Sunday, 10 December 2023

Northern Lights at sea near Trondheim, Norway November 2023

 










Norway Round trip Coastal Voyage Bergen -Kirkenes - Bergen November 2023

In November 2023, I travelled to Norway for the first time, in order to experience a 12 day voyage along 2500 miles of the coastline. I particularly appreciated the time in the Norwegian Arctic, which encompassed the North Cape at 71.2 degrees north, and the Russian border down of Kirkenes in the east. The origins of this trip are with Hurtigruten, and it still acts as a postal service, calling in at 34 ports to deliver supplies to remote settlements. The Norwegian Government recently opened up the route to competition, and I travelled with new operator Havila, who operate four lower impact hybrid battery and LPG ships. I highly recommend this trip. The experience is not a traditional cruise (thankfully, there's no entertainment on board, other than the scenery), and the ship transports locals between ports. The food, was excellent, and the Norwegian crew friendly and considerate. In the winter season, the cost was very reasonable for a country with such a high cost of living. As you will see by my next post, I was also lucky enough to see the northern lights.

Bergen





Geiranger



MV Havila Pollux (Sister Ship)

Trondheim




Bode

Tromso





Havoysund and Nordkapp









Kirkenes


Hammerfest (Northern most town with >10,000 inhabitants in the world)


Stockmarknes

Oslo (I travelled via a very scenic train from Bergen)