CFT Northern Lights - Trondheim

Friday 9 March

Up early and into thermals for our shore visit in Trondheim. The forcast is -7 to -5C. After breakfast we boarded a bus for a tour of Trondheim city. First we were taken to a lookout and then through various streets.

Our next stop was the Nidaros Cathedral. What a magnificent cathedral with two organs - one baroque organ suspended in midair and one more modern organ that curves around under the rose window. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside but the website has some fantastic views of the interior. But we were allowed to sing the doxology inside.

It was interesting that all the major churches were built next to one another in the same street - catholic, salvation army, synagogue and baptist and more.The cathedral is described as ecumenical but was built Roman Catholic then in the Reformation became Lutheran. It has had a chequered history like many very old churches.

Back to the ship and on our way again with of course another delicious smorgasbord lunch.

During the afternoon I spent time out on deck (until I froze) and in the viewing lounge catching up with writing and chatting to people. A game of dominos before dinner.

Photo courtesy CFT

During dinner a few of us saw a whale lazily swimming near the rocks but too far away and too dark to photograph. After dinner we had the repeat session of the Northern Lights video - The Northern Lights - a Magic Experience by Pal Brekke and Fredrik Broms. It is an extremely good video with beliefs, science and fantastic photography.

CFT Northern Lights - Hurtigruten Cruise - Alesund

There are two ways to follow our journey:
The web cam on the Hurtigruten Nordnorge website at https://www.hurtigruten.us/our-ships/ms-nordnorge/
The CFT facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CFTholidays/

Thursday 8 March

I had a lovely long uninterrupted sleep, the first since leaving home. The cruise so far has been like the Hawkesbury River on steriods - flat as a pancake with high mountains on either side. The ship and other Hurtigruten ships are also the local ferries and postal delivery service. Many people get on and off at each stop and just hope along the coast in small bursts.

Up and out to breakfast at 7am then up to level 7 to watch the view. We hit open sea for a while but luckily for me it is very calm so far with just a steady roll. Apparently this is not expected at this time of the year. There are actually plans to dig a 1.5km boat tunnel between two fjords so that this bit of open water is avoided.

My day was spent on board nurturing my back-hip-leg and just watching the incredible scenery we were passing. The gulf stream obviously moderates the temperature at water level where the snow disappears first but the tops of the mountains are very thick with snow.

We had a few presentations during the day about the shore excursions we are booked for and more that we can pay for.

Barbara went ashore at Alesund to wander on her own and take a few photos of the Art Nouveau buildings. Neither of us could stay awake for the 9:30pm presentation on the Northern Lights but then we heard an announcement that it would be repeated at 8pm tomorrow.

CFT Northern Lights - Oslo to Bergen

Tuesday 6 March

Up early, breakfast, collect lunch box and off to the Oslo Central Station to catch our train for the morning. The Platform is not sheltered and became quite freezing cold with the temperature at -5 C. Once aboard the heated train we all had to shed quite a few layers. We travelled through a number of towns, passed farms and some fantastic scenery. The higher we got the more white there was with snow falling and an entirely black and white colour scheme. The snow was very deep in some places.

We changed trains at Myrdal to board the Flam train, an extremely steep ride down to the village of Flam. More spectacular scenery with lots of frozen waterfalls.

Flam is a pretty little village at the head of a fjord. There we caught a ferry down stream to Gudvangen. Yet more spectacular snowy scenery with huge mountains on either side and occasional tiny villages dotted along the shores.

When we arrived in port we boarded a bus that drove us through stunning snowy farmland, countryside and towns eventually arriving in Bergen and our hotel (Clarion Connections) after dark.

Ice falls along the roadside

Wednesday 7 March

We had a free morning today so I was able to catch up on a bit of blog. We found the tower in the hotel and had some beautiful views of the town.

At midday we joined the group to walk to our lunch restaurant enjoying a delicious creamy fish soup followed by reindeer patties with brussel sprouts and potatoes.

Although we had been told we'd be having a bus tour of Bergen we were then taken on a walking tour. Thank goodness I had thrown in my ski pants which I then had to awkwardly put on in the street. I'm glad I did as I had only dressed in Sydney slacks for the bus trip.

We walked along the dock then up through the Hanseatic area - a maze of old (or replica) protected wooden buildings.

Then a short walk of a few blocks took us to the funicular railway to a lookout over Bergen. There we enjoyed the snow and the incredible views.

Photo courtesy CFT

Once we came back down on the railway we boarded the bus and were taken to the Stavkirk. This is a replica that is privately owned, the original having been bought by a man when it was demolished and sold for firewood. He and volunteers reconstructed it but vandals burnt it down. Hence the present replica built with original techniques.

Back on the bus to drive to the dock and board the Hurtigruten ship MS Nordnorge.

Dinner on board then a wander to orient ourselves followed by an introductory talk. We both collapsed into bed at the end of another long day.