Our cruise up Norway’s inside passage led to Narvik, an ice-free industrial port with strategic significance: high-quality iron ore from Sweden comes by rail to Narvik for shipment by sea to buyers all over the world. This made Narvik a target during World War II, as Nazi Germany sought to monopolize the ore shipments for their war machine, and Allied forces tried to fight back. The movie “Narvik” portrays part of this struggle for control during the early parts of the war.
Here is an afternoon view of a Narvik ore handling, storage, and transfer facility. Multiple trains carrying iron ore arrive in Narvik each day and unload ore into covered storage areas like you see above. Since it takes several trainloads of ore to load a ship, the amount of ore on hand varies considerably as it arrives daily and leaves one ship at time. Covered storage helps with dust control, and also keeps the ore from getting wet and freezing in winter.Closer view of ore being loaded into this freighter. The ore goes by conveyer belt into the blue transfer point to be funneled into the holds of the ship. This vessel sits lower in the water towards the rear, so they are apparently loading it from back to front. Swedish ore goes through Narvik to China and other industrial nations around the world.We had originally planned to see wolves up close and personal at Polar Park, a wildlife park near Narvik. However, we had to cancel because of last minute requirements: participants had to be at least 5’4″ tall, able to kneel for up to 15 minutes, and not use any medications (like insulin?) that change their blood sugar levels. We struck out on all three criteria, so we opted for a tour of the city instead. Most of Narvik was destroyed in WWII, so the many of the city’s buildings are relatively new construction. Like other Norwegian communities, Narvik has a church, and here is a photo of its steeple.We were having showery weather when we reached the church, but the dampness did not deter the women’s ensemble that turned out to greet us with some traditional Norwegian songs. The lady on the left was working as a tour guide for one of our groups, which is why she wears the audiovox on the red lanyard.The church was octagonal, and our tour guide (above) explained that it could seat about 240 people. It rarely has very many people attending worship, but our tour group was large enough to fill much of the main level (there was more seating on a second level around most of the octagon). The church is active enough to have an organist, and she treated us to three verses of Amazing Grace. Surprisingly, most of the tourists knew at least the first verse and spontaneously burst into song — wonderful to hear!Cute tourist, raincoat in hand, that I photographed on the dock near our cruise ship, the Viking Star. She even agreed to have dinner with me!Sunset view on our way out of the Narvik harbor. The skies had partially cleared, and we were headed back out into the inside passage en route to Leknes on the Lofoten Islands, our next stop.Could not resist adding a photo of our favorite on-board pastries: almond-covered, almond paste filled croissants. The coffee bar on Deck 1 served the best coffee on the ship, and these freshly baked pastries were available as long as each morning’s supply lasted. Fortunately, we walked enough that we did not gain much if any weight during the cruise.
Next travel post: Leknes and the Lofoten Islands
P.S. If you missed some of our earlier posts from this visit to Norway and Iceland, a link at the bottom of this post will take you to the previous one. And if you want to be notified when the next post comes out, you can add your email address in a box on the right side of the web page.
Many of us think of the Alaskan Ferry when we think of sailing a scenic inside passage, but there is another scenic inside passage on the other side of the world from Alaska. Norway has its own inside passage, traversed by regular mail/cargo delivery ships, occasional cruise ships, and other vessels. Like the inside passage from Vancouver to Alaska, Norway’s inside passage is a network of fjords and channels between mountainous islands. We spent a full day sailing Norway’s inside passage north after leaving Geirangerfjord, and it is gorgeous.
Typical scenery along Norway’s inside passage. Remote villages and farms (note the red barn in the distance), timbered slopes, and mountains rising above timberline. The entire terrain was smoothed by glaciers while they gouged out the fjords during the last ice age, so the mountains and islands tend to be rounded rather than jagged.Wildlife en route included whales, but this was not a whale-watching cruise going where whales were recently seen, so it took patience to spot a spout from time to time. We also saw dolphins, but I was not quick enough with the camera to get a picture. And we saw lots of birds, including the sea eagle (also known as a white tailed eagle?) shown above.Norway makes the most of its fishing opportunities, and we saw fish-farming operations like the one shown above in several of the fjords and channels. Each circular pen houses salmon that are fed and eventually harvested for the commercial fish markets. The boats or barges house people to tend and operate the farming operation. If you look closely, you will see a fence rising around the entire perimeter of each pen. This might be to keep the salmon from jumping out. Or maybe this is to prevent a clever dolphin from jumping into the pen, eating his fill of salmon, and then jumping back out to get away. Or maybe both?We were told that this is the “famous” hole-in-the-rock. Famous? Well, I guess every tourist destination gets a bit of hype from time to time. This shot includes a few of the many small rounded islands that dotted the inside passage, as well as a view of the hole, which is actually a natural tunnel recessed into a slot in the mountain. My guess is that the slot was carved out by glacial erosion, which in some cases works with a plucking phenomena, and the hole came from a collapse in a thin wall left behind in the slot. Hard to say without seeing the other side of the mountain.I thought I saw movement while looking at the hole through my telephoto lens, so I zoomed in and then cropped the image to obtain this shot. A backpacker climbed up to the far side of the hole, and (seen better in another shot) two of his friends are sitting on a rock in front of him. Interesting, and this gives you a sense of scale.More terrain typical of Norway’s inside passage: rounded granite mountains, conifer forests in the lower areas, and very clean air with a view that stretches for miles.Thunderstorm brewing over the mountains. We were very far north by this time, approaching the Arctic Circle as we sailed up Norway’s coast, but there was still enough solar energy to generate convection cells. The showers in the distance overshadow farms and settlements along the coastline.Rainbow in the showers as we sail further up the coast. Swells that make it past the granite barrier islands create an arc kind of pattern in the water, and a gently rocking motion for our cruise ship. Any discernible wave action was rare in the inside passage; the water was mostly smooth.Monument marking the latitude of the Arctic Circle, which is about 66º34′ north of the Equator. I say “about” because the Arctic Circle shifts according to a long-term wobble in the Earth’s rotation (and you thought we had such a fine ride on this spinning Earth!). We were only a few days into our trip, and most of the rest of our travel was north of the Arctic Circle. We eventually reached a point a little more than 78º north of the Equator, and only about 820 miles from the North Pole. Oh, but you might ask, which North Pole? Magnetic, geomagnetic, or geographic north pole? We will save that question for another day, although you are welcome to look it up for yourself before then!
After leaving Bergen we cruised overnight to the little town of Geiranger, namesake of Geirangerfjord. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Geirangerfjord is a wonderful and spectacular place to visit.
We arrived in Geiranger before breakfast, cruising quietly up to the end of the calm fjord waters before docking near the town. The small community sees most of its visitors during the summer, but has a school, supermarket, museum, and at least one hotel that is open year round. You can reach Geiranger by road except during winter; otherwise, you can reach it by boat or by ferry. The large lot of campers and RVs along the waterfront on the right side of the photo gives evidence of its popularity as a vacation destination. You can spot the small church shown in the next photo in the right center of this one.Octagonal community church on a terrace above town. Every community we visited had a church, usually of wood frame construction. When we asked about their use, the guides told us that they hosted concerts or public meetings. Nobody mentioned using a church to worship God, teach, or evangelize, although perhaps that still happens in some of the communities..We took a tour from the port up past the church and on up the mountainside to this overlook. The road to the top included a dozen or more sharp switchbacks and the bus was hot and stuffy, so anyone (like us) who could not see out was at risk of motion sickness. The view from this midway stop was worth the trip, though. Our cruise ship is the closer of the two ships, and you can see how the waters of the fjord fill the deep, glacially-carved U-shaped valley. One of the mountains on the north (right) side of the fjord is gradually sliding towards the water, which would be catastrophic if it were to happen suddenly. The mountain is heavily instrumented to provide advance warning of a failure, and the possibility of such a massive rockslide was the subject of a Norwegian disaster movie a few years ago entitled “The Wave.” Will the massive rockslide happen soon? Nobody knows, but if you are interested in visiting Geiranger, maybe you should go while it is still there.As we drove further up into the mountains above Geirangerfjord we came across these seemingly abandoned summer vacation cabins. Not sure if these are unused rental properties, or if they are privately held and only see occasional use.We crested out at the almost-top of the road to see this rugged terrain and part of a glacier. The route continued even higher to yet another overlook, called Eagle’s Rest, but this was as far as our tour went, so we returned to the ship. Another view of Geirangerfjord from our cabin balcony on board ship. The two red buoys are actually mooring points for the ship to tie up. The switchbacks on the green slope in the right center of the photo are typical of the dozen or more switchbacks we traveled in our land tour. The large boat coming up through the fjord is one of two ferries that reach Geiranger every half hour or so.Cruising back down the fjord later in the day as the weather improves. The waterfalls on the left are the “Seven Sisters,” named for the seven ribbon falls that flow in wet weather. August is dry, so we saw two or maybe three sisters. The waterfall on the right is “The Suitor,” named for the mythical figure who courted the sisters. Moving out of the narrow parts of Geirangerfjord toward the larger parts of Norway’s Inside Passage. The passage is actually a network of interconnected fjords, straights, and channels. In this photo we are still in the fjord, but the landscape begins to hint at more beauty to come.
The weather in Bergen was cloudy with scattered showers on the day we visited, so we did not have opportunities for glorious views of scenery. There were a lot of tourists sharing the city with us, too. Nevertheless, there was plenty to see as we strolled through the old Bryggen area of the waterfront. Bryggen, by the way, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where even the manhole covers are worth a closer look.
Manhole cover along the waterfront near Bryggen. Not just a utilitarian disk of iron, this work of foundry art includes a number of Bergen sites and motifs. At first glance, we see a sailing ship from the maritime trade, the row of Hanseatic buildings that was/is Bryggen, the funicular going up a hill overlooking the city, and the tramway that ascends even higher to a nearby mountaintop. And clouds, always clouds. If you ever happen to visit Bergen on a clear day, take lots of photos because it will be spectacular!Bryggen, the waterfront of the old harbor. The Hanseatic League fostered the trade that built these wooden buildings to serve as shops, warehouses, offices, and so on. Built on soil rather than rock, they settled over time and many of them are no longer either square or straight. Fortunately, like old friends, the buildings can lean on each other for support. A local association maintains strict standards to preserve the appearance of the entire World Heritage Site. The third house from the right is under restoration, and it is covered in a fabric shroud painted to look how the restored building will eventually look.Taverns in the old western US were social and information centers for the cowboys, townsfolk, and those passing through. Barber shops and hair salons serve a similar intel function in many US towns today, and I would imagine that this Bryggen barbershop does the same in this corner of Bergen.One of the narrow streets separating the Bryggen area into blocks. Notice that the street is narrow enough to be bridged by stairs or ramps, and that the red and earth tone paint schemes continue into the areas well behind the front row of buildings. Bonus points if you see where the buildings are not straight.A shopping area that attracts tourists might include a Christmas shop, and Bryggen is no exception. Here we see a couple of our travel friends trying to resist the urge to go inside, and I have to report that they lost the battle. The pavement, made up of rectangular stones arranged in a series of arcs, was typical of most of Bryggen. It was easy walking as long as stones were even, but occasional irregular heights created some mean tripping hazards.Sometimes the shopping and tourist features roped us in. Here we are in front of a polar bear in a local clothing and gift shop. Unfortunately, or not, this is probably the closest we came to a polar bear throughout our trip. In addition to wool caps and sweaters, post cards, and tacky souvenirs, this shop and most of the others included displays of trolls in many shapes and sizes. Cute and ugly at the same time.We passed the old fortress of Bergen on the way back to our ship and noticed these wildflowers providing a little color in a rock wall along the street. The light gray or whitish colors on the edges of some of the stones is efflorescence, where water seeping through the wall dissolves minerals (probably calcium carbonate) from the mortar and then deposits it where the water evaporates as it meets the air.
On our second day we were up bright and early to take the train from Oslo to Bergen. Said to be one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world, this route leaves Oslo, traverses Norwegian farm country, climbs across glacially smoothed mountains, and then descends back down to sea level to arrive in Bergen. The trip takes about seven hours, and trains leave Oslo at approximately 6:30am, 8:30am, and 12:30pm. We traveled with three other LCMS couples (two from our home congregation and our daughter and son-in-law from a different congregation), and while one couple took the train at the rather civilized hour of 8:30am, the rest of us were on the 6:30 train. The same beautiful trip, but the early hour was a bit of a challenge and had us looking for coffee.
My immediate and enduring challenge was how to shoot photos through the glare and haze of train windows and while we were moving at speed across the countryside. The partial solution was a polarizing filter that eliminated most of the glare and reflections, but could not compensate for movement. For illustration, here is a shot of countryside after we left Oslo. The unfiltered shot was not worth keeping. Anyway, looking at the view, these forests are mostly conifers on the hills with some birch (looked kind of like aspen) along the rivers. Lots of pastures, sometimes with rows of hay bales. A few of the older barns and sheds had sod roofs, but many of the newer structures were roofed with slate.Tumbling stream along our route. We did not see many fishermen, but did see hikers or campers from time to time. The bedrock here is granite, or perhaps granitic gneiss (a gneiss granite, but we don’t do puns (very often)), which is tough and resistant to erosion. Not much soil, and we are almost above timberline, but there were still enough areas of grass to graze a few sheep.Higher into the mountains we started seeing snow fences along the route. We have seen these in Colorado and Wyoming. They are positioned upwind from the track, and the science (or engineering, if you prefer) of the design aims to create eddies and temporarily slow the wind. Slower wind carries less snow, so the slower wind drops snow into drifts at the fence rather than downwind on the track. Notice that we see snow fields in the mountains, even in August. And if you think you see a glacier peeking over the far ridge, you are correct!A fairly large glacier is spilling down to the left and right from behind the mountain in the top center of the photo. Notice the sheep grazing in the distant flat area in this very broad view.A similar view of the glacier(s) with a cluster of summer cabins in the foreground. Even closer is the gravel trail used by bikers and campers to travel through the area. The mountains in the distance do not have the jagged shapes found in, say, the Colorado Rockies. Instead, they have a more rounded appearance because they were completely covered, shaped, and ground down by glaciers during the last Ice Age.Ribbon waterfalls descending from snow fields higher up in the mountains. The river water looks clear rather than milky, showing that it is not carrying rock flour from the glaciers. And even though there is not much soil, we still see areas of grass between the rocks. Earlier in the summer we might have seen lots of wildflowers.Another view, after we passed the summit of the Oslo-Bergen route. The curved track in the valley below is the scenic route from Flam. Trains from Flam meet the Oslo-Bergen trains at a small mountain railway station a few miles past this point.
So was this one of the most scenic train rides in the world? We have ridden the Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad through the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, which also touts itself as on of the most scenic train rides anywhere. But they are different, and it is like comparing apples and oranges. A few years ago we rode the Flam railway, which is similar to this one, so maybe we need to consider that, too. All of them are wonderful, though, and we would jump at the chance to ride any or all of them again.
We recently returned from a wonderful vacation in Norway and Iceland, and would like to share some of our photos with you. We will do this a day at a time, starting with the first day of our itinerary, which we spent in Oslo.
Sorry for the head fake — we promised to start with Oslo but here we are taking a selfie at home before leaving for SFO. Our flights connected through Frankfurt and we arrived in Oslo the next evening. After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to see a few sights.California is usually dry all summer, but in some parts of the world (like Norway) liquid water actually falls out of the sky in August! Rain and clouds notwithstanding, our first stop was Vigeland Park. The park displays a wide range of statues displaying the artist’s perspectives on human nature. This little boy throwing a fit might be one of the more famous pieces.We stopped next at the Norwegian Maritime Museum. Their work includes an effort to preserve old Viking techniques for building longships. A scaled model of a longship hull hangs from a frame in the background. In the foreground, behind the docent, are the keel and ribs of a hull under construction. They use oak for the construction because of the strength and flexibility of fresh, thin oak staves.We finished the afternoon with a visit to the outdoor Norwegian Folk Museum, where the rain gave the various buildings a dark, damp look, This stave church was the highlight of our visit. After Christianity came to Scandinavia, the early churches were made completely of wood, as you can see above. There are still a few of these imposing structures scattered around Norway, and some may even still be in use for worship services. The stave church shown above sometimes hosts weddings, but otherwise serves only tourists.This inside view of the stave church shows the log and plank construction. The builders used wooden pegs and carved joints, and the buildings contain no nails, bolts, or screws. Nevertheless, some of them have withstood the weather for centuries.Artwork above the altar area inside the stave church. We wondered what kind of dyes or paints the artist originally used, but there were no guides or docents on hand to answer questions. From what we read elsewhere, I would guess that they used blood for red, and mineral or soil particles for some of the other colors.Traditional turf roof used on rural homes, sheds, and other buildings. We were told that, if properly built and maintained, this kind of roof would last for maybe a couple hundred years before needing replacement. And it provided insulation as well as keeping the water out.
