The announcement on the tannoy said that Stavanger is the most expensive city in the world. I don’t know on what evidence they base this, but after a day there, I’m not going to argue! I’d seen a photo of Sverd i Fjell (three swords) in the cruise brochure, but didn’t wants to pay £££s to see a statue, no matter how impressive. So we walked. Passing through some very impressive residential areas of sparkling white houses, each one a different design with porches, balconies and large gardens. The roads were tree lined with an abundance of lush parks and public areas, all with well maintained and colourful flowerbeds. Any graffiti seen was mostly street art rather than the scruffy scrawl of non-existent words you often get. Family groups cycled by, all sensibly wearing helmets and ... read more

Arriving in the morning, Glyn quickly spotted the Arctic Cathedral through our porthole - we had arrived In Tromsø, the largest northern settlement in Norway. The sun was shining, the sky blue and the breeze welcoming. We walked to the nearby Polaria which like most (if not all) attractions in Tromsø is all about cold stuff. This began with a panoramic film about Svalbard, featuring very cute polar bears but no blue foxes. We walked through informative yet depressing displays about the glaciers melting and why the arctic ice is required to reflect heat off the planet on which we reside. Maps illustrated the shrinking ice over the decades and marks high in the walls displayed how much thinner the ice became each year (47 cms). They explained how arctic ice gives scientists information on climate ... read more

The plan last night was to stay awake so I could gaze at the passing landscape as we cruised from the Tuna glacier to Pyramiden between 11pm and 1am. But I gave up at 10.30pm. All the clean, cold and crisp air was making me sleepy; my body is missing some good old Stokey pollution. Plus the constant daylight is extremely disorientating too. Yes I have been sleeping with the port hole cover open (just because the sun not setting is so bizarre and I don’t want to miss it) so that doesn’t help. We woke up around 7am, Pyramiden visible through the portholes, set like everything is set here: at the base of brown, arid hills with little to no vegetation, plus ugly and rusty industrial stuff. Pyramiden is now a ghost town, populated mostly ... read more

Ever since I’d heard of Svalbard, I’ve dreamed of going. The whole point of this cruise was to see Svalbard, with everything else being a bonus. So even after the build up, it was mind blowingly magical to see the coast from the sea. I’m fortunate to have seen some awesome places, but none have made me feel so awestruck as this. I’m not sure why - could be the knowing that so much of the land before me is untouched by humans or because it is so inaccessible. Perhaps it’s the snowy, blue beauty or the fact that as far as I know, people hadn’t roamed there until quite recently in human history. Whatever it was, despite the cold, I stood staring at the coast for a very long time. Despite it being full on ... read more

After staying up till gone 2am waiting for a sun that never arrived, I woke around 10am to find it was back. Phew! It’s still warm in the arctic circle but when the sun goes behind the clouds, it can be a little breezy and maybe time to put the shorts away. Glyn and I have yet another favourite spot, now the back of deck 10 where the fjord and landscape drifts by as we gazed at it. We had a few visitors but I was able to blog, take photos and read! Afterwards I took the many flights down to deck 3 where our cabin is situated, changed into warm clothing, then climbed back up to Deck 10, where it got really hot again. I passed a man on the stairs who uses them for ... read more