to travel from Perth, Western Australia so we won't be doing it again. But the good memories out weigh the bad, sailing into Troll Fjord at midnight and being able to take photo's without using the flash, feeling like we could almost reach out and touch the sides, lots of positives.

Mind you we were sick to death of fish and the smell of fish from the restaurant by the time we arrived back!!

We did enjoy Bergen, especially the prawn sandwiches at the market. We had one full day before and 2 days after the journey. We did the Norway in a Nutshell day trip, Bergen to Bergen and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a different experience.

I would do the entire again (as long as I didn't get sick), lots of different things to see and sailing back into Bergen on a beautiful sunny day was a highlight.

Loved the photo of the red building (lighthouse?)-not finished looking at the photos yet. Very nice shots!

Thanks for the great trip report. Norway is on our "visit soon" short list and we are interested in the Hurtigruten cruises. One question for you, I am allergic to shellfish and usually stay away from the entire fish category. What did they have to offer on the buffets as an alternative, if any? Thanks for your help.

If you are allergic to something, or just don't plain like it tell them in advance and the chef will make something else for you.
I don't eat shellfish either, no allergy, just don't like them. The buffets are quite fish based but there is always meat available too. Likewise with the sit down dinners - once there was a mussel as part of a dish - I gave mine to my Dutch neighbour, and once there were shrimps for a starter. I just skipped the starter.
But better still is to make clear when you book so they cater for you from the get go. The Dutch woman who joined in Kirkenes is a vegetarian, and though she will (reluctantly) eat fish most days she was served delicious vegetarian meals.

For others concerned about this - the menu is put up on a notice board outside the dining room in the morning, before breakfast. If there is something on it you don't like then let the restaurant manager know and they will try and come up with an alternative for you, though it is not always possible.

I enjoyed your pictures and your report. However, I must admit that I was shivering as I read. I'm ready for spring here in New england. thanks!

Thanks for the info!

An entrancing report..and the photos even more so! Thank you.

I'm glad you all enjoyed it - I hope I have inspired some of you to give the Hurtigruten a try .

hetismij - thank you so much for writing this report! I am not sure I'll do the Hurtigruten this summer, but it's definitely an option. Fantastic photos and what a great experience.