Tromsø

Our last Hurtigruten buffet breakfast and we took it easy by getting up late and I even napped after breakfast. I will miss the herring varieties at breakfast - snacking on herring and crackers reminds me of my dad, in addition to lox with capers and caviar. I know that sounds fancy, but I remember as a kid we had received a fancy gift basket and remembering tasting all of these things - and there’s so much lox and herring here!

We had to be out of our rooms by noon, but wasn’t disembarking until about 2:30 pm, so we enjoyed the Panorama Lounge one last time with Mack ginger chili beers - I even scored a front seat!



The ship holds about 590 passengers and Alaskan cruises are 2,000 to 3,500 passengers. So I really enjoyed how much more lowkey the experience was as locals use this as a coastal ferry system and it carries cargo. As the German from the jacuzzi said, we can all feel a little less guilty about affecting the environment on this cruise.

We arrived in Tromso, considered the Gateway to the Arctic. It’s considered a hive of Arctic research and adventure tourism and holds titles for the world’s northernmost university and botanical garden.

After disembarking, we stored our luggage with “Radical Storage” which you sign up for online and drop off at certain locations and ours was 7-Eleven - this reminded me of the Japanese luggage forwarding system also coordinated through convenience stores if unavailable at your hotel. There was a proper storage facility nearby and also back at the ferry terminal, but we wanted easy access after seeing the city.

We first headed to Polaria, a center exhibiting environmental research in the Arctic with a small aquarium. It was quite informative and obviously focused on local wildlife. Here’s a view from the aquarium which is located near the docks:



I enjoyed watching these moon jellyfish:





And underneath this tank of rays:



But the highlight were the seals and we had known in advance there was a feeding. Here are the seals viewed from the tunnel:





After the training and feeding, the bearded seals munched on some ice:



As we walked along the dock, Rachel pointed out the artificial nests designed for the birds - I clearly was multitasking during the talk yesterday as I didn’t recall this:



As we walked through the town, we saw the main cathedral:



The square:



Library:



We met our Canadian friend at her hotel and walked across the Tromsø bridge to visit the iconic Arctic Cathedral with its beautiful stained-glass mosaic:









We then walked back across the bridge with a view of the city:



We stopped by the Gateway Arch:





We decided to visit a local bar called Balthazar and ordered some fast food from across the street. I ended up ordering a beer from Stavanger called Salikatt and enjoyed a smash burger and fries.

We then headed to the original Mack Brewery and favorite local watering hole, Ølhallen pub where the bartender said locals mix the pilsner with a darker lager which was tasty:





We enjoyed chatting and tasting the beers. Afterwards, we retrieved our bags and headed to the bus stop where we boarded the #40 bus which dropped us off about 5 minutes from our hotel, the Moxy Tromsø. Our last night in Norway together and we completed our cruise and got to check out Tromsø!

Into the Arctic

Today, we entered the arctic circle. We were told yesterday the estimated timing and were given about a 20 minute warning. Around 8 am, we got ready and rushed to the viewing deck to see the Polar Circle Globe on Vikingen Island which is Norway’s marker:









The land within the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland. You can see how far north we were:



We started to exercise in the gym when they announced we were about to pass another Hurtigruten ship. Last night, at the Panorama Lounge, we saw the crew stop what they were doing while they looked out for the other boat. This morning, from the viewing deck I witnessed the other boat, the NordeNorge flash its lights and presumably we, as NordKapp did the same. I guess ships don’t just pass each other at night…





As all Kim’s do, I heartily enjoyed my usual breakfast buffet:



Then the ship hosted an Arctic Circle Crossing ceremony where they announced the winner who guessed the accurate crossing - the winner was off by just 20 seconds and she won the ship’s flag signed by the captain with the date and time of the crossing. Our ceremonial host:



She was also the first to experience the rite of passage administered by the captain and our expedition leader dressed as a spiritual-like person praying for a safe sea voyage and therefore needing “sacrifices”. The rite of passage was having ice cubes dropped down our backs and bald headed men got an extra scoop on top:



As it was my inaugural crossing, I partook, but was well-suited as I was planning to sauna and jacuzzi after this - they served you a drink after the baptism:



But for employees for whom it’s their first ever arctic crossing, they got the whole ice bucket which included a lot of melted water:



We also had fun writing postcards that were specially stamped by the “postmaster”:



In the afternoon, we arrived in Bodø, Northern Norway’s second-largest city. Here, we had signed up for the RIB safari to see up close the Saltstraumen which is a strait with the world’s most powerful tidal current. We had to wear life onsies, life vests, hats, gloves, and goggles. There were three rubber boats and we boarded right next to our own ship:





My phone was encased in a waterproof case hung around my neck, so the pictures aren’t that clear and slightly foggy. Regardless, here’s a view of Bodø - we even saw planes depart from the airport and it was cool to watch underneath from the water:



We approached an island and learned about the cool geologic formations - this is the result of the rock being folded under immense pressure from the tectonic plates, known as Caledonian folding:





I encouraged my boat-mates to do the Norwegian row and the couple behind me was super into it. We were side by side and straddling our seats to keep us secure:



We then started approaching the strait and saw a mini-whirlpool first. Apparently the whirlpools are caused by the convergence of the fresh fjord water and seawater, creating incredibly strong currents. We were told today was ideal, because it wasn’t windy relatively while the currents were strong. We saw little and large whirlpools everywhere - like the swirls in a Van Gogh painting:









At one point and due to the angling of the boat, we got doused by the icy cold salty water - it really woke you right up and thank goodness for my case which was a gift! Our captain apologized, but I declared it an adventure and part of the experience!

As we left, we saw a sea eagle flying and then again as we approached closer to our dock. Here’s a photo:



We disembarked our rubber boat and disrobed, and then walked like cowboys back to our ship. We attended our daily briefing via streaming in our room and I popped up to the viewing deck when we passed another point of interest - Bjørnøy Lighthouse on Landegode island:



Then we streamed the “Seabirds and Whales” talk from our beds - lying down is a great way to learn!



During this time, the ship entered the Lofoten Archipelago mid-afternoon. We first stopped in Stamsund where many who were doing farm and Viking dinner excursions disembarked. They will meet us at a later port in Svolvær which is the main town of the Lofoten Islands.

For dinner, I ordered skrei or cod roe for appetizer and then a pork filet while Rachel had a reindeer broth soup called Bido and fish. We both ordered the local and popular “troll creams”, or mousse made from lingonberries for dessert.

When we arrived in Solvaer for our roughly one hour stop, we visited the Magic Ice bar near the boat. It includes a crowberry drink and an ice slide:















We did a quick loop in town and then made our way back to the boat. Our ship served us fish stew at 11:30 pm and was planning a detour to Trollfjord. It’s 1.2 miles long and has a narrow entrance and steep-sided mountains surrounding it. The name is derived from troll, a figure from Norse mythology, but I read somewhere that a British captain called it “a mouse hole ”.

Also, the fjord is the location of the Battle of Trollfjord which was between the first industrial, steam-driven fishing ships and traditional open-boat fishermen over access to the fjord. Overall, we had learned there are tight constraints and caps on what can be fished in Norway to keep its resources sustainable and like when I asked someone if they recycle in a café, his response was “of course, we’re a green country”.

The fish stew…



And the mouse hole - also, I did not use my zoom at all in the photos, so we were that closeup to the fjord and surroundings…

Entering the fjord slowly:



The cliffs:



A waterfall that the crewmen were showing us. At points, you could tell they were guiding us to look at the steep cliffs with their jerky movements and then would return to using the lights for navigation:



Exiting under the near full moon:

For a place that notoriously has short days and little sunlight, we sure did a lot today and for our first time ever in the Arctic Circle!