Day 9
We arrived in Tromsø just before midnight and those of us who were going to the Midnight Concert in the Arctic Cathedral headed off on a coach. We could see it all lit up in a blue light on other side of strait linked to the island of Tromsoya by a long and elegant bridge. The cathedral was completed in 1965 and, like a lot of churches here, is triangular in shape. Inside it has A large triangular stained glass window and at the other end organ pipes. Otherwise in true Scandinavian style minimal decoration.
The performers were a singer, flautist and a piano player. Their performance was absolutely beautiful, the acoustics in the cathedral were amazing the singer's voice soared throughout the building and gave me goosebumps. The music was a mixture of traditional, classical and they finished off with Auld Langs Syne which brought a tear to my eye! Absolutely loved the concert and would recommend anyone to go to it.
We got back to the ship at about 1.15am and the Nordnorge soon set sail once more. I stood on deck as we left the city watching the lights slip away into the darkness. Tromsø was like being back in civilisation once more even though we were still well above the Arctic Circle. It was a city I always wanted to visit and it looked lovely and I would love to visit it again but in day light!
Next day we were sailing south passing through stunningly beautiful landscape towards the Lofoten Islands, I love the easy going life of this ship and what views we had!
Later we had a talk on the history of the Hurtigruten shipping line. In the 1890's it took mail many weeks to reach Hammerfest from Trondheim. A tender was put out for a service that could provide faster services to the coastal communities. Richard With, a very experienced captain, accepted the challenge and did the route in just 67 hours. He named the shipping company he set up Hurtigruten which translates as the "fast route".
We arrived in Stokmarnes and had time to leave the ship and visit the nearby Hurtigruten Museum. The ground was like an ice rink and a couple of people fell. We managed to get there in one piece and it was a fascinating place to look around. Outside, and also part of the museum, (you could go into it) was an old ship Finnmarken, it looked really impressive. Afterwards we gingerly made our way over the ice again to the ship and made it there in one piece!
There was a meet up on the deck later for hot chocolate and brandy as we went into the entrance of Trollfjord and the spotlights lit up the massive sheer sides of the fjord. It seemed strange but nice drinking the yummy drink out of special Trollfjord mugs (which you could buy - we did) while Abba was singing Dancing Queen and everyone chatting at the mouth of the fjord. Afterwards the ship made its way through the Lofoten Islands. The only downside was it was dark so we couldn't see the beautiful scenery we knew was there.
Our next stop was at Svolvaer, where we'd been soaked to the skin on the way north! This time we went on a tour to look at the huts and A-frames used by fishermen in the past. We were taken by bus a short distance and walked to a large A-frame or hjell as they are called in Norway. These frames were and still are used to dry cod, it is hung on the frames and dries out naturally in the cold, dry air for three months. The end result is called stockfish and can be stored for years. Stockfish is Norway's oldest export and today big importers of the fish are African nations and Italy.
We then went into a small wooden hut that had all the things in it that would have been there when it was in use. Up to 15 men lived in the small space there during the fishing season. As we entered the hut a man had a bowl full of dried stockfish and offered us some. It was brown and tough as old boots, after trying the soften it in my mouth for ten minutes I gave up and spat it into a hankie and put it into my bag (next morning my bag stunk of it and it took ages to disperse lol!) We had a talk about the lives and work of the fishermen and boy they had a hard life!
After that we went to the Gunnar Berg Gallery which was very close by. Berg was born in Svolvaer, trained in Germany and lived much of his life there. But he came home to Lofoten during the fishing season and painted many paintings of the landscape, fishing fleets and day to day life of the area. His paintings were beautiful, he was only 30 when he died, it makes you wonder what else he could have produced had he lived longer.
We then went to visit a small hotel that has a shop beside its reception that is preserved from around 100 years ago. Fascinating to look around. And if I remember rightly it was owned by Berg family members.
We had the best cod I have ever had for our evening meal, huge tasty flakes steamed in a white sauce, beautiful! Good to have fish not in batter or breadcrumbs. The food on this ship is fantastic and healthy. Lots of fish (but also lots of other things for people who don't care for fish), hardly anything fried, chips never served once, tasty potatoes, and lots of delicious berries in the desserts, sauces you could put over desserts and also sometimes with the main course. Loved it!
We'd had a busy day so just spent the evening relaxing in our favourite lounge, drinking the expensive wine, very slowly lol! Really enjoyed the day though and was beginning to get sad that the end of the trip was not very far off.
We arrived in Tromsø just before midnight and those of us who were going to the Midnight Concert in the Arctic Cathedral headed off on a coach. We could see it all lit up in a blue light on other side of strait linked to the island of Tromsoya by a long and elegant bridge. The cathedral was completed in 1965 and, like a lot of churches here, is triangular in shape. Inside it has A large triangular stained glass window and at the other end organ pipes. Otherwise in true Scandinavian style minimal decoration.
 |
| The Arctic Cathedral |
We got back to the ship at about 1.15am and the Nordnorge soon set sail once more. I stood on deck as we left the city watching the lights slip away into the darkness. Tromsø was like being back in civilisation once more even though we were still well above the Arctic Circle. It was a city I always wanted to visit and it looked lovely and I would love to visit it again but in day light!
Next day we were sailing south passing through stunningly beautiful landscape towards the Lofoten Islands, I love the easy going life of this ship and what views we had!
Later we had a talk on the history of the Hurtigruten shipping line. In the 1890's it took mail many weeks to reach Hammerfest from Trondheim. A tender was put out for a service that could provide faster services to the coastal communities. Richard With, a very experienced captain, accepted the challenge and did the route in just 67 hours. He named the shipping company he set up Hurtigruten which translates as the "fast route".We arrived in Stokmarnes and had time to leave the ship and visit the nearby Hurtigruten Museum. The ground was like an ice rink and a couple of people fell. We managed to get there in one piece and it was a fascinating place to look around. Outside, and also part of the museum, (you could go into it) was an old ship Finnmarken, it looked really impressive. Afterwards we gingerly made our way over the ice again to the ship and made it there in one piece!
 |
| The Finnmarken part of the Hurtigruten Museum in Stokmarnes |
There was a meet up on the deck later for hot chocolate and brandy as we went into the entrance of Trollfjord and the spotlights lit up the massive sheer sides of the fjord. It seemed strange but nice drinking the yummy drink out of special Trollfjord mugs (which you could buy - we did) while Abba was singing Dancing Queen and everyone chatting at the mouth of the fjord. Afterwards the ship made its way through the Lofoten Islands. The only downside was it was dark so we couldn't see the beautiful scenery we knew was there.
Our next stop was at Svolvaer, where we'd been soaked to the skin on the way north! This time we went on a tour to look at the huts and A-frames used by fishermen in the past. We were taken by bus a short distance and walked to a large A-frame or hjell as they are called in Norway. These frames were and still are used to dry cod, it is hung on the frames and dries out naturally in the cold, dry air for three months. The end result is called stockfish and can be stored for years. Stockfish is Norway's oldest export and today big importers of the fish are African nations and Italy.
 |
| Hjell on which cod is hung to dehydrate and so preserve for many years |
After that we went to the Gunnar Berg Gallery which was very close by. Berg was born in Svolvaer, trained in Germany and lived much of his life there. But he came home to Lofoten during the fishing season and painted many paintings of the landscape, fishing fleets and day to day life of the area. His paintings were beautiful, he was only 30 when he died, it makes you wonder what else he could have produced had he lived longer.
We then went to visit a small hotel that has a shop beside its reception that is preserved from around 100 years ago. Fascinating to look around. And if I remember rightly it was owned by Berg family members.
We had the best cod I have ever had for our evening meal, huge tasty flakes steamed in a white sauce, beautiful! Good to have fish not in batter or breadcrumbs. The food on this ship is fantastic and healthy. Lots of fish (but also lots of other things for people who don't care for fish), hardly anything fried, chips never served once, tasty potatoes, and lots of delicious berries in the desserts, sauces you could put over desserts and also sometimes with the main course. Loved it!
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