Journey To The Top Of The World (Almost)

DH (Dear Husband ) and I are taking a cruise along Norway’s eastern coastline, eventually sailing above the Arctic Circle.  While we won’t see a midnight sun, that’s back in June, for many of the northernmost points, it won’t get truly dark either.  

I'll be posting this in reverse order, newest on top. So if you're joining later, scroll down to the bottom and work your way up.

Day 15 Southampton

As I’ve observed before, the crew of the cruise ship treat you like royalty from the beginning.   That last day though they kick you out of your room by 9:00 AM, and passengers with their hand luggage wander the ship until it is time for them to disembark.   Oh well.   Next cruise in the Iberian peninsula, 10 days Lisbon to Barcelona!  Can’t wait!

Day 14 At Sea

A nice picture of the ship’s central lobby

Day 13 Newcastle

Our last stop before returning to Southampton is Newcastle.   The last time we were in a city named Newcastle, it was on a different continent - Australia, over 10,000 miles/ 16,000k away!

Ever the history buff, I selected and DH agreed, a tour of Hadrian’s wall, a fortification built starting in 122 CE, and took around six years and three roman legions to complete. It extends 80 Roman miles (a unit of length equivalent to about 1,620 yards or 1,480 meters), or 73 modern miles/117 kilometers.  This covered the entire width of the island at this point, from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west.   The wall was about 10 feet/3m to about 8 feet/2.4m wide, and 12 feet/3.7m high.  The Roman emperor Hadrian wanted a distinct boundary of the empire and the island does not have a natural boundary, such as a river.

The wall is punctuated by forts, milecastles and turrets.  Every Roman mile had a milecastle, with two turrets between them,   The forts were eight Roman miles apart, a day’s march.   When fully manned, the wall had about 10,000 troops, drawn not from the Roman Legions, but auxiliary troops from Spain, Germany, and other areas of the empire.  After 25 years of service an auxiliary would be granted Roman citizenship, and would usually settle down in the area of that service.

The forts had all the modern conveniences, including Roman baths

And heating.   This shows the supports for the floor over the hypocaust which provided the heat.

The milecastles allowed for crossings through the wall, where the soldiers could inquire of a traveler’s purpose, and tax goods coming through.

So what happened to all the stones in this long and tall wall?  They were stolen over the years to build houses, barns, and other walls after the Romans abandoned it!!

A major section of the wall was saved by John Claton (1792 - 1890).  While a child his father bought a mansion house where one of the forts was in the garden, fascinating him.  Born into wealth and increasing it himself, he purchased sections of the wall whenever the land it was on came on the market.

Days 10 11,12, At sea 

Some diehards will enjoy the pool deck no matter what.   Temperatures were in the 50s F/10 C

Day 9 Honningsvag, North Cape

Our guide claimed that Honningsvag is the northernmost city in the world.  I’m not so sure about that, other towns claim the same!  In any case this was our furthest north stop.  Aside from that, the highlight was a king crab mid morning snack.   King crab was introduced by the USSR in its own waters in the 1960s for their own fishing fleet.   With no natural predators, the crabs eventually flourished,  expanding to Norwegian waters in 1977.  As an invasive species, the crab was getting entangled in nets and stealing bait from longlines.  Now, however, they are big business, consumed locally and exported internationally to the tune of $9 million, €8.6 million a month during season.   

Here’s our mid-morning snack - or is that second breakfast?

The Sami are the indigenous peoples of the north, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola peninsula, and are distinguished by the 10 or so dialects of the Sami language, distinct from any other Scandinavian language .  As semi-nomadic peoples, like the midwestern Native Americans, they needed portable shelters from the elements.   In a case of similar situations generating similar solutions, they came up with the teepee!

In another parallel with the native North American indigenous peoples, their culture and languages were suppressed.   The languages were forbidden in Sweden and Norway, and Sami children were taken away in Russia when aged one or two, and returned as teenagers with no knowledge of their language.  These oppressions are now over, but the damage remains.

Leaving Honningsvag brought us to the furthest north of our sailing, and the shortest (and lightest) period of night.   Here’s Civil twilight.  Just as about as dark as it gets  at 71°11'01.9"N 24°34'04.9"E, with the sun just under the horizon to 6° below it.

Day 8 Tromso

Tromso is proof that not all port days are equal.  The highlight was the first stop, a Polar (not Viking!) museum.  It basically related the days of polar exploration, both North and South poles.  

Also the days of polar exploitation!   It is contained in a historic building, once a customs house right on the harbor.    

Outside is a display of several harpoons for whale hunting, which is still practiced!   Minke whale meat is used for human and animal consumption in Norway and also exported to Japan

And also a display for when clubbing baby seals was still politically correct!

Someone at the Polar Museum has a sense of humor.   The top reads "Paper Doll - with outfits for every polar occasion"

Afterward, we took a ride on a cable car up Storsteinen mountain.  This gave us some beautiful views of the city and fjords.  Unfortunately, we did not get much time here as we wanted as the line to board was longer than the tour operator expected, and the tour guide had another commitment for the afternoon.

Our last stop here was the Arctic Cathedral.   Somewhat of a misnomer, no Bishop, so not a cathedral.  It is very pretty, however, built to embrace the arctic vision of snow and ice  with the white slab like walls and clear glass windows at the entrance.   

The back window was originally also clear glass, but the sun kept blinding the parishioners!     So it was replaced with beautiful stained glass.

Day 7 Gravdal, Lofoten Islands

The Lofoten Islands were historically and still are built on Cod fishing. “Skrei” is the Norwegian name for cod from the Norwegian-Arctic stock, which migrates from the Barents Sea to the coast during the first half of every year. This fishing period, known as Lofoten fishery, goes on from January to April – and has been since well before the Viking Period.  This annual winter season has provided the inhabitants of Lofoten easy access to food for 10,000 years. Hundreds of generations of fishermen and their families along the Norwegian coastline have survived because of Lofoten and its resources.

This catch has been the region’s most important livelihood and it remains the main source of income for many people along the northern Norwegian coast.  Historically people traveled for days and weeks in their open rowing and sailing boats to participate in the rich Lofoten fishing.  At first they slept under their overturned boats, but due to the importance of fishing, sagas relate that in the early 1100s, King Øystein decreed that cabins were to be built for the fishermen who traveled to Lofoten. These were two room huts, one room for storage, the other for sleeping and eating.    They were painted red because the paint - fish oil mixed with animal blood - was cheap!  These huts - named “rorbu” - were built right up to the water line and soon crowded it out.   They are ubiquitous in Lofoten, and are also found elsewhere in northern Norway.    

The original cottages were basic, but have since been upgraded and used as vacation retreats.    

 The grass on the roofs is very common in Norway, traditionally six or seven layers of birch bark are laid down, then the sod applied.   Sod roofs keep the house cooler in summer and warmer in winter.  Some roofs have bushes and even trees, but I’m not sure I’d want a tree root hanging in my shower!

The cod, once caught, would be air dried on racks - also all over Lofoten.  The average temperature there in winter and early spring is just below freezing, so the fish would not spoil.   The dried fish would be easy to transport, as it lost all its water weight.   Dried fish has been exported from the area since the Viking times.   The stockfish, as it is called, can last up to 15 years!  I’m just happy that we were not there when tons and tons of fish were drying in the open.   Nobody mentioned it, but I’m sure the air would have some sort of scent!

We also visited another Viking Museum.  I think most of the towns in Northern Norway have one of those!This was different from the first one in that the longhouse was much bigger than the one in Haugesund.   It had several rooms, including a barn for the animals in winter.  

It is a recreation, but it is based upon the actual location of the original that is adjacent.  The location of the posts in the ground gave an accurate view of the size.   

The building has workrooms showing the crafts practiced by the Vikings.

Day 6 At sea July 31

Crossed the Arctic Circle this afternoon.  We’ve not seen true dark since we left Haugesund, but now it will stay bright enough to do things outside without any supplemental lighting at all!.  The captain made a ship wide broadcast including the cabins (something usually reserved for emergencies) to let us know.  We even got a certificate attesting that we crossed the Arctic Circle!  

A bit about the role of women in the Viking age.  Viking women were every bit equal to the men of their respective stations.  When the stadholder married, he turned over the key to every lock, even to the strongbox, to his wife.  He was responsible for every aspect of running the farm, short, everything outside the perimeter fence containing the longhouse and outbuildings.  She was responsible for the smooth running of everything inside that perimeter and the livestock .  If the stadholder were to be killed while out raiding, a distinct possibility when pointy things with sharp edges are involved, she retained ownership of the farm.   A daughter could also inherit.  

The women had their own room inside the longhouse, where domestic tasks such as weaving took place.  But more importantly, this is where a lot of diplomacy occurred.  When neighboring households came visiting, the men would be in the hall or outside, drinking, performing contests of strength and skill.  In short, acting like….well never mind.

In the meantime, the women would be exchanging news, talking about who was trading with whom, what new trade might be had, what marriages were being arranged, keeping the lines of communication open.  And not just between the visitors and hosts.  A visitor could carry messages and proposals to other farmsteads beyond the reach of the hosts.

And while a man could divorce his wife, if it was not for a compelling reason it could start a blood feud between him and her family.  On the other hand, she could just walk out and go back to her own family!

Day 5 Trondheim

The Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum is an open-air museum with original buildings from the 1800’s, when  Norway was part of the kingdom of Denmark.  It wasn’t all Vikings you know.  The buildings were disassembled from their original location, and rebuilt on the museum grounds.  

Two buildings are particularly interesting, at least to me.  The first was a house built by a retired fisherman for his wife and himself.  It seems that Norwegians, when they have wealth, like to show it off.   This goes back to the Viking age, when wealthy kings would build large longhouses to make it apparent they were a success.  In this case the owner showed off with windows.  Glass, particularly clear glass, was very expensive.  Here there are nine windows just in front!

The second building is a dedicated festive occasion building, especially for weddings that was in Trondheim proper.  According to our guide, weddings at the time would last five days!  The guests would bring food for the week, and it was all shared out in a big “potluck”.  One of the women would be responsible for keeping track of who brought what, and to send families home with enough food to get them there.  It was a matter of honor to insure that nobody went home with the same provisions that they brought.  This was quite the feat of memory, as most of the population could neither read nor write!

The king in Denmark thought that five days of festivities was a waste of resources, and issued an edict limiting them to three.  But he was in Copenhagen, far away, and that edict was largely ignored.  Go figure!

Our guide told us about an interesting wedding custom.   A hopeful groom would make an ironing board

and present it to his intended.  This conceivably would impress her with his ability with tools, and could be considered capable of building out what a household would need.   If she accepted, she would sew him a shirt, demonstrating her ability to maintain said household.   But if you think about it, the proposal is effectively “will you iron my shirts for the rest of our lives?”.

The reconstructed town has a bank, a pharmacy - the pharmacist would compound medications from plants grown in his own garden - as well as a general store, which sold items that were not readily available, including imported goods.

Every town of any size had a “night man”.   He was the person who emptied the privies, took away the rubbish, dead animals and cleared up after the executioner had done his job. This profession was regarded as completely without honor, and people truly believed that the night man was contagious.  This position fell to the sons of night men (women convicted of terrible crimes could be forced to become their bride) , or condemned criminals who were given the choice of death or the job.  Telling enough, most chose death!   Night men were outcast, and were given a small, but proper home well outside the village.  

His children were also so marked, outcast, and could not attend school.  In short they were without prospects..  Once modern sanitation was developed, the role of the nightman faded away  

Our next stop was  Nidaros Cathedral, a Lutheran church originally built as Catholic.  This was the last day of Saint Olaf's Patron Saint of Norway celebration.  We were more interested in the open air market outside the church with tables of local crafts.  There were some beautiful paintings on glass, but we could not figure out how to get one home safely.  Oh well.

Two organs are installed in the cathedral.   The Baroque organ was built by noted German organ builder Joachim Wagner (1690–1749) during the period 1738–40 and restored 1993 and 1994. It has 30 stops and is located at a gallery in the north transept.

The main organ was built by the Steinmeyer firm in 1930 and was erected in the north transept (later moved to the west nave) It then had 125 stops. Installation of the Steinmeyer organ was commissioned in 1930 for the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Stiklestad, and extensively restored in 2014

As part of the celebration there was an open air market outside the church with tables of local crafts.  There were some beautiful paintings on glass, but we could not figure out how to get one home safely.  Oh well.

Day 4 Andalsnes 

Today we are visiting the Romsdal, Brestdalen, and Vermedalen valleys.  The region was thoroughly carved out by glaciers,resulting in amazing vistas and waterfalls.  You get a taste of this sailing into the fjord to dock at Andalsnes.  It may be a bit cliche, but the fjord was smooth as glass, with some beautiful reflections.

This port’s tour is the Crown Jewel of a trip filled with jewels.  First we drive along many branches of Romsdalsfjorden, the fjord we sailed up.  As we do, we pass through several tunnels on our way inland.  These tunnels were dug to reduce the travel time between towns that are separated by a fjord or even a mountain.  While it is impressive to look up at the mountains, it is just as impressive to look down at the fjord from above.

Our first stop is the kettle-holes at Alstad.  Here the Valldøla river passes through a narrow gorge. High above the rapids, the rocky edges lean towards each other from both sides with the result that there are only a few meters across the gorge. Legend has it that a nimble young man called Gudbrand jumped over to escape with his kidnapped bride - hence the name Gudbrandsjuvet.

There is hardly another place in the country where so many large kettle-holes are found. Kettle- holes were carved out over thousands of years by melt-water from the glaciers in the last ice age.

Our next stop is for lunch, in a converted house along the way.  A delicious seafood soup, tender salmon, with a wonderful strawberry pastry for dessert.  This is the strawberry capital of Norway, and they are in season here, even at the end of July.

After lunch Today we drive towards the Trollstigen (English:Troll Ladder).  This is an impressive mountain road that winds through one of Norway's most spectacular regions with hairpin bends that take our bus up and down the steep slopes.  The highest point gave us amazing views of waterfalls, and that of the road itself.  On one side, there is Stigfossen waterfall with a total fall of about 180 meters/590 feet.

On the other is Tverrdalsfossen, with a vertical drop of 338 meters/1,110 feet.

A closer look reveals a hidden rainbow

These both flow into the Istra river at the bottom of the valley with the road climbing up.

Navigating the hairpin switchbacks was the challenge for our bus driver.  Vehicles longer than 12.4 meters (41 ft) long are prohibited, and for good reason.  In a few places the driver had to back and fill several times to complete the turn.  Police actually stopped oncoming traffic so he could.  Overall there are 11 hairpin turns on this two lane road.  

Our last stop is Trollveggen, the tallestvertical rock face in Europe, about 1,100 meters/3600 feet from its base to the summit of its highest point.  It is very similar to El Capitan in Yosemite Park in the USA, the tallest solid rock face in the world at 914 meters/3000 feet.  They are both challenges to vertical rock climbers from all over the world.  

Compare to El Capitán picture in my post Day Trip To Yosemite Park 

Here you can also get your picture taken with this charming fellow .

The oldest Norwegian Christian laws from the 11th and 12th centuries contained a clear prohibition against "having contact with and seeking knowledge from trolls". In Norway's first national law from 1276, having contact with trolls was seen as such a serious offense that it entailed the law's most severe punishment!

Day 3 Haugesund

I say “Haugesund”, you say “gazuntite”.   Sorry, a bit of DH’s dad humor.

Our guide claims that Haugesund is the shipping capital of Norway, although he also said that Bergen would disagree!  What is certain, though, is that this is the town that herring built.  Their swimming patterns took them close to the area, and the town prospered.  Since then, the region has gravitated to supporting the North Sea oil and gas industry, and the herring have moved on.

Our visit today takes us to Avaldsnes, where Harald Fairhair established his capital while uniting the Vikings.  He is credited with being the first king of Norway.  The location controlled a major sea route, hence the placement of the capital.  It is now the site of Saint Olaf’s church, more on that later.  

Here we visit a recreated farmstead from the Viking era.  A reenactor in the persona of the farmstead’s owner described life in those times.  The farm was pretty self-sustaining, a medium sized one would have a population of 20 to 30 people consisting of the owner’s family and some of his wife’s, along with Karls (free people) and their immediate families, and probably some Thralls (slaves).  

The longhouse was the center of life then, where the settlement entertained, prepared meals (although cooked in an outdoor kitchen for safety), and slept. The owner and his wife slept on a raised bed open to the room, the others on benches or the floor.  

Here’s a link for the village.  https://www.lifeinnorway.net/avaldsnes-vikings/

Saint Olaf’s Church 

Olaf II Haraldsson effectively the first Christian king of all Norway.  Born a pagan, he converted  to Christianity in France following years of battle in the Baltic and England. He returned to Norway, and proceeded to conquer territory that had previously been held by Denmark and Sweden.  A descendant of Harold Faihair, he re-established the capital at Avaldsnes.  In the succeeding 12 years he built his base of support among the aristocracy in the interior and pressed relentlessly for the acceptance of Christianity.  As part of that Olaf then built a church there on a site used for Viking pagan rituals, co-opting the land for the Church. 

Olaf’s reign was interrupted by invasions by the Danes who allied with some disaffected aristocracy.  Eventually fleeing to Sweden and Russia, he was killed in battle against the Danes at the battle of Stiklestad while trying to regain his kingdom.  After a few folks claimed to be healed at his grave site there, the local bishop had his body exhumed after a year, when it was discovered that his hair and nails continued to grow!  Although we now know this is normal, at the time it was considered a miracle, and the bishop canonized him.  Which was later confirmed by Pope Alexander III.  He is now the patron saint of Norway and the Orkney islands with a feast day is 29 July.

King Håkon Håkonsson started work on the current Saint Olav's church in 1250. Built and decorated as a Catholic Church, the murals that adorned the walls were painted over during the Reformation in Norway.  He also started building a fortified royal manor on the plateau just south and adjacent to the church, with a secret passage between the buildings.  Only what is described as “well-preserved masonry” reveals the “huge” size of the main building.  The discovery of this royal manor shows that the medieval kings invested heavily in Avaldsnes, completed around 1300 by King Håkon V Magnusson. 

St.Olav's church used to be surrounded by several large obelisks. Some have disappeared or have been wrecked, but on the north side of the church you can still find the tallest and well-known obelisk called "Virgin Mary's sewing needle". With its 7,2 meters above ground level it is Norway's second tallest, but no-one knows how deep it is underneath ground level. There are many myths attached to the obelisk by St.Olav's church. The most famous is that since the obelisk approaches the church wall by a few millimetres each decade, doomsday will come when it finally touches the wall! Many believe that the chisel marks on the top of the obelisk are proof of how priests chiseled off the tip when it came dangerously close to the wall.

Day 2 At Sea

We like to hang out in the covered pool on sea days and also when we return early from shore excursions. It's much quieter than the main pool. 

Tonight is the first of three formal nights.  If you read my last post, "Having A Quickie" you might remember that I lamented the dumbing down of formal night.  Well, not on this cruise!  DH brought a suit for these, and I a nice cocktail dress, and while we were very respectable, we saw many tuxedos, formal gowns, and even a few formal kilts!  

As always, the Captain’ gala includes the champagne waterfall; pictures of that being built are in that post, also.

Still jet lagged with disturbed sleep, so early to bed again.

Day 1 Aboard Island Princess

Island Princess is the second oldest ship in the company’s fleet, christened and placed in service in 2003.  Although undergoing refits in 2010 and 2017, she is starting to show signs of age.  On the upside, though, is that she only carries about 2,500 passengers along with 900 or so crew.  Contrast to the mega ships coming out recently and in the future, with more than twice the capacity, she is much more intimate.   While the larger ships have more amenities, such as ice skating rinks or even bumper cars and more, there are so many passengers you sometimes have to reserve tickets for the production shows.  They have lots more bars, but we only find one or two favorites.  So how many more do you really need?

Here’s home for the next two weeks.

We unpack when our bags are delivered and off to dinner.  We love to cruise because we’re lazy.  Unpack once, and we’re set until they kick us off in two weeks. We’re still rather jet lagged, so we go to the show, a Motown cover singer.  Both our eyelids were drooping, so we got up to go to our cabin.  But the couple on the aisle are fast asleep.  Trapped!  Eventually they wake up, and all four of us leave before the end of the show.  He had a good voice, but his stylizations seemed forced.  We’ve found most shipboard entertainment to be good to excellent, but occasionally there’s a lemon.

Day 0 Arrive in the UK

We land at London Heathrow about 6:30 AM after a 10 hour flight.  Caught a movie, a nap of a couple of hours, and another movie that ended just as we were landing.  But a nine and a half hour flight is not fun, even in business class!

We arranged for a private transfer to Southampton to meet our ship the next day, but with a side trip to Stonehenge.  All the times we’ve been in the UK, we’ve never visited there.  It is really amazing.  Built in Neolithic times, it was used to mark both the summer and winter solstice.  During the summer solstice, the sun would rise right behind the heel stone, yards/meters away away from the main circle. Observers directly across would see the sun between the vertical stones on the other side.  

Archeologists seem to agree on how the vertical stones were set, sliding into a purpose dug hole or trench and backfilling, but mounting the horizontal stones is still under debate,   And then there is the question of how the 30+ ton stones were moved to the site in the first place!  

Two things I noticed during the drive to Stonehenge, and then on to  Southampton.  First, the UK gradually switched to the metric system in the 1990’s, with some additional changes through the ‘10s. But highway signage continues to be in the imperial system, yards and miles for distance, miles per hour for speed.  This is due to cost constraints, apparently it’s too expensive to change all the signs.

The other thing I noticed was the absolute lack of that highway eyesore, billboards.  When we lived on Long Island, N.Y., billboards were few and far between, mostly marking the actual location of a hotel or restaurant.  In California, they are obsequious, many, if not most, advertising for personal injury lawyers (ugh).  Kudos to the UK!

On to Southampton, find our hotel, eat dinner,and crash for the night.