Norway 1

What is an adventure?  Some would say that all of life every day qualifies as an adventure as there are no guarantees even in our most regular activities.  I tend to reserve the term for those activities which or new to me or very outside my regular routines.  In this context, our flight from Stockholm to Bergen in Norway marked the beginning of our latest adventure.

Bergen is a different city -- second largest in Norway at 250,000 inhabitants.  It has a crescent shape around a bay with the oldest part of the city at the center which also houses the old port facilities.  The Bryggen district has buildings dating back to the 900s and some of them certainly look it.  We had about 24 hours in Bergen and will get a chance to explore it further after our cruise.

On Tuesday afternoon, we deposited our luggage, them checked in and finally boarded the Kong Harald boat of the Hurtigruten fleet.  Their ships have been cruising the length of Norway's fjord coast for 125 years, being the mail, passenger and goods delivery system to the far north.  We chose their cruise as it would sail the full length of the coast, all the way over the top and to Kirkenes which is 10 km from the Russian border.  It is a 12 day cruise (including the return to Bergen) and we are guaranteed to see Northern Lights, or we get a free cruise.  Hurtigruten prides itself in the authentic Norwegian experience in terms of food, lectures and excursions.The Norwegian fjord cruise is Ian's 60th birthday wish.

We departed Bergen at 22:30 after a wonderful buffet meal.  There was fish of all kind, reindeer and lamb and beef and cheeses aplenty.  Successful for all tastes.  The ship can accommodate 590 passengers and so is much smaller than the 3500 people apartment buildings that parked themselves outside our window in Ponta Delgada last month.  Level 5 deck is the 'walk around the ship' deck.  One circuit is 250m.  Level 5 is also our cabin deck and the rescue assembly deck.  Convenient!

After dinner there was a presentation of Frilufsliv -- the Norwegian passion for the outdoors.  It's about as close to a national philosophy as one gets.  It is supported by the education system starting with the youngest children.  Even the law allows anyone to camp on any land a few nights, whether it belongs to them or not.  And Nature is always close at hand. 

Our cabin has a window (nice) and two comfortable beds.  Both are fold down and can be stowed during the day for convenience and extra sitting space.  There are sufficient plugs and storage spaces, i.e. an efficient and satisfactory room.  I slept very well.  Ian did hear some of the noises of our dockings during the night.

Each day there is one stop where the ship will spend a few hours in dock.  Today that was Alesund.  There are numerous excursions possible through the cruise company and we had booked the Art Nouveau walk.  Alesund was 85% burned to the ground in 1905 during a January night.  Rebuilding started almost immediately and since it was just at the time of the Norwegian independence from Sweden, it became the embodiment of the new nationalism.  Architects from all over Europe flocked to Alesund bringing with them the clean lines of the Art Nouveau style and marrying it to the Norse symbols which were the artistic expression of the new country.  The building was in stone and in many cases used the beautiful granite of the area.  Carved rock figures and norse designs abound on the streets of the planned city.

It has rained most of the day, but that doesn't stop the locals -- or us.  There is a lot of wet gear drying in the room, but I was warm and dry the whole trip. 

It has started as a very interesting and enjoyable adventure!