Cruising Northern Norwegian Fjords with Hurtigruten – Day 5

 
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Arriving to Tromso

Day 5: Stokmarknes to Oksfjord

After a relaxing morning, we docked at Tromso where Sara, Dad and I planned on hiking a nearby mountain. The mountain wasn’t close to the dock so we had find a ride across town. We first asked the lady in charge of an excursion to see if we could pay just for a ride but she was totally against at the mere idea. We walked a few blocks and eventually found a taxi to take us the 10 minute drive. FullSizeRender80The hike up began with a beautiful path lined with trees and an underbrush of wild flowers. As we hiked past the tree line, we approached small piles of snow – welcome to the arctic! At the top, we enjoyed views of Tromso before heading back down to catch the boat. That night, our cruise experienced the midnight sun. Being above the article circle in late summer, the sun officially did not set. Unfortunately, the overcast clouds and obscured horizon made it impossible to sunbathe at midnight.

Cruising Northern Norwegian Fjords with Hurtigruten – Day 4

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Twilight in Raftsundet

While traveling on the MS Nordlys with my parents, we quickly developed a nice routine. We would stay up late watching the beautiful scenery, wake up early to watch beautiful scenery, and eat three full meals throughout the day. But no matter what we were doing, it was nice to spend time with my parents.

Day 4: Bronnoysund to Stokmarknes

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Arctic Circle globe

We woke to an announcement stating that we were about to cross the Arctic Circle. We rushed outside or to windows to see a globe statue on a small island marking the invisible line. Later after an early lunch, we docked in the city of Bodo where Sara, Dad and I booked an excursion to see the Saltstraumen. We bundled up in thick onesies, gloves, hats and goggles before Continue reading

Hiking in Bergen, Norway

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After an overnight train from Oslo, we arrived to a rainy Bergen. We walked the few blocks from the train station to our hotel, Clarion Hotel Admiral, where my parents spent the night. We figured they were probably jet lagged and still sleeping at 7:30 but I didn’t feel too bad waking them up as we knocked on their hotel room door. As expected, we were greeted with two sets of tired hugs, but it felt great to see them again after seven months. We chatted and caught up in the hotel room until it was time for breakfast. The hotel included breakfast and it was easy to join them even though we had not yet checked in. The restaurant was packed with hotel guests and I could see why – the spread was astounding. There was several kinds of fish, freshly baked loaves of bread, a muesli bar, cold cuts, and even the classics like eggs and sausage. After eating as much as possible, I made sandwiches for later and then we tried to check into our room. I can see why Clarion has such good reviews because it kept getting Continue reading

Six Hours in Oslo, Norway

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Royal Palace – unique in that the grounds are completely open to the public during the day

Leaving Copenhagen, we had a long journey ahead of us to meet my parents. There were two trains to Oslo, then a planned 6 hour evening layover, followed by an overnight train to Bergen. While looking at possible stops to make on our way north, we learned that Oslo is considered the most expensive city in the world so we figured a layover was the only way for us to experience it on our budget. In fact it seems like all of Scandinavia is surprisingly expensive. During our short visit I made a short video about how Continue reading