life in the old lane

We agreed that we would not fret about packing or anything, we would just enjoying the last full day on the Ferry. My table mate headed off at 4:30 on a tour of a marble mine and will return at 9:15 this evening. I don’t believe that I will wait that long for dinner.

Today was glorious warm and sunny.

My morning adventure was roaming around the ferry with my GoPro. I may or may not make it into a video. This afternoon, I read, napped, drank coffee and looked out the windows.  

And then, Kristiansund begins to appear. What a lovely little city, population 25,000.  It seems to be where a lot of off shore oil and gas operations have their administrative offices.  

Only stopping for 30 minutes but I had to get off and see the town in person

The problems of the world remain, even on a marvelous warm spring day.  

The other ferries on this route run on diesel. Our runs on natural gas and electric.  As a result we are not allowed to fuel up in the in town ferry dock. We have to use a remote dock.  There is a bus that goes to and from the town dock. It was soggy and I didn’t want to hang around waiting for a bus.  So, I walked around the dock area.  BTW, it takes a couple of hours to gas up.  

There were a lot of little fishing camps. Some had electricity. Some didn’t. Or they might have had underground wiring. I have learned that red is the cheapest color of house paint. 

A lazy day today. Reading, laundry, a little walk. It was good to walk without ice under foot.  

Just about perfect. Thank you, Mother Nature and you too Father Time, for keeping me in the game. 

A lazy day. We stopped for about an hour in Hammerfest. Population 10,200.  It was a toasty 33 degrees and the sun was out.

In the morning, we were encouraged to go out on deck to admire a natural gas transfer station.

We have an hour but town is an unknown distance away. And, since it is Sunday, nothing will be open.  So, I walk around the quay.  

That works out to $9.57 per gallon.  And yes, Norway is swimming in oil. That doesn’t mean gas is cheap.  

By the time I got back to the ship, it was snowing.

And, finally…

If the clouds hold off, I have hopes of seeing the lights tonight.  

Really not the most best possible advertisement for Kirkenes, population 3,500. It was also 21 degrees. And, “town” was 2 kilometers away. Snagging one of the four magnificently comfy chairs by the fireplace seemed very appealing. But no, I bundled up and headed out.

Russia is about 5 kilometers away. Local residents from both sides cross the border freely. Norwegians enjoy the cheaper petro in Russia and Russians like the quality Norwegian stuff. 

It wasn’t too slippery since there was new snow. Trudge. 

There is a real end of the world feel to the place. 

Made it safely back to the ferry. Washed my hair, took a nap, and I now ensconced in a comfy chair by the fake fire.

Went to North Cape today. On a tour bus with the French people from the ferry. The Germans had 2 buses. Going to North Cape seems to be a “thing”. Before Covid about 200,000 people per year made the trek. Most in summer. 

Just guessing, but maybe the radar station is a bit busier than it has been for the last 20 years.  

No way I was walking up those stairs. After wandering around in the snow for an hour or so, it was back to the French bus. The French brought lunch and wine.  I noticed the Germans had the bestest gear. Then there was me. Vintage woman in a old raincoat armed with a cane and a thermos of coffee.  

There are two snow plows. They start up the road to North Cape at 9 and 10 in the morning and leave North Cape at 1230 and 1330. The only time civilians are allowed on the road is when the are following the snow plow.

 It was sunny when we left. But, the snow is back.

My cabin is the left small rectangular window in the white paint.  And, right before dinner,  the ferry stopped in Kjollefjord and I took a picture from that very window.

Tomorrow morning we will be at the turn around port. Wonder how many folks will get off. I am not optimistic about seeing the lights. Not the fault of the lights. The fault lies with the weather.  And, it’s ok if the lights don’t appear. The first half of the ferry trip has been great. Dramamine for the next 8 hours of open ocean. 

Oops, just  heard jet fighters flying over.  And I am reminded that Russia is very very near. 

Today the stop was Tromso, population 72,000. It was snowing. But not too windy or cold. Tromso is a good town. I could be happy here. It is a college town, that gives it a certain vitality. 

My daily plan is to get off the boat and walk to some attraction. Today the choice was between an aquarium and a polar museum. Since it was snowing, the polar museum won. Roald Amundsen was the first man to reach the South Pole and he was a local boy, so the museum was a lot about him. Much was only in Norwegian, nevertheless I learned that there are 32 kinds of seals in Norway. They are still hunted, but since nobody buys seal hides anymore the hides are stored waiting for the market to return. That’s pretty wrong. In the early 70s Norway had 23 seal hunting boats. Now they have 4. 4 too many.

So, let’s look around Tromso.

The sign says:
This is the war
Against democracy
Against Europe
Against you

The menu was hot wine, beer, hotdogs. Doing a great business. College town, remember.

While I was having breakfast this morning, we crossed into arctic land. It is remarkably warm. Yesterday afternoon we passed islands that were 100% devoted to strawberry cultivation, and others that were apricot orchards. Apparently peaches are also grown, but only by espaliering them to a black wall. This was not what I expected to find past the 60th parallel. It’s the Gulf Stream.

The stop today is Bodo. Population 47,000. The town was completely flattened in 1944 by the Germans. Not sure why. Yesterday’s town, Trondheim, was captured by the Germans early in the war and was used as a submarine base until the end of the war.

As a result, Bodo lacks charming old buildings. But, it has a great robust sturdiness about it.

I digress, we are about an hour late leaving Bodo. The excuse being, they had to take on more natural gas than anticipated and that delayed the cargo coming and going. Not that it matters one bit to me

When I got off the boat, I noticed that the town smelled like cat food. Turns out there is a big fish by product processing plant on the other side of the harbor.

On a happier note, we stopped at Omes this morning. Incredibly lovely.

On to something that really matters: clothes. Jeans and a sweater is fine for the boat. Indeed in Oslo every one was either wearing jeans or leggings as pants. Men and women.  I have yet to need my base layer. Or my hat, gloves, scarf. I will be happy if it stays this way. 

No sign of Northern Lights. 

Actually the Dramamine thing is wreckage of the future. They just announce in every possible language that big waves were expected from 6 to 9 this evening. My unfashionably early dinner is at 6.

If one Dramamine is good then 2 will be better. Right?

Had another fine day. In Throndheim
, population 280,000. The weather was sunny and above freezing. We were only there for 3 hours, but it was long enough to slip and slide the Two miles to a Cathedral ca 1070. As an American, I am always amazed at how old stuff is in the rest of the world.

And, soon it was time to scuttle back to the ferry

Back on the ferry it was time for a nap and then out on the deck to see a famous old lighthouse.

It is still a light station, but it is totally automated. You can rent the house part for a holiday, if you like.

Back from dinner. So far so good. It’s supposed to be all better by 10pm. Just about 730 now. Took a second Dramamine just now. Oh yes, a stack of dishes hit the deck as I was finishing up my dessert. Mushroom soup, salmon, strawberry sherbet.

For me, this was a great way to start the voyage. The ferry docked  at about 10am and it stayed parked until just now. 8pm. So, I had all day to wander around Alesund, a town of about 50,000. It was 50degrees and the wind howled something fierce. 

Wifi still sucks, but if I finish this quick enough, I can use the cellular signal. Found a use for a Google maps feature that I had never used. Wondering how I was going to find my way back to the ferry.  Well, I just punched the PARKED button. And when I wanted to return all I had to do was ask for directions to where I parked.

Happy with the food today. Fine breakfast, coffee and pastry on my walkabout, really nice dinner with a woman from Switzerland. Note to self: do not order from the vegetarian page in the menu. Where we were seated , we could hear but not see the cooks. One unfortunate cook was berated with: Use your eyes! You have them for a reason.

 

On my walk, I discovered a big monkey puzzle pine. Who would have expected to find one in Norway.  Apparently they were all the rage in Norway 150 years ago and about 20 years ago when the monkey puzzle pine became seriously endangered, Norway sprung into action collecting and saving seeds. Then again, the doomsday seed bank is in Norway. So, it makes sense. 

Think it’s best to get this underway while there’s still signal. 

It was a glorious day. Maybe the best one day train ride ever.

The train was fantastic. On time. Perfectly clean. And the day was picture perfect. 

After more waiting in line than was necessary, I got settled in my cabin. It was late arriving. Rough seas. That’s encouraging. The WiFi sucks. And, I was underwhelmed by dinner. I complained about it. Then I discovered that I am the first American to ride the boat. I fear I may be known as “that American”. Let us just say the served quiche which contained no eggs, no cheese, no crust. It was diced apples in a sort of lemon vinaigrette.  Writing this, I think  it might be some sort of a translation issue, perhaps they meant to say vegetable ceviche and not vegetable quiche. 

Have to wait and see what tomorrow brings  smooth sailing And better internet I hope.