The end of the voyage and heading back to Bergen

With only two more days to go on this fantastic voyage, we are drinking in and appreciating whatever sights we can gather in our memory banks.

There but for the grace of cod. These are very large drying racks for cod at Svolvaer.  The world's richest cod-fishing takes place every winter in Lofoten.  For nearly 1000 years, dried fish has been exported to Europe from here.  To preserve the fish, it is dried on these large drying racks.  It does not need to be salted or smoked, as the temperature in Lofoten in the winter is just below freezing.  The fish does not freeze into pieces, but it doesn't rot either and the birds cannot get a foothold on these racks the way they are laid out.  The fish simply dries in the sun and wind from late winter until spring.

The statue of a fisherman's wife at the end of the pier, presumably waving her man going off to sea to fish.

The boats in the little harbour of Svolvaer.

The chain of seven mountains that look so beautiful that local legend claims they are female trolls turned into stone - these are the Seven Sisters.  Apparently the seven mountain tops are so close that an experienced hiker can climb them all in a single day.  The Norwegian Trekking Association estimates that a fit walker should take just under 13 hours to complete the 27km hike, which includes a 3,225m altitude difference.  Stortinden, at 910m high is the easiest for less experienced hikers.

Our next stop was at Bronnoysund.  Not a noteworthy place but we had a short stroll around town.

A cute little island with a couple of houses on it just opposite where we berthed.

The church in town with the lovely dry-stone wall.

This plaque was to commemorate those who died during the WWII, either presumably killed in action or in battle.

This Jewish person was singled out for special mention as having died in Auschwitz.

Torghatten is a granite mountain on the island of Torget is known for its hole or natural tunnel through its center.  It is possible to walk up to the tunnel and through it, on a path.

We arrived back at Trondheim at 6:30am on the soutbound voyage which is not nearly as nice a time as the afternoon on the northbound.  Overall, we think the northbound voyage is our preferred one.  Except for one thing.  On the northbound the boat passes through the wonderful Trollfjord at night which doe snot allow oen to admire and appreciate it.

A pretty painted church.

The ice formed on the bridge.

The town of Kristiansund.  One of our last stops before Bergen.









And thus ends this great Hurtigruten boat trip.  We enjoyed every moment of it.  We are still sailing back to Bergen and will be there tomorrow morning. We have a day and a night in a hotel there but probably no more opportunity for lovely scenery and photos.

But here is a nice group photo of the pleasant people we chatted to and had drinks with some evenings. Two more Aussies (well Tasmania actually) and two Brits.

Rafsundet Strait and Trollfjord

Rafsundet Strait leads into the spectacular narrow fjord which is Trollfjord.  The 25km Rafsundet stretch is the main route for fast shipping between Lofoten and Vesteralen.

Here is a photo looking back to the beginning of the Trollfjord.  The length is 2.6km.  The fjord carves inwards and it is a very narrow fjord between Austvagoy and Hinnoya.  Sailing through it, you are  so close to the cliffs on either side that you can almost reach out and touch the mountainsides.  The captain sails the boat in to the narrow fjord merely to give us passengers the thrill and then he turns it around in this unique tight fjord to go out again.  It is actually very difficult to capture in any photo the narrowness as the big boat navigates it.

I managed to obtain these aerial photos of the Trollfjord which really show its spectacular beauty and one can fully appreciate the narrowness.

These two photos towards the end of the fjord attempt to show the narrowness but they do not really manage to capture it.

The boat is now turning around at the end of the fjord.

The white-tailed sea eagle is one of the main attractions in this area.  We saw one soaring high above in the sky at the mountain top above us.  There is an eagle safari excursion on offer but it is very late in the afternoon.  We were tempted but declined it as it finished very late on semi-dark and cold day. But people who braved the conditions generally enjoyed it.

In our most arctic gear with the end of the fjord behind us.  Andrew is wearing Ofer's (Oslo friend's) big, heavy and warm jacket but I could not resist buying a light, down-feather filled Norwegian jacket which folds up into to a small bag.  It will be my very useful and enjoyable Norwegian souvenir.

We are now heading out of the Trollfjord.

The beautiful scenery just continues

The southbound voyage is proving as beautiful as the northern route.

Seating for dinner is at an allocated table.  We had a not very nicely positioned one on the voyage north but the restaurant goddess promised an upgrade and at Kirkenes, where some passengers disembarked, we were upgraded to a window table.   These tables are highly sought after and at the free sitting lunch smorgasbord everyone makes a beeline for them.  Here we are enjoying the mountains glide by as we eat the lovely food we are served.

This small island has tiny fir trees growing on it.

Brief return to Tromso for a midnight concert

The Hurtigruten Line is still a fully functioning ferry which also carries passengers and cargo from one town to another up and down the Norwegian coast.   The company was founded in 1893 to operate on Norway's western and north coast between Bergen and Kirkenes.  Hurtigruten means "Express Route".  Of course it has vastly expanded from being a mere ferry service and according to Wikipedia, the company has nearly 2% of the worldwide cruise market.  The company has begun operations in other parts of the world.

So, bearing in mind that it is a ferry service, quite a few passengers, some with cars, embarked at Hammerfest for the ride to Tromso.  The fact that the airport was closed due to fog may also have been responsible for the fact that the 7th floor deck was for the first time, full of noisy children, something we had not experienced on this trip up until now.  We arrived at Tromso at 12:45pm instead of our northbound daytime stop.  We joined the excursion to a midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral.

The Cathedral at night. 

The stain glass window.

The concert, especially put on for the Hurtigruten group by a trio of professional musicians, was a delight.  The acoustics of the cathedral are wondrous and the superb voices of the two sopranos thrilled us.  The program was Scandic folk songs, mostly Norwegian with one Finnish and one a Sami yoik.

The concert was very well attended and rightly so.  We had a wonderful hour of superb singing accompanied by flute and piano.  One of the singers was also the flautist.  The first two songs were accompanied by the organ and the singers sang on the back balcony with their lovely voices floating downwards.  It was quite an unforgettable experience.

Hammerfest

This town has the distinction of being the most northern town in Norway and probably in all of Europe.  There are other Norwegian communities further north, but Hammerfest vigorously argues they are too small to qualify as towns.

We stopped here for an hour an a half which was more than enough time to take in all the sights.

Hammerfest Kirke, the church that was consecrated in 1961.  It was designed to symbolise the large racks used to dry and preserve the arctic char caught in nearby waters.

The church from higher up, from the lookout point.

Stain glass windows inside.

The incongruously named Royal & Ancient Polar Bear Society to which entrance is free.  It dedicates itself to the preservation of northern culture and it has great exhibits not only of polar bears but other photos, stories and exhibits concerning hunting and life in the arctic and the many creatures living there.

The colourful music rotunda.

Mural depicting rap dancers on one of the city buildings.

On the way to Hammerfest, the boat sailed past the large gas plant at Melkoya Island. The gas is piped in directly along the ocean bed and then compressed and liquefied here.  Ongoing natural gas exploration off the coast here has brought a lot of energy-types to the town, which is turn has caused hotel rates to rise prohibitively in laid-back Hammerfest.