Southbound

The weather wasn’t as good on our southbound trip from Kirkenes back to Bergen. But it was definitely what we now call “Norway weather” – changing every couple of minutes. Both of our southbound excursions were cancelled, one due to high winds, one due to needing to refuel unexpectedly (presumably also due to high winds and bigger seas than expected). But that still left us with plenty of great views – usually with dramatic clouds.

We both kept forgetting just how big these mountains are – until a house would appear and give us a scale.

As we came to Hammerfest, the shipboard announcements called it the northernmost city in the world, which seemed odd since we could see on the map that we were stopping at other places further north. Turns out they trademarked “the world’s northernmost city.” Seriously?

We were also surprised to find this big LNG facility in Hammerfest. I had just assumed this type of production would be kept out of the arctic…

But we were soon back to more scenic areas…

Who needs excursions, anyway? Just look out while we’re in port … and see reindeer walking down the street:

One advantage of changeable weather soon became apparent:

We’ve never seen so many rainbows in such a short time.

One day they announced a safety drill. I figured it would be us trooping out to the lifeboats (as we did every week when I was an engine room cadet on a steamship). But no – it was a rescue helicopter practicing maneuvers with the ship. They spent a long time really close to the ship!

We liked everything about this cruise – the ship, our cabin, the incredible scenery, and something I haven’t talked about – the food! Unlike most cruise ships, they don’t have buffets. I’ve never been a fan of buffets – or the food they waste. Lunch is a selection of 20 or so small plates; you can order as many as you like. Dinner is a three-course meal. The menu changes every three days, and as you’d expect there are many fish options. Everything we ate was excellent, far better than the food we had on the only other cruise we’ve done (Celebrity in the Galapagos).

And there was also a cafe on board if you wanted other options in between meals. I was particularly fond of sveler, a type of griddle cake topped with buttercream. Fortunately for my waistline, I didn’t discover them until a couple of days before the end of the trip!

Eventually we sailed back into Bergen and had to tear ourselves away. I’m ready to do it again!