Hurtigruten - Day 2

We made several short stops “overnight” and each time the noise and vibration of the engines manoeuvring into the quay brought me wide awake – melatonin doesn’t work for me!  I suspect lots of naps are in my future for the next few days...  But I really like that everything is not for the convenience of the passengers; that this is a working boat.  Of the 350 on board, I would think that perhaps half or so are people who have a purpose – they’re going to specific destinations. The rest of us are divided between people who are doing the full 12-day trip both ways, and those who are just doing the southbound leg. 

Approaching Havøysund

All announcements are in Norwegian first – and I find it’s a very hard language to get my head around; so many words don’t sound the way they look and sounds are just dropped. For instance, Hurtigruten (which means “express route”) is pronounced Hurti-rerten. All the staff I’ve spoken to are fluent in English. Of the passengers, there’s a German contingent, and a smaller English-speaking one, and a resident Coastal Experience team who are multi-lingual and do the information stuff and lead excursions.  I didn’t actually sign up for any beforehand – most of them were expensive and involved extra bus journeys – but I think there’s some flexibility.

Honningsvåg at 5:30am!

So today there have been seven port calls, and only one of them, in Hammerfest, gave us enough time to go and do anything.  I actually got up in time to see the Honningsvåg docking at 5:30am; there was a group of passengers gathering to ride the bus for the North Cape trip to the northernmost point in Europe. They rejoined the ship at Hammerfest, and the excursion cost about CAD $280.  I’m happier to stay on board and enjoy the scenery. The funny thing with the Honningsvåg port call is that they inadvertently left the Coastal Experience guy behind – he took the tour group off to the bus, and then the bus left as we pulled out, and the next thing we knew he was running back and waving. The captain turned back, so everything after that was 15 minutes late!  

You left me!

Sven safely on board

I went for breakfast after that, and then I have to confess that I returned to my cabin and napped - not something that could last, because the activities people make announcements about what's upcoming - initially, the viewing of an LNG plant before we reached Hammerfest - but since it was accompanied by the offer of "energy coffee", I took the opportunity! The coffee was questionable - coffee, chocolate and chili - too spicy and too sweet!

LNG plant on Molke Island

We docked in Hammerfest in bright (if cold) sunshine. Sadly, the usual docking slip on the right hand (city) side of the bay was being refurbished, and we pulled in on the left. A number of people took the shuttle buses around to the shops, but I preferred to join the group walking to the nearby Geodetic Arc – a UNESCO-listed project established in 1816 to precisely measure the exact size & shape of Earth.  I was actually less interested in the structure itself than in the presence of reindeer grazing all around!

The Hammerfest Geodetic Dome

This is reindeer country!

Back to sea, and we wound our way through the Norwegian equivalent of the Inside Passage to Øksfjord (at 4pm) and then Skjervøy at 7:30pm. The weather had become quite beautiful (if chilly!) and the sea was very calm. Lots of seabirds, but no whales or seals...  

Though I hated to waste sunshine time, after dinner, I went and napped again – I’d booked a ticket for the midnight concert at Tromso Cathedral, which meant leaving when the ship docked at 11:45pm.

The Arctic Cathedral and bridge

Tromsø lies on an island in what is technically a fjord, between two other larger parts of the archipelago. The Arctic Cathedral (Lutheran, and not to be confused with Tromsø Cathedral, which is Church of Norway) is on the eastern side of the bridge and was built about 60 years ago; it’s mostly concrete, with a striking high-pointed roof. I was disappointed the concert wasn’t there – it looks like a really interesting space – but it would have meant crossing the big cantilever bridge across the strait, and time didn’t allow for it. 

Tromsø Cathedral

Tromsø Cathedral – five minutes walk from the ferry terminal – dates from the mid 1800s, and is all-wooden – the only Norwegian wooden cathedral, and probably the northern-most one – Northern Norwegians do like their superlatives!  The musicians performing were soprano, flute and organ/piano – either traditional folk music, or Grieg (or several Swedish arrangers!).  A nice way to spend an hour (even if I really did want to go to sleep!)