I have just arrived back in Oslo after a week on the Hurtigruten ship and I still feel like the earth is rocking slightly! I had an absolutely amazing trip, travelling 2300 km up the coast of Norway, from Bergen, in the south west of Norway to Kirkenes in the north-east and 10km from the Russian border.
After a frantic week last week, cumulating in a presentation on the Wednesday morning, we raced back home, ate lunch caught a bus, a train and then another train for our 3pm flight to Bergen. At Oslo airport, we were not surprised to see that, whilst warmer in Bergen, the forecast was for rain, as apparently Bergen is always wet!
Our 45 min flight was magnificant, over houses surrounded by snowy fields, roads and forests. It was a beautiful day for flying, sunny and clear, and as we approached Bergen we began to see fjords, bridges and islands. We were surprised to find a gorgeous sunny day in Bergen as well when we landed and took the bus from the airport past fishing villages, bridges and fjords. One thing I particularly love about Norway is the housing- all the houses are brightly coloured reds, yellows, greens and blues.
Bergen is a gorgeous place, quite similar to Hobart, with a harbour-town feel and a huge mountain in the background (except it was covered in snow!) We strolled round for an hour or so, looking at the gorgeous harbour and the famous row of coloured waterfront shops there. The relaxed feel and the sunshine definitely made it a special place!
We then dragged our bags round to the Hurtigruten terminal and got our first glimpse of the ship, MS Finnmarken. Wow- it was huge!
Excited, we raced into the terminal, which was elegant and quite cleanly decorated. We were so excited when we checked in our bags (they loaded them to our cabin for us) and got our ID card for the ship etc. Then we got to board, going through a glass walkway onto the ship for the first time.
Each passenger is given an ID card which has their name and cabin number on it. This is scanned every time they enter or exit, in order to quickly determine who is and is not aboard. The ID card is also used to access the cabins, marked with the meal package you receive to display on entry to the dining room, and can be used as a charge card to buy things aboard.
Our cabin was an inside cabin on the 3rd floor of the ship, so we raced down then and started to unpack. Each cabin was for 2 people, and contained a couch that folded into a bed, another bed that folded into the wall, a small bathroom, a fridge and a desk with a chair. There was a surprising amount of space in the cabins, and plenty of room for all our belongings!
After a brief spot of unpacking (we'd only brought 2 suitcases between the four of us) we set off to explore the ship, taking in the dining room, gym, sauna, outside (heated) spa and swimming pool, bars and panorama lounge, with windows on 3 sides to view the scenery. There was also a beautiful view over Bergen at night.
After seeing the dining room, we decided it was dinner time and set off to eat. Before entering the dining room, after eating, when embarking and disembarking you are required to use an alcohol rub on your hands to prevent the spread of infection. This was put in place after an outbreak of gastro 2 years ago on a Hurtigruten ship, and seems to have worked!
Our meal package included breakfast and dinner, and I'm so glad it did! The first night, we had a buffet that was utterly amazing, with lots of Norwegian seafood (I've never seen so many types of herring- steamed, tomato sauce, curry sauce etc) and delicious desserts, particularly berries which grow well in Norway because of the extended sun in summer.
After dinner we had a briefing in which we were told about the ship and safety instructions. It was here we learnt some more about our fellow passengers. For a start, we were by far the youngest (easily 30 years younger than the other passengers) and as such we were stared at a lot. In addition, I'd say 80% of the ship were German, apparently Hurtigruten is marketed extensively in Germany and certainly we got a far better deal from booking in Germany than we would have anywhere else (I was travelling with 2 German sisters and a Swiss girl). As a result of this, the staff on the ship are amazing. All announcements were made in at least Norwegian, English and German, and some were if French if the person doing the other announcements spoke French as well. In particular, the tour manager was hilarious, telling jokes in all 3 (sometimes four) languages! Everyone, dining room staff, bar staff, cleaning staff, reception staff spoke at least English and Norwegian, and usually German as well.
The safety suits are hilarious. Due to the fact the water is quite cold, as well as a life jacket youa required to dress in a bright orange all in one suit, which was demonstrated to us by the safety officer on the ship.
We stood on the outside deck as we left Bergen, taking pictures and watching the lights get smaller. Then we jumped into the spa (heated to 38 degrees) and sat there on deck as we set off on what is marketed as 'the world's most beautiful voyage'...
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