Bounder, of Adventure!

Sunday 29^th September.  

Spent our first night on board the MS Midnatsol last night and the buffet dinner was fantastic. Internet here is painfully slow but at least there is some.

Yesterday, we woke up in Bergen and had breakfast our hotel which was included in the price. It was very strange to walk into the dining area and not be pounced on by staff wanting to know our room number to ensure no-one was taking advantage. We spoke to a staff member who said, “just eat”. So we did, ‘just eat’. Surprisingly, there was a toaster, there’s not one on the ship, and breakfast was your typical Scandanavian fare, with the added bonus of bacon and fried eggs as well as baked beans. We were able to package up a lunch box for 65NOK, as much meat and cheese etc as you could wrap in the provided paper, and a small plastic bag to add other stuff like bread and fruit. Bargain! We ate that later on a bench in Bryggen. I forgot to mention earlier something about how they make the beds here. They fold 2 single bed doonas in thirds lengthways and run them down the bed and throw a large bedcover over the bottom half. When we opened the door to our hotel room, I thought there were people already in the bed!! LMAO. It was like sleeping in a cloud, the bed was so soft and the pillows too. The doona was stitched into squares and each square was packed full of down, they were all puffed up. I don’t like sleeping under just a doona, I get too hot and much prefer a top sheet on  my bed, but that’s not the European way it seems. When in Rome ……..

It was so tempting to go back up Mt Floyen, the weather was not as good as yesterday, cooler and cloudy, still no rain, but we had other things to do. We packed up and checked out, leaving our bags at the hotel until it was time to go to the Hurtigruten Terminal. A larger market had appeared outside our hotel, just begging to be explored. I would have loved to buy a Norwegian wool beanie, but I think I’d have needed a bank loan. I definitely would have needed one for the knitted jacket I saw later in a boutique. That one worked out to be a little under $700 AU! The tourist information office is across the road from where we stayed, the Scandic Strand. It has been built in the ugliest building you could possibly imagine, they must have run a competition, it looks like it was based on a shipping container, all tinted glass and coloured metal uprights all along the side. Probably not all that bad in the right place, but amongst the traditional buildings around the waterfront, it’s totally wrong. Anyway, there was an area in the Bergen brochure we picked up called ‘Art Street’, no more information than that, so I went to the Tourist info to find out where it was. I was expecting some sort of public street art type area but apparently it’s the area down one side of the lake in town where the art galleries are. If they’d had free entry, we might have gone in, but being fairly well overloaded with art already, we didn’t see the point in paying for something we were a bit iffy about doing. Probably find out later that some really famous piece was in there and regret not going in, but, that’s how it goes. It was a nice walk anyway.

We got back to the hotel to get our bags and there was an American man and his Dad waiting for the Hurtigruten shuttle bus to the terminal so we waited with them and had a chat. They’re from near Seattle, about 45 mins from the Canadian border.  We also spoke to a man who got off the MS Lofoten the day before and he said they saw the Northern Lights 3 times during their trip. The shuttle bus was running late and we wondered if we might have to catch a cab, but it eventually arrived and it was a full-on tourist coach, very plush. After a zig-zaggy lap around town collecting more passengers as we went, we arrived at the terminal. Being delayed had advantages, most of the crowd had already gone through the check-in process and were on board. Bag check was similar to an airport, cabin door keycards were issued along with an information pack. We have been assigned to table 12 at the first sitting for dinner, hope we get along with the other couple at our table as we’re stuck with them for dinner the rest of the cruise. The safety lecture was very well organised. There is a room where we were ushered in and seated and a woman gave the lecture in 2 or 3 different languages, alongside a video of the how and whys. This is not just lifejacket territory, this is thermal suit and lifejacket territory! If we strike trouble, let’s hope there’s time for all the mucking around putting a jumpsuit on with built-in gloves, then donning the lifejacket. There’s baby sized ones too but I’m sure that by the time you got the baby fitted, he would be an orphan!

Reminders onboard in case you forget

We had an hour to kill between boarding and cabins being available so we took up a position in the forward lounge on the top deck. This spot is going to be very popular.

We bought a bottle of wine last night at dinner and we’re going to see how many nights we can make it last. It’s the most we’ve ever paid for a bottle and it’s the Hurtigruten house wine, but at 345NOK, we won’t be buying too many!

Breakfast was very good this morning, buffet style, as it will be for the length of the journey and lunch was another buffet. Prawns, mussels and smoked salmon seem to be standard offerings, so can’t complain about that. It’s a very protein based diet, there was some pasta at lunch and bread rolls, and apart from a bit of salad and a stir-fry veggie dish, the rest was fish or cold cuts. And big slabs of pate!! Yum!! Haven’t hit that yet, but it looks pretty good. Maybe tomorrow’s lunch will be pate and crackers……………..

We left Bergen last night around 8pm and it was dark by then so we didn’t bother going out on deck. It was very smooth running as we picked our way through the hundreds of small islands that litter the coast around these parts, but by bedtime the boat had picked up a bit of a roll, but only barely. Today, it’s been smooth again and apart from the sound of the motor changing speed and sometimes a turn taken on 2 wheels, you wouldn’t know you were on a ship.

We are currently parked in the Hjorundfjord, been here since around 10.30 this morning, chugging up and dropping people ashore by tender for the first of many excursions the line has arranged in the hope of parting people from their Kroner.

There was also an option to tender ashore for a bit of a look-see but it has been drizzly rain since we woke up and I’m not going out and getting wet just now. My cold has developed into a hacking cough and I’m sure I disturbed our neighbours early this morning. Going to try to track down some cough medicine tomorrow in Trondheim where there is a big town and a 3 hour stop. We had a 45 min stop in Alesund this morning but it would have been too early for any shops to be open.

I will now read to you some riveting local information, as all good tour guides do.

At 0200 we arrived in Floro and departed at 0215. At 0415 we arrived in Maloy, one of the biggest fishing ports in Norway. Up to 200,000 tonnes of fish are landed here every year. Departed at 0430. At 0500 we passed the southbound MS Vesteralen, another Hurtigruten ship. 0515 see us commence the crossing of the Stadhavet, one of the many open stretches of sea that we will cross. This will take about 2 hours. Slept through all that. 0845 – 0930, arrival and departure, Alesund. 11.30 – 1500 at anchor in Hjorundfjord, one of Norway’s most beautiful fjords.

It really is something to see. The mountains rise out of the fjord with little or no usable land at the base, and they still have snow on them from, plus a light dusting of new powder. I can see why the Norwegian Blue was ‘pining for the fee-jords’!! The excursion went to the dock at Urke, for those with a very good Norwegian map.

Urke

green roof

Then, blah, blah, blah, back to Alesund for another quick stop and later tonight, at 2120, we will pass the southbound MS Nordkapp, who will probably take our spot in this amazing fjord tomorrow. After that exciting passing (??) we will dock for a whole hour at Molde, internationally known for the annual jazz festival and for the roses that bloom here in summer. But, we’ll be in bed by then. There’s a couple more ports through the night, as there was last night, but I didn’t hear a thing. We’re on the dock level of the ship but maybe they’ve been portside docks and we’re starboard. Who knows?? It’s 3pm and I’ve just heard the anchor I think, so we must be just about due to head off. Might pop my head outside and see if the rain has gone. We’ve taken photos through the windows, but outside would be better.

Well the rain left us temporarily, I managed to get some nice shots before the drizzle returned and I made a hasty retreat indoors.

I sat back in the same spot we had been on the way into the fjord. This time I’ll see the other side. Good choice as it turned out, there were several pods of small whales off the starboard side. There was an announcement over the P.A. but after we’d passed that lot, there were many more. Very special. Before we know it, it’ll be time to eat again. Some things are the same, no matter who you cruise with. I’m very impressed with this ship. It’s not terribly big, but it’s more modern than I expected, I’ll have to take some photos of different areas, especially the dining room. It’s certainly not the Arctic explorer that I imagined.

I can see a very large bridge off in the distance. Must be somewhere important and busy. Car ferries are the way to go up in the fjord.

car ferry

Grab a cuppa, there's lots to read.

Friday 27^th September.

Time flies! Been busy here. We went to Copenhagen Central railway station on Tuesday to get rid of our travel cards. They are a big joke and I wouldn’t recommend them to tourists. They cost 80DKK and it turns out, that’s not refundable when you cash them in. And when you use them, you can’t tag in with less than 70DKK credit. Central is the only place to talk to a person, so we went to the station to get the credit we had on the card back and were hoping to either keep the card and leave them with Linda or have a keepsake. Turns out, we got neither! WE didn’t understand what the staff told us. After a discussion about getting our credit and keeping the cards to use at another time, they then said the cards were ‘closed’ and couldn’t be used again and we couldn’t have them back. It’s apparently a fairly new system and there are many problems with it and many complaints, just from the locals.

On Wednesday, we were going to have a day checking out Fredericksberg because we had spent most of our time so far in the city, 2 metro stops away. There’s a glass art gallery housed in the old water reservoirs that used to supply fresh water to the area, sounded interesting so we went up to have a look – closed Mon, Tues, and Wed. Of course! Maybe come back tomorrow…….. We had seen a 2^nd hand/antique shop in the main street that had a bottle opener in the window that Trevor liked the look of so we went and bought that and had a fun chat with the guy that runs the shop. He’s Greek, lived in Copenhagen for 24 years and used to be in the merchant navy and had visited Australia but couldn’t remember where. We eventually decided it must have been around Port Kembla because he said it was about an hour away from Sydney and they loaded steel. A friend of Linda’s was home alone, husband Richard was away on business, so Linda invited her over for dinner. They’re a ‘Swire’ couple and are soon moving to Fremantle, so hopefully they’ll keep in touch. Bought a couple of winter weight long sleeve t-shirts, they’ll come in handy no doubt.  I think I’m getting a cold.

Thursday was pretty quiet because I felt pretty rotten. Went to the shops and bought some vapour drops and Trevor and Linda found me some cold & flu pills. Codiene is not allowed here without prescription, so I’ll have to make do with paracetamol and antihistamines. After lunch we trek back through the Fredericksborg Have to the Cisternernes, the glass art gallery. It cost 50DKK to go in and it was worth it just to see the building. The things you find underground! It was massive, with lots of supporting uprights, all brickwork, arched ceilings and some interesting artwork. In the back section are lots of old statues, taken from the Fredericksberg Slot (Palace) gardens where they were slowly decaying. This is the perfect place to keep them preserved. I wonder what happens after closing …. Do they all come to life? It’d be an interesting party with dancers and musicians.

Laura mentioned a place near Norreport station that’s a food market, well worth a look. Linda had mentioned it, but Laura said the magic words ‘gourmet food market’. I still feel rotten, but push on to make the most of our time. It was well worth seeing and I can imagine in summer it would be buzzing, especially in the outdoor eating area. We took some goodies home for dinner, nice and easy. We’re leave for Norway today,  so spent a bit of time last night packing and organising.

Getting to the airport here is a breeze, and the price of a normal rail ticket. Sydney, please take note. SAS Airlines send out a text message the day before when on-line check in is available or you can just reply ‘yes’ and they will check you in, you just don’t get to pick your seats, but for an hour flight, who cares? So that’s done, all we need to do is print off boarding passes and luggage tags when we arrive at the airport. Linda comes with us to squeeze the most out of our time. Waiting in the bag drop line, a nice staff member opens a space in the chute and lets us through. Finally! Someone knows who we are and we get the treatment we’ve been waiting for! We watch the numbers on the bag weigh in and by our calculations we are about 38kg between us. 30kg he says – that is good, have a pleasant flight. Not being ones to argue, we take our docs and leave our bags – see you in Bergen bags! There’s s’possed to be one hour of free wi-fi here in the airport, but we’re getting close to boarding so it’s not worth bothering with. I’ll find some in Bergen, hopefully!

The weather here has been so nice, lots of sunshine, but we’ve noticed it turning cooler just while we’ve been here. When the breeze picks up you really notice it. It’s not yet as cold as our winters, but it’s going to get a lot colder. I see why bears hibernate. They’ve got the right idea!

Everyone here speaks good English, but it’s annoying when you speak in English and the reply comes in Danish, followed by the same reply in English. Only one person did that to me, but you’ve gotta wonder.

Other nice things we’ve noticed about Copenhagen

 – the bells. There are several bell towers in earshot of Linda’s, some playing fairly standard beats, but there’s one, not sure if it was the local Town Hall or something like that, Linda will have to remind me, but every now and then it plays a tune after the toll, it’s a tune I recognised but can’t think of the name. Anyway, it was very pretty, and didn’t disturb us at night.

-the pushbikes. It’s a very pushbike oriented city, the fact that it’s not very hilly helps. And also the extreme tax levied on motor vehicles. Although sometimes, they’re like bees buzzing around. You have to watch out for cars, other pedestrians, prams, and pushbikes!

Picking the story up back at the airport ….. check in – apparently a staff member must have recognised us because they opened another bag drop counter and ushered us to it! That’s better! Now if only someone else had passed the word along and our plane hadn’t been forgotten by the powers that be at the airport. Our plane arrived in plenty of time, but no ground crew came to board us. A couple of crew from the plane came out to the gate and looked around and about 20 minutes after boarding was meant to commence, ground crew came screaming to the gate and processed everyone very quickly. Luckily there weren’t too many people booked on the flight so we were only about 20 minutes late getting away.

The views from the sky were amazing. We don’t have mountains in Australia. They have mountains here. We saw lots of snow away in the distance but there’s nothing on the ground here. It’s actually warmer here today than it looked like being in Copenhagen. Go figure. Considering Bergen is renowned for rain, we have landed on a brilliant day. Caught the Flybussen from the airport into Bergen (Bear-gn), and got dropped at the door of our hotel, the Scandic Strand. Talk about service, and the lady who sold us the bus tickets insisted on helping us with our bags to the bus. Copenhagen must have phoned ahead! Checked in no problems, unpacked a few things, including our Norwegian Kroner, and off we went to explore. Seeing the weather was so beautiful, the Floibanen Funicular up to the top of Mount Floyen for the absolute best view of Bergen was top of the list. It reminded me of how fortunate we were when we went up to Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, it was so clear.

How many layers Trevor?

643m to the top.

I had tossed up earlier about walking one way, probably down, but, still not feeling 100%, we coughed up for a return ticket and it was worth every penny, sorry, kroner! About $16 each return. You’ll have to come back for photos, the internet doesn’t reach up to our room from the lobby, the cord isn’t long enough, so I’ll put photos in later. No, it's ok, they found a longer cord! Our hotel room overlooks what seems to be the focus of tourism in town, the area around Bryggen and the Torget Fish Market.

Patrick! King crab in a tin!

Bryggen is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the place where the first buildings in Bergen were built and we explored that area when we came down from the mountain. We didn’t know how old the area was but found out that there have been buildings on the site since around 1070AD when Bergen was founded by King Olav Kyrre. There have been many fires, the worst in 1702 when the whole town burned down. Even the footpaths in the alleys are timber boards. No wonder smoking is forbidden there now!

Torn now about what to do next. It’s been very thirsty work to this point but we really want to go for a walk and see where the boat leaves from tomorrow and also see Knosesmauet, apparently one of the most photographed laneways in Bergen. Head overrules heart (thirst) while the weather is still being kind, so map in hand, it’s off to Knosemauet. From the bottom of the lane we can see across to the Hurtigruten terminal, it’s not far and would be an easy walk without suitcases, and there’s a decent bit of a hill between here and there, and the paths are paved with cobblestones, so maybe a cab will be needed tomorrow. And I’m not feeling that flash. Did I say that already? Yes? Tough, I’m saying it again. Knosemauet was worth finding, it’s very pretty, with lots of colourful houses and pots of bright flowers everywhere. Don’t suppose they’ll last the winter that’s coming. I daresay there are many such lanes in town down in that area particularly, but time wasn’t on our side to explore any further.

Prettier in person.

On our mission, we passed a couple of pubs, notably Scruffy Murphy’s (does every town have one of those?) and ended up at Finnegan’s where we must have got the cheapest beers in town, and that’s saying something here in Norway. I knew it was going to be expensive, but the reality of it is something else. Glad we’ve got full board on the boat.