After our Midnight concert, we were pretty tired (we are so wild and crazy!).  Frank got up for breakfast, while I burrowed back under the covers.  Thankfully we have no excursions today – a nice day to sit around and enjoy the view.

And what a view it was!

We were sailing through the famous Lofoten Islands, with huge snow-capped mountains, little islands (skerries), isolated houses here and there, and remote fishing villages known world-wide for codfish.

The highlight was a very narrow fjord – Trollfjord. The captain said we could sail up it only if the weather was good.  Since it was very foggy and misty, we weren’t sure.  But the wind was low, so ok.

We navigated right between two mountains, spun around, and sailed back out – like threading a needle. Everyone clapped.

Magic Ice

We got off the boat in a town called Svolvaer, where Frank and I had an aperitivo at the local Ice Bar – Magic Ice.

They have a gallery of ice carvings by Lithuanian artists, who come each year and refresh the tables and sculptures.

The bar is kept at about 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so we grabbed ponchos and explored.

We even had a cocktail – in an ice glass!

Tonight’s Menu

The Lofoten Islands are famous for their cod fishing. They dry cod on these racks and preserve for winter.  They also eat all parts of the cod – even the tongue!

So tonight’s menu featured . . .  lots of cod!

Cod tongue – bigger than you would think – kind of creamy like escargot

Stockfish – dried cod made into a casserole

Local lamb

We had a great night’s sleep on the Hurtigruten – stopping 5 times, but we slept right through it!

There are 8 stops today, ranging from 5 minutes to 2 hours.

People continue to cycle on and off.

Those who are staying onboard a short time can either book a cabin (even for 1 night) or just hang out in the lounges.

There are all kinds of places to sit – with great views –  although it can get a bit crowded between popular stops.

Some seating areas are even outside with heat lamps.

Docking is pretty interesting.  We usually have to enter a pretty narrow basin and then spin around to dock on our port side.  From the Promenade Deck, you can watch the maneuverings of the bridge:

And also watch as they lower the gangway (for people and cars).

Our first outing off the ship was in Hammerfest (2 hours), which claims to be the most northern city (of any real size) in the world.   We disembarked to explore.

Hammerfest is also is the home to the Ancient Polar Bear Society and museum.

It was traditionally a jumping-off point for expeditions to the Arctic to hunt polar bears, and polar bears had been known to roam the streets back in the day.  They are mad about polar bears!

Midnight Sun

Then we had to keep ourselves awake because our next outing wasn’t until MIDNIGHT!

At 11:45 pm, we docked at Tromso, where they have a famous Arctic Cathedral with a magnificent wall of stained glass. During the summer, the Midnight Sun steams through, and they hold concerts to celebrate the light.

We filed in, and a solo baritone voice from the balcony started with a Norwegian folk song – then joined by cello and organ.  It was almost spooky hearing these words of my ancestors in such a special place.

They played/sang traditional and classical pieces with a Norwegian connection and then ended very quietly with “Amazing Grace,” which swelled with the cello on the last verse. I was in tears and could feel my family – one by one (from both sides) – all around me whispering.  I was so moved that couldn’t talk the whole way back.  What a night.

Today’s Menu:

Salmon Pastrami

Local Beef

DUGA Bygg Crème – similar to rice pudding, made with cereal from 12 select farmers

Note: The days on the Hurtigruten are counted starting in Bergen. Since we are boarding at Kirkenes (half-way through), we are boarding on Day 7.  (This is good to know to keep track of where we are!)

We boarded the Hurtigruten and found our cabin – #616.

I had studied the deck plans and online pictures of cabins, which can be quite small (more like a train compartment) and happened upon a “suite” that had an obstructed view – so it had extra room, but a lifeboat in front of the window.  Consequently, it was classified as a plain old outside cabin and a lot cheaper.   I figured that was a good trade-off.

Well – we were delighted to find that our cabin has 2 windows.

One fully obstructed, but the other only partially.  So we have the best of both worlds.

Our cabin is very roomy with lots of closet space, a king-size bed, and sitting area.

There is even a curtain to separate the areas, so when Frank takes a nap or watches World Cup, I can pull the curtain and have my own little room.

And even tea-making facilities – perfect for me!

Table #15

There are a few dining options aboard the Hurtigruten.

The main dining room is included in the price – an open-seating buffet for breakfast and lunch – which is gigantic with a wide range of choices and very good.

For supper, which is a 3-course set menu, we have an assigned time and table.  There are no choices like on regular cruise ships, but they post the dinner menu at lunch, so if you don’t care for an item, you can ask for something else.

There is also an a la carte bistro with pizza, salads, and sandwiches (pay extra) –

A bakery with specialty coffees, pastries, and gelato (also extra, except for regular coffee and tea) –

And a fancy restaurant that you have to reserve – also extra – but the food is so good in the main dining room, we haven’t seen many people eat there.

We found our table for the 19:30 (7:30 pm) seating and met our tablemates – a couple from California, who have traveled all over the world – and a couple from England – who often visit family in Chevy Chase, Maryland, right down the road from us!  We have all hit it off.

The dining room is famous for using local ingredients the chef picks up at stops along the way.  They pride themselves on the fact that nothing is frozen.  The meals are intended to reflect the culture of the area.

Our meal tonight celebrated the Laplanders – the Sami people who were the original Norwegians.

Today’s Menu:

Soused Herring

Reindeer Steak – Delicious!

Waffle with Pickled Rhubarb

Lonely Planet describes our next adventure:

“So much more than a means of getting around, the iconic Hurtigruten coastal ferry takes you on one of the most spectacular coastal journeys anywhere on earth.”

Today we board the Hurtigruten mailboat, the daily ferry that sails up and down the western coast of Norway.  Eleven Hurtigruten ships are constantly plying the waters year-round up and back between Bergen and Kirkenes.  Thanks to the Gulf Stream, these waters don’t freeze in winter.

It takes about a week to sail from Bergen, in the South, to Kirkenes, at the Far North Russian Border, stopping at 34 towns along the way.  We are taking the boat South.

This coastal steamer route was started in 1893 and is how locals get mail and supplies.  They also use the ferry to get from town to town, even bringing their cars aboard.  But there also are cabins for those of us who just want to spend some time and sightsee.

Our ship is called NordNorge (Northern Norway).  The passengers are mainly German, Italian, French, and Norwegian – with a handful of Aussies, Brits, and Americans thrown in (we have only met 3 other Americans).

Unlike a regular cruise ship, there are no casinos or shows – other than lectures about Norway and what we are seeing.  And there are run-of-the-mill ferry passengers camped out here and there who are just hopping to the next town.  When we boarded, a school group was getting on as part of their year-end field trip.  They were as excited as we were.  Then they got off at the first stop – their parents meeting them on the quay.

For check in, we just walked up the gangway with about a dozen other folks.

They gave us a ferry schedule to keep track – the boat stops all day and night long – some places just a few minutes, some a little longer.  We are welcome to get off and on as we please – and visitors are welcome to come on while in port.  The whistle gives a 5-minute warning to get back onboard and for visitors to disembark.

We also have a detailed map and guidebook to follow along.

I will blog about each day – partly so we can remember, but also in case anyone else is interested in the Hurtigruten – you can get a real sense of life onboard.

We’ll show you our cabin in tomorrow’s blog!

Today, Frank and I got to try our hand out King Crab fishing – just like on “Deadliest Catch.”  Well, maybe not JUST like that, but we DID catch (and eat!) a lot of crab!

[Warning: LOTS of pictures!!]

I knew we were in for a cool experience when they handed out the thermal suits . . .

Our boat was a shallow river boat, so we could navigate deep waters as well as rocky shallow places, with slats to hold us in place as we bounced along.

We suited up, climbed aboard, and were off.

Our group, Barents Safari, has a few crab traps that are licensed for tourists to catch.

We pulled up to one set of markers, and the crew reeled in the line.

They then used a pulley system to haul up the trap. It looked VERY heavy.

And we could see why – LOTS and LOTS of crabs!

They measure them, throwing the small ones back, and even passed them around for us to hold.

Frank has a tradition that you have to kiss the first fish or crab you catch –

The crew re-baited the trap with cod and lowered it back for later.

We did this twice and ended up with 24 giant King Crabs!

Then we sailed up the fjord directly to the Russian border (literally) to our own “crab house.”

The tee pee serves as the cooking hut.

While our crabs were steaming, our guide, Hans, took us to the border – which is half-way between these two posts.

We did NOT cross – there are cameras and agents watching, and you will face a huge fine if you stick one finger over. But was fun to see.

Then we sat down to feast – as many king crab legs as we could possibly want. Yum!

And ingeniously – heavy-duty scissors to cut them open!

We made our way back down the fjord with the sun on our faces and our bellies full of crab –  VERY content indeed.

We are starting the next leg of our adventure. We have flown to the northernmost point in Norway, where we will catch the Hurtigruten mailboat and ferry-hop down the coast.

But first – we have a few days in Kirkenes – literally at the top of the world. We are 4 miles from Russia, 22 miles from Finland, and father east than Cairo – smack dab on the Barents Sea.

We are so far North that the sun “sets” at midnight and rises at 1 am.

Here are pictures I took from our hotel window when I woke up at 3:30 am (!) –

This is a big fishing town, with King Crab fleets plying the waters bearing both Norwegian and Russian flags – I guess so they don’t worry about boundaries.

Huge crab traps line the water – like from “Deadliest Catch.”  We walked around amazed.

Tomorrow – WE are going to become crab fisherman and join them!!

Stay tuned!

Probably our very favorite day in Oslo was just a normal, ordinary day.  I’m writing about it because it just makes me happy, and I want to remember it.

While we’ve had great weather for the most part, this day was rainy and chilly.  Perfect to take a day off and just live like an Oslo-ite.

I spent the morning with a cup of tea at my mobile office.

We took a walk I the rain.

To lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. We first discovered Eataly in Florence – it was just the little grocery store around the corner from our apartment.  We were surprised when we discovered they were actually a tiny outpost of a huge New York emporium (which we have visited and loved).  So we were delighted to happen upon the Oslo version!

And then whiled away the afternoon at the local bakery/coffeehouse.  When I am working, Frank makes his daily rounds and has his regular espresso here each morning, so he wanted to show me.

Normally a tea drinker, I had my first cappuccino (and loved it!).

Our time in Oslo is coming to an end. We have loved this city.  It is just easy and fun to be here.

Next we are heading WAY up north – above the Arctic Circle!

P.S. The castle above is Akershuss Slott – which is across the water from us – and the inspiration for the castle in Frozen –can you see the resemblance?

My favorite thing to do on a trip is find a site or restaurant that is truly off the beaten path.  I scour guidebooks, study TripAdvisor, and check out local suggestions.  It is fun to get away from the tourist buses and go where the locals go.

And today we did just that- to a little seafood house on an island owned by the local sailing club – just like our own Eastport Yacht Club back home.

I had read a mere mention of this place in a guidebook and sounded intriguing, so I looked up their website – all in Norwegian.  Undaunted, I copied it over to Google Translate.  And was hooked.

But the catch was – since the restaurant was located on an island, they had to pick you up by boat, which, from my Google Translate, appeared to be on the half-hour.  However, since the instructions were in Norwegian, I was a little unclear how this would work.

I told Frank, “Follow me – I have an idea.”

He did, but I’m sure was skeptical.

This is where the road led:

As we sat on the dock – all alone – I admit to being a little nervous this wasn’t going to work out either.

But sure enough, on the half-hour, a little boat pulled up.

And we hopped onboard.

And found the most charming place. It is a local yacht club – with the small boats an all – just like Eastport.

And they open their clubhouse to those who are lucky enough to find their way to the little island.

Although the front row is reserved for members.

We seriously had the best meal we’ve had in Norway at this little out-of-the-way spot – fish soup, grilled trout, and strawberry crumble.

Sometimes it pays to forge your own path!

To narrow down all the sightseeing options in Oslo, Frank and I each made our #1 choices.  His was the Viking Museum (yesterday’s blog).

My first choice was the Fram Museum, which holds the actual ship (named “Fram”) that Roald Amundsen sailed to the Arctic and Antarctic.

I had learned all about Amundsen on my Antarctica trip so couldn’t believe I could see the actual ship.

In 1910, Amundsen sailed the Fram north in an effort to become the first explorer to reach the North Pole.  En route, he learned that someone had beaten him to it, so he just turned the ship around and headed for the South Pole instead.

Admiral Scott from England also was headed that way, so the race was on!

Norway got there first, proudly planted the Norwegian flag, and began their return home.

Thirty-three days later, Scott’s party arrived, only to see the Norwegian flag already there.  Disappointed, they headed back to their base camp but experienced extreme arctic conditions and died in their tents after writing messages to the world encouraging future exploration.  (These were found by a search party that was assembled when Scott’s party failed to return.)

Not only could we see the ship, we could board it-

And even go below – here’s the dining room and Captain’s cabin –

Way cool – no pun intended!!  : )

Oslo has more museums than you can possibly see in a short visit – unless you are very dedicated.   Art, Vikings, History, Culture – they have it all!

We aren’t quite that dedicated and subscribe to one of my mother’s favorite sayings – “Just because it is there doesn’t mean you have to see it.”  This is a perfect mantra because it lets you off the hook when you really just want to skip the museum and go to lunch.

She also created our favorite approach to sightseeing.  We each get to select our #1 choice and everyone has to go along with it and be happy about it.  So everyone gets to do their first choice, plus a few others.

But what to choose . . . .

We first did the Hop On Bus to get the lay of the land – definitely touristy, but very useful (and fun).

Then decided on our #1 selections.

Frank’s First Choice

Frank chose the Viking Museum.

We had to take a ferry to get there, which was part of the fun.

The museum has 3 Viking ships dating to the 9^th century that were uncovered in the early 1900s.

Vikings buried important people in their ships, along with things they would need for the after-life (including servants).  So all of this was very well preserved, considering they are over 1,000 years old!

I thought the most interesting part was that the ocean-going ship had holes for the oars (you can see above), which had covers the Vikings could slide over them for when they were under sail (very smart) – and they could go 12 knots!

Tomorrow:  Christy’s First Choice