Blogs from Norway, Europe - page 2

Nothing planned for today so a late breakfast. Chris decided on having a lazy day so I went out solo after breakfast. Wandered up the main shopping street opposite our room. Ended up at the Royal Palace. An impressive building at the top of a hill. They have soldiers guarding the entrances. Their hats have what looks like a black straw plume on one side of their hats. They stand there and turn their heads to either side with this plume dancing in the wind. Would be very annoying and a distraction if anything really active were to happen. Then they take off and march up and down their line. Very pompous but also impressive. Lots of gun saluting, resting and shouldering arms. Wandered around the back. Very pretty Queen’s garden there and at the very ... read more

Out of our hotel with some sad feelings. Very nice hotel, staff were excellent and location was great. In a cheap taxi organized by the hotel to the airport. Arrive in plenty of time, send big bag first. Accepted - after a re-pack in the room to get under the weight limit. 2nd bag no probs. In through security. This is the first time my backpack has got through without being searched. However, Chris’s bag got stopped. Any fruit. Hmm, nope. Can I search. Of course. Then he comes up with 2 fit balls - very hard for rolling your feet. Could well be mistaken for apples. Giggles all round and a thanks and move on. Get to our gate and sit for half an hour. Finally called and go through the gate only to be ... read more

Puis il nous faudra redescendre vers le Sud si nous voulons retourner chez nous. Hammerfest, la ville la plus septentrionale au monde est notre prochain arrêt... À 70,7° de latitude nord, Hammerfest est une ville arctique pleine de vie. Depuis sa fondation, Hammerfest porte le titre de ville la plus septentrionale au monde. Elle est pratiquement à la même latitude que les parties les plus au nord de la Sibérie et de l’Alaska. Même si le sol n’y est pas gelé en permanence, Hammerfest connaît fréquemment de fortes chutes de neige l’hiver. L’été, il y fait clair 24 heures sur 24 et, à certains moments de l’hiver, le soleil ne monte pas au-dessus de l’horizon. Hammerfest a toujours été un port de pêche. Lorsque les monopoles de commerce du littoral ont été supprimés, elle a obtenu ... read more

Si bien arrivés, encore faut-il le quitter ce fameux Cap Nord, car nous avons pas mal de chemin devant nous... C'est ainsi que nous commençons notre descente vers le Sud. Vous constaterez par les photos l'aridité du terrain... Quand le vent souffle par ici, ce ne doit pas être jojo... on comprend un peu alors que l'homme ne doit pas avoir tous les jours facile de vivre ici et pourtant c'est bien ce que les Samis arrivent à faire. En quittant le Cap Nord nous longeons le Porsangerfjord et passons le tunnel du Cap Nord qui a remplacé le ferry en 1999, pour atteindre Honningsvag. Ce tunnel construit sous la mer relie le continent à l'île de Magerova, long de 6.875 kms il atteint une profondeur de 212 m sous le niveau de la mer, ce ... read more

Today we had around 2.5 hours in Trondheim. This is a pretty little town with a huge cathedral as its main attraction. Pleasant walk after breakfast through the very empty streets. Not much happens on a Saturday. Got up the cathedral and paid our entry. Timing was excellent as an English tour was starting in 5 minutes. Informative talk about this cathedral and its origins and how many times it has been destroyed by fire and re-built (at least 5). Wandered back along the river to the ship and straight into lunch. Then we had a discussion on the Norwegian history and stuff. Sun was shining so it was hard to concentrate on a book but also able to look at the passing sights so a pleasant afternoon. Found out that Ralph used to be the ... read more