Norway – Day 6

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

 When we watched yesterday afternoon’s briefing for the coming 24 hours much was made about our crossing of Vestfjord which is considered open sea (borders the Norwegian Sea). We were warned that we would be crossing between 5.00am and 11.00am and that the forecast swell and wind direction was likely to mean a rough crossing. Take your sea sickness pills before you go to bed if you think you are going to need them!!

Now, when they said between 5.00am and 11.00am we thought they meant that we could have up to six hours of rough sea. The reality was that we didn’t even start heading out into the open sea until about 8.00am. We had a little bit of pitch and roll during breakfast but we didn’t think it was any worse that the movement we have experienced from time to time during the last few days. And by 9.30am we were hugging the coast again on the other side of the fjord. Still, better to make it sound really bad so that everyone is happily relieved when it’s not terrible at all?!

We managed breakfast despite the movement of the boat and we were not alone in the dining room. I guess there were people suffering but we saw no evidence of anyone who was not coping with the conditions. Still, if you felt sea sick would you go to the dining room? I would not.

After breakfast with hours to go until our next port we hunted out the Guest Laundry. We were lucky enough to find a machine available so put on a load of washing. The machine was a Miele and the dial was all in Norwegian so it was a challenge. It was a challenge just to get the door open and then more of a challenge trying to decide which cycle to use. Eventually our clothes were tumbling around and we left them too it.

We decided to head out onto Deck 6 to complete a few laps towards our exercise goal. It was refreshing to get out of the heating and into some fresh air. Today we were able to walk circuits with no repair work being undertaken while we’re at sea. We completed six laps which was enough for our 30 minutes exercise goal to be completed. I’ve actually noticed that my watch thinks I’m driving so rather suspect that sailing is a bit like four-wheel driving and tricks our watches into thinking we are exercising. Not to worry, we have not used the lift yet on this voyage so by the time we walk the stairs regularly between the various decks I think we will have done an honest 30 minutes of exercise by the end of today.

At 11.00am it was time to head up to Deck 9 for the Arctic Circle crossing ceremony. Some music was played while the crew were waiting for passengers to arrive on Deck 9 and then the MC welcomed us north of the Arctic Circle and encouraged to call Njörd, the Norse Sea God, so that he could bless our vessel with good fortune as we sail further north. Njörd joined us on deck and related the sorry tail of Vikings who sailed the Vestfjord who did not think they needed his blessing. Their boat was smashed asunder and Njörd and his wife, Skadi, used the timbers to make skis.

It was then time to announce the winner of the Arctic Circle Crossing competition. We crossed 66°34’ north at 02:13:56 this morning and the person who guessed closest to this time was presented with a banner that has been flown over the ship for the last 12 days. When they announced yesterday that the prize would be something you could not buy in any shop in the world I thought the winner was going to be presented with a jar of sea water collected at 66°34’ north but, I was wrong! Anyhow, we had not entered the competition so we were not in the running anyway.

The winner was then given the dubious pleasure of being the first person to complete the crossing ceremony … by having ice tipped down her back!!! Ugh!!! Passengers then started queueing up to have ice tipped down their backs. Now if it were ‘just’ an ice cube or two being tipped maybe not so bad? However, the ice cubes had been sitting around for a while making it inevitable that ice AND ice water was being ladled down people’s collars buy the Captain and the Hotel Manager! Besides which you had to take a seat on a bench soaked with ice water and, every so often, Njörd joined in by pouring a glass full of ice water down their backs. Not for me thank you!

Meredith really wanted to participate in this ridiculous ritual but her mate, Fiona, was nowhere to be seen. Bernie agreed to have ice tipped down his back with her so that she didn’t have to do it alone. What a gentleman??? After the ice bath, participants were handed a shot of schnapps(?). Bernie and Meredith knocked back the shot but couldn’t say for certain what it was they were drinking.

At the conclusion of the ceremony we returned to our cabin where Bernie proceeded to shed ice cubes out of his clothes onto the carpet. Ugh, get in the shower I said and get rid of your ice cubes there! Bernie certainly had more than a couple of ice cubes inside his T-shirt and his backside was saturated. I suggested that he start drying his pants off with the hairdryer while I went to collect our laundry that was just about due to finish its cycle.

I arrived in the laundry just before the spin cycle started and waited and waited and waited for the machine to unlock at the end of it’s cycle. It indicated two minutes to go for much longer than two minutes! It was embarrassing because there were people waiting to put their washing in. It was difficult to know what to do because I absolutely did not want to press something that would start the wash cycle all over again. Eventually after 10 minutes I announced to those waiting I am just going to try turning the dial back to the top position. Thank goodness the machine let me do this AND most importantly, it released the clothes that it was holding hostage. Phew!

Back in the cabin Bernie’s pants had been dried successfully with the hair dryer but he had decided to change his T-shirt. He was feeling warm and recovered from his participation in the Arctic Circle Crossing ceremony. We filled in some time in our cabin before venturing down to the dining room to eat some lunch prior to arrival in Lødingen.

Lødingen is a charming village on the southwestern shore of Hinnøya, Norway’s largest island south of Svalbard. Today we had booked the Steamship Wharf excursion so we left the boat at 2.00pm to meet the ship’s photographer at the bottom of the gangplank. When the group was complete he walked us around to the wharf on the other side of the harbour and handed us over to our local guide, Lisbeth.

Lisbeth was born in the area but moved away to pursue a career in teaching. She returned to the area when her family needed her to take over the management of their fishing fleet. Although the family business has now been sold, fishing is in her blood so she purchased her own small fleet of three boats and continued to fish until last year. She still owns her boats but they are operated by her son and some employees.

Lisbeth purchased the derelict building on the old steamship wharf two years ago and has worked hard to painstakingly restore this important part of municipality’s history. She was able to apply for a grant from the Norwegian government to help her with the restoration. Lisbeth regaled us with stories about the economic and social importance of the wharf and its buildings to the community even telling us that it was the very spot at which her father first set eyes on her mother.

The building is part museum, part café and bar and is once again an important meeting place for the villagers. Lisbeth played us a piece of music by the famous Sami vocalist, Mari Boine, who sings a type of minimalist folk-rock with joik roots. The joik (chanting song) is a unique form of cultural expression for the Sami people in Sápmi (Lapland). The songs are often deeply personal or spiritual in nature and are often dedicated to another human being, an animal or a landscape as a personal signature. It is a style that relies heavily on improvisation and minimal musical accompaniment, most often only a traditional drum. The piece was incredibly atmospheric.

After being shown the old hoist in the attic upstairs Lisbeth offered us afternoon tea – coffee, tea or hot chocolate – to accompany a cinnamon roll. So wish I hadn’t had a brownie at lunchtime! Of course that did not stop me from eating more cake. Made by a friend of hers, the rolls were delicious.

We left the wharf and wandered around to the Big Bike which acknowledges the popularity of cycling in the Lødingen municipality. I was able to take a photo of Bernie in front of the Big Bike in front of the Hurtigruten (MS Trollfjord) across the harbour.

Our next stop was at the town’s popular yarn shop. Just a look I said, just a look. Yes, OF COURSE I purchased some yarn! My justification is that these places need the tourists to help stimulate the local economy … besides which it just seemed rude to go in and look at and photograph all of their gorgeous yarn without making a purchase. So much beautiful yarn. How could I possibly resist?!

It was only about 4.00pm but it was getting dark quickly as we started to head back towards the boat. We ‘almost’ made it back without spending any more money. Even though it was obscured by scaffolding I spied another retail opportunity. Just one shop brightly lit and seemingly filled with passengers from our boat. The shop proved to be an outlet for a range of items all crafted by locals. Turned wooden items, knitted and sewn items and hide items. I was very tempted by a beautiful jumper but common sense prevailed this time because I KNOW that it will never be cold enough in Melbourne to wear it. We did buy a finely turned Christmas ornament and made our escape back to the boat without further spending.

Back on the boat it was soon time for dinner so we ate AGAIN. Another three-course meal. At least the serves are modest while still allowing us to sample many traditional Norwegian dishes prepared with local ingredients. The menu always has information about the ingredients and how they are sourced and prepared but, too date, I haven’t really had time to read that section in detail. Too busy looking at the other side of the page trying to decide what I am going to choose for dinner.

This morning after her ice bath Meredith was telling us that she wanted to go the beach in Lødingen to do an arctic plunge. I thought this sounded completely crazy but she was adamant that she was going to do it because she was denied the opportunity of doing an Antarctic swim when she went to Antarctica last November. I DO NOT have things like this on my bucket list!!

Over dinner Meredith was able to tell us that she got as far as her knees because it was too difficult to strip to her bathers with nowhere to leave her clothes and keep them dry. As it is she imposed on a complete stranger from the boat to hold her shoes and socks and take photos and provide her with an anchor point as she put her shoes and socks back on. And she says – it wasn’t THAT cold??!!

In contrast, Mark and Claudia visited the WWII Museum, staffed by an enthusiastic young man whose grandfather lived in the village during the German occupation. They said they learnt a lot about the war from the perspective of a country that was occupied by the Germans because of its strategic importance.   

Because we were all still enjoying each other’s company when our table was cleared we adjourned to the bar upstairs to fill in a bit of time before rugging up and venturing out to Deck 9 to look for some auroral activity. It was a bit cloudy so the viewing conditions were not good despite Bernie’s Aurora App saying that activity was (allegedly) high. It was COLD outside with quite a wind chill factor so I bailed out first and returned to the cabin for a cuppa. Before I had finished my tea Bernie was back … without having seen any aurora.

Steps: 11,563 (613.39km)