Finland and Norway with GCT

10-27 May 2017

We had talked about going to the Norwegian fjords for years but the cost of doing anything in Scandinavia seemed daunting. In fact, we tried doing the alternative fjord trip to the southern hemisphere, and it was excellent. But, it just made us want to see THE fjords even more. Somewhere we heard about the coastal steamers, the Hurtigruten, which ply the northern coast of Norway carrying passengers and cargo for all the small cities and towns along the way. The cost was less than that for a full-fledged luxury cruise and there was an option for doing a round trip from Bergen to the northern tip of Norway, practically to the Russian border, and back. That would be a 12-day trip with the same scenery each way and stopping at the same ports (but the night ones would be day stops on the way back). Then, somehow we stumbled upon Grand Circle Travel (a tour operator associated with Overseas Adventure Travel which Paula and Stephen love) and their trip added in Finland and the trip across Norway from Bergen to Oslo. It was expensive but we decided to go for it since if we put it off, we might never take the plunge to get to Scandinavia. An added treat was that we could reconnect with Martti, a paraglider we met while flying and touring in South Africa, in Helsinki. When C.J. emailed him, he invited us to stay in his home and go kayaking with him in the Baltic Sea! We signed up with GCT in November.

10-11 May, Wed-Thu – Left at around 0915 for the Park N Jet lot #2. We were greeted by name and got a shuttle quickly so we were almost three hours early for our 1308 flight on Delta. We had to stand in a long line to get our passports checked along with everyone who had printed out their own boarding passes. Then the flight was delayed for 22 minutes. We got boarded early on in the process (zone 1). After that it was a long ten-hour flight to Paris but with two sandwich snacks, one hot lunch and a beverage service or two. In Paris at CDG we had to go through two security checks; probably one was for entering the EU since we didn't have to go through passport control in Helsinki. CDG is a big, spread-out airport and we needed to take a shuttle bus from our arrival terminal to Terminal 2D where we caught our Finnair flight to Helsinki. It was a little uncomfortable at the Helsinki terminal because we did not get directions to any arrival formalities so we just picked up our bags and walked out through the ""nothing to declare" door. Martti was as good as his word and was waiting for us right outside wearing a bright red fleece from one of his Iquique trips. He drove us from the relatively small airport (after all, there are only 5.5 million people living in Finland) in his big Natura Viva van. After a tour of his home, he went out to buy some groceries and later cooked up a tasty salmon dinner. [Salmon was on sale, I guess, at 9.95€/kg.] C.J. had had a short nap but I was falling asleep as I tried to write in this journal. We will have an inflatable mattress in a living room with our own bathroom and shower downstairs, right next to the sauna. Tomorrow we are going to do a bit of kayaking with Martti even though it's been snowing (!) off and on during the day. 

12 May, Fri –The inflatable mattress worked very well after we rotated the dial to the right place to keep the air from seeping out through the inflator motor. It never got cold like ours does due to air circulation, maybe because the house floor is heated. I got up multiple times to use the bathroom (and was confused only once).

Paula and Martti prepared a wonderful Finnish breakfast of oatmeal porridge with blueberries and strawberries, Karelian pies (mini "pie" with rye crust and rice filling) served with warm hardboiled egg mixed with butter, round slices of reindeer, salmon marinated in coarse salt overnight (gravlox?), artisan bread, and a pastry. Later Paula blended up the rest of the fruit and some yogurt into a smoothie. Around 1000 Martti drove us to Natura Viva, his kayak tour and rental business in Vuosaari. [There is also a café that Paula manages as well as fat bike and SUP rentals.] We paid for our rental and pulled on our rain parkas over our layers of fleece, put our PFDs over that and pushed off in a plastic tandem made in Italy. We managed to steer our kayak reasonably well even without the rudder we usually use. Martti paddled a Wilderness Systems single. C.J. had her Delorme so we got a good record of where we went, a loop of about 8km or so. There were numerous islands and under the Finnish doctrine of "Everyman's right" boaters are allowed to go ashore just about anywhere. We did not but

apparently you can stop and camp as long as you are not close to someone's house or summer cabin; some islands are set apart for camping and are complete with outhouses and sometimes open shelters. Two islands had restrictions about building anything new to preserve an old tradition of inexpensive cabins for working class vacationers. We paddled through some pretty strong wind gusts and our hands got cold in our wet gloves until we pulled on some pogeys, neoprene hippo hands. We were glad to get back to the launch point and get a sandwich and some hot chocolate in the café (10€). Around 1500 we got packed up and Martti drove us into the center of Helsinki and dropped us near the main TI. We picked up some maps and info and then walked through the main outdoor market where there were both food stands and souvenir sellers. We went on up the hill to get a closeup view of the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral with its onion domes covered with 22 carat gold (left). The interior was closed so we did not get to see the icons. Back at the waterfront we found a rooftop bar with a good view of the harbor and the surrounding area but didn't stay for a drink. It was right next to the Sky Wheel and just down the street from our GCT hotel, the Scandic Grand Marina. The wind was still gusting and when the sun went behind the clouds it got really cold. We took a break by going into the Helsinki City Museum where we watched a photo-mural-timeline of Helsinki's history and used the WC. It was only a short walk to the Senate Square and the Lutheran Cathedral. We were able to go inside the large, plain church. No stained glass, no gaudy saint statues, and no crucifixes, but there were statues of Luther, Agricola (?) and some others who we figured were important in the Reformation. [Later we learned that Agricola was the first

to translate the Bible into Finnish. He has a church dedicated to him which has the tallest steeple in Helsinki.] We made a circuit around the outside of the cathedral and then went back to the waterfront to visit the Old Market Hall which now has small shops and cafes and was closing soon at 1800. We had about an hour to spend before Martti would pick us up so we walked the Esplanade Park past the naked mermaid fountain and various other monuments (including one for Eino Leino, a renowned Finnish poet). When we reached the end of the Esplanade at the Swedish National theater (Finland is bi-lingual) and the Stockmann department store, we spotted a tower that was green with verdigris and reminded us of a frog. So we walked down to it to find out that it was part of the Helsinki railroad station. Beyond that we saw the Finnish National Theater and then walked back to the Esplanade and the TI where we had to wait only a short time for Martti. We had dinner at a grocery mall (three large groceries, plus other stores and a huge number of restaurants. One interesting feature was an escalator with no steps - only a ramp). We ate at Momo Toko, a ramen place. Back at Martti and Paula's we were tired enough to get to bed as early as possible. Besides, we were planning to get up early because M and P had to start in to work at 0800. 

13 May, Sat – I got up at 0630 so I would have time to get a shower. Paula and Martti made another nice breakfast with oatmeal, fresh fruit, bread and cheese and reindeer meat, plus another one of the pastries made with cardamom. By 0800 we were all packed up and ready to go. Paula grabbed some groceries for the café on the way and we took a scenic route along the Helsinki waterfront high-rent residential area. Then they dropped us off right at the Grand Marina. C.J. and I weren't sure what to expect but we were surprised to be able to check in and get our room right away. Despite having had a great Finnish breakfast already we couldn't resist going down to the hotel breakfast buffet which was loaded with good stuff. There was even hot milk for making cocoa. We snagged a bit of ham and cheese on fresh bread for lunch and sampled the herrings in mustard sauce, meatballs, bacon, eggs, a pastry, and some mixed fruit with yogurt [We're going to be so overweight when we get home!] After returning to our room to get packed and dressed for the day (long underwear, two

layers of fleece, warm hat, etc. even though it was nice and sunny) we walked over to the much busier outdoor market. C.J. found a pair of fleece mittens with a Finnish design to replace her gloves which were getting kind of thin. We had pretty much made up our minds to take a ferry to Suomenlinna island to tour the sea fortress. We first went over to the TI to check on the Helsinki Day Pass because we had seen that a two-day City Pass was cheaper than a one-day pass. It turned out that there were two competing pass companies. We decided to go for the cheaper one which had a few less benefits but still got us to Suomenlinna and on a boat tour and the Hop-on-hop-off bus tour. So, our plan changed to do some sightseeing on Saturday and then maybe go to the sea fortress on Sunday afternoon when we are on our own after a group tour in the a.m. We were just in time for the 1200 boat tour which took us along the south shore of the city (passing the quay where Finns still wash their rugs, an old custom) then out to Suomenlinna and all the way

north past the zoo to the wharf where the icebreakers were tied up then back to the harbor. It was cold outside on the upper deck in the wind but we had adequate clothing [maybe wind pants would have been a good idea]. We stopped in the city museum once again and then went to the steps above Senate Square to eat our lunch. Next, we picked up our bus tour right there and endured the poorly-fitting plastic earbuds to get the tour information. Next time we will know which stops we want to hop off at (and I’d bring my new noise cancelling earphones). Cold and tired even though it was only 1530 we returned to the hotel. GCT Program Director Hanna Asp was there so we got the word on when and where we should meet for the introduction dinner. Then we went to our room and I caught up on my journal. C.J. checked to see if there were any articles up on the server to edit. [Internet seemed to be working fine at the hotel and, outdoors, there is often a connection through the city of Helsinki's WiFi.] After a short nap, we met the group of almost 40 in the lobby and had a short orientation followed by introductions. (C.J and I had a cider and then a glass of red wine was served at dinner) From there we went to the hotel restaurant for a beef salad, salmon, and berry panacotta. We went up to our room around 2115 and I downloaded our photos from our cameras and then tried to put captions on mine using Picasa. I was falling asleep before I finished. 

14 May, Sunday – I woke early and got up to take a shower at 0600 in prep for breakfast at 0800 (late because it's Sunday, and also Mothers Day). There was time so I washed out some underwear and socks. I've 

been wearing long underwear and turtlenecks under my street clothes every day we've been in Finland. I don't suppose that is going to change as we head north on Monday. Breakfast was excellent again, but much busier. C.J got a single rose when we checked-in

in honor of Mothers’ Day. We had a 45 min. meeting with Hanna in which she went over what to expect the next couple of days and during the rest of the trip. At 1000 we all got on a full-size tour bus and did a driving tour with stops at Senate Square, the performing arts center including Kiasma, museum of contemporary arts, and the symphony hall. Across the street was the Parliament building which was being restored. Next, we got stuck in a tour bus and tourist traffic jam at Sibelius Park; finally, we got a place to park and we had a few minutes to get look at the 60-ton organ-like stainless steel pipe 1967 Sibelius monument. From there we drove the short distance to the Rock Church and went inside to see the rough rock walls and flat dome made of 50 miles of copper wire. We drove back past the famous nude mermaid fountain on the Esplanade. Back at the hotel C.J. and I grabbed our sandwiches (from the breakfast buffet) and headed for the waterfront to catch a ferry ride to Suomenlinna Island. We had about 25 minutes to wait so we bought an ice cream cup/cone at a kiosk. Our city pass got us on the JT-Line ferry and it took only 20 min to get to the dock located at the bridge between two of the islands. I realized that I was missing my camera but figured it was in my pack. When it wasn't there, I assumed it was back in the hotel room and just used my phone camera for the day. We walked south to near the Ehrsvard museum where we found a rock in the sun and sat down to eat lunch while watching some BIG kites being flown over the SW ramparts. We went over there and then followed a trail along the walls and shore passing gun emplacements and more walls until we reached the summit of the whole defensive system. On the way back we stopped to walk through a dark tunnel in the bastion and visited the Kings Gate. We returned to the dock and then, since there was a wait for the next ferry anyway, we walked north to the Suomenlinna church which started out as Orthodox during the time of Russian rule, but is now Lutheran. We just missed the next ferry but another one showed up almost immediately so we got back to the hotel by 1800, in plenty of time to meet the group that was going out to eat at a nearby hotel that was once a prison (Ravintola Linnankellari). [My camera did not turn up in our room so I asked Hanna to check with the tour bus to see if I left it on the bus. The last time I remember holding it was when we drove past the "Beauty of the Sea" mermaid fountain. No luck. The best I can say about this situation is that I had downloaded all my photos Saturday night so I lost only the ones from Sunday.] Dinner at the Linnankellari was very good. Everyone had an assortment of starters including a cube of duck, a round of raw beef, a slice of fish and? The entrée was a boneless chicken breast cooked in a wine sauce and served with asparagus. And dessert was a "dixie cup" of organic pine ice cream. Everything was delicious. We had a nice visit with Doy and Greg Athnos from Chicago during dinner. Everyone on this trip seems to have done a lot of traveling. One man has been on something like 35 GCT/OAT trips. 

15 May, Mon – Up at 0630 for our 1015 departure on a bus to the airport then on to Rovaniemi. From there we bus four hours to Ivalo (EE vah lo) with two stops. Before we left, I went twice to the waterfront to ask the JT-Lines ticket agent if a camera had been found. No luck. Hanna also called the JT-Lines office. Our checked bags were picked up at the door of our room and by 1015 we were loading on a tour bus for the 30 minute drive to the airport. Checking in was easy with our tour directors scanning the luggage tags and putting the bags on the . We had been given our boarding passes while on the bus. There was no passport check (internal flight) but C.J. had a little problem going through security – for some reason her protein bar set off the detector and they had to run her stuff through a bit at a time. Next we all went up a level to the Fly Inn restaurant and had a light lunch of a bowl of creamy salmon soup and bread. There was about an hour wait before we boarded our Norwegian Air flight for Rovaniemi. We had to do a little ticket shuffling to get to sit together but it was worth it since then we got a window seat. The flight was about 1.5 hours and we had decent views for much of the trip. We saw many lakes and after a while there was snow, then lots of snow with only the roads looking to be snow free. At Rovaniemi we loaded aboard a tour bus and drove a few km to a souvenir village with Santa Claus photos, snack bar, and lots of souvenir shops all based around photo ops for the Arctic Circle. [An interesting factoid about Scandinavia, or at least Scandinavian airports, is that there are no water fountains so you are pretty much required to buy bottled water. We didn't.] We headed north through the snow-covered northern/boreal forest; there were lots of snowmobile tracks and the wooden houses looked to C.J. like those in the northern Midwest. About 2.5 hours up the road, we stopped at Tankavaara, a gold museum/national park. We went to the restaurant for an excellent three-course dinner, a salad made with salmon in sour cream, smoked pork entrée and a pancake with blueberry yogurt and honey dessert. After dinner, there was gold panning and most people found bits of gold with C.J. finding a fairly big flake which was put in a vial for her. We wandered around outside through the snow looking at a couple of young reindeer and the rental cabins. Back on the bus it was still about 4-5 deg C outside and the sun was still pretty high in the sky even at 2000. We got to Ivalo Hotel about 2100 and I reviewed the articles that C.J. had edited until I had to stop because I was falling asleep. 

16 May, Tue – Up at 0630 to get down for breakfast at 0715. The buffet was surprisingly extensive considering that we were far from the big city. At 0930 we boarded the bus for Inari (EEN ah ree) and it took about 30 minutes to reach the Siida Museum. We all watched a 20-minute film on northern Finland. Then a docent led us around the exhibits of local nature and the history of the Sami (Lapp) people. Afterward we had some time to look through the gift shop. C.J. bought a couple of postcards and stamps (  ). We returned to Ivalo and the bus dropped us off in four small groups at various Finnish homes for lunch. We were in a largish group but we had a very nice hostess who fed us a delicious salmon soup with pastry and cloudberries for dessert. The bus picked us up at 1420 and we returned to the hotel after picking up another group (which was quite far out in the boonies at a sled dog farm. While C.J. caught up on (?) I borrowed one of the free hotel one-speed bicycles and pedaled less than a km to one of the large supermarkets. I stumbled on a display of Marttini knives (made in Rovaniemi) that had been displayed also at the hotel and at the museum. They were pretty pricey with none less than 33€. After looking through the rest of the store I rode over to a monument devoted to placer gold mining behind the other hotel. Then I stopped at a pretty big souvenir shop which had an even bigger assortment of knives. I got back to the hotel just in time to take in Greg's illustrated lecture on Finnish composer Sibelius. By the time he wound up around 1700 it was time to get ready for going out for supper at a Sami Kota about 20 km to the south, the last 4 km on an unpaved road (the last km of which was snowcovered). First we got to feed some coralled reindeer with reindeer moss. Then we went inside the large wooden Kota (a teepee-shaped wooden building with a central hearth) for dinner. The first course was pureed vegetable soup followed by a plate of reindeer steak pieces, a patty of ground reindeer w/mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and a green salad. Dessert was melted cheese served with cloudberry preserves. [Before dinner we made a stop at the big supermarket for those who wanted to buy Finnish sweets and/or alcohol before we got to Norway where it would be even more expensive. C.J. and I bought some cookies and a bottle of Bear Flag (CA) dark red wine. We got back from the Sami dinner around 2115 and I took my computer down to the lobby to try to get enough bandwidth to download my copy of MS Office. While waiting for the slow download/installation, I got this journal somewhat updated.

17 May, Wed – Up at 0530 for a shower before early breakfast at 0615, another good buffet. We were on our way with a new, smaller bus around 0715. We passed through Inari and then went north for about two hours when we stopped at a holiday camp for a coffee and bathroom break. Then it was another hour and a half to Kirkenes, except we took a scenic detour to the Russian border just a few km east of the small city. Hanna poured us each a glass of wine to celebrate. Finally, we pulled into the parking area at Kirkenes for the Hurtigruten and got our first sight of the Polarlys (“polar light”). Hanna handed out our boarding info along with our keys and we schlepped our bags the short distance to the bag drop. It was just like a regular cruise line (although there was no security to go through) with the purser scanning our keys as we entered the ship on the 3^rd level. Our room was on the same deck and we found our tiny cabin at the end of the passageway. After dropping our stuff we went up to the next deck where the main dining room was located. It also served as the lunch and breakfast buffet room. There was a wait until the lunch line opened but the food itself was very good with a big choice of soup, salads, meat/fish, pasta, and desserts. We had a big lunch and then explored the ship to try to get a handle on where everything was. I had the purser link my key to my credit card, not that I expect to spend much if anything on board. GCT is providing all of the excursions we want to do and we probably won’t have time to do a lot of drinking! After walking around the ship, we got our cabin sort of squared away by putting the rolling duffel in the closet and C.J.’s big-wheel bag under the bed. I guess mine will go beneath my folding bed, too. [Nope, but it fit under C.J.'s bed.] At 1430 we had a safety briefing and a greeting by the captain and his chief officers, all dressed up for Norwegian Constitution Day. They were carrying flags and ready to participate in a parade at our first stop, Vardø. There we met Hanna on the pier just as the local band led us and maybe 60-100 Hurtigruten passengers (out of close to 400) plus the officers through the small town to the snowy fortress, the most northern one in the world. Many Norwegians were dressed in traditional costume, especially the women and girls. The ship had provided some Norwegian flags for the celebrants plus there was a big Hurtigruten banner. The band played one musical piece at the fortress in front of a memorial to Haakon VII and then everyone dispersed to walk back through town to the ship. C.J. and I worked on editing while sitting in front of the starboard side windows on Deck 4 until 1800 when the main dining room opened. Our group had seats together in one section and the menu included a herring sild salad, reindeer meat with Brussel sprouts and pureed turnip; dessert was a small scoop of aquavit ice cream, whipped cream and a pastry. [No choices except for dietary problems.] Water, coffee and tea were included. We were chased out at 1930 so the next sitting could be accommodated. C.J. had been using her Delorme satellite tracker since we approached Vardø so we went to a table on Deck 4 where we could show some of our group what our route looked like. I got some of this journal done and then ran low on battery about 2030 so went down to the cabin to plug in and finish writing.

18 May, Thu – The unfolded bed seemed to work well for sleeping but we were awakened a couple of times by loud engine noise, presumably when we made a stop at a one small port or another. We got up around 0700 and enjoyed another great buffet for breakfast. The fried eggs topped with bacon were especially good. There were smoothies, mystery fruit juice and other drinks but no hot cocoa mix. Our first excursion was at Hammerfest where we arrived at 1100 (fifteen minutes late). It was raining lightly but not too cold as we walked a short distance to the new church across from the cemetery. We didn’t take time to explore the old church, the only building left in Hammerfest after the Nazis destroyed everything in their retreat in the winter of 44-45. I stopped at a “mini-bank” to take out 900NOK, a bit more than $106US which I planned to use for shipboard gratuities. C.J. and I joined many of our fellow GCT members in the Polar Bear Museum, part of the TI. C.J. bought a polar bear cookie cutter, then we returned to the ship. I was watching from the deck when the gangplank was raised just as a couple of passengers tottered up several minutes late. Surprisingly, the ship reversed and lowered the gangplank allowing them to re-board. Lunch at 1215 was just as good as the breakfast and previous lunch buffet had been. Later, I bought a guidebook to the sights along the route of the Hurtigruten. At 1400 we joined most of the GCT group to hear Greg Athnos’s second lecture on musical history, this time about the first five great composers of Russia. Near the end of the presentation we docked in Øksfjord and when we went outside the sun had come out and it was almost warm. There was still plenty of snow to be seen on the mountains on each side of the fjords. It was difficult to be sure whether we were seeing glaciers or just snowfields on the higher mountains. A while later we sailed out of the fjords to start the crossing of Loppa, an open stretch of sea (Arctic Ocean, I suppose). Meanwhile C.J. and I were working on the 1704 magazine while sitting in the lounge on Deck 7. We sailed though the Lyngenfjord and when we were about to pass a small community, Havnnes, with a historical trading post, the crew handed out Norwegian flags and a bunch of passengers gathered on the deck to wave at the people on shore. [Unusually, I surmise, there were only a few shoresiders present to wave back at us.] The trip through the narrow channel was very scenic with snowcovered mountains above dark rock and some bare trees. We were still above the Arctic Circle and will be until Day 9 (?). We went to bed around 2230 or so in preparation for an early day of bus touring through the Vesteralen on Thursday. Others went ashore at 2345 for a midnight concert in Tromsø, the “Paris of the North”. At some point during this day we passed the point where we were at the farthest north we were going to get. Now we were steaming south.

19 May, Fri – Maybe we should not have skipped the concert – people we talked to commented on the sun setting at midnight. But they also said they were really tired when they got up early for breakfast so we could meet Hanna at 0800 on the dock at Harstad. There we boarded a tour bus with Katharine, a local guide, and drove through the town then out and up a ways to a therapy farm with small horses and Shetland ponies, goats, sheep and quail. Britt told us all about her operation and we met her two- and four-legged “colleagues”. After we got good and cold standing on the snow, we adjourned to a Sami-style wooden kota (tepee) for coffee/tea and lefse around a fire. From there we continued around the island of Hinnøya and detoured to cross a new bridge to a formerly isolated island. Then we caught a ferry at Refnes for a 20 min ride to the western part of the island. We continued the scenic drive around the southern end of the island and stopped just before crossing a bridge to Sortland on Langøya (“Long Island”) to wait for the Polarlys to approach. Once we could see it we drove across the bridge and honked in response to the ship’s horn and the waving Norwegian flags of the passengers. We met the ship at the dock in Sortland and went back aboard having missed a short stop at the port of Risøyhamn (?). We had another great buffet lunch and then got ready for the next port, Stokmarknes on Hadseløya. Hanna led us through the terminal and across the street to the Hurtigruten (“Quick Route”) Museum where she paid the entry fee and left us to explore. We did a pretty quick walk-through and then moved on to the connected high-and-dry Hurtigrute Finnmarken with its old style first-class, second class and third class lounges and dining rooms. Back on the ship (it was only a one hour stop) we grabbed some warm clothes so we could sit out on the deck in case the lounge was full for the passage through “Trollfjord”, a very narrow arm of the strait (the Raftsundet) between the Vesteraalen and Lofoten island groups. The lounge was full but we found seats in the covered outdoor area amidships on Deck 7. It wasn’t even cold and we had a good view of the narrow (100m) passage. It was a surprise when the ship rounded the end of an island and turned back north; soon it reached the really narrow passage branching to the left – the actual Trollfjord. It was a scenic masterpiece with steep rock walls, waterfalls, and snow above; the only thing missing was a calving glacier (well, and sunshine/clear skies). It was a dead-end passage with just enough room for the ship to do a U-turn and return to the main channel. It was time for us to get ready for dinner, early at 1730 so that we could be ready when the ship docked at Svolvaer. Dinner was carrot soup, baked cod with kale, and potatoes. Dessert was spice cake with a small scoop of brown cheese ice cream. [A full description would take pages.] The ship docked somewhat after 1830 and the GCT group met with Hanna on the dock around 1900. She led us a few blocks to the WW II museum, a collection of uniforms and artifacts collected by a local resident. He gave us an introduction and then let us browse on our own. It was quite crowded and not very organized but there was a lot to see. [I still don’t have a good idea about the war in Norway.] [The movie “Max Manus – Man of War” helped a bit with explaining the futile two-month fight to stop the Nazis and then the years of Quisling rule and Resistance while the legitimate government, including King Haakon VII, was in England.] Afterward, C.J. and I walked a bit farther into town and around a small square. The main things to see were the “goat horns” on a nearby mountain and the acres of fish-drying racks, most with fish on them. We got back to the ship with plenty of time to spare before the departure at 2030. We went back out on the deck to look at the horns with binoculars and then settled in the lounge to do our journals. An announcement that a north-bound Hurtigrute, Kong Harald, was going to pass us got me out in the cold once more to get a picture. [It really needed a sound recording as the two ships hooted at each other.]

20 May, Sat –We missed the long open sea crossing from the Lofoten Islands to Bodo as we slept overnight. We had breakfast as usual. At 0915 we met on the aft area of Deck 7 for a little ceremony as we crossed the Arctic Circle southbound. We sailed past a small island with a globe monument marking the approximate location of the polar circle 66* 33’ 30” (it varies over time). The Explorer Team provided sips of cod liver oil to keep us healthy (free) and/or champagne for 99NOK. [I skipped the sip of cod liver oil…and the champagne].  At 1100 Hanna showed two film clips about Norway (May Day and Mid-summersday festivities) and then did a PowerPoint presentation on “Norway and the Norwegians”. Lunch. At 1545 C.J. and I were a little late getting off the ship in a big crowd so we had to hurry to catch up with Hanna and the rest of our group who were trying to make it to the shopping center before it closed at 1600. After a quick look at the mall, we continued on along the pier to a welcome-to-Bronnnøysund gate made of birch trunks, nets with garlands of evergreens and Norwegian flags. We walked a bit farther to a church with some old graves and then returned to the ship. Today only there were hand-cancelled stamps available marking the crossing of the Arctic Circle. C.J. bought a postcard  and a stamp to send to us. Dinner was the Captain’s Dinner and we put on our best clothes (I may have been the only passenger wearing a tie but there were plenty of sports coats) We received a glass of champagne for a toast, the captain addressed us and the dining room crew was all lined up as we processed through. At 2000 Hanna provided a Norwegian feature film based on the life of Max Manus, a WW II resistance leader subtitled in English. The sun had not set when we got out of the movie at 2200 and C.J. went back up to see the sunset around 2300. We are well below the Midnight Sun area now. Too bad the sun wasn’t out when we were in Tromsø or farther north.

21 May, Sun – We ate breakfast early so we could get out of the ship at 0730 for a bus tour of Trondheim. We drove through the city (pop: 180,000) past the Nidaros Cathedral (begun around AD1050) and statue of St. Olav (who brought Christianity to Norway) to a scenic viewpoint which looked out over the city and port. Then we drove to the Kristiansten Fortress which also had a good view. [Built to repel Swedish invaders, useless against the Germans when they came centuries later, place of execution for the Gestapo and later for quislings and Nazis guilty of war crimes] (Quisling himself was executed in Oslo.) Finally we drove to the Cathedral and were lucky enough to be allowed inside the mostly empty edifice. Built originally as the grave church for Olav and seat of the archbishop, it is now a Lutheran cathedral. As such it was surprising to see stained glass, rose windows, and crucifixes. The longer we stayed out, the colder it seemed to get, especially after the glorious sunshine of the previous day. We left Trondheim at around 1000. We had to attend a disembarkation briefing at 1130 and then we had lunch with a memorable dessert, a crust of nuts and ?, a yellow custard filling, and a dark chocolate layer on top. At 1330 Greg Athnos gave another lecture; this time it was on how composers from countries not in the Big Four of Classical Music (Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain) like Norway can produce music that has a national voice. It might be a special scale, native instruments, other factors, or just a title. He will complete his series on Monday with a lecture specifically about Edvard Grieg. At 1430 the head chef put on a demonstration on the stern of Deck 7 preparing very thin slices of salmon with herbs and spices. It was raining and cold by then and I had misplaced my fleece jacket so I didn’t stick around. C.J. got a sample, though. After I found my fleece under a chair in the Explorer Lounge on 7, I felt better – losing my camera early in the trip has been a real downer. I have been using my phone but I/we really miss the telephoto capability. At 1715 C.J. and I went to a presentation on the geology of the fjords. [One interesting point was the difference between fjords and sounds. The latter are between two bodies of land like islands and have no dead end. In Norway some sounds were named fjords just because they were narrow.] Dinner was smoked Arctic char, pork rib with red cabbage and small potatoes, and cheesecake. At 2100 we went ashore for the half-hour stop in Molde (50,000). We saw a shop specializing in the local Norwegian national costume along the main shopping street. We walked as far as the main square (“torget”, in Norwegian) and a big, modern church. It was Sunday, so even if it had not been so late almost all the stores would have been closed (except for a few kiosks). Back at the cabin we spent some time getting our checked bags and carry-ons organized. We drank a bit more of the wine we had brought aboard from Ivalo and then left the rest, more than a half bottle, for the people who clean the cabins. During the night we made at least two more noisy stops – being in the stern of the Hurtigruten has some real disadvantages (but, maybe, there are problems elsewhere as well).

22 May, Mon – Up at 0700 so we could shower and have breakfast before we had to have our checked bags at the elevator (before 0900). We had to clear out of our cabin by 1000 so we found a place to sit in the Explorers Lounge on 7 until 1000 when there was a ship movie about Norway with music by Grieg. Unfortunately half the passengers wanted to see the movie too so we couldn’t get in. We hung out in the room that Greg was going to do his presentation in until he was ready. He gave an overview of Grieg’s life and his major works with video excerpts. Hanna told us what to expect for the next couple of days and then we went for our last meal aboard the coastal steamer. When we were finished, I dropped some money in the tip jar for the waitstaff. We stayed on Deck 4 while we steamed through clusters of islands approaching Bergen. At 1330 we got to see the Norway film, with music from Grieg’s major works. We even recognized some of the places shown (and in Oslo we saw some of the places/monuments we had not recognized at the time, like the Vigeland sculptures). Disembarkation went smoothly as far as I could tell. We were among the last so we didn’t have long to wait for our checked bags to arrive. We next boarded our tour bus and got a one-hour tour of the central part of the city, then we checked into the Thon Rosenkrantz Hotel which was conveniently located near the wharf, Brygge, the old wooden merchant buildings. Once we got our stuff into our room we went out again with Ava, our local guide to look at the wharf with it's old wooden building from the age of the Hanseatic League, and then to walk along the upper street a short distance to Dr. Wiesener, a local pub in an old (1889) building. We all had a bowl of meat soup and some excellent bread. Then Hanna turned us loose to explore Bergen. A bunch of us decided to take advantage of the unusual-for-Bergen sunny weather (it rains 279 days a year on the average) and take the funicular up Mt. Fløyen (320m asl). The lower terminal was only a few blocks from the hotel. We got there just at the right time to grab the front seats. Up at the top we headed off on the trail system to do a 6km loop. It was nice to get out in the woods again – and get some exercise. We saw some ponds and a nice lake but got off our route when I lost wi-fi and the route directions disappeared from my phone. But we got back to the upper terminal just fine although we probably did closer to 5.5km and missed seeing another lake. It was 2145 before we were back in the city, a bit late to go looking for ice cream, so we returned to the hotel to rest up for a day in the city on our own [We are not taking the optional $140 Grieg excursion] [Later we found out that no one did the $140 excursion; that Greg had found a similar one on the Internet for about $27. Not enough people signed up for the GCT one so Hanna told them to make arrangements to go with Greg].

23 May, Tue – The breakfast at the Thon hotel this morning was beyond amazing in variety as well as quality. After I asked, there was even hot chocolate. C.J. and I made a couple of sandwiches to take with us for lunch. We grabbed our packs and headed off to do some sightseeing although we didn’t get going until 1045 after sleeping in until 0800 and then taking our time at breakfast. First we went down to the wharf, Bryggen, and window-shopped until we came to Windfjord Sweater, a souvenir shop. C.J. bought a couple pairs of socks for Ginny and Nancy, and a pair for herself. From there we continued west to the Berghus Festning, a very old fortress. We walked around the outside of the Rosenkrantz Tower and Haakon’s Hall, built by the king for a coronation hall. Then we walked along the ramparts, through a sortie gate and up to Sverreborg, the high walled area with a good view of the surrounding houses and a distant view to Ulriken Mountain which has a gondola lift to the summit. We were lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time to spot two paragliders soaring above the top. Heading back to the east we passed the Dr. Wiesener pub and stopped at the Mariakirken, the oldest church in Bergen, probably built between 1130-1150. We were able to go inside (no charge) and view the impressive altarpiece and all the carvings and paintings while someone practiced on the organ. Again, it did not look much like I expected a Lutheran church to look if the Cathedral in Helsinki was any example what with the crucifixes and such. We stopped at the hotel for a bathroom break (but our key wouldn’t work and we had to get that taken care of). I asked about where paragliders landed and the desk clerk knew because she lived in the Landas neighborhood where the LZ is located. It was too far to walk there on the chance that anyone would be around. [They were probably commercial tandems, anyway.] We went back down into the old part of Bergen and walked through the Fish Market then south through the City Square, the Torget with its large, enigmatic monument in the center {Later Hanna told us it was a memorial to all fishermen.] to the end where we turned right and walked the short distance to the National Theater. I got a photo of a strange, wild-eyed statue of Henrik Ibsen and we took a break on a bench before walking around the theater. We stopped in Tärnplass, a small square in front of an unknown building to eat our lunch. Then we continued north to the Vagen Bay and checked out the TI. The big Festplassen with its large lake and fountain was our next destination but we were getting tired by then. We walked past the large but boringly gray and rectangular City Hall on the way to the Domkirken, or Cathedral, which was being renovated so was shrouded in plastic tarps painted with the church’s façade. We hit one more church, the Korskirken built in the 17^th century. Then we walked back to the hotel through some alleys and along the front of the Bryggen. We rested until 1800 then went out to try to find some ice cream for a snack since we were not going to need another meal. Along the Bryggen we found a shop selling ice cream, “softis”, and sausages. I ordered a softis so we could compare it to those in Japan; C.J. got a couple scoops of gelato-like ice cream. My softis was huge! And then rolled in Oreo crumbs. We returned to the hotel around 1900 after wandering through the back/side alleys of Bryggen checking out the authentic repairs the preservation group was making on the old wooden buildings. At the hotel we dropped into the lounge and found out that there was a free buffet dinner for guests every night, according to the hostess. Later, when we were telling other GCT group members about the free dinner, the receptionist pointed out that it wasn’t free for tour groups. (Oops) Well, we still ended up with a free dinner.

24 May, Wed – We got up early at 0630 so that we would have time to enjoy the breakfast buffet before we had to meet Hanna at 0745 to be sure that our luggage had been brought down to the lobby. At 0800 we started loading the bus and we left before the assigned time of 0815. It was a short ride to the train terminal where we had a car to ourselves to Voss and Myrdal. Our big bags stayed on the bus. At Myrdal (866m ASL) we quickly changed to the Flåm vintage train and began our descent to the level of the Aurlandsfjord, part of the Sognefjord system. The views were spectacular as we looked down the valley and across at the many water falls. We made a couple of stops but only one where there was enough time to get out, the Kjosfossen waterfall with a drop of 94m. Eerie music was playing and I barely noticed the long-haired girl in a red dress dancing to the music among the rocks. She represented some non-human inhabitant of Norway who lured men away into the woods from which they never returned or returned as madmen. As we descended we could look back at the switchbacks of both the tracks and the “navvie’s road” and note where the spiral tunnel was. We went through another, longer tunnel (1350m long), the Nali Tunnel, which we heard took an average of 1500 man-hours for each meter of tunnel. When we reached the bottom we had 30 minutes to explore the museum, gift shops and rest rooms. It was quite busy in the tiny town of Flåm (pop 400) since a cruise ship had docked and the passengers were all going to Bergen on the railway (or maybe only those taking an excursion?). I went to the museum which was moderately interesting. Then we all loaded back onto our bus and started off for Oslo. We drove about ten minutes or so before we entered the longest tunnel in Norway, 25km. There were two places in the tunnel where there was a break from the dark where the engineers had placed blue lights to keep drivers from getting “hypnotized” by the dark. [Or probably the tunnel was after our stop for lunch.] We stopped at Aurland to eat in a gas station restaurant. The meal was traditional food that maybe a truck driver might order – a plate of meatballs in gravy with mashed potatoes, mild sauerkraut and sliced carrots. When we finished as much as we could eat, we climbed back on the bus. We began to climb after the next tunnel but stopped before we went very high at the ancient Borgund Stave Church for a guided tour (probably built between 1130-1170). After our tour, we started climbing in earnest reaching more than 3700 ft at Filefjell Pass. We were definitely above the present snowline. We descended through Gol, then passed a sign for a meteorite crater (Gardnos), and drove past Nesbyen. We stopped for a rest room and ice cream break around 1700. From there it was another two hours to Oslo through farm and pasture land following a river. Near Honefoss we turned more south on E16, then we turned onto E18 going east in the city and ran into traffic. Fortunately, we had a bus and electric car lane so we moved right along and got to our Thon Hotel Opera around 1930. After checking in and plugging things in to charge C.J. and I took a walk to the cathedral and along Karl Johan Gate, the main shopping street. It was pretty lively since the next day was a holiday and people were starting their celebration early. We got back after 2100 and had some tea and cookies. Then C.J. found out that there were a couple of articles that needed editing. She dealt with them.

25 May, Thu – Today was Ascension Thursday so the city was not crowded with traffic. We ate the usual over-the-top breakfast at the buffet on the third floor of the hotel (but no hot chocolate; cold chocolate milk only). At 0830 we met in the lobby and Hanna talked about getting people to the airport on Friday. She suggested the train for those of us who are either not doing an extension or don’t have transfers covered by GCT. I asked at the desk about the Oslo Card which provides entrance to all museums and public transportation for 315 NOK for seniors. The hotel did not think that we could buy the Oslo card at the museums we were going to on Thursday. The group moved to the tour bus and met our local guide, Elen (?) and we headed off to make most of a circle around the modern opera house. Then we drove through the city out onto a peninsula with Akershus Fortress, various museums and one of the cruise ship piers (The Rotterdam was in port). Passing the twin towers of the city hall and the Parliament we crossed Karl Johan Gate and passed the Royal Palace, then drove through an upscale residential area before reaching our stop at Frogner Park, site of the Vigeland Sculpture Park. Vigeland was a Norwegian sculptor who made a deal with the city of Oslo to display all his works and he produced over 200 sculptural works including the huge fountain group and crowning it all with the “Monolitten” or monolith. From there we drove out through the Brygdøy borough to the Viking Ship Museum passing the Norwegian Folk Museum on the way. The classic cruciform-church building displayed three ships from the Viking Age (700-1050) that had been used for burials so had not been burnt or lost at sea. The Oested Ship was a well-decorated “yacht” probably used for sailing the fjords and bays. Another one was a sturdier-looking ocean-going ship. The third one was not in such good shape as the other two. About this time C.J. started to feel ill so although I had found out that we could get the Oslo Pass at the nearby Maritime Museum, we decided to go back with the rest of the group who were not staying out at the MM or Fram Museum or Kon-Tiki Museum or Folk Museum (or stopping at the Historical Museum and National Gallery on the way back). C.J. climbed into bed when we returned and I did some journaling and computer research. After I ate the sandwich I had made at breakfast, I left C.J. to sleep and try to recover, while I walked over to the History Museum located behind the National Gallery. The ticket we had for the Viking Ship Museum also provided entrance to the History Museum. I walked along the Karl Johan Gate through the small park then turned right to get to the museum. There was no charge but I did have to leave my backpack in a locker; no charge for that either. The first floor was full of Viking stuff including lots of rusty swords and one of the only authentic helmets ever found. The route through the exhibit followed the timeline so it ended up with stuff from the medieval period, Christian crosses, altarpieces and the like. I went to the other three floors but they were the usual generic museum stuff – American Indians, Eskimos, Japanese art and weapons, etc. I walked back and found C.J. awake and feeling somewhat better. I spent a couple of hours trying to get a short description attached to each of my photos. I haven’t made a big dent in the job. I hope I’ll still remember what each photo is about when I finally find time to do some more labelling. At 1900 we joined the rest of the group in the hotel restaurant for our final dinner. C.J. was still feeling unwell so she asked for a bowl of chicken broth. The rest of us had parsnip soup, chicken breast, tomato salsa, on polenta. For dessert there was a fruit cake (not a fruitcake) with a small scoop of tart mango sorbet. Hanna reviewed what we had done on the trip and gave out a couple of gifts for those who had been on the most GCT trips (36 in one case, 35 in another). Everyone passed their gratuities for Hanna down the table in envelopes (I had to ask for one from the hotel desk). We said goodbye to the few people we had spent any time with, especially Greg and Doy, and went upstairs to get our stuff together to move to Park Inn by Radisson at the airport. [Earlier in the day I had gone to the train station right behind the hotel and checked out how to get tickets for the airport express – easy and it’s only 90 NOK for each senior, half price.]

26 May, Fri – We got up at a leisurely 0730; C.J. was feeling well enough that she was able to eat some breakfast – good thing because we had a long day of tourist-ing ahead. First, we got all packed up and brought our bags down to the lobby to be stored, and checked out of our room. I had asked one of the desk clerks whether getting an Oslo Card would be worth it and she calculated that we’d spend only 40 NOK (1 NOK=$.12) more without it. I figured that the convenience of being able to hop on and off the public transportation without having change would be worth the extra [and it turned out that we went to an extra attraction/museum, so we more than broke even with the OC]. Anyway, we bought two Oslo Cards and set off for the City Hall Wharf (Radhus Brygge) and the ferry that runs to the peninsula with many of the museums we were interested in (no charge – OC). First we went to the Fram Museum (NC-OC) which billed itself as Oslo’s best museum. It was pretty amazing that they fit the Fram itself in the A-frame building and another polar exploration ship, the Gjøa, in there, too. Besides touring the ship itself, we walked around the several levels with information about the journeys of the Fram and the Arctic and Antarctic explorations of Nansen and Amundsen. We also saw a movie about the explorations. Then we crossed the plaza to the Kon-Tiki Museum where there was a full-size balsawood raft and, in another section, a full-size reed boat (maybe it was the RA II since the first Ra sank about 50 days out. After we spent a lot of time there we skipped the Maritime Museum and started walking to the Norwegian Folk Museum. It was farther than I thought and we found a bus stop and took the bus (NC-OC) to Huk, the public beach, and then past the Viking Ships Museum to the Folk Museum (NC-OC). There were lots of houses, barns, storehouses and a stave church. There was even a recreation of old Oslo complete with tenements (necessary because of a sudden huge spike in population in the city). Some of the building had re-enactors or docents who were in period garb and were willing to explain what we were seeing. At the end we visited the exhibits in the visitor center then decided it was time to take a break by catching the bus back to the City Hall It was after 1700 but the bus wasn’t that crowded – we had heard that people often take off on Friday for a long weekend and Thursday had already been a holiday so it was a really long weekend for some people. We decided to visit the Nobel Peace Center (NC-OC) and saw a gloomy portrayal of the refugee crisis. Upstairs there was a room with electronic photos of all the Nobel Peace Prize winners. They weren’t in chronological order so it was difficult to see any pattern. We left as they closed the NPC, and right outside was a line of food trucks. We chose fish and chips washed down with a ginger beer, eaten on a bench in the nearby park. One of the re-enactors had been baking and reminded us of the use of hornsalt which we had planned to buy while in the country. 7-11 didn’t have any but we found it at a bigger store in the Central Station (after walking around the interestingly decorated City Hall - big, intricate clock, lots of friezes, fountains with bas relief animals, and more). We returned to the Thon Hotel Opera and retrieved our luggage, dragged it back to the Central Station and got our tickets at an automatic dispenser and easily found our way to the correct tracks for the airport express. It was only 20 minutes to the airport but once we got there we were lost and had no idea which way to go to reach the Park Inn. Fortunately, we ran into the TI and got directions for the four-minute walk. At the desk, we were appalled to hear that our reservation had been canceled by whichever agent Priceline had sent our request to (Agoda?). We ended up paying about 200 more NOK than we had agreed to originally . We did get an upgraded room with a good view over the airport, too bad it was so hot in the room. Alarms set for 0300, we went to bed shortly after 2200. Way too hot for comfort but there was no way to set the thermostat below 19 deg C.

27 May, Sat – for some reason C.J.’s alarm went off at 0206 rather than 0306 and I didn’t get back to sleep. We got up about five minutes before 3 a.m., time enough to get a shower and be on our way before 0330. Again, it was a short, five-minute walk to the terminal where we took the lift to the departure level and found a readerboard. Our check-in area for KLM was counter 9 and there was no one there; it had not been necessary to get there three hours early after all. The KLM staff did not show up until 0430 and processing took only a few minutes, plenty of time to get to our 0630 flight. Our big rolling duffel weighed over 22 kg so it was right at the limit. Security was no problem and the entrance to our gate was through the duty-free store again – that seems to be the standard operating procedure these days. Our plane was relatively small with two-by-two seating. The flight took about two hours to Amsterdam and we had some views of Norway and Oslo, then the North Sea and dikes and canals as we approached AMS. No old windmills were seen but there were a lot of wind turbines, most of them off the coast. We had a delay of over an hour so instead of leaving at 0950, we took off at 1106 – some problem with a late start at Boston, or something. [We used our Delta Skymiles Amex card to get priority boarding even though we had not used it to pay for the flight.] We had views leaving AMS and passing over northern Scotland, Iceland, and passing through the Canadian Rockies and then down through the North Cascades. We could see Stehekin and Lake Chelan from our left-side windows, then the Snohomish and Snoqualmie valleys with Mt. Si. As we descended we had a good view of Tiger Mtn and could pick out the launches. It was a ten-hour flight and we got fed several times with a quite good chicken dinner, then two snacks and a sandwich or wrap. The food on Delta seems to have improved. Once on the ground around 1130, we processed through the passport control although we missed the Global Traveler kiosk at first and then missed it totally at Customs – have to look for the signs more carefully next time. In any case, processing went quickly. When we picked up our bags, we found that the rolling duffel had been damaged and one of the wheels was broken and would barely roll. I guess it’s time to replace that piece of luggage since it’s over ten years old anyway. I called ParkNJet from baggage claim (after letting the conveyor belt carry our checked bags from customs to baggage claim carousel one) so we did not have long to wait and we were the only passengers in the parking lot shuttle. The lot was full to overflowing on the Memorial Day weekend but our car was not blocked in so we were soon on our way. We drove past the Tiger LZ whose parking lot was totally packed as was the $5 lot; there was even a truck blocking the entrance to the LZ and someone with a reflective vest at the entrance. In North Bend we stopped at the post office and got our mail and then some groceries at QFC. The grass at home was really high and once we had unpacked and started the washing machine (and the temperature had gone down a bit), I went out and tried cutting it. It was more like I was just pushing it down since it was pretty damp. I got tired before the yard was finished and figured that I would finish when the lawn dried out a bit more. Besides, it was going to take several mowings to get it looking normal.

1 Jun, Thu – We’ve been home a few days now and the heat wave at the end of May has given way to more typical cool and rainy weather. I just finished adding up our expenses for the trip and it looks like we spent close to $12,000, much more than we’ve ever spent on a trip before. Still, we did get some experiences that we would not have if we had done just a Hurtigruten one-way or round trip by ourselves. The whole Finland part of the trip including reconnecting with Martti, visiting a Sami reindeer ranch, eating at the gold panning museum and doing a home visit in Ivalo we would have missed out on. Then there was the experience of staying in superior hotels in Helsinki, Bergen and Oslo – just the breakfast buffets were worth it. Greg Athnos’ music history lectures were an added feature. In the future, if we go with GCT again, we should remember that we have a small credit that we can take advantage of. Plus we received a $100 credit each for claiming that Stephen and Paula had recommended GCT to us. And there was a $50 credit for paying by 11 Feb. We heard from other GCT travelers that the proprietary travel protection plan (very expensive at $1198, about 10% of the tour price plus the airfare) worked very well when it was needed.