Honningsvag, Norway
This port was the northernmost stop on our Norway cruise. Honningsvag is home to about 3,200 residents. Arctic fishing, King Crab adventures and camping are favorite activities of this area. Once again, we opted to avoid a ship organized excursion and, instead, walked through the downtown area on our own. This was one of our few Norway port stops that the sun decided to shine.
A short walk from the cruise terminal, there is a small but informative North Cape Maritime Museum ($6 USD per person). This museum includes several exhibits describing the importance of the fishing industry to the North Cape region.
Next to the museum is the Arctico Ice Bar ($16USD per person). Each spring, thick ice from Lapland lakes is cut and brought to Honningsvag to create what is essentially a large ice room (23F). Before entering the Ice Bar, we donned a heavily insulated cape. Inside the Ice Bar there are carved ice chairs and counters. Non-alcoholic drinks, included with the entry fee, are served in the Ice Bar.
If you find yourself in Honningsvag, it is worthwhile to stop to view Eva Schmutter's art work. Her artwork can be seen at her downtown West of the Sun gallery or her East of the Sun Gallery which is located in Kamoyvaer, a small fishing village (transportation from Honningsvag required). Her art pieces (originals and prints of originals) are colorful, bright and visually playful. We ended up purchasing an original collage depicting a landscape scene of Honningsvag.
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| One is a Troll |
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| Hiking Guides, Green Dog Sled Company |
Once again, the weather was cloudy with periods of rain and drizzle. We had a late start to our Longyearbyen visit as high winds caused the ship's captain to abandon a pier docking in favor of using tenders.
Port activities in Longyearbyen are somewhat limited when you only have about seven hours available, the weather is uncooperative and if you've been in this rugged and remote area three times previously. On this visit, we took a ship organized excursion providing a moderate length tundra hike and a visit to Green Dog Sled Company. This sledding company runs winter adventures, so this summer season stop was only an opportunity to view the dog kennels.
Upon return to the town area by bus, we stopped at Rabalder, our favorite Longyearbyen cafe for a lunch of soup and sandwiches. Free WIFI is available in the cafe which makes it attractive to locals and tourists.
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| Sled Dog Kennel |
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| Green Dog Sled Company Operations |
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| Rabalder Cafe, Longyearbyen |
Tromso, Norway
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| Arctic Cathedral |
We took a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Arctic Cathedral. This modern church, built in 1965 from concrete and metal, has 11 tall triangular braces running through the nave. At one end of the cathedral is a pipe organ and the other end has the largest stained glass in Norway. This stained glass was constructed by Victor Sparre and installed in 1972. The Arctic Cathedral has seating for 600.
Leaving the cathedral, we walked about a half mile to Fjellheisen cable car. This cable car runs from Solliveien up to Storsteinen, about 1,400 feet in elevation, in four minutes. Once at the top, you can enjoy a terrific overview of the Tromso area and take one of several hikes. Unfortunately, the rain was falling hard enough to turn the trails into a muddy trek. Instead, we rode the cable car back to the lower station and caught a local bus back to the downtown area.
We returned to the Pacific Princess for lunch. After lunch, I visited the Polar Museum (about $7 USD) by myself. This museum contains exhibits that describe the life of seafaring explorers, fur trappers and animals local to the area. I found the equipment displays of early explorers particularly interesting - no Goretex or other high-technology fabrics. The exhibits describing Roald Admundson and Fedrick Nanson's final and heroic expeditions were fascinating, if not mournful.
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| Fisherman Statue in Stortorget Plaza |
Hellesylt, Norway
Taking an organized bus tour for this port made the most sense to us as there were many sights to see and we wanted to avoid any chance of being delayed during the trip. Cruise ships don't wait for delayed excursion travelers unless you participate in one of the ship arranged excursions. Moreover, I'm not sure there are one-way rental cars in Hellesylt.
Where did we go during our eight hour excursion? Leaving Hellesylt, we stopped in:
- Horindalsvatnet, for a short viewing opportunity, Horindalsvatnet is Norway's and Europes' deepest lake (1,700 feet).
- Stryn, for coffee, snacks and views of the picturesque houses along the Stryneelva River. Farming, forestry, fruit orchards, animal breeding, small industry and tourism provide the main occupation for this area.
- Josteldalsbreen National Park, for lunch at the Hjelle Hotel. We didn't stop at the glacier in the park but instead had a delicious baked salmon lunch at the historic Hjelle Hotel, built in 1896.
- Dalsnibba, Europe's highest fjord view from a road, at almost 5,000 feet in elevation. There is a viewing "skywalk" platform at Dalsnibba that opened in 2016 that provides a breathtaking look down 1,600 feet.
- Ornesvingen (Eagle Road), for a panoramic overview of Geiranger.
Along our drive, we drove on Geirangervegen, the old unimproved gravel road originally constructed in 1889, and passed views of Longvalet (Long Lake) and Djupvalet, a large brilliant blue lake, amidst snow covered jagged mountains. Our guide was terrific and periodically had the bus stop so that we could step out to enjoy a particularly scenic view.
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| Entering Hellesylt |
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| Stryn |
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| Along the Stryneelva River, Stryn |
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| View from Dalsnibba |
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| View from Ornesvingen |
Bergen, Norway
Bergen was our final port stop on this cruise. We decided that we could tour the city on our own, starting with a disembarkation at 8:30am. We couldn't find a taxi so we walked over to the Floibanen funicular (about $12 USD per person) to Floyen. Floyen sits at about 1,000 feet in elevation and provides a beautiful panoramic view of Bergen. If we had more time, we would have like to take advantage of the hiking trails, mountain biking, zip lines and dining in Floyen. If you're traveling with children, there is a playground and many animals to see.
With an eye on our time, we descended on the funicular and walked to the Fish Market. The market offered fresh seafood to purchase as well as several seafood restaurants. We sampled some smoked white fish that was quite tasty.
Continuing on our city walk, we headed over to the Bergen Museum. We had purchased online tickets for a historical walking tour from the museum. The two hour tour included stops at St Mary's Church, Schols Museum that highlighted a maritime merchant village and a final stop at the Hanseatic Museum. At this museum, we could observe the living quarters for a maritime merchant and his apprentices. The young boy apprentices had a rough living environment, locked into crowded bunk areas at night and working in a communal situation.
We returned to the Bergen Museum for a cafe lunch. With time a concern, we decided to make our last walking tour stop at the Rosenkrantz Tower and Hakkon Castle. The Tower tour wound its way through narrow stairway, leading to empty rooms with descriptions posted on the walls. With the winding stairs, at times, it was difficult to determine where each of the rooms - location and floor - were located. On the other hand, Hakkon Castle was primarily a building used for current conferences and receptions. The castle was very modern and did not offer a lot of historical relevance.
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| No Witches Permitted in Floyen |
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| View from Floyen |
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| Fish Market |
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| Walking Museum Tour |
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| Notice that Buildings Have Settled |
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| A Sunny Day Brought the Tourists Out |
Returning to Dover
Our Norway cruise ended where it started - the port of Dover. From Dover, we made a return visit to Dover Castle to see the Secret Wartime Underground Tunnels and learn more about the role of the tunnels in Operation Dynamo. This WWII operation led to the rescue of stranded 338,000 soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. Leaving Dover, we drove to Canterbury for three nights.
On our drive to Gatwick Airport from Dover, we stopped to tour the house of Charles Darwin and Chartwell, Winston Churchill's country home.
On our drive to Gatwick Airport from Dover, we stopped to tour the house of Charles Darwin and Chartwell, Winston Churchill's country home.
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