Tromsø - gateway to the not so frozen north

I’d dreamt of visiting Tromsø for a long time, as there was something about this far northern Norwegian city that really appealed to me. The city is located on the island of Tromsøya which sits in the Tromsøysundet strait, just off the mainland of Northern Norway. The mainland suburb of Tromsdalen is connected to the city centre on Tromsøya by the Tromsø Bridge and the Tromsøysund Tunnel. 

The city centre contains the highest number of old wooden houses in Northern Norway, the oldest dating from 1789, and acts as a cultural hub for the region. Whilst Tromsø isn't as far north as Svalbard—which is separated from the European mainland and lies roughly halfway between the latter and the North Pole, Tromsø certainly evoked the atmosphere and look of a frontier town perched at the boundary of the frozen wilderness.

It reminded me of the town on the fringe of the frozen north, that was brought to life by author, Philip Pullman, in his work, Northern Lights - the first book in the original “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Those amongst you who have read this remarkable series, will recall the un-named, far-northern settlement, where the books’ protagonist, Lyra Belacqua, first encountered armoured bears and the adventurous balloonist, Lee Scoresby. So, when our cruise ship arrived at this town, close to the northern tip of Norway, I truly felt as though I had reached the edge of the Arctic, reminiscent of the setting from the novel.

Unlike the previous port, where myself plus most of the ships company walked into the city centre, that wasn't really possible due to the location of the docks, to the north of Tromsø. Given the mountainous nature of the surrounding area, and the associated scarcity of flat land in this part of the world, much of the area between the port and the city centre is given over to warehousing and associated light industries. 

In theory, it was walkable, but it would have been a lengthy, and rather boring trek. Fortunately, the cruise line had arranged a complimentary shuttle bus service, operating every 20 to 30 minutes, between the berth and the town centre. A similar, free service, was also available in other ports, such as Trondheim and Alta, and Ambassador Cruise Line are to be commend for providing such free and reliable transportation between the ship and the various city centres.

The coach dropped us at the waterfront just a short distance from the city's main shopping area and, true to form, I began my visit by calling in at the local Tourist Information Centre, to pick up city map. Much to my family's amusement and son Matthew's annoyance, I’m an avid map reader, especially as I find navigating my way around a new or strange place, far easier with the aid of a paper plan, than it is using my phone. 

Matthew, and to a certain extent Mrs PBT’s as well, is the one who normally relies on me to navigate our way around a new location, but surely, he must realise I don’t carry this information in my head! Perhaps he does! For the record, the TIC was situated inside the ferry departure terminal, where ships connecting Tromsø with nearby islands and other, outlying settlements, set sail from.

Next to the tourist office, was a FOREX outlet, where I was able to switch some of the Euro’s I’d brought with me, into Norwegian Krone. I then proceeded uphill towards the centrally located Tromsø Cathedral. Built in 1861, this attractive and unassuming building is Norway's only wooden cathedral, but due to its simplistic design, as well as its timber construction, doesn’t look out of place with the rest of the town. Just up from the cathedral, and running at a right angle to the latter, is Tromsø’s main shopping street. This area features a variety of interesting shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars, and includes, for those interested the world’s most northerly McDonald's restaurant, as well as the city’s own Hard Rock Café.

As I’m sure you will appreciate, I hadn’t travelled all this way, only to sell myself short with mas-produced pap from Uncle Sam, especially as I was in need of a locally brewed beer or two. I’d pre-selected a couple of pubs which looked promising, at least on paper, so I set off in search of the first of these. 

Described as Tromsø’s oldest pub, despite only dating back to 1928, Ølhallen is the flagship outlet for the Mack Brewery. Founded in 1877, by Ludwig Markus Mack, this family-owned brewery was originally located in the centre of Tromsø, but moved out in 2011, to Nordkjosbotn, 70km to the south. The old brewery buildings remain in Tromsø and are used primarily as a visitor attraction. The move possibly means that Mack are no longer the most northerly brewery in the world, but let’s not get too excited over such details.

Despite the move, Ølhallen remains a “must” for visitors to Tromsø, and descending the steps down into what, for me, had the feel and character of a Bavarian or Austrian Bierstube added to the excitement and sense of occasion. Ølhallen is a place where townspeople of all ages meet and enjoy beers from the Mack portfolio, as well as other Norwegian breweries. The outlet boasts of having one of the largest tap selections in Europe serving Norwegian quality beer from 72 different taps!

Others describe Ølhallen as a place where people of all ages come together, to enjoy a wide selection of beers from Mack and other Norwegian breweries. Ølhallen state that their Beer Hall has long been part of the city’s everyday social rhythm, describing it as a daytime and early-evening meeting place, where people stop for a social pint after work or sightseeing. Even today, it typically closes early in the evening and remains closed on Sundays, reinforcing its role as a pub focussed on the local community, rather than a place for late-night drinking.

Mack claim that in decades past, the Beer Hall was a well-known gathering place for polar explorers, hunters, and fishermen preparing for journeys into the Arctic ice. This history is still visible inside, with a stuffed polar bear serving as a reminder of Tromsø’s hunting past, while photographs of well-known Arctic figures line the walls, grounding the space firmly in the city’s northern identity. Ølhallen retains its traditional layout, including long wooden tables designed for shared seating. This combination of history, beer culture, and communal atmosphere makes the Beer Hall a clear reflection of  Tromsø’s social life, past and present.

With such an extensive variety of beers of offer, I was more than stumped for choice, so I did something I wouldn’t normally do by ordering a selection of five different beers, set out on a tray as a sort of “tasting wheel”. You see them laid out in the attached photo, but they ranged from a Pilsner, through to a full-bodied, Dunkel, with a Wheat Beer thrown in for good measure. Feeling slightly peckish and also wishing to soak up some of the beer, purchased a hot dog. Ølhallen was relatively empty when I first arrived, but by the time I worked my way through the selection of beers on the tasting tray, the place was starting to fill up.

For the record, I ticked and scored all five beers on Untappd, and should you wish, you can find details of them all, under my profile, on this global “ticking App”.  We shall return briefly, to Tromsø, next time, before taking a look at the Arctic town of Alta, the most northerly point of Norway, that we reached on our visit to the frozen north.

The photos relating to this post have now been retrieved, and added in retrospectively. I trust that they help set the scene, even though the sharp-eyed amongst you will have probably noticed the lack of snow. We hit a glitch as far as the weather was concerned, and instead of temperatures 5 or even 10 degrees below zero, the mercury was hovering at just above freezing. It also rained on our second day in port - more about that later, but rain on top of previously fallen and compacted snow, did make things very slippery underfoot. 

Mrs PBT's stayed on board ship, but I wouldn't have missed Tromsø for the world. In some ways, sub-zero temperatures would have given a much more authentic arctic feel, but with our visit taking place right at the end of March, that many have been asking a little too much.

Still to come, crossing the Arctic Circle, an evening at a husky farm, and the much anticipated appearance of  the Northern Lights!

 

All hail the "Holy Goat"

Last October, I wrote a post about a Tonbridge pub, called the Somerhill. Named after the nearby country pile of the D-Avidor Goldsmid family - the local big-wigs, cum-Lords of the Manor, the Somerhill has experienced quite a chequered history over the past 40 years or so. I won't go over any of that now, but the reason for last autumn's post was the renovation work being carried out at the pub, which followed on from a period of prolonged closure. All sorts of rumours began circulating, whilst at the same time work on the building's exterior continue apace.

From what we could see the renovation looked to be of a high standard, and having secured the outside, with a re-laid roof, replacement windows, and several coats of paint - including changing the exterior colour scheme from creamy white, to a rather striking green, work switched to the interior. It was difficult to see what was going on internally, especially after the fitters applied a coat of white-wash to all the window panes.

Speculation grew as to the pub's owners, as well as its new name, especially after the sign was removed, although most locals thought that the original name would be retained. They were wrong on that count, but it wasn't until Mrs PBT's and I returned from our Norwegian cruise that the name of the renovated establishment was revealed, even though the sign is yet to be replaced (the substantial, and original, concrete post remains in place, topped by an empty, supporting metal frame). I'm going to tease you all a while longer, especially as you are highly unlikely to guess the pub's new name.

The pub finally opened its doors over the Easter period in what is described in pub/club/venue parlance as a "soft opening." With family commitments over the holiday period, it wasn't until Easter Monday that I finally had the chance to set foot inside the bizarrely-named, "Holy Goat"! Yes, you read that correctly, the former Somerhill is now named after on of the most unlikely domesticated animals imaginable. The pub was buzzing as I approached, with drinkers spread out across the Goat's three interlinked bar areas, including the "snug" and, given the fine weather, sat outside in the surprisingly extensive garden, at the rear. I'd already been warned by some CAMRA friends that the pub wasn't stocking cask, at least to begin with, but I was advised that "must stock" local beer Harvey's Best would be making an appearance in the not too distant future. 

The three staff members behind the bar had their work cut out keeping up with customer orders, and it was good to see the place nice and busy. It seemed that a limited food offer was also available, in the form of "hot platters", but I couldn't' really see quite what was on the menu. I would say the majority of the clientele were in the 30-40 year age bracket, even though I'm not that good at estimating peoples' ages, but what I wasn't impressed with was the arrival of a couple of "yummy mummies" with toddlers in pushchairs that took up a significant amount of space, internally. The two "little people" were then lifted out, and more or less left to their own devices - allowed to stagger, or perhaps I should say "waddle" around on their own whilst their entitled mothers, caught up with friends that were already present.

I know there has been a lot of controversy recently, regarding children in pubs, and this isn't really an avenue I want to go down, but unsupervised toddlers, barely able to stand and walk properly, should NOT be left to their own devices in a crowded pub environment, where drinks and/or hot food is being moved around. A number of slightly older youngsters, also found it amusing to run in and out of the toilets - again, in a totally unsupervised manner. As far as I could make out, nothing was said to the respective parents/owners, but with the bar staff rushed off their feet, the chance of a rebuke or reprimand was either missed, or perhaps felt inappropriate in the context of the re-opening.  

I shall leave the matter there, but having made my views clear, await the inevitable backlash. It's easy to understand CAMRA's reluctance to get involved on this topic, as parents, understandably, are very defensive when it comes to criticism of their off-spring. What I would say to the yummy mummy/mother earth types is, by letting your kids run wild, you are doing them  a disservice, and you are also spoiling things for the majority of parents who don't behave in this manner. With any luck, what I witnessed the other day, was just a glitch, although if it happens again, then I'm confident that pub staff will know how to deal with it. More to the point I don't wish to let a couple of isolated incidents spoil things for the majority of sensible and responsible parents. The same goes for the children themselves, as in common with adults, kids need barriers they can conform to and are happy with.

I shall keep readers informed on what is happening at the Holy Goat, and will advise, if and when cask is available. Finally, as one of three pubs within sensible walking distance of Bailey Towers, I have a vested interest in seeing this place succeed!

Small steps towards getting the blog back on the road

This is a test post, really, and one based on a short article that I "discovered" on my budget-priced Chinese laptop. I'm having to use the latter after my desktop PC crashed on Easter Sunday. Basically the driver that permits a Wi-Fi connection to the internet, has failed, leaving me high and dry, and unable to access anything online. Before this happened, I'd uploaded the main body of text, relating to the previous article (the one about Tromso), but hadn't started on the photos. The latter are still lurking on my failed desktop, although I should be able to retrieve them at a later date. It's fitting then that the remainder of this post, was written some 18 months ago, whilst on a cruise. As the text states, I was having connections  difficulties back then.

Once again I seem to be having IT problems when working remotely, and to be honest I've given up. Even worse is the fact I've lost all connectivity to Blogger, not just in relation to my own blog, but to all other users of the platform. So, for the time being at least, I'm unable to access all writers who use Blogger to host their blogs. The problem started when I tried logging on to Blogger Dashboard, and because it's a while since I connected to the platform using this laptop, the system asked me for my password, which of course I'd forgotten. I should have just left it at that, but trying to guess my Google password, when I've used a whole host of different ones was bound to end in disaster. Consequently, it's best left until I return home, so I can be sent recovery codes, or what ever else it is when Google is trying to resurrect one's account.

Fortunately, good old Notepad has come to the rescue. It's a basic, no-thrills programme without any bells or whistles, but it does have its advantages in so much that it is a standalone programme, rather than one linked in to Google OneDrive. I've had several disagreements with colleagues over the use of the latter "all-encompassing" facility, and despite them singing its praises because users can "access it anywhere in the world", that only applies when a valid internet connection is available, which rules out being out on the high seas - unless one is prepared to shell out for an expensive Internet package! There is the other issue of course, because so-called "Cloud Storage" doesn't really occur up in the clouds, but most likely in a power-hungry, facility somewhere in the Nevada desert! 

So this isn't me just being an awkward old bugger, my opposition to remote data storage is based out of genuine concern for the welfare of our planet, rather than chasing an obsessive need to store pile after pile of meaningless data. The photos, btw are randomly selected, and are present just as a test, as I slowly get Paul's Beer & Travel Blog, back on the road.

Trondheim - a delightful, and cultured city on Norway's central, west coast

This post examines Trondheim, an historic port, and Norway’s third largest city. The settlement lies on a sheltered peninsula on the southern shore of the deeply indented Trondheims Fjord. As a significant industrial and commercial hub for the surrounding region, Trondheim offers visitors an authentic experience of urban life in Norway.  

Our cruise ship docked conveniently close to the city centre, allowing for easy access. Upon disembarking, I joined numerous other passengers making the brief walk into town. We traversed the train tracks and marshalling yards via an elevated walkway. Although I had obtained a map upon leaving the vessel, I ultimately chose to follow the crowds as they made their way towards the centre of Trondheim.

The day began with overcast skies, though the sun eventually emerged. One aspect of Trondheim that stood out to me was its abundance of shops, cafés, and dining establishments; initially, there appeared to be fewer locations serving beer. However, prior to considering refreshments, I wished to explore some of the city's cultural highlights. My primary destination was Trondheim’s renowned Nidaros Cathedral, burial site of King Olav II, who became the patron saint of the nation. The cathedral is the traditional location for the consecration of new Norwegian monarchs.  

On my way to the cathedral, I paused in a garden situated opposite the Stiftsgårdsparken, an elegant Baroque-style townhouse belonging to the Norwegian royal family. I sat there for a while studying the map, looking for likely watering holes - more about that later. Upon arrival at the cathedral, which is widely regarded as one of Norway’s most exceptional stone structures, I learned that admission required the purchase of a ticket. 

As I was on a tight schedule, I chose not to enter, and whilst I understand the necessity of admission fees for churches and other religious sites—given the significant maintenance costs for such landmarks—I have mixed feelings about their implementation.

Once I had taken the obligatory photographs, I decided to exchange some of the Euros I had brought with me—a decision I now recognize as a mistake. My reasoning was influenced by a travel blog authored by an American writer who claimed that Euros were widely accepted in Norway.

Consequently, instead of converting Sterling into the local currency and potentially ending up with notes or coins not usable elsewhere, it seemed logical to use Euros. In hindsight, this was misguided, and I acknowledge that I should have conducted more thorough research on local currency requirements prior to my trip.

While passing a foreign exchange office (FOREX), I decided to follow through with my plan to trade some Euros for Norwegian crowns (Krone). There were a few students ahead of me in the line, so I waited until they finished their transactions before approaching one of the windows myself. 

Watching these two young women being asked to show their passports, I was reminded that, for security reasons, I'd intentionally left mine back on the ship. I had a sinking feeling that my request to exchange currency might be denied. Sure enough, when I spoke to the cashier and told them my passport was back on board, they asked if I had any other form of identification. I did and handed over my UK driving license. Although it's not quite as good as a passport, it does feature my photo and is an official piece of UK government-issued identification.

“I’m afraid your Driving Licence is unacceptable”, said the cashier, “because United Kingdom is not part of the European Union”. “I know”, I replied, “but surely neither is Norway, and unlike the UK it has never been part of the EU”. He smiled and laughed, before countering with the remark that whilst Norway was indeed not part of the European Union, it was part of the European Free Trade area, unlike the UK. 

Membership of the EFT was part of the deal originally offered to the UK by the EU, but the offer was rejected by Boris Johson's Tory government, in order to appease the hardliners of the cynically named, European Research Group (ERG). I accepted my defeat, with good grace, and a couple of days later, when our cruise ship docked in Tromso, I took my passport with me and, at a different Forex, managed to change some of my Euro’s into Norwegian Krone.

The day was wearing on, and it was time for some refreshment, but first I found a supermarket where, under instructions from Mrs PBT’s, I picked up a selection of biscuits, nibbles and other “healthy snacks” from a well-stocked supermarket. But where to go for a beer? I had compiled a shortlist of possible places and thought it would just be a matter of navigating to them using my phone, even though I’m not really a fan of following directions on a small screen. 

I set off, in the approximate direction of the port, and when I happened to glance up, I noticed a large building, with an impressive frontage. It turned out to be a craft beer bar named "Habitat", and what more it was open. I stepped inside and found an inviting open-plan layout, that was offering some delicious-looking pizza, as well as an extensive selection of “craft beers”.  

It seemed the perfect spot, and after ordering a pizza, I chose a selection of three different beers. A pale ale, an IPA, and then a rather weighty Imperial Double Stout, which came in at an impressive 14.5% abv. The pale ale and the IPA both paired nicely with the pizza, though I’m less sure about the double stout! It was still an excellent beer, even if it hadn’t been part of my original plan. Habitat wasn't overly crowded, and I had the pick of the tables. This was despite signs indicating they were reserved, but this turned out to be for later that afternoon. 

I was therefore quite happy, sitting there enjoying the beer, just taking in the atmosphere, but after that heavyweight double stout, thought it best to make my way back to the ship. I took a slightly different route back to the port, which enabled me to see a different part of Trondheim, even if it was just the area close to the river and the docks. As for the city itself, as well as being the principle city for this part of central Norway, Trondheim is well worth a longer stay in order to do it proper justice.

 

Åndalsnes and the Golden Train

The second port of call on our Norwegian adventure, was the small, and attractive settlement of Åndalsnes, located at the mouth of the river Rauma, on the shores of Romsdalsfjord. The village is approximately 12 hours sailing from Ålesund, so after an early evening departure from the latter, the following morning saw our cruise ship, Ambience, berthed in the calm and reflective waters of the fjord.

The town has a population of just under 2,500 persons in an attractive setting close the end of field small settlement and it is visited every year by many cruise ships, including our own vessel, Ambience. Its harbour, which is within easy walking distance of the moorings, is called "Tindekaia", and looks out across to the small town of Åndalsnes itself.

Åndalsnes is known as the mountaineering capital of Norway, and lies at the start of the Rauma Railway, described as "one of Europe’s most scenic train journeys". The line is the home of the famous "Golden Train", which takes passengers on an unforgettable journey through beautiful Romsdalen, as it moves along the Rauma Railway. On the way it passes Europe’s largest vertical rock face, where the sheer and intimidating 1,100 metre-high Trollveggen (Troll Wall), acts as a magnet for sightseers and climbing enthusiasts alike.

The Golden Train is named after the secret mission undertaken by the Norwegian government during World War II, when the line was used to transport the country’s gold reserves as part of efforts to safeguard these national assets from the German occupiers. The gold was disguised as mundane cargo, and secret routes were used to evade enemy patrols and checkpoints.

 Norwegian resistance fighters played a crucial role in facilitating this secret operation, which saw the gold travelling down the train-line to Åndalsnes, and then on to safer overseas destinations, including such as the United Kingdom, and Canada. The successful evacuation and safeguarding of the nation’s gold reserves held significant symbolic importance for the Norwegian government plus its people and demonstrated resilience against the German invasion. It also helped to maintain Norway's financial sovereignty during the occupation.

The journey followed by the Golden Train is a round trip from Åndalsnes to Bjorli, which allows travellers to experience stunning views of Norway's majestic landscapes. These include the emerald, green Rauma river, the aforementioned Troll Wall, the Kylling Bridge, and the impressive Verma Waterfall. A short break at Bjorli train station, which is the last stop on the line, allows travellers to disembark from the train and breathe in the fresh mountain air, while experiencing a part of the Raumabahn's history up close. Passengers then rejoin the train for its journey back to Åndalsnes. The entire round trip takes about 2½ hours and having written those words I’m wishing now that we had booked tickets for this fascinating ride.

Although we didn't ride on the train, Åndalsnes itself was a real gem in a fantastic setting. The weather was kind, in spite of a slight chill in the air, the only disappointment being the town’s single pub was closed. It was Sunday afternoon, and the place was also closed on Mondays as well - shades of back home! We visited as couple of shops before finding a nice coffee shop, attached to a local bakers, and sitting at one of the outside table, whilst watching the world go by, was a nice way to while away the time. Some children nearby were attempting to catch crabs from the jetty, using a hand-line, an activity both Eileen and I were familiar with from our own childhood.

Before returning to the ship, we watched the Golden Train departing from Åndalsnes, which again left me wishing that I’d booked a ticket on this legendary service. Perhaps I should have carried out a little more research prior to embarking on this cruise, but Hey-Ho! An overnight voyage, further up the Norwegian coast, saw Ambience docking at the city of Trondheim, a city on the Trondheim Fjord, in central Norway.

Dating back to the 11th century, Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway and is the fourth largest urban area in the country. Trondheim is a major land and sea transport link that connects the more densely settled south with the far-northern regions of the country. The city is also a major centre for manufacturing, plus food processing area. It is also home to a number of pubs, one of which turned out to be the surprise find of the holiday, as we shall discover in the nest post.

 

A Norwegian saga

Mrs PBT’s and I arrived back in the UK at around 11pm, last night, when our ship docked at Tilbury, or should I say the slightly pretentious London Cruise Terminal. I’m actually being rather unfair to Tilbury, because as departure and arrival places go, the LCT was a very smooth operation. This location in Essex hardly constitutes a town, although we did notice the presence of Tilbury Town rail station on our drive back toward the Dartford Crossing earlier this morning.

Our departure from this slightly maligned location brought back a few memories from childhood, that harked back to my one and only previous visit to childhood, which predate the opening of the first Dartford Tunnel. The Gravesend-Tilbury ferry was the only option for drivers wishing to cross the Thames, downstream of London, and I can remember the excitement of driving down the ramp, in the family car, and onto the limited capacity car ferry at Gravesend, before leaving the vessel at Tilbury, on the opposite side of the river. That was on a trip to Suffolk, to visit my recently retired paternal grandparents, and as it represents my only memory of crossing the river, in this manner, I imagine the Dartford Tunnel must have opened to traffic soon afterwards.

Before going any further, an apology to both regular followers and casual readers of the blog, for the lack of any posts whilst away. I obviously failed the digital-nomad test, as for some reason, best known to Google, I was unable to access my Blogger account whilst away. This was probably a blessing in disguise, as even attempting to type out meaningful text, on the small screen of a Smartphone, has never been a task I’m particularly fond of. Instead, I took copious notes, detailing not just the locations we visited on the cruise, but all sorts of observations about Ambience, the ship that acted as our home for the past 16 days.

Spoiler alert- due to atrocious weather conditions in the Norwegian Sea, the final five days of the voyage were all spent at sea, after being unable to berth at Narvik, which was the final destination of our cruise. Instead, our captain took the decision to “run for home” which meant being tossed and turned by the heavy seas, and strong winds we encountered on our journey back to blighty.  

 The choppy seas led to the evacuation, by helicopter, of at least one injured passenger, and possibly more, following an incident in the ship’s restaurant. Eileen and I remained in our quarters that evening and ordered a meal from the “room service” option, although we heard, and witnessed at least one helicopter hovering above our cabin, on Deck 10. The chopper was rather too close for comfort, as it hovered just feet above our heads, but despite atrocious conditions the casualty was winched to safety and flown away for further treatment. Speculation on board was that Lerwick, in the Shetland Isles, would have been the nearest suitable hospital, but like many things on board ship, this is only speculation.

Leaving bad weather and disasters at sea to one side for a moment, here’s a brief synopsis of places visited, along with alterations to the schedule.  We discovered after booking our trip back in December that the itinerary formerly included a visit to the aforementioned Lerwick, on the outward journey, although this was eventually cancelled. I’m not sure why, and I for one would have liked a visit to Shetland, but removing the latter from the schedule meant a three-day sailing to our first port of call, the lovely town of Ǻlesund.

This was followed the day after, with a visit to Åndalsnes, a tiny town, at the end of a lengthy fjord,and starting point for the Rauma Railway. The latter has been voted "Europe's most scenic train journey", as it follows the line of the Rauma Valley, up into the mountains. An overnight sailing took us to Trondheim, the third most populous municipality in Norway, and a city with a number of cultural treasures. A “sea day” took us to Tromsø, a city known as the "Gateway to the Arctic", and a place with a real buzz about it.

Our ship spent two days in Tromsø, and whilst the second day was marred by rain, there were a number of bars that proved well worth visiting. Our penultimate stop was the small, and very modern-looking town of Alta, where we spent a couple of days, Situated on Norway’s northern coast, at the head of Alta Fjord, the town is renowned as one of the best places to observe the Northern Lights. 

True to the town’s reputation we were rewarded with sightings of the, at times, elusive Aurora Borealis. We set sail on the evening of 21^st March, bound for Narvik, a town on the Norwegian coast, and best known as the port where iron ore, mined in nearby Sweden, is shipped across the world, after being transported across the border, by rail. Unfortunately, we never got to see the town, as it was whilst sailing to Narvik that our captain made the decision to head for home instead.

The above, is just a brief synopsis of our Norwegian adventure, an experience that took us beyond the Arctic Circle and to the northernmost edge of continental Europe. I shall be elaborating much further over the next week or so, as I attempt to play catch-up on what was an amazing and unmissable experience. In other words, there’s plenty more to come!