BODO TO TRONDHEIM TEN HOURS ON A TRAIN

 

Tuesday 5^th July 2010

Norwegian Rail ends its northward route at Bodo. So this was my opportunity to get back onto my Eurorail pass again. One advantage of the pass is that the travel is paid for and not another drain on the budget. No doubt about it but no matter how careful you are Norwegian prices seem so high, that even with planning I am always going through the cash much more quickly than I would like too.

City Hotel was really just one block up the hill from the railway station, so getting there was not a problem. With an 11 am check out time, there was no way that I would not get to the train in time. In fact I was there about 40 minutes early. In the small station I found the waiting room full, mostly with individuals and their back packs. Some were spread out across the seats asleep.

I had to fill in travel details on my Eurorail pass, so I went to the ticket counter to ask the train number. To my surprise the attendant asked if I had a seat reservation. I didn't and I explained that this was the one train which the Eurorail counter in Helsinki could not bring up on their screen. His reply was that he was sorry but the train was full. As it was all second class I couldn't even try for an upgrade alternative.

However, in a quiet confidential tone, he suggested that I hunt the train's guard out and ask for her to find me a seat. On a full train I queried and he just grinned and nodded.

So out onto the platform or Track (Spor) as they call it here. I stood facing the direction the guard would come from the station building. I wanted to get to her first. After a while she came along and I explained my problem and could she find a seat. She thought for just a moment and said "Van four seat 29" and then added "Or if you want a window seat take number 30". Great. I thanked her and for the rest of the journey that she was in charge of we tended to have a few short chats.

This was a Norwegian Rail Regional Express. There were about six vans or carriages plus a dinning car and one which was a goods store and where passengers were storing their bicycles. Van Four was more or less empty when I got on board as there was still 20 minutes before departure. The carriage was divided in half with a glass panel with each section containing around 30 seats. My seat was in the front half and immediately in front of the dividing panel. I had a full and large window. It is always a lucky draw with window seats. The seat in front of me missed a window and just had the wall space between windows. I have had this in Germany and found it so frustrating. But seat 30 was exactly what I would have selected myself. It was comfortable too which was good, as we would be in contact for a long time.

The space between rows was generous. I could stretch my legs out and my feet would just reach the seat in front. So even if they reclined I would not feel squashed in. Ah! This is train travel as it should be.

The carriage had baggage storage space and shelves at each end so you could safely store your bag and keep watch on it.

Exactly at 12:15 pm the express pulled out of the station. It had a diesel electric locomotive. My compartment was mainly empty. So I decided that it must be going to fill up along the route; which is what happened. In the interval various folk came through and decided to sit here. The guard usually pointed out that they had other allocated seating and should return to it. One elderly couple kept reappearing and the old lady would argue with the guard about having to shift out. But sure enough at the next stop the allocated passengers would board.

My compartment had three dogs accompanying their owners. Once they had decided which of them could bark the loudest, they settled down and mostly travelled quietly.

Once again, this trip took me through a variety of landscapes. There were some stunning views with lots of people standing up to get a better view out of the window. What amused me was that while this was going on, a couple across the aisle from me never looked up from the books they were reading.

One of the moss impressive sections of the trip was were we slowly made our way up above wide, forest covered, 'U' shaped glaciated valleys with a white water river far below. This was a spectacular view.

Finally we came out onto the treeless summit tableland, where there was a great expanse of undulating landscape backed by often snow covered mountains. It did remind me a bit of the Volcanic Plateau, but with less vegetation.

It was obvious that this would be a winter ski playground and there were several small collections of cabins along beside the railway and the road which often ran parallel.

There was some dramatic lighting effects here as the sun tried to get through the clouds. Like others, I attempted to photograph it. I felt sorry for the lady in front who had her flash go off for every exposure. I do hope that she got more than just a light reflection on the window glass.

We soon stopped at a small station and had a ten minute delay while the approaching train arrived. The track was just single rail and this was the point where it was possible for it to pass on a siding.

While we were waiting I talked to the guard and commented on how busy she was during the journey. For instance, after she had collected the tickets from new passengers she would go through with a seating chart and mark in who had paid in each seat. This was a good check against her master plan, on if the seat should be filled at that stage. Interestingly, she had a small office in the Dinning Car from which she could do her paper work and make PA announcements.

Still in the mountains, we began to follow along river valleys. Some of the rivers were wide and impressive. I had never ever though about Norway and rivers and I was a little surprised to find such large ones. At some points I wasn't sure if it was a river or a fjord and then some rapids would appear and I knew it was a river.

This part of Norway is heavily forested and there are more conifers in the mix. I also was aware of how the overall height of the forest was increasing.

As we got closer to Trondheim the number of small settlements passed by increased. We began to ride alongside fjords and the size of farms was increasing. The fields were increasing in area. Everything looked prosperous. The coastal flat, but sloping seawards, land was mush greater than anything I have so far seen in Norway. I also thought that the grass had a brighter, more intensive, green colour.

We past a few factories, one with clouds of steam above it and thinking of Tokaroa, I assumed that this could be a paper mill. In one town on a fjord we passed a large ALCAN factory and I wondered if this was an aluminum factory and if it was, was it there because of cheap electricity supplies.

Trondheim Airport is alongside the rail track but is located about 40 minutes out from the city itself. So we still had a way to go yet.

Finally it was Trondheim. A busy station and lots of disembarking passengers queuing up for hot frankfurters.

Finding my way to the hostel was straight forward once I had sighted the cathedral. I had to aim at that and then cross a bridge almost beside it. The Trondheim Inter Rail Centre is a summer hostel in the independent student centre. It is not busy and there was no problem getting a bed even at 11 pm.

 

NARVIK TO BODØ – BY BUS

 

Sunday 4^th July 2010

A 5:30 am alarm, but I beat it by ten minutes. I had packed and showered last evening so it was really just a task of having breakfast which was banana and yoghurt. I had set myself a target of heading off to the bus station by around 6 am.

While there are steps down to the station level just across the road from the guesthouse, I had no intention of managing my bag down the three or four levels. No I was going to follow the road around and this was quite a detour. However, I managed it and got to the station quicker than I had expected. But that was OK because the bus arrived at 6:45 am and there were several others waiting to board it.

The driver was not sure about a senior discount because I was not Norwegian, but I pointed out that none of the websites or information I had read in English mentioned that, so he let me on at half fare. That was good because it still cost 290 NOK for the six and a half hour trip.

So, just a minute after 7 am and the bus was off and the next journey of my trip was under way.

We wove our way around the streets of Narvik finally reaching the bridge over a side fjord. Now we were to drive along the fjord side for some distance. The fjord itself was like a mirror, as were some of the other fjords we later passed. The mountains and shoreline reflected in the sea as if it really was a mirror.

Very few people were around this early on a Sunday morning. Small row boats with tine outboard motors attached were moored regularly along the shores. The road curved around the small bays and coves and the headlands. Settlements were strung out along the road. The came as the land gave space and disappeared along with the land as the mountain sides came to meet the water. Some of the higher mountains still had noticeable amounts of snow on their tops and slopes. Much of the lower slopes were tree covered.

Soon we reached a ferry terminal with the boat just arrived, disembarking cars. The bus drove onto the centre of the ferry deck followed by a tour bus. Once parked on board we were able to get off the bus and go into the passenger lounge and cafe. We could also go up a deck and stand outside, but this was a rather cool experience if you didn't have a warm jack on. Mine was back in the bus. Down in the lounge a group of English speaking tourists were lining up for coffee and muffins. I noticed that the tour leader's name badge included the fact that he was leading a Great Railway Journey Tour. I assumed that they had come down the mountain on one of yesterday's two trains from Sweden.

After a 15 to 20 minute sail, we were able to drive off and continue on our way. Just prior to embarking we had driven through some imposing mountain valleys. Great curved rock faces rose almost vertically to the summits of the mountain ridges and peaks. Very spectacular. Now we were able to see the back sides of the mountains and they had the same soaring sides. Rather spectacular I thought.

We drove on passing various fjords, climbing passes and travelling along high alpine areas. Not flat table lands, but wider than just a valley. They undulated with lakes filling depressions and lots of stunted trees and plenty of moss. I enjoyed these sections and because of the distance we were travelling, we drove along several different examples of this type of landscape.

We went in and out of numerous tunnels, some quite long.

Every now and then the bus would come to a halt and pull off the road at some intersection or corner, or just along the highway. Sure enough it would have a blue bus stop sign and usually a little waiting shed. The sheds reminded me of the little sheds New Zealand farmers often have at their gate for their children to wait in for the school bus. Now some of these stops were totally remote, just there in the landscape.

I remembered Robyn's descriptions from her first visit to Norway. How they had to wait at similar isolated bus stops and trust that what they had been told would happen – the bus would come along and stop. I was also reminded of how she had described the tunnels although I do not think I have been through any as long as some she described.

So we carried on up and down and round and down and up and past a mount lake then another or was it now a fjord. Occasionally we past a small settlement centred around a processing factory of some sort.

As we approached Bodo the lower land got wider although it was still noticeably sloping up to the mountain sides. Here I saw harvested fields for silage rolled up in white plastic covered bundles. The fields were small which I guess indicated that the farms were as well.

Look! There are six happy contented diary cows sitting out in a small field of grass. How unusual. A bit later I spotted some horses – not many perhaps six.

Finally we reached Bodo and drove through the town towards the Sentrum. The stop was beside the local ferry boat births. But I had to head way from them. As we drove in through town I had spotted the street my hotel was in and I also had a small location map. I knew the direction and headed off that way. I also knew that if I spotted the railway station then I was just a bock away. So it was pretty straight forward getting there.

I had to wait around 30 until the cleaning was completed before I could get into my room. The City Hotel is a small budget hotel which is clean and tidy. My room has a single bed and a couple modern bunks, a table and a chest of drawers. Full length windows let the light in and give me a view of across the street and if I look sideways I see the railway station clock tower. The railway incidentally only reached here in 1961 which was pretty much the time when railways were beginning to decline in New Zealand.

Today in the bus I have travelled around 240 kms in six and a half hours. It is a great bus ride and very scenic. Like the Lofoten to Narvik journey, it should be on more tourist itineraries. Unfortunately though, the dull grey overcast conditions with some rain, were not ideal for taking quick photos from a moving bus. I know from other times, such as yesterday's train trip, that the results are a bit disappointing. In the selection of photos at the start of this blog you need to realise that I have enhanced them a bit to kill the dullness in the originals. So don't say; "What's he talking about, they look fine".

I must say though that a Norwegian city on a dull damp Sunday is completely uninspiring. The shops are shut the streets largely empty of cars or people. Once I had settled into my hotel room I went our walking around the nearby streets. I did find a decent coffee bar with fresh roasted coffee. The best espresso in two months. Looking down a street to the harbour I was able to watch one of the Hurtigruten ships sail past heading off on the next segment of their voyage. I can tell you from the tourist brochure I have that the north bound vessel arrives at 12:30 and leaves at 3 pm - that's the one I saw – and the south bound one arrives at 1:30 am and departs at 4 am. That gives some time for local sightseeing.

I can tell you that the Midnight Sun is nearly over in Bodo. It starts on 2^nd June and ends on the 10^th July. The average July temperature is 13.6 C and in January -2.1C so that for the year the mean temperature is just 4.6 degrees.

The population is just over 47,000 but that includes far more area than just the town itself. It is the whole council controlled area which I think I read as being about 250 square kilometres.

Latitude is 67'17'' North so we are still above the Arctic Circle.

While I think of Norwegian cities as being as old as the rest of Europe's it is interesting to discover that Bodo was only established in 1816 and was a very small community then. Until they ran out, the famous boom in herring fishing from 1860's onwards gave a boost to Bodo's growth.

Like Narvik, Bodo was the scene of German attack in 1940. On one day in May that year the Germans launched a massive attack and in just two and a half hours had reduced most of the town to rubble. The population had largely escaped before hand into country cabins.

 

 

NARVIK TRAIN AND CONCERT

 

Saturday 3^rd July 2010

Just a couple of activities today. Two that is without counting blog writing.

The first activity was to go on a train ride from Narvik to Riksgransen, a tiny settlement just on the Swedish side of the Norway and Sweden boarder. It is a ride of around 40 km if I recall the details correctly and the ride takes about 50 minutes. I had thought of going further into Sweden and catching a later train back but in the end decided to stay with my original plan.

Although I got to the train around 25 minutes early it was already filling up. I got into the last carriage in the assumption that there would be lots of seats. Wrong. Already it was nearly full and I was lucky to get a single seat on the left side. The carriage was divided half way into two compartments and the single seat was by the door. But the key thing was that I had a left hand seat which had the best views as we travelled up the mountain.

The carriage was full of women. Happy chatting, laughing, friendly middle aged women. They seemed to know each other. Then I realised that they would be going up to one of the stations where there were trails down the bush covered mountain side to a point where a boat would pick you up. The women were so chatty and excited that I expected them to burst into song; perhaps 'The Happy Wanderer' or even 'Climb Every Mountain'; but they didn't. The carriage was certainly quieter when they disembarked with their dogs at Katterat Station. Yes there were about three in the carriage. A bulldog, a Dalmatian and a puddle. None what I would call a mountain dog.

I had watched a film at the Tourist Office on Katterat Station yesterday. I had been quite a lively railway workers' settlement. As a base for workers building the line, later improving the line and it was one of the power sub stations supplying DV current for the electric locomotives. During the War, the Germans largely destroyed the station. After the War the settlement regrouped but in following years the numbers living there reduced as improvements were made to the railway. Finally it was closed down and forgotten. But some keen folk got together and formed a preservation society to try and get the station saved. Well now there is a new station there and the older one is a 100 metres away. This is because the line now changes its original layout and goes into a tunnel. There are nice lawns and flowers around the present station, just as there was in the old days. Then there were two lawns. One for the workers and their families and the other only for the station master and his family. You had to preserve status I suppose.

Once we departed Katterat, the climb started pretty well right away. Steeper now I thought.

The mountain was covered with trees. Lots of silver birch and other broad leafs and some conifers. All thin trunks and about four metres high. In a way the way the trees are growing often close together with narrow trunks makes me think of New Zealand manuka areas. But only I guess for the size if the trunks. Through gaps in the trees I got glimpses of the fjord, or more correctly 'fjords' – there was more than just one. These views got better and wider as we climbed higher.

I could see small settlements below and across the fjord. I finally realised that the settlements were where the road was. On the far side was the road I had come in on from Svolvaer then the large suspension bridge we had crossed and then the road snaked along below the railway line. Things sort of fall into place the longer you are in a particular location don't they. The bridge didn't look so imposing from away up here but a couple of days ago it certainly impressed me and a few others in the bus who tried to take photos just as I did.

There were several small stations on the way up. The trained stopped at all except one. Always some people got off with their day packs and hiking gear. Obviously Saturday is a popular day to go into the mountains. There are either one, or several National Parks of Forest Parks in the area.

Once we past the suspension bridge the settlements along the fjord stopped, partly because there was little space with the tall rock walls going right down into the water. Finally I could look down on the head of the fjord and saw a river flowing into it. From that point it was a normal glacier valley with a mixture of grass and trees on the floor and bush on the sides whenever there was other than just rock.

We went through lots of tunnels. Mostly short. Some were through solid rock but in other places the tunnels were constructed metal or timber covers over the railway track. I assumed they were to help keep the track snow free in the winter time. But I could easily be wrong.

We came round a bend and into the summit area of exposed bare rounded solid rock. Lots of small lakes were scattered around in the depressions. Lots of small cabins where scattered all around. Some were flying Norwegian flags so I knew that we were not yet across the boarder. But soon we were and the guard gave a welcome to Sweden message and my cell phone rang to do the same from the phone company.

The Riksgransen station was in a section of covered track and right in the middle of what was a winter snow field and ski area. There was one hotel, a youth hostel and various other accommodation provides. A ski shop and coffee counter and perhaps another small shop. Nothing much to look at but that didn't really matter as my turn around time till the homeward train was only 20 minutes. Well that was the expectation until the PA system announced that the train from Stockholm was delayed by a bit over one hour. So I did have time for coffee down at the hotel.

Looking around the area I could just imagine it covered in deep snow and skiers everywhere. Actually there was still snow around in patches but none skiable. If I had bothered to walk along one of the roads for say 200 metres, I could have walked in a snow patch which was right on the edge of the unsealed road.

In time the return train arrived. Where as coming up the train had about six carriages, this one was much much longer. Now I could see why this station and Narvik station had such long platforms. They needed them. Many of the carriages were compartment style with couchettes in them for sleeping on. It must have come overnight from the south. There was also a dinning carriage and some normal seating carriages. In these carriages about had the seats face one way and half the other way. So you could be travelling facing the direction being travelled or watching in reverse.

Down the mountain was just as interesting as going up. The guards had closed some of the carriages down and moved passengers into the centre of the train. As a result there was a shortage of seating in normal carriages. As did others, I went and stood in the corridor of a couchette carriage. Standing and I was able to lower a window to avoid taking photos through the glass as I had coming up.

At Katterat we did pick up two or three young hikers. I assume they had climbed up the hill rather than the reverse. But they were young and fit I guess. Never-the-less, given the choice I would have picked starting at the top.

At Narvik the crowds of passengers disembarked many with big back packs. Several posed in front of the station name board for their photos to be taken by friends.

I wandered along the main street looking for a ATM. They were not common and the ones I did find seemed to be unhappy with Visa Cirrus and the instructions only mentioned Visa Plus. So my card was rejected several times by three machines – all I could find. I even asked a policeman. His suggestion was to mug someone – but I am pretty sure he was joking. Well he would be wouldn't he? Finally a hotel receptionist told me were to find the Nordbank ATM and this worked. Without cash I may not have been able to get a bust ticket south tomorrow.

During the day I had seen several posters for a Sacred Music concert to be held at 1800 hours in the main Narvik Kirk, which was appropriately located on Kirkgate as I later noticed. It cost 100 kr admission and the 'crowds' were already arriving at 1745. The Lutheran Church was plain inside without much in the way of adornment. A painting of Christ above the altar and dark stained wooden panels around the altar area. Luther would have been happy I suspect.

Well the concert consisted of a girls choir (about 8, 11 to 15 year olds), a junior choir consisting of very young girls and some older boys. Then there was a mixed adult choir and an orchestra of perhaps eight players plus the church organ from time to time. I was too sure of what I had let myself in for. In the end the 90 minutes wasn't too bad at all. I suspect that much of the audience where parents and family members come in a supportive role.

In the junior choir there were a number of girls who had trouble leaving their long hair alone. One girl in particular not only played with her hair but rarely looked at the conductor, preferring to look around at the audience and wave to people she knew. I think she was annoying some of the other girls as well. Still I am sure that some proud parent was there for her.

Back to the guesthouse and the passing wagons of iron ore or empty ones going back to the mines. A microwave Sweet and Sour Chicken (I think – that's my guess at the Norwegian) and time to pack and set the alarm for 5:30 am.

Narvik is an interesting town. Looking down the main street with the snow topped peak at the end, I was reminded of some Colorado town view. Buildings were mostly low. In fact going up on the gondola yesterday a man was speaking proudly of Narvik three tall buildings. They are not easy to find either. The main street seems permanently empty but with two enclosed multi level shopping centres that is the destination of most local shoppers.

I got the idea that there was a steady flow of tourists passing through, judging by the camper vans and folk walking along the street either with cameras, trolley backs or backpacks. The guesthouse manager said that few people stay long. Overnight was the most common and she was pleased even excited to have a Swedish family staying ten days. No she did not know why.

 

IT'S A LONG WAY TO ANYWHERE FROM NARVIK

 

 

NARVIK

 

Friday 2^nd July 2010

Narvik is a coastal town largely built up around the shipping of Swedish iron ore. This gives a sound economic base to the community as the wharf and railway generate jobs for locals. Fishing was an important industry but has declined. Tourism is being encouraged to fill the gap as it were.

Being on a long deep fjord, Narvik has spread in a couple of directions. The main city is on a sort of peninsula or point that juts out where a secondary fjord branches off the main one. Settlement has developed along the main fjord shores. Across the secondary fjord is a suburban area which in turn also spreads along the main fjord shoreline.

One way to get a grip on this is to take the cable car or really gondola cable ride up to a look out point on the mountain backing the city. I should point out that there is very little flat land and much of the settlement rises up the hillsides.

The gondola ride was a distance from the guesthouse, so I wandered along the main street checking a few shops including a sports store with a sale on. They had Rockport sandals which I liked and some light sports shoes. Later in the day I returned, found the one pair of Rockport was too large and the Teva shoes were too small. So I ended up with a pair of Salomon very light slip on sports shoes. These will be great for the plane as they are easy to take off and put on and tighten.

I called at the railway station which also houses the Tourist office and checked out the trains to Sweden and return. I plan to do that trip on Saturday.

Although the cable system was up the hill, the walk from the Tourist Centre was not unduly difficult or time consuming. It looked further on the town map than it turned out to be.

The ride up on the gondola cost 100 kr with do senior discounts. Each car carried four people easily and could perhaps take six. There is a rack on the outside for your skis as this is used for the higher ski field in winter. Incidentally I discovered that the downhill runs on the ski field all have lights because so much skiing is done in the darkness during winter. I had never thought of that.

Three cars travel together up or down the cable. They move quite fast and go up to 600 metres. Here there is of course, a restaurant and some large decks and picnic tables set out. The view is great. You can see way down the fjord and to blue hazy snow capped mountains in the faint distance. This could be getting close to the Lofoten Islands. From the top you can look down on Narvik and sort out its layout. Some of the fjord water was discoloured with a red tint coming from iron ore dust.

At this point we had moved above the tree line and were into alpine pasture area I suppose. No more likely it was just mountain stunted grass and mosses. The summit did not seem that far away although I bet it was if you set out to climb it. There was a tall telecommunications tower right up on the summit. A ski lift went off in that direction but they do not run it in summer.

Spent quite a bit of time up here enjoying the view and getting my money's worth.

It was mid afternoon when I came down and visited the sports shop to buy shoes. I had done the main thing that I had planned to do and the other, the train ride is tomorrow. All I had to still do was visit the supermarket and get the weekend supplies in.

And except for a few unsatisfactory Skype attempts, (bad audio from my end), that was the day.

SVOLVAER TO NARVIK BY BUS

 

 Thursday 1^st July 2010

Today was just brilliant sun and clear blue skies. Looking out from my window across the harbour made me think of all those south of France tourist spots you see in pictures. Later on wandering around the small town centre the tables full of dinners beside the harbour just confirmed my impression. I could see why people came here.

But first I was invited to join in breakfast with the owner's family. A nice idea as I had no kitchen facilities otherwise. They had a German youth there who had just arrived to work there for a while. He had been spending a year at a Folk High School mainly studying photography. The oldest daughter had also had a year there taking martial arts. Folk High Schools were set up a century of so ago to give people the chance for education in 'non traditional' areas. Although I knew the term I did not really know much about them. Consequently, it was a good opportunity to find out more about them. Incidentally, the local salmon that I was able to try for breakfast was great.

I was able to leave my bags at the taxi office in town as I had a few hours to fill in between check out and the bus departure. Fortunately, the bus stop was across the road from the taxi office.

In the square there was the small market. Stalls included a couple of flowering plant sellers, a fish stall with dried fish, some clothing sellers and not much else. I looked around the stalls a couple of times and then the tourist office. The shops were nicely set out but most things were beyond my budget range. I did spend time having a chat with the man running a little coffee shop and small bakery goods down the town's one arcade. Got some ideas about living in the town.

The bus arrived on time and had already been going for five hours, so Svolvaer is about half way on its route. We loaded a dozen or so on board and were off. My senior fare was around 150 kr from memory. Along the way we picked up and dropped off but not to any great extent. It was an express bus, the Lofoten-Xpress was its name.

The next almost five hours where a continuation of winding around beautiful fjord coves, going up high and looking down on fjords or climbing passes. We went through about 10 road tunnels with the longest being over 6 km. One went down and up and I wondered if we had gone down under a fjord. At one stage we went over a bridge which I had sailed under the previous day. Pity there wasn't a boat going under as we passed over. That would have been rather spectacular. We must have passed over six or seven high arched bridges. They looked impressive as were the views from their highest points.

I saw towns in the distance along fjords which the bus never went into. Ferry boats busily going across fjords. Twice we pulled into ferryboat wharves and I assumed we were going to go on one, but no it was just to pick up any passengers waiting for the bus. We pulled into a parking area at the top of a pass where several roads met and had a chance to get out for five minutes. It was really a smokers stop, but most of the passengers took advantage of the chance to stretch.

Besides travelling round innumerable fjords, we also travelled through wide impressive glacial valleys with sweeping forest covered sides. The forest covered the valley floors and then up the scree slopes, usually ending at the steep rock faces. These were often major valleys with tributaries joining in. Some had small lakes. As we travelled along I compared the view with the Canadian Rockies and thought that it was every bit as good. Perhaps even better? There is no doubt that this trip could be made every bit a major tourist attraction as the Rockies roads are.

Finally after being delayed 20 minutes by road works I caught sight of Narvik in the blue haze distance. The road works were major and we had to go past them to a bus stop at a ferry terminal and adjoining settlement and then return the way we had come, back through the road works. Each time we had to wait for the guide van to lead our direction along the road.

Narvik is spread along several arms of a long fjord. It is a port which has developed to export iron ore from a mine in Sweden. So it has a railway, but only into Sweden and then down to Stockholm. Coming in we past a memorial to the Battle of Narvik. There was a period early in World War Two when a long major battle took place to try and get rid of the invading Germans. Warships and merchant ships were sunk in the deep fjord waters and the the town was heavily fired on from sea and air. Latter when the Germans retreated they blew up most buildings and railways which were still standing. Something they regretted when they regained control later on. They had to rebuild the railway system to get iron ore out.

The bus stop was in a hollow beside a shopping centre. I could see from my map that the guesthouse was across the road on the other side. So I used the escalators in the centre to come up three levels and out on the street. Yes across the road was the sign for the guesthouse, down off the road. Fortunately there was a driveway down and not steps. It turns out to be an old railway station or railway building and translated, the guesthouse name means Track One. Actually there are several tracks with the building being between two of them. I was to find that the long ore trains from Sweden move a lot at night time. And my room is close to the track. Surprisingly, I sleep very well in the end.

I know that I have not done the bus trip well. I should have been more descriptive and so on but you will just have to look at my photos sometime.

TROMSO TO SVOLVÆR – THE FJORD CRUISE

Wednesday 30^th June 2010

Today started rather early. In fact it started before midnight. Somewhere around 11:30 pm I checked myself out from the hotel - that is I dropped the room key onto the desk as I went out. I walked down the hill dragging my bag. Downhill was a lot easier than pulling it uphill when I arrived yesterday.

I headed down to the harbour and as I did the Hurtigruten was coming in to birth. My voyage was to be on the Trollfjord, which is the latest addition to the fleet. Passengers joining the vessel gathered near the gangplank, note 'gathered' not 'queued' as a somewhat disordered rush took place to get on first.

But first, we had to wait for the passengers to disembark. A seemingly never ending movement of people down the gangplank. All sorts, all ages but more older than younger. Some had trouble moving and had assistance. Here at midnight, they were heading off for sightseeing tours around the city. The buses where all waiting at the wharf for them. I was somewhat surprised by sightseeing at midnight, but then why not in the midnight sun. You could certainly see what was around.

Once the disembarking crowd had gone we made our way up the gangplank to reception. No problem buying a deck passage ticket. For my 17 hour sector the cost was 550 kr which comes to around NZ$135 which I thought was good value. Then drop the bag into the luggage room and off to find a 'spot'.

I wandered around the lounges and side rooms and finally decided on the large viewing lounge at the front of deck eight. I found a two person couch in the rear corner beside the window. It had a small table and there were power plugs in the wall. Already a woman was stretched out on a long couch in the centre of the room under her blanket asleep.

This was my base for the rest of my voyage. I didn't leave it very much as I wanted to keep an eye on my computer and backpack.

The tour buses all snaked back in at 1 am and at 1:15 am we were leaving the quay side. A number of passengers came into the lounge to watch departure but pretty soon the room was empty as they all went off to their cabins.

I used an inflatable neck pillow which rested on top of the couch back and the wall behind. This worked well and I did get a reasonable sleep on and off through the night. I did not see a lot of the fjord views but about 4 am watched us come into the first of several small ports which we would stop at during my trip. Birthing time here was around 30 minutes and then off again.

For breakfast I had a tub of yogurt banana and a roll with cheese. Bananas and a couple more rolls were my meals for the rest of the voyage. At lunch time I did go off and locate a cup of coffee.

One of the things about the trip was that the view kept changing and the mix of people in the lounge did the same.

The Trollfjord is a flash boat. I had expected that it would be something like the Alaskan Ferry but this vessel was like a floating hotel. See through elevators, marble flooring, swimming tubs and showers on the top sun deck. A library and various bars and cafes all set out in attractive décor. However, I was happy in my corner.

There were three main attractions on this sector. First up was a narrow passage dredged out between rocky reefs and small low islands. It was 100 m wide and 6 to 7 metres deep. The boat took 5 metres sob there was not a lot of leeway. At one point the captain told us that he had 45 cm to spare, so the boat did move slowly between the markers. For this event a special postal envelope was available and it would get a special post mark. Also a souvenir mug was on sale. The mugs varied but at each key attraction it was possible to get something special to take away. At one it was a special drink in the mug all for 35 kr. Or perhaps that was just the cost of the drink and the mug was extra.

Most of the ports we called into were small but often they were the service centre for the island they were on, so had importance. At some there would quite large groups waiting to board and judging by their lack of baggage, I assumed that they were locals and were just moving on to the next town.

At one port a couple of groups of passengers went onto sightseeing buses to travel across land and met the ship again at the next port. The bus driver's timing was good because as we came into the next port and under the arched road bridge, the sightseeing buses were coming slowly up over the bridge, giving their passengers a different view of the boat.

As we were nearing each new port, an announcement was made in Norwegian, English and German. It named the port and explained how long we would be docked there. Often there would be some added information about the town and suggestions of what you could see close to the ship if you got off. Anyone getting off had to have their ticket bar code scanned and then repeated as they reboarded. I guess the computer would quickly show if anyone was overdue. The bar code scanning was also used for charging things up to your registered credit card if you were a cabin passenger. You signed you scanned items off at the end of the voyage so that the credit card charge could go ahead.

I was also surprised at the number of bridges we sailed under. I got all excited about the impressive bridge in Tromso, but for got I had seen a couple similar ones on a previous visit to Norway. But I began to remember that as we sailed under yet another bridge. The bridges enable Norway to have a good system of roads which can connect up even the smallest of communities along the fjord shorelines. There are lots of small settlements to be seen as we travelled along. Some were more than likely just extended family farming, others were larger.

There were some towns whose name's I was familiar with from planning the trip. Harstad was one. I recalled a guide book as basically writing the town off as a place to visit. Just some tacky hotels along the waterfront I seem to recall it saying. So I looked out the window at the town with interest and thought that while I could not comment on the hotels, there did not seem to be much there of interest. It looked just like any other small town with a few tall buildings and the rest fairly low. The same buses were running along the streets and there would be a church spire standing out.

I will say that many of the towns were set in picturesque surroundings and some did look quite beautiful, especially in the early morning light. Even many of the smaller centres had some industrial areas attached. As we sailed past settlements not being call in at – and there were plenty of these- i could see that they often had an industrial sector. Perhaps some silos or fuel tanks for instance or a large factory type building.

Finally, about three pm we began to go down one of the features I had been waiting for. This was a 26 km long narrow strait between two islands. We entered under an arched bridge and slowly followed the channel along. While narrow, I would have expected that ships could pass in it.

Generally the hills and mountains towered up on both sides, but there war often side valleys and sometimes small lowland areas with small farms on them. At other points there could be houses, single standing all alone in some pretty spot or else as part of a small community. They were only on one side of the waterway as far as I could see. I would think that this was simply because a road ran along the shore giving access.

On its own, this section was impressive. However, the best was still to come. Near the end of the 26 kms the boat slowly turned into a very narrow side fjord and then in a few minutes began a left turn into an even narrower inlet. A ships officer ran through the lounges telling every one to get out and go up to the top deck or they would miss out on the best. Which most people in fact obediently did.

What they saw was the ship edging along a very narrow space, with the towering rock faces on both sides. The tallest went up a 1000 feet above the sea level and therefore effectively a 1000 feet about the deck.

This was the famous Troll Fjord and to mark it the ship's PA system was playing some of Edvard Grieg's music. I think it was 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'.

Besides the Trollfjord reversing in, there were several tour launches and zodiacs full of sightseers, a yacht or two and a fishing boat. All giving the larger ship space to move, but all there to watch it come in. Everyone was waving at everyone boat to boat.

At the end of the fjord there was enough space for the ship to turn, slowly of course.

We were told that in the late 19^th century the Battle of Troll Fjord took place. Not between trolls but between rival fishermen. The rowing boat fishermen, who were the traditional fishers fought against the newly arriving steam boat fishers over the rights to fish in this area. I have no idea who won, but I have not seen a rowboat fisherman around the area.

With a toot or two on the ship's hooter we slowly left the fjord accompanied by all the other launches and zodiacs which had been there.

We continued to sail along the larger channel and out into a much larger sea area. Now we were in the area of islands, all part of the Lofoten Island system. Most were high islands with jagged peaks and barren imposing rock sides. Away on the horizon, in a blue haze, I could see more peaks. But I think theses would be on the mainland. It did remind me of my impressions of what some Pacific Islands would look like. Tahiti perhaps. The sea was mirror smooth and the sunlight intense.

So it was in these conditions that sailing around islands and rooky reefs, we entered the Solver Harbour with its tall backing peaks and ridgeline. There was a holiday tourist air about this small town. It only has a population of almost 5000. We past tall fish drying rack by the breakwater and slipped easily into the birth. The ongoing passengers all crowded onto deck four in order to get off and have the maximum time on shore. They had been told of the War Museum and the Ice House, both of which were about 50 metres from the wharf in different directions. Others stood off along the promenade. From the harbourside bars and restaurants the patrons looked on at the arrivals, then continued to enjoy the brilliant sun and drink their drinks.

Being the gentleman that it am, I waited until most of the crowd had gone off the ship before I to left. Actually the real reason was that I couldn't be bothered struggling with my trolley bag in the middle of the mass exodus.

On the wharf a couple of young girls were doing trumpet duets. Not all that well I thought, but hey it did add a bit more atmosphere and the passengers loved it and took their photographs.

There being no taxis to be seen I headed off down the road to located my accommodation in fishermen's cottages. Well that is what I thought it was going to be but in reality it was more like a double story motel. It did take me about thirty minutes to walk around the harbour to reach it and no I did not get lost as I had a map.

At least it was on the waterfront. My room had two bunks not beds, it did have TV with four channels and the rest of the facilities were down the hallway.

I settled in and then had to go back into the town centre to get a meal. This time I call up a taxi both ways. I decided that by the time I had added those costs and tomorrow's taxi fare as well, perhaps it would have been cheaper to have stayed in a centre hotel? Perhaps one day I will investigate that idea. It is just part of the traveler's learning experience.

By the time I got to bed and sleep it was almost another 24 hour day, mostly awake. But it had been a really enjoyable experience. And perhaps I could do another voyage on a Hutigruten some time. If I could afford it though.