71°10'21''N

The next morning I got up early! After having seen the Northern Lights the night before the second objective of my trip, visiting the North Cape, was up for that day!

I woke up that morning in a cold cabin. The ship I was traveling on is from 1956 and insulation materials as well as heating systems were not so advanced back in the day. Additionally I had an outside cabin, whose outside "wall" had the freezing waters of the North Atlantic on the other side.

Anyways, I dressed quickly and made my way up to the breakfast room, which was nearly empty. Just two or three people were sitting quietly infront of their coffee and buns, looking out onto the snowy shores of Northern Norway. I investigated the buffet and after a couple of minutes I decided for some basic things like cheese, cold cut and some jam. I was still too drowsy to be brave enough to try all the Norwegian breakfast specialties like rotten fish and so on.

I was sitting alone by the window enjoying the view and the warm air coming out of the heating vents. After all it had been a very cold night in my cabin. I was sitting long at the table and was drinking the horrible instant coffee nevertheless. I just needed to warm up again and since there was no proper alternative I settled with this colored water!

As I said, the room was nearly empty and the people not so talkative. The evening before I hadn't been talking to the people neither; I had been outside most of the time and had just come to the ship. I was still looking for my way around the ship and was looking for "my" place to sit during the day. Most of the other passengers were in their 60s or 70s and had been on the ship for nine or ten days already. They knew each other and had more topics to talk about.

After some time however, one older lady came over and asked me if I could help her with her digital camera. The day night before, when the Northern Lights were up, she had been pressing some buttons on her camera, changed all the settings and wasn't able to reset it. She addressed me in English, but from her accent I realized that she was German-speaking and so I answered to her in our mother tongue.

It turned out, that she was from Switzerland and that she had been on the ship since Bergen and was also going to the North Cape. She invited me over to the other table, where there were more Germans and Swiss. I was resetting her camera and she was really grateful about it and promised not to change the settings again.

Soon the ship arrived in Honningsvåg, the closest port of call of the Hurtigrute to the North Cape. All passengers, who were going on the North Cape Excursion were dressed in warm and windproof clothing and were waiting by the door to disembark.

At the dock the bus that was supposed to bring us to the North Cape was already waiting and since it was something like -25°C in Honningsvåg we all hurried to get in. The excursion guide was from Switzerland and since most of the people were German-speaking she was doing the guiding in both English and German. On the way she was telling about the area and about the history of the North Cape!

At one intersection the plow was already waiting for us; The street up to the North Cape is closed during the winter and is just opened for the bus of Hurtigruten. The bus has to drive behind the plow, which is clearing the streets from the snowdrifts.

We were going through a barren landscape without any trees, everything was covered in snow and the wind was really strong. The snow was flying and it looked totally surreal, I knew I was in the Arctic and it totally felt like it as well! The ride was pretty eventless otherwise; we were going for about 40 minutes over this road and then suddenly at the end of a small hill there it was: The North Cape!

We got out of the bus and the wind was nearly blowing us off our feet. While the rest of the group walk straight into the Nordkapphallen, I walked around the building and went to the North Cape Plateau with the world famous Globe! I was enjoying the few minutes alone at this hostile place; the wind was blowing merciless and the temperatures were far below zero!

I walked around the area and enjoyed the loneliness of this place. I had warm clothes on and so I didnt mind the coldness nor the wind. I walked over to the Children of the World Monument and then after some time into the Nordkapphallen.

It was weird to be in there since it is designed to welcome the thousands of visitors coming every day during summer; now it was deserted and seemed totally over-sized and mispositioned. I walked around the visitor center and watched the 15 minute long movie about the four seasons at the North Cape. I went to the North Cape chapel and the bar, which was closed however.

After a while walking around it was time to go back. I went upstairs again and to the bus, which brought us back to Honningsvåg where we reembarked the M/S Nordstjernen.

After all the North Cape is just a barren and quite boring piece of rock some 307m over the vast emptiness of the Arctic Ocean. However, somehow it is magical; It is officially - not factually - the northernmost point of the European continent, it is one of these famous "ends of the world" and it is simply a place that exhilarates the senses. It is hard to explain, but now I can totally understand the appeal that emanates from this place!

~M~

To the North Cape!

The evening on the ship was pretty eventless. I walked around to get to know the ship and to find all the facilities. The nice thing was, that I had booked an inside cabin without shower and toilet. However, since the ship was nearly empty and just few people needed cabins I had been given an outside cabin with a complete bath! Although it was an outside cabin I had no view. The window was closed and when I asked about it one of the crew members explained, that it was because of the heavy seas in the North that can destroy the glass!

In the evening I was walking around the ship again. It was nice to be on one of the old ships of Hurtigruten where you can really go everywhere; I was walking around the different decks and also to the working areas, meaning the areas where the load is and where the ropes are. I really felt like Tin-tin, who for some reason is always on a ship during most of his stories.

Later I sitting in the salon, was looking out, was reading and listing to music, when the tour leader came to me and told me that this evening the captain would tell something about stockfish and would also let us taste some. Since I anyways didn't had anything else to do I decided to go there.

When the group gathered I realized, that these were basically all passengers on board. I was happy to be on such a small ship and have such a personal treatment. The captain was explaining a lot about the production and history of stockfish and in the end he let us taste some. This wasnt so easy, since the stockfish naturally is quite hard. He was hitting it with a hammer and was hitting and hitting until it was in small pieces and we could eat it!

After this presentation, which had been held on the flag deck of the ship I was quite cold, no wonder when being nearly 500km into the Arctic Circle already. So I went inside to warm up again. I was again sitting in the salon, waiting; The main purpose of my trip to the North was besides the North Cape also to see Northern Lights. The last time I had been in a region where Northern Lights could have occurred was in January; I was with my two flatmates and friends in Finnish Lapland. We were there for nearly a week but had a cloudy sky the whole time and hence didnt see the Northern Lights. This time I really wanted to see them!

So I was sitting and waiting. I had told the reception of the ship, that they could wake me up at any time of the night in case they would come up. I, however, wasnt tired, was way too excited and couldnt sit quietly not to mention sleeping. The whole evening I was putting on my clothes, going outside until I was freezing, going back inside, taking off my clothes and waiting to get warm again. Then the circle started all over again. I was walking around on deck, since I didnt know which direction to look and also to keep warm.

This was going on and on. I was sitting, waiting, walking, putting on clothes, taking them off again, playing around with my camera and so on. Then suddenly at around 12.15 in the night out of nothing, without a sound, without a warning they were there!

Clouds of grey and green were hanging in the sky. First really soft and more like a cloud illuminated by the full moon and then more and more, glowing stronger and stronger in green. Appearing soundless, some staying for some minutes, some vanishing within seconds; some moving fast and hectic over the black sky and some just hanging there not moving at all.

I was just sitting and watching. I was unable to move, it was simply one of the most beautiful things I had seen in my life so far. So majestic and impressive. Just a wonder of nature, which is hard to describe; something everybody has to experience himself! I had tears in my eyes and was just staring into the sky in amazement!

I stayed outside for I dont know how long. The colors got stronger and weaker, the intensity was changing all the time. I had been putting my camera onto the tripod and just pressed the release button every time the camera made a noise. I couldnt take my eyes of the sky and didnt even feel the cold!

After, as I said, I dont know how long. The Northern Lights stopped as quickly as they appeared and I waited for some time more, hoping they would come back. As they didnt I realized, that I was freezing and went inside. I went to my cabin, had a hot shower and went happily to bed! One of the things I had come for was fulfilled, the next thing was planned for the next day and so I fell asleep with a smile on my face!

~M~

Tromsø!

On Saturday morning, after sleeping just a few hours, I got up at 5.30 and fixed myself to go to Tromsø, where I was about to board the northbound Hurtigrute towards Kirkenes and the North Cape! Getting up after the Christmas party of the day before wasn’t easy at all. I was still slightly tipsy and totally dehydrated.

Anyways, I eventually got to the airport and took my flight up to Tromsø. It was pretty eventless and routine in a way. I took the airport bus to the city center and there something funny happened; We are selling, well Authentic Scandinavia is selling many winter tours starting from Tromsø. In the bus, I was a bit hung over, I suddenly recognized the logo of the company. The people sitting in front of me had vouchers of our company and were reading the travel description we sent them! So random!

I took the bus to the city center and went to the Rica Ishavshotel, where I left my luggage in the luggage room. Since Tromsø is rather small, doesn’t have a railway station and also no lockers in the tourist information this is the only possibility to leave luggage.

So there I was at 11 o’clock, still slightly tipsy and with a whole day to spend. The first thing I did was going to a kiosk to get something to eat, a coke and a coffee. I ate the slice of pizza straight away, had half the bottle of coke and took the coffee with me for a walk around town.

I went down to the waterline, where the wind was blowing pretty strong and walked with the wind in my back along the harbor. I didn’t really know what to do and where to go; I had been reading before in my guide and had some things I had considered doing, but I really had no plan. So I just walked on and suddenly stood in front of the Polar museum, which was on my list. It had just opened and so I went in.

I was walking around the rooms, which were showing exhibits about the life in the arctic; About fishing, whaling, trapping and also about the arctic explorer Roald Amundsen. It was really interesting and I spend a long time there looking around and also talking to the employee, who was a real Viking with blond hair, a long braided beard and eyes so blue, you really can’t imagine!

After the museum I went over the bridge, left the island on which Tromsø is located, and walked to the Ishavskatedralen a very famous church, but it was closed. So I walked on along the icy roads towards the Fjellheisen cable car. 

I was lucky, the cable car was just about to leave 5 minutes later, so I waited. The cable car brought me and one other guy up to the mountain top. From the top we had a wonderful view over Tromsø. I walked around and tried to take some pictures, but the wind was so strong and I was freezing; I was just not wearing the right clothes. Instead of spending the time outside I went into the café and got a coffee. I actually intended to stay just half an hour up on the mountain, but it was such a nice view, that I stayed 1 ½ hours.

When coming down it was already dark, but not late. Tromsø being some 400km into the Arctic Circle doenst have so much sunlight during the winter and it usually gets dark at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I walked back along Ishavskatedralen over the bridge back to the down. While I was up on the mountain the ship had arrived and wanted to check in already, leave my luggage and put my real winter clothes on.

After having this done I made my way back downtown, to the old church and along the main street to Stortorget, the main square. I passed the Polaris museum, another museum about the life in the arctic and went once again over the bridge to the Ishavskatedralen. I knew that it was open from 4 o’clock and since I just took pictures of it, when it wasn’t illuminated it was totally worth it!

After some time I walked to the supermarket to get some food for the time on the boat. I just had breakfast included and the other things onboard were quite expensive to buy and so I decided to buy some small things for the two days on the ship.

I boarded the ship, went to my cabin, was settling a bit and was just coming up again to explore the ship when we left the harbor of Tromsø and my trip, direction North Cape, begun!

~M~