I saw the light (Narvik, Norway)

Well good morning, dear reader and what a beautiful morning it is. Clear blue skies, calm seas, snow capped mountains either side of the ship. All rather picturesque. It is stunning country and unlike anything we have experienced previously. So much water. So much snow. So many mountains. It's not that cold, yet, it's still around the 3° mark.

Morning on the Ofotfjord.

We are still on our way to Narvik but last night we crossed into the Arctic Circle. The land of the midnight sun, or this time of year, the Aurora Borealis. The famed and elusive northern lights.

From the cabin balcony this morning.

I'm here to tell you I saw the light (one of my favourite Todd Rundgren songs from 1972, have a listen) from the ship. As we were sipping on our nightcap, the Captain announced the ethereal lights were visible from the bow. As luck would have it, we were sitting in the Explorer's Lounge in the bow. Armed only with my phone, out I went to see, well nothing. I fired off a couple shots and returned to the warmth of the lounge to see the northern lights shimmering at me from the photo. What I couldn't see, the camera could. An exciting moment, if not a spectacular one.

The first sighting.

We had not long returned to the cabin when the announcement came over again. This time the lights were off the starboard bow. Damn. We're on port. Gather the warm gear, the pre-set camera attached to the tripod and out we go. People were converging from everywhere, leaving dinner, leaving partners and heading for the bow to catch a glimpse of the lights.

The second coming.

The lights were more visible this time, although they resembled light cloud. I set the camera up on the tripod and tried to photograph the lights. No deal. Black screen was all I was getting. We returned to the phone. We captured plenty of images but they are all a bit grainy.

1am with phone from the balcony.

What an excellent beginning to the chase. Back to the cabin to check the camera settings and make some minor adjustments, we laid out our warm clothes just in case the call came in the night. And come it did, just before 1am and before we had crossed into the Arctic Circle. This time the lights were all around us and we successfully photographed from the balcony with the camera. The result is much clearer pictures.

The 1am sighting. Sky shot. Camera.

This bodes well for future excursions, chasing the lights on land, where we will have the luxury of setting up the camera before the lights arrive. It should also enable the use of some foreground rather than just shooting the sky.

From balcony with camera.

Still buzzing. It was amazing - what starts out as some grey misty cloud can suddenly take on any colour from the spectrum and the cloud dances it was across the horizon. And I'm still learning about exposure, for the camera, not me. Hopefully my pictures will improve.

Narvik

Aside from the World War II battle, Narvik's claim to fame is its deep water harbour that never freezes over. Which led to it being used as a major exporting point for Swedish iron ore. We aren't in port very long, docking at 2pm and being underway again before midnight to accommodate the travellers who have opted for longer shore experiences.

Picturesque views on the fjord.

The outside temperature is 2° but the wind chill is making it feel like 0°. Our excursion is to explore Narvik, and part of this is done on a bus. So deciding what to wear is a little problematic. Despite seeing full hooded anoraks at lunch today, I'm opting for thermals under my regular clothes, adding a scarf, light gloves and a beanie. Jayne is wearing her snow jacket as the outer layer and her snow boots. I didn't buy snow boots so I'm wearing my Scarpas with merino wool socks. It is exhausting just getting dressed.

The iron ore loader.

Our shore excursion and subsequent activity is limited by our advanced booking for dinner at Manfredi's this evening. We need to be on the dock at 3:25pm for a 2 hour tour. Most of the touristy things in Narvik close by 5pm so, aside from a wander around town on foot, it will be back to the ship for us.

The Tour

The tour itself was mostly on the bus. While I understand the need for this, given the demographic of the passengers and lack of mobility for some, the attempt to minimise contact with the snow and ice resulted in a very ho hum excursion.

There are numerous interesting sculptures throughout Narvik but we stopped at none of them. Instead we visited not one, but two churches. You can imagine how thrilled I was dear reader. I shall return to this theme shortly. The first church was made of stone and was in town. Neither of us remember its claim to fame aside from the fact that is was Lutheran. Hardly surprising in this region.

Impressive? Nah.

Next stop was the railway station, the Arctic trainline, the lifeblood for Sweden's iron ore. Here we were met by a female choir who sang three songs in Navvy. The train line was quite a feat of engineering given the weather conditions. The songs seemed to be too joyful for the work of the original singers. A tad too cheerful. Not enough oomph and struggle was evident.

Standing listening to the choir was the first time that we had felt the cold starting to creep in. It didn't last long before we were back on the bus and heading for the next church, sailing past all the interesting sculptures.

The choir. Some dressed in 'traditional' fur coats.

This church is octagonal. Buzz buzz. It's claim to fame aside from the shape, was that it was made of wood which allowed it to survive the shelling of WWII because the shells passed through one wall and out the other. Not content with gathering us inside the church, our guide handed out hymn books and insisted we join him in a rendition of Amazing Grace. Like really?

The wooden octagonal church. Excitement plus.

According to Wikipedia: "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779, written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both religious and secular purposes.

Aptly named, BIFROST

I know they are catering to the majority of their audience, but ... not happy. Particularly when the sculptures remained unexplained and unexplored. We did have time to walk back into the town after the tour, but it was dusk and the ice would be more difficult to see. Safety first this time.

Narvik.

Manfredi's

As I mentioned earlier there are 4 restaurants on board. Two of them are 'bookings only' venues complete with the 'no jeans or joggers' dress code. Manfredi's is their signature Italian restaurant. The earliest booking I could get was 8:30pm. That is past our bedtime.

There is really little point in delving into what was on the menu.  Overrated and underwhelming will suffice as a description for the night. Thankfully we were interrupted by the call of a light's sighting. Not as good as the previous night, but it got us out of the restaurant.

Until next time and Tromsø.

Tonight's the Night (Amsterdam to Narvik, Norway)

And so, dear reader, we sat at port in Amsterdam. We could have spent the entire time at the Rijksmuseum had we known. The benefit was we had the ship to ourselves, almost, while everyone was off touristing. The afternoon was a lazy one, lunch, drinks and time in the cabin reading.

The coast outside the sheltered harbour where we waited for spare parts is lined with wind turbines. The kind that Dutton said will kill the whales if we install them off the coast of Australia. There are turbines a plenty but not one dead whale that I can see. Another piece of scaremongering from the naysayer. As I tap away at the keys, we are now on the move, as is the weather. Heavy rain is coming in from the North Sea.

Turbines are everywhere off the coast of The Netherlands and Norway.

The Restaurant

There are four restaurants on board, three of which have a dress code. The Restaurant is one of those, so not wishing to break the rules like I did on a previous cruise when I wore shorts to the dining room, I changed my joggers and jeans for chinos and shoes. While there were people dressed far more formally than I (wankers), there was a lot of denim as well as sneakers from the aged American crowd.

First sunset at sea (first visible sunset since leaving home).

We eat early. By way of explanation, Jayne is from the country. We arrived at the restaurant around 6:15pm and it was already quite well populated. The window tables were all gone. Not that there was much to see anyway. Rain and the North Sea swell. The tables were situated much closer together than they were in the The World Café.

The food was very good and the menu changes daily. The level of noise made it difficult for me to hear Jayne across the table, although I could have easily joined in the conversation four tables away. It was that sort of loud. Perhaps given the age of the clientele, it was a case of hard of hearing, speak louder. Or not. Some nationalities are just loud, as was explained to me in China. They added thoughtfully, it might be accepted but it is still unnecessary.

The pool deck. The roof retracts - in good weather.

There was a table of four women next to us. Loud, denim clad, sneaker wearing women. Next to them, as Jayne later told me, was a table of four men. So quiet I didn't even know they were there. The women's partners. The men at one table, the women at another. "It's like an Aussie BBQ," quipped Jayne. As the cruise continues, perhaps they'll opt for separate restaurants.

Following dinner, we adjourned to the Explorers' Lounge for a nightcap before being rocked to sleep by the rolling swell.

Saturday

The time lost in Amsterdam, waiting for the parts to arrive, has been made up over night and we are back on schedule. The rain is coming in bursts and the swell is around 2 metres but it is choppy. There is quite a bit of lateral movement which can facilitate unexpected meetings with fixed objects like walls.

The clouds has cleared long enough to allow a post-breakfast wander around the deck. The infinity pool at the back of the ship is heated, of course, but it is no less inviting. The indoor pool has continuous wave motion, courtesy of the sea swell.

The Wintergarden.

We attended a lecture in the afternoon on seabirds. As a bird nerd, I was excited. As someone who desperately longs to see a Puffin, I was beyond excitement. There is a real possibility that we will see an Atlantic Puffin. That would be another box ticked.

We dined at The Restaurant again. Same story, the food was very good but the tables being so close is not an enjoyable experience if you have a loud group nearby. I smashed the dress code, jeans, joggers and long sleeved T without a collar. And I was not alone.

The swell was unchanged through most of the day and sea sick bags suddenly appeared, placed discreetly all over the ship. We weren't even remotely uncomfortable. The wind had begun to abate late in the day which reduced the chop and the movement of the ship a little. Another night of being rocked to sleep.

The first sight of Norway.

Sunday

Sometimes in the early hours of the morning the rocking motion of the ship disappeared. I'm sure this made many people happy. We had reached Norway's inside passage. The water was calm and the cloud had gone. It was the best weather we'd had since leaving home. I went out onto the balcony to take a couple of shots of Norway. It was about 4° but it didn't feel that cold.

It looks like a toy boat.

The Inside Passage is created by a vast archipelago stretching along the coast of the mainland. Some of the islands are large enough to support habitation, many are not and are barren. Although this is where the sea birds breed. Some of the more distant islands are populated by wind turbines. The Australian LNP would be apoplectic about all this coal free power being generated.

The coastal villages are all so colourful

Several of the islands are breeding grounds for the Atlantic Puffin. Sadly, they are too remote for us to get to once the cruise is over. But, if I see one, you'll certainly read about it. This morning before breakfast, I spotted Kittiwake and Fulmar, pelagic birds of this area, flying alongside the ship.

The Inside Passage is dotted with islands.

Port Talk

We ditched the afternoon lecture and watched a movie in our cabin, sorry stateroom. Barbie. Yep. Jayne has been hoping to see it and to date, it hasn't been available on any planes we've been on. Sadly. I could have lived without it. (Patriarchal perspective clearly on display here... editor's note).

The steeple caught my eye.

Following Barbie was Ken. Actually, it was a Spanish rosé as we whiled away the time before the port talk. If ever, dear reader, you wanted a defining difference between generations, the port talk captured it. There are 900 people on board the ship and most of them will be disembarking at Narvik for a shore excursion. Or at least to walk on solid ground after 3 days at sea. 

A lighthouse.

The talk would be crowded. It was to commence at 4:30pm. We walked into the theatre at 4:15pm and it was already packed. There were very few seats - and that is a generational difference. I could make jokes about lack of mobility and people needing to get seated early, or suggest hearing issues were the cause of over-punctuality, wanting a seat near the speaker. Or, as you age, just that mentality that develops to be early to ensure the best seat or being first. Whatever.

Environmentally farmed fish. Hey Tasmania check it out.

The Cruise Director and his assistant provided almost 90 minutes of information on the excursions scheduled in Narvik tomorrow as well as a brief history of the area. It was quite a significant port early on in WWII and was home to a sea battle between German and Allied ships, a number of which ended up on the bottom of the harbour.

We were told the possibility of seeing the lights commences tonight as we cross the line into the Arctic Circle. This will occur around 2:30am when we are, hopefully, sleeping soundly. Clothes and cameras need to be at the ready when we go to bed this evening. There will not be an announcement if the lights are sighted, but those fools, like me, who want to see them, no matter what the time, have a cabin call arranged.

The ship John West rejected. We opted for Viking.

Which brings us inexorably to today's title, a Rod Stewart hit from 1977, remember? No. Well, have a listen. Unlike the lyrics direct, I won't stay away from the window because I want to see the lights and tonight is the night we cross into the Arctic Circle.

Until next time.