The End of the Line

We reached our furthest destination today when we arrived in Kirkenes, which is a city that sits nearly on the Russian border.  We purchased a three-hour tour to go right up to the border and do some sight seeing around the area, but once we arrived, I started thinking about that three hours on the bus.  I just couldn’t do it.  I didn’t even care we couldn’t get a refund, I just knew I didn’t want to be shuttled from a ship with several hundred people, on to a bus with several dozen people.  I’m already feeling cramped enough as it is.  So Kory and I opted out and just walked the 15 minutes into the heart of town to see what there was to see.

I must say, we’ve passed some pretty cute little villages along the way up here (see photo above), but this town wouldn’t be one of them.  It’s a very rough looking working town where everyone here is just here for their jobs at sea and no one apparently has time to make their homes or the town look inviting.  Even the few sidewalks we walked on were scraped almost down to nothing from the snowplows that run most of the year.  In the heart of town, clumps of salt still sat along the storefronts.  I’m sure they were salting the sidewalks just weeks ago, as it was pretty chilly today even.

Kory stopped and talked to a local who was cutting his grass.  It was surprising there was even any grass to cut, but Kirkenes does lie much further south than the North Cape, as we’ve rounded the top of Norway now and headed south for a whole day to get here.  The guy paused for a minute then said he has to cut his grass about four months out of the year.  Kory was surprised and said, “Really?  That long?”  And the guy responded with, “Well, maybe three months.”  The rest of the time he’s shoveling snow.  Brrr.

We found a thrift store in the heart of the city and gladly spent a few bucks there buying some handmade items from Russian and a few more pewter treasures.  Most of the people in this town are Russian and all the signs are in Norwegian and Russian.  Maybe not surprisingly, the only grocery store in town is allowed to sell hard alcohol. It’s the only place in all of Norway THAT is allowed. I’m sure they use it as a personal anti-freeze device.

While we were walking around town I still felt like I was on the ferry, as I got a bad case of vertigo or sea legs or something.  I was wobbling all over the place, which was a new experience for me.  It was hard to stand in one spot, but it was better if I kept moving. 

We enjoyed our time off the ship as Kory bought himself some wool slippers in a handmade store, and some dried cod in the grocery store.  We talked to the others after we got back on board and they had all gone on tours but it seems like maybe we made the best choice.

On the way back to the ship, I cut across an empty field, rather than walk the paved road.  There was an Arctic Tern that wasn’t happy at all with my decision.  I was dive bombed at least thirty times in just a few minutes.  I sat my camera on my head just so she wouldn’t pull out my hair, as she was going for blood.  I wished I could have taken a photo of her attack, as it was pretty funny, until she pooped all over me and my camera, my coat, my cheek, my hair.  I guess that was even funnier.  Boy was she ticked so I obviously came too close to her nest.  I was laughing hysterically when I came back to the room.  Kory had missed the whole thing as he’d rushed ahead of me to use the toilet.  If someone would have videoed that, I’m sure it could have won a prize as it was quite the sight.  So that ended up being my big excitement for the day.

We had another hour-long stop later this afternoon at Vardø, a city that has the most northern fort.  The fort was built in 1763, so we walked around there for a while, snapping a few photos and enjoying the time off the ship again.  It’s very cold up here, but at least it hasn’t been raining.  If anything, I’m sure it would be snow coming down as it’s got to be close to freezing outside.

Tonight on the top deck they had a demonstration of the different sea life that can live in these Arctic temperatures.  They set up various aquariums with live samples of the sea life, but most people were huddled inside, looking out the window and listening to the lecture.  It was pretty interesting.  Last night’s talk was a local fisherman showing people how to cut the tongue out of the Torsk fish (cod) because Torsk tongue is a delicacy in Norway and he was sure everyone would want to develop that skill.  No thanks.  It was offered for dinner last night, but I opted out.  As I did tonight, with the Reindeer sausage and steaks on the menu.  I’m not much on adventures in eating.

I finally finished my Israel photo book tonight.  While I was in the room working on it, I turned on the TV just in time to see the beginning of a new TV show that is running non stop for the next 12 days.  Coincidentally, it’s live streaming of a journey on the Hurtigruten Coastal Ferry all the way up the coast of Norway and back down again.  Obviously it’s a different ship than the one we are on, but we should be passing it while we head south and they head north.  They are calling it “Minute by minute, Hurtigruten” and everyone in Norway is so excited it’s going to be broadcast on TV.  I heard a lot of talk about it prior to tonight as many people only dream of taking this trip, and now they can, virtually, through their TV.   It looks like Bergen has a little better weather down south than we do up here as we are socked in again with gray skies and low clouds, but we aren’t missing much so I’m not complaining.  I can just flip on the TV now and see a whole different view.

I was finally able to get an internet connection today for just a few minutes at a time when we were docked in various ports.  I was glad for that as I’m feeling kinda isolated up here in the far north.  I also got a telephone signal and called Kaleb.  He’s doing great and doesn’t sound nearly as weary as I feel.  Tomorrow we stop for 90 minutes in Hammerfest, the town where Kory’s parents met, so that’s about the only thing left to look forward to – except arriving back home in Aalesund.  I’m homesick something terrible!

The North Cape

We all had a big outing today to the North Cape.  Our ship came in to Honningsvaag just before noon where we had a three-hour stop.  It was enough time to hop on a bus and travel the 35 kilometers due north on the only road on the island.  The end of the road is the only reason anyone would want to be here – to see the North Cape.  It’s the farthest north one can go on this entire continent.  It’s 71 degrees north, and it was 53 degrees warm with a strong wind blowing that made it feel below zero.

The visitor’s center at the North Cape is most impressive and we could have spent more time there than we did.  I took the time to write a postcard home to Kaleb and we, of course, took several pictures.  We were told by all the employees just how incredibly lucky we were today to have blue skies, as it’s a rare thing in those parts.  I guess if we had to suffer through so much rain getting up this far north, it was worth it to have this one day be sunny.  Otherwise it’s not really possible to see anything, as the tip of this far north country is usually covered in a thick fog and all they can offer is photographs of sunny days so people know what they are supposed to be seeing.  Today just couldn’t have been any better.  It was so worth the extra cost to go on that excursion.

On the way up we saw lots of reindeer and had a ten-minute stop at a Sami camp to take photos of the locals, see reindeer up close and personal, and buy homemade souvenirs.  They were cheaper than in any stores, so it was a good outing.  I bought a few things made of reindeer hide and later in town I bought some reindeer antlers for just three bucks.  Such a deal.

The landscape this far north is pretty much just rock, although our guide said there are over 200 different plants growing on the island.  Hard to believe.  There wasn’t a tree to be seen anywhere.  All the houses look like Monopoly houses with just four basic walls and a roof.  We found out it was because the Germans had a “scorched ground” policy during WWII so every single city this far north was wiped out.  After the war, they basically just used one floor plan in order to build up the houses again in a hurry.  To make up for the “sameness” everyone has, they actually paint their houses different colors, which is not like the rest of Norway, so some people really enjoy the small villages in the north because they are so colorful.  But how people can live here year round is really a mystery.   Talk about remote! 

The winters this far north aren’t as cold as they are in Alaska because of the Gulf Stream coming up and keeping things fairly warm.  The highs are in the 50s in the summer, but the lows are only in the 20s, so it’s not that much of a range difference, unless a strong wind blows and brings in a chill factor – which we had some of today.

The tour guide told us a few months ago a terrible storm came in while the buses were heading from Hurtigruten (the ferry) up to the North Cape visitor’s center.  She said the road there is always closed in winter, expect to the tourists on the ferry, and the busses must travel together, right behind the snow plow.  She said it’s more like traveling in a tunnel since the snow banks on either side are so high.  But just this winter a huge wind came up and knocked three of the buses over on their sides.  Because everyone had on their seatbelts, no one was hurt, but they had to evacuate all the tourists and get them to the visitor’s center in a hurry.  They were stuck there for eleven hours until the wind died down and the other three busses could get everyone back to the boat.  The storm was so terrible the ferry couldn’t continue on it’s journey to the ends of Norway, so it had to turn around and head back south and give everyone a refund.  Glad our trip isn’t full of those kinds of unexpected events.  So far it’s just been smooth sailing.

Kory started on a new picture today of a fish seller we saw yesterday in Tromsø and I am now nearly done with the photobook of Israel.  Kaleb is at a birthday party this evening for his pal, Daniel.  We called him today from the North Cape – weird that we could even do that – and he was happily anticipating the birthday party tonight so his thoughts were on anything but us.  I so wish he could have transported him somehow to this North Cape today so he could have experienced it with us.  I’m already regretting that he wasn’t along.

The internet signal on the ship and in the towns where we have docked has been horrible, so I haven’t been able to get on the internet all day and am going through withdrawals.  I need to go to sleep early so I don’t start obsessing about it.  Even the TV signal froze in our rooms, which I guess is something we should expect this far north where for most of the year, EVERYTHING is frozen.  Glad we arrived in June.

Tromsø Day

I was shocked to see I’d slept in until eight this morning.  I don’t think I’ve slept in that late since I’ve been in Norway.  It’s nice having a room with no window.  One channel on the TV shows the view from the camera in the front of the boat, so it only takes a second to find out if it’s sunny or not, but telling day from night isn’t possible now since we have entered the land of the midnight sun.  I have to force myself to go to sleep.

They served pancakes with blueberry jam this morning for breakfast.  We were sitting with Tante Aslaug and her roommate, Liv, a wonderful woman from the Philadelphia Church.  I dropped a bit of the blueberry jam on my light blue shirt, and Tante Aslaug moaned, knowing that blueberry stains are nearly impossible to get out of clothes.  Liv piped up and said, “Well, now you have a memory from Harstad” (the city we were near at the time.)  I thought that was a funny way of looking at it.  No need to buy souvenirs from that town, I guess.

After breakfast “King Neptune” arrived on the top deck to present the winner of the Arctic Circle competition a gift.  Along with receiving his free backpack with the Hurtigruten logo, he got “baptized” by having a scooper full of ice cubes and cold water poured down his back.  As compensation for the deed, he was given some kind of hard liquor to drink as a celebration of his entrance to the North Sea.  Any others that wanted to have a stiff drink early in the morning, had to undergo the same treatment, so people were lined up like crazy getting their backsides drenched with ice cubes and cold water. 

I could see that Stuart really wanted a sip of something stronger than coffee, so I stood in line and took the hit for him.  I got the water, he got the booze.  I’m not sure it was the best thing for his diabetes but he sure enjoyed the experience much more than I did.  Fortunately, the sun was shining and I just laid on the back deck and dried off, and fell asleep.  How that’s possible, I don’t know, but I was snoring something good.  So was Kory.

Our big stop for the day was in Tromsø, the largest city in Northern Norway and quite a bit larger than our town of Aalesund (see above photo of the State Church).  I asked ahead where the thrift stores were and was given rough directions, which turned out to be almost correct.  Because we speak Norwegian, we were able to ask more directly once we got in town, but Stu and Judy weren’t keeping the same pace as Kory and I so they got the whole run around.  I’d given them the map the receptionist office on the ship gave me.  They wrote the word FRETEX on it, which is what the Norwegian’s call “Salvation Army.”  When they encountered the same problem we did with the directions, they asked a kid about Kaleb’s age if he knew where the “Salvation Army” was.  He left his friends behind and kindly guided them way across town to the Army surplus store.  They got a good laugh about it afterwards. 

So Stu and Judy spent most of their afternoon walking from one end of town to the other, while Kory and I bee-lined to three different thrift stores, worried they would close early like the ones do in Aalesund.  I bought a lot of pewter stuff which drives Kory nuts because I already have more than I can use and I honestly don’t know what to do with it all, but each piece is different and special and I’m totally addicted to it now so I’m not sure if there is hope in me ever quitting this habit.  I may have to start the first “pewter anonymous” self help group in Norway.  The guy in the last shop looked at me kinda weird when I bought out nearly all he had.  He just said, “You know, this stuff USED to be popular…” like he was trying to talk me out of my purchases.  I know it USED to be popular - that’s why it’s in my price range.  Cousin Kari tried to explain to me today that if I didn’t buy so many small little things, I might actually be able to have one nice big, expensive new thing as a memory from Norway.  But then it would only be one purchase, and not nearly as satisfying as all these small little finds.  It’s not just the destination, it’s the journey that counts!

We also had time to stop into the “Perspective Museum,” which thankfully was free.  It was basically just a bunch of photos with stories attached, showing the lifestyle of the Sami people that live in these parts, up north.  Since global warming is destroying their lifestyle on the ice, this one photojournalist wanted to capture every part of their life and have it documented.  He is sure they will be disappearing in the not too distant future, as the ice continues to melt and the polar bears and other sea life start to disappear.  From my perspective, it was a good place to set down all my shopping bags and take a break, even if the thought of eventual doom was the reason.

I was missing Kaleb pretty badly today but when we called him this evening, he wasn’t missing us too much.  His class at school climbed up a mountain today, so he was glad to not have to do any schoolwork. 

Today was the first warm day we’ve had in a long time in Norway.  Kinda funny it’s happening so far north, but I’m thankful we can see the gorgeous mountains popping up all over the place, no matter which way we look.  I thought it would be flattening out by now, but so far, that’s not the case.

I had to stay up until after midnight since the boat was going to enter a two-hour block of open sea.  It was explained to us on the first day of this trip that the difference between a cruise ship and this ferry is that the ferry stays close to the shore and the cruise ships have to go on the outside of all the islands.  It makes a huge difference as we are always sandwiched in between islands and the mainland and the ride is pretty smooth.  But because of that, the evening sun is nearly always blocked by some landmass to the west of us.  Tonight, however, we had two hours of ocean horizon in which to watch the sun NOT set.  It dipped down, not even close to the horizon, then started going right back up again.  That was cool to watch (see photo taken after midnight).

Kory drew a few new pictures today and I worked more on the Israel photo book.  All the scenery is now new to us since we’ve never been this far north, but I’m afraid once we reach the last stop, I’ll be tempted to take the next flight south.  I’m not having a bad time, but I can’t do a whole lot, and if I were back home in Aalesund, that wouldn’t be the case.

Endelig! (Finally!)

I ordered a wake up call at 6:15 so I wouldn’t miss crossing the Artic Circle.  We were scheduled to cross it between 6:30 and 8:00am.  There is a contest on board for who guesses the closest time.  We crossed it around 7:15, and I guessed 7:18 but I didn’t win.  Kaleb won second place last time we crossed it and we still have the coffee mug to prove it.  Kory is still looking for the line in the water, marking the exact spot, which shows up on the map.  The rock with the little globe on top was good enough proof for me (see photo).

We woke up to cloudy skies and rain again today so all the beautiful mountains along the coast were lost under a gray blanket.  It freed me up to work on the Israel photo book some more, but it still bummed me out that Stu and Judy can’t see what a gorgeous coastline there is.  I guess it’s best they don’t know what they are missing.  Stuart claims he’s going to adopt Kory’s “It’s a great day, no matter what,” attitude, so Stu was smiling all day, even though it was miserable outside for the bulk of the day. 

By the time we got to Bodø, the rain FINALLY let up and the clouds were high enough to see the surrounding mountain peaks.  It was just what everyone needed as it was getting a little old being on this ship and having nothing to look at.  It was my worst fear, but hopefully the worst is behind us.  Apparently sunny days are here again so maybe our future is so bright we’ll need to wear shades.

We had a two and half hour layover in Bodø.  Normally, that would have been the perfect amount of time to spend in the best thrift store in northern Norway, but it was the “second day” of Pentecost today, a national holiday, so everything was closed.  Go figure.  I peeked in the window of the thrift store anyway and it got my heart racing.  I went to the nearest hotel and asked for the telephone number for that shop and called the guy on the phone to see if he would open up for just one hour.  I knew he’d make a killing.  But alas, there was no answer so all my dreams were shattered.  It was a sad day. 

Kory and I walked around town for a few hours – all the way down to the marina and back again.  Stu and Judy stayed on board, as did the rest of our group.  I just needed the exercise because we’ve been eating an awful lot of good food.  On the way back to the boat, I walked past a garbage dumpster that had a cool beer glass just sitting on top of it, with some beer still in it.  It had a picture of a Viking ship and it said “Nordland” on it, so I grabbed it for Stuart.  I knew he’d like have to gone thrift store shopping today too, so I took it as a gift from God, since I know he enjoys a good cold beer every now and then.  I hope it makes it home in one piece.

After we left the mainland at Bodø and headed west to the Lofoten Islands, I curled up on the back deck with a wool blanket and slept for a few hours.  Boy that sure felt good.  The only problem was I kept waking myself up with my snoring.  Kory slept well too, or so it sounded. 

Once we docked in the Lofotens, a bus was waiting for those of us who purchased the excursion out to the Viking long house.  Kory and I have seen it before but only from the outside, so we were curious what the inside looked like.  They had a little presentation of Viking life and served an “authentic” Viking meal.  We all drank some “mead” (a sweet liquor made with honey) and danced around the fire.  It was very touristy, but still worth doing and we got to see a lot of the islands in their summer glory, on our way back to the boat in the next city the ferry was docking.

At 11:30 tonight our boat, the Trollfjorden actually entered into the Trollfjord, a very narrow passage with a short dead end (see photo above).  The ship nearly scraped the sides while going in and out of there and how it turned around at the end is still a mystery.  The ferry staff made a big deal of out it and served hot “Troll” soup up on the top deck, they played music and offered special drinks.  It was a little party because it was the fjord this ship is named after, but it was still an impressive event even if it weren’t for that reason.  What a sight that was.

It’s hard to imagine the beauty of the Lofoten Islands because a photo only captures about 10% of what is in front of us.  I can stand in one place and turn my head from one side to the other and all around behind me and everywhere I look it’s just a “Wow!” kind of thing, so photos really don’t do it justice.  But I’m just thankful we now have nearly blue skies and the majesty and awesomeness of this place wasn’t lost in a blanket of fog.  We also have the midnight sun, which means the sun (when it’s not hidden by clouds) never goes down. (see photo taken at 12:30am tonight.)

So today, Stu and Judy were wowed by the beauty of the Lofotens and after that, I’m not sure there’s many more thrills left, but we still have several days to go so I’m sure Stuart will find something good in our future.  He’s been shouting HALLELUJAH on a fairly regular basis around here.  It guess to him, this probably seems like the holy land, although we like to call it the “Ole land.”

Trondheim Day

Our ship came in today – to the port of Trondheim, anyway.  The sun has yet to shine, but at least it wasn’t raining on us as we departed to go see what we could of the city.  I ordered a taxi before we got off the ship so Stuart wouldn’t overdo it by walking too much.  It’s a good thing I did because the big thing to see in Trondheim is Nidarosdomen, the holiest sight in Norway, and it was only open for half an hour this morning.  It’s a church that was built in 1070 over the grave of Olav Tryggvason, the Viking king that brought Christianity to Norway.  It’s said a spring sprang up over his grave that had miraculous powers, so for centuries, Norwegians from all over the land have made a pilgrimage to this spot in Trondheim.  I’m glad we live in a day and age when we could arrive by taxi.

The church was only open to the public for a brief window of time this morning because they do have Sunday services there, so Stu and Judy were some of the few to go in (see Stu doing the Hallelujah pose above). Kory and I used the time to just walk around town since we’d already been there.  It was another awe inspiring moment for the two of them, though, not ever seeing any kind of cathedral the like before.  They were both in a state of shock when we met up with them afterwards.  Glad it didn’t disappoint.

The rest of town was closed up tight.  Not only is it Sunday today, but it’s “Pinse” (Pentecost) one of the holiest days on the calendar.  Fortunately, because of that, we got a little parade of bunads (traditional Norwegian dress) as people made their way to two different churches, one was holding infant baptisms and another, confirmation.  We were relentless in our pursuit of photos, so we had no shame in asking everyone we could, to stop a minute so we could take a picture of them.  That wonderful Norwegian “hospitality” came through and they were happy to pose and smile for the camera. 

We slowly walked our way back to the ferry from the heart of town, having well over an hour to go less than a mile.  Judy watches Stuart like a hawk and is worried if he’s sitting too long, he must stand up, and if he’s walking too much, he must sit down.  Her job isn’t an easy one.

The ferry left at noon from Trondheim only to pass through an incredible lightening and thunderstorm soon thereafter.  The slanted front windows of the ship made it appear as if one were standing under a waterfall as the water just kept on coming.  The only hope for seeing anything out the windows was from the sides of the ship, and even then, the gray clouds were low and thick.  I didn’t bother taking too many photos today.  The last time we were through this stretch of the coastline, we had the exact same weather, as there is a famous octagonal shaped lighthouse we passed and I took yet another photo of it surrounded by a gray dreary blanket of sky.  Kory then sat down and drew that scene while I worked on making a photo book of our trip to Israel.  At least the day was productive, if not a little boring.

We have only seen the rest of our group during dinner tonight.  The ship is big enough we can easily lose people so we haven’t had much social time today with anyone.  Stu and Judy explored a few more floors, but they’d yet to be up on top, out in the weather.  Tonight when we docked in Røros, Kory and I got off the ship and looked around in another Hurtigruten ship that was parked in the same dock.  Boy am I glad we are on the best one in the fleet, as I’d surely have claustrophobia if I were on that one.  It’s only one step down in size from the one we are on, but it makes all the difference, with smaller windows, smaller lounges and no big open areas.  Yikes.

I called Kaleb today and he was sounding a little worn out.  He said he’s missing me a little more, but still having a good time.  He slept over with his pal Toban last night and was at Andre’s grandmother’s house when I called.  He’s been adopted as Janne’s “fourth son” so I’m sure he’s being well cared for.  But I’m starting to miss him now, too.

Kory took a nap on the top deck today, wrapped up in a wool blanket, snoring away.  The hum of the engine is good “white noise.” I’ve enjoyed being rocked so sleep each night as I lie in bed.  My only misery has been a full stomach because the food is just so darn good I can’t miss a meal.  It’s hard to complain about something like that, however. 

Well, day three is done.  Only eight to go.  Lord help me.

Aalesund, Sweet Aalesund

I woke up around 5:30 this morning, which wasn’t good for me since I didn’t get to sleep until after one.  I was dogging it all day.  I took advantage of the early wake-up and found myself the best spot in the viewing lounge in the front of the ship.  And there I sat, nearly all alone until everyone was roused from their slumber, hours later.  I didn’t leave my spot all day as I was sure someone would get it and I wouldn’t have a place to work with my computer, since there aren’t many chairs with tables in front of them like the one I scored. 

I’ve been tired all day, but I still managed to finish up the photo book of our trip to Turkey.  I wanted to get that ordered before we leave Norway.  I have a few other photo books to make too, but I’m not sure how many opportunities I’ll have to work on them.  I have nothing but time now, but having the computer charged up and a place to sit will be my biggest challenges. 

I couldn’t relax much today because there were some very beautiful sights I wanted to be outside photographing, but I was very committed to getting this photo book done. The thought of sitting on a boat for 11 days without being productive is more than I can bear, so if I get something done each day, I’ll feel better about this use of my time.  Kory is just the opposite.  He thrives on just sitting in one place looking out the window and doing nothing. 

When we left Bergen last night we traveled north and by the time the ferry arrived in Aalesund this morning, I was ready to get off the boat.  I reminded Kory that I had jumped ship before when on our first cruise, and I wasn’t past doing it again.  If I hadn’t sat and worked on that photo book today, I’d be stir crazy by now.  I already feel like a caged animal, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the next ten days. 

Bjørn was waiting on the dock when we pulled in, along with Inger’s brother, Ernst.  They came into Aalesund this morning and THANKFULLY took our car back home with them, so now we don’t have to worry about driving it back from Bergen.  What a huge blessing that was!  That guy Bjørn, he really needs some kind of award for being an all-around good guy.  If there’s a problem, he has the solution.  It’s nice to know people like him, otherwise our time here wouldn’t be so sweet.  Stu and Judy think all Norwegians are incredibly hospitable.  In order to translate their thoughts to Stu’s relatives the other day, I had to ask Kory how to say “hospitable” in Norwegian.  It’s “gjestfrihet” which literally means, “guest freedom” and that is sure a good description of what we feel when we are here, thanks to people like Bjørn.  Hallelujah!

Cousin Axel and his wife Kari, Tante Aslaug and her friend Liv all joined us this morning when the ship stopped in Aalesund.   Because we bought our tickets through an American travel system, we had to pay for the full round trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen, otherwise we would have gotten on board in Aaelsund, with them, too.  Stuart wanted to see Bergen anyway so we took advantage of that and that’s why we drove down there yesterday. 

It took all day for the ferry to go from Aalesund into the Geiranger fjord and back out again (dramatic photos above are from there).  I’ve done it several times already in previous years and the weather today wasn’t anything to brag about, but some of the clouds sitting on top of the mountains did make for some nice photos.  I managed to run outside and take a few (like 200) if someone came by that could save my seat for me.

Towards the end of the journey into the fjord I fell asleep in my chair.  The ship’s horn honked as we arrived in Geiranger, and it woke me up.  Kory said I stood up, grabbed my camera, took a photo of the ship in front of us and sat right back down again and fell asleep.  At least I now know what I missed.  I needed that sleep more than I needed to take more photos, that’s for sure.

Stuart and Judy found themselves a nice spot in the front of the ship right up next to the window (on the right, above) so they sat there all day and watched the world go by with their cameras clicking away.  Stuart was most impressed with the farms that sit high up in the mountains.  Just thinking about all the work it took to haul up everything needed to live there, was more than he could understand.  We didn’t hear much from the two of them today but I did notice that Stuart still had his jaw dropped when I checked on him.  He just shakes his head in disbelief over how incredibly beautiful this area is.  And photos don’t do it justice.  It has to be experienced in 3D, that’s for sure.

I kicked into the “ugly American” mode tonight when we went to dinner.  Yesterday I was first on the boat and headed right for the restaurant to get our dinnertime changed from 8:30 to 6:30.  I can’t eat that late and sleep well afterwards and Stuart can’t wait that long to eat because of his diabetes.  The head honcho said it was no problem to shift us to the earlier seating.  I then asked if we could all sit together and if possible, by a window.  He said he’d see what he could do.  Well, tonight we were denied entrance to the dining hall because we came at the earlier dinnertime.  They said we were to eat later. I marched right in there and reminded the guy of my requests from yesterday and it seemed he then realized he’d made a mistake.  We had to wait about five minutes and they fixed us up with a table right next to the window in the back of the boat.  Sweet.  Everyone kinda made fun of me and my demands, but no one was complaining about the end results.  The food would have been worth waiting for, as it was so incredibly delicious, but I still wanted to eat early. 

We all had a nice visit during dinner and a few good laughs.  Liv tried to teach me a few more of the idiosyncrasies about the Norwegian language and some of the specialties of the dialect, but it was lost on me.  I had to tell them about my experience yesterday, when we stopped in the antique store.  When we were in Turkey, Kory kept telling me to barter with the storeowners so they’d come down on their prices.  He talked Norwegian when he told me that so I thought I knew the word for “barter.”  So I asked the lady yesterday, “Prater du?” which I thought meant, “Do you barter?”  She responded back in Norwegian with “I don’t speak English.”  I couldn’t figure out why she responded like that since I was talking Norwegian to her, so I asked her again and again she said it.  When we left the store I asked Kory what the word was for “barter” and he said, “pruter.”  The difference in one letter meant that I asked the woman NOT if she “barters,” but if she “talks.”  We all had a good laugh over that one.

I talked with Kaleb a few times on the phone today.  He said he misses me a little already and he even went home and took out the garbage like I asked him to do, but I’m sure he’s having a wonderful time with his friends.  The rain held off all day but now it’s begun again, so it’s time for me to sleep.  Day “two” is done, with nine to go.  I hope I make it.

The Long Drive South

None of us slept much last night as we were up late packing and then up early this morning, leaving.  It was a long day in the car and the weather didn’t cooperate one bit.  The “beautiful” drive to Bergen, just wasn’t.  It was cloudy with low fog so none of the mountains were all that visible.  So, so sad for Stuart and Judy.  Kory and I have seen the sights before, but they may never get the chance again.  On the one day we did have blue sky this past week, Kory asked Stuart what he thought of Norway and he said if he died and went to heaven, heaven would be one step down from Norway.  So THAT’S what he was missing today – all that incredible beauty as we drove south.

Poor Judy didn’t take well to the swerving roads and our driving them, so she didn’t feel too well all day.  I’m sure lack of sleep didn’t help either.  Both Kory and I struggled to stay awake as we took turns driving the eight hours it took to get to there.  I’m just thankful the car tires didn’t blow out, AND that we did make it to Bergen without incident and there was room on the ferry to put our car so we don’t have to make that drive again.  It’s not that long of a distance from Aalesund, but when we have to dodge sheep along the roads and have a maximum speed often of only 35mph, it takes forever.  Plus there were four ferry rides involved.  Travel in Norway is slow and expensive, but that’s just part of the “charm” of it all.

We left at seven this morning and got into the Hurtigruten dock, where we had to check in, just before four.  We only stopped once at an antique store to see what things they had there, and to eat lunch at a grocery store café along the way.  Kory found a tiny hand carved wooden box he wanted to buy at the antique store, and I wasn’t in total agreement since it costs $40 (200 kroner), but he was going to buy it anyway.  When he went to pay for it, the clerk upped the price to 700 kroner ($140) because she decided it was too nice to sell so cheap.  I guess that’s the difference between antique stores and thrift stores.  In one, the prices can go down, but in the other, they obviously can go up.  Sadly, Kory didn’t buy his treasure as it was way beyond our budget.  At least we could afford lunch. 

It’s funny, Judy and Stuart are still somewhat unaware of the prices of things and when Judy saw that Potato Balls were $20 a plate in a restaurant, she made the comment that she thought Potato Balls were supposed to be “poor man’s food” but they obviously must not be for that price.  I told her they really are, but that’s as cheap of a price as she’ll find on anything in a café in Norway.  I’m not sure if she believed me when I told her we went out to dinner once with Odd and Turid and it costs $650 for one meal.  Twenty bucks seems like a bargain to me these days, and that’s how much it was for a bowl of Rommegrot at that café today.

Once we made it to Bergen we checked in on the ferry then headed into the heart of town for a little shopping.  Kory has a cousin that lives in Bergen and she wanted to meet up with us (see photo), so we walked around for a few hours with her and caught up on what’s been happening in her life.  Stu and Judy did a little shopping and enjoyed the old buildings along the harbor that have been there for around 700 years.  It’s hard to imagine things so old, coming from America, but Bergen was a city founded in 1070 or thereabouts, so it just wouldn’t be right to have new buildings dominating the landscape.

Kory’s cousin, Ingebjorg, was sad our time together was so short, as we were, but we had to catch the ferry.  It took forever for the car to get loaded but afterwards we were able to enjoy a late dinner in the dining room with Stu and Judy. Judy headed for bed soon thereafter while Kory and Stu had a beer together and laughed about the day.    Kory has thankfully adopted a “It’s a great day no matter what” kind of attitude so he keeps reminding me that little things like the weather and other inconveniences, really aren’t a problem unless I let them be.  Ok, dear.

Now we can all relax as there’s nothing much else to do for the next 12 days.  I was a little stressed out since a large storm in northern Norway knocked out all the cell phone lines so we couldn’t call Bjorn and confirm that our car was indeed on the ferry.  He said he’d pick it up in Aalesund tomorrow if we needed him to, and we do.  We were finally able to connect up with him, so now I’m sure I’ll be having a good night’s sleep.

Close to Home

Today wasn’t nearly as jam packed as yesterday, but that was by design.  I knew we needed a day to get ready up for our big trip tomorrow to Bergen, so I planned a day to be close to home.  We went out to Langevaag to see if there were any sweaters at the outlet store there that Stuart liked, but no luck.  They were either too small or didn’t zip up all the way.  We drove back home again and hit a few more thrift stores near our house.  I certainly found a few more treasures, and not-surprisingly, Stuart and Judy did, too.  That took up the morning, so we had lunch back at our place and then took a few minutes to get some laundry going and start packing a few things. 

Kory went and picked up Kaleb after school and Kaleb wasn’t the least bit happy about it.  He’d wanted to go right to Andre’s house after school and not join us tonight for dinner, but I insisted we have one last supper with him before we leave him behind for 12 days as we take this trip on the ferry up the coast of Norway and back down again.  He is sure he won’t miss us and can’t understand all the fuss I’m making about it, but we have never been away from him for this long before.  I was already feeling bad about leaving him alone yesterday when we were so far from home, but he seemed to do okay by himself.  I’m sure we suffocate him at times, but still… this is a first - to be gone so long.

So Kaleb had to schlep along with us into downtown this afternoon while we hit a few more stores.  He went to the library while we poked around.  It was raining all day again today so we couldn’t even go up to the lookout above the city, as it was socked in with low clouds and fog.  Everyone is complaining about the bad weather we’ve been having, but it hasn’t really affected us much at all since we don’t need good weather to go shopping.  We even ran into Tante Kari this morning in the elevator and she apologized to our guests for the crummy weather.  Stuart said later, “She has a lot more power than I realized if she’s the one responsible for the weather.”  Funny.

Tonight we were invited out to dinner to our friends, the Rorstad’s.  Acutally, Kolbjorn is Kory’s 3^rd cousin, but if we knew better, Kory would probably be related to half the people we know in this town. 

The stores closed so early we had enough time to drive through a few undersea tunnels and briefly show some of the outer islands to Stu and Judy.  It was hard to appreciate their beauty through foggy car windows though, but if the weather ever clears up they might see some of those places again.

Anne-Grete and Kolbjorn made a wonderful salmon dinner for us and we all had a great time visiting with them – in English!  It was such a treat to have a conversation in English, even if it was a little more difficult for them.  We were all impressed with Anne-Grete’s dessert and both Judy and I insisted on the recipe for it.  It was more than delicious.  And Kolbjorn revealed his love of airplanes tonight by showing us an application he has on his I-pad that tracks absolutely every commercial airplane in the sky around the world.  The map shows little airplanes scattered about and if he touches it, it pops up with what airline it is, where it left from and where it’s going.  It’s all real time data from the control towers around the world and we were all in awe of the concept.  He can look up in the sky over his house and see a plane, and just click on it on his I-pad and know exactly where it’s going.  Simply amazing.

We had a few good laughs with them this evening and wished we could stay longer but I had to get Kaleb delivered over to Andre’s house by ten o’clock (see photo above of Kaleb entertaining himself tonight off in a corner with his Nintendo).  I trust he’ll be OK while I’m gone and I’m sure he’ll do better than I will.

Kory decided to rotate the tires tonight before we take the eight-hour drive down to Bergen tomorrow.  We actually really need new tires before that trip so I’m praying the ones we have hold out for the journey as the tread is showing through.  We just don’t have time right now to get them installed (Kory’s friend has given us a set already), but we will do it the minute we get back.  So many things to do… so little time.   Now I need to go pack up 12 days of entertainment for myself in case there is rain in our future, or maybe I just need to go have a little talk with Tante Kari and see if she can guarantee us some sunshine.