How it all began … A journey with Hurtigruten

In December 2017 the day was finally there. I picked up my girlfriend from her semester abroad in Bergen, where she spent the last 5 months at the university there. We decided that “just picking up” wouldn’t have been enough after months apart so we decided to book a journey with Hurtigruten from Bergen up to the North Cape. In hindsight one of the best ideas we had so far. Why? I’ll come back to that later.

After arriving at Bergen airport we were thrilled seeing each other again after spending 5 months apart, a time where we really appreciated Skype. After she welcomed me at the airport with a felt 350 kg of luggage (of course she had brought her whole student household with her) we took the bus to the city and to the Hurtigruten terminal. We were lucky that we could already leave our luggage there as the check-in was only possible later that day.

Exploring the city

With now much lighter luggage our first stop was the fish market and from there we went along the harbor line to the fortress Bergenhus. This is one of the oldest fortresses in Norway and one of the best preserved.

At Lille Lungegårdsvannet we took a short break and admired the view from there on the Kode buildungs, Bergen’s art museums. In the picture below you can see the building with the characteristic round tower on the right. This is Kode 4, which today houses an art exhibition for children.

 

 

 

Ready for check-In

 

When we arrived back at the Hurtigruten terminal we could check-in and have a closer look around the terminal. It was December 14, so right in the middle of the Advent season and the whole terminal was beautifully decorated, of course also with a Christmas tree. Check-in was really relaxed, no waiting, no queuing. Someone was immediately there and gave us our boarding cards.

Now we could finally go on board MS Finnmarken for the first time. I want to keep the numbers and facts as short as possible – but here the minimal info about the ship.

Length: 138,5 m, width 21,5 m, draught max. 4,8 m, 15690 GT
Maximum number of passengers: 919, Beds: 617
Year of Construction: 2002

It is rather small compared to some giant cruise ships cruising around the world nowadays. But that’s exactly why Hurtigruten is so special from my point of view. Among Hurtigruten’s fleet is also the MS Nordstjernen, which was built in Hamburg at Blohm & Voss shipyard. In the year 2000 and 2013/14 it was thoroughly modernized by Hurtigruten and is now used for cruising around Svalbard.

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A journey with Hurtigruten

Our journey took us from Bergen though the numerous fjords of Norway via Ålesund and Trondheim, later also to Bodø. Moreover there was also a short stop on the Lofoten Islands during the night. Then our journey led us further north to Tromsø and Honningsvåg. Last stop should have been Kirkenes, the last Norwegian city just before the Russian border. I’ll get later to the story why we didn’t reach Kirkenes by ship, but by plane.

Impressions of our journey

 

 

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Travelling season

We did the journey in wintertime (December 14 to 23). For someone who needs a lot of daylight, it’s maybe not the best idea to go so far up north at this time of the year. Nevertheless: the mood the light created, especially when we came further north, was just fantastic. No signs of tiredness, although we feared that in advance when planning the journey. We were worrying too much about missing something out of all the impressions that passed by – after all, the ship is going through the most beautiful fjord landscapes on Earth.

For photographers, it is advisable to take with you the most light-sensitive lenses you have and a tripod so that the memories of your journey do not become too blurred. Also a sufficient number of spare batteries is necessary, as the temperatures can be quite low at this time of the year and no battery likes this.

Overall, we were really lucky with the weather – with one exception. Just before reaching Honningsvåg there was such a heavy storm that for some time we could neither continue nor enter the port. After the delay increased and increased it became clear: we wouldn’t make it to Kirkenes on time. Since the Hurtigruten ships, in an old post-ship tradition, are calling the port every day, our captain decided to turn around and continue the journey going south again due to our large delay. Nevertheless, we were quite lucky because we could enter the port of Honningsvåg later that day and at least could go to the North Cape now being so close to it.

By way of a detour to Kirkenes

Now the only problem was our flight back to Germany, going from Kirkenes via Oslo to Cologne the next day. At first it looked like we are going to miss our flight due to the delay. But thanks to the excellent crew of Hurtigruten on board of the Finnmarken, a flight was booked for us from Honningsvåg to Kirkenes. Through this, it was possible to take our originally booked flight back home.

Conclusion

„Immediately again, also in wintertime“. This would be my answer if someone would ask me if I would do the same journey again. A journey with Hurtigruten is a really unique experience with an incredibly good crew, great impressions along the Norwegian coast and recommendable in every way. It is perfect for people that don’t want to be entertained every day but just want to relax and gain new, unforgettable impressions.

 

For all of you who now also want to travel with Hurtigruten you can find some offers here: Hurtigruten cruises at

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To read

There is much to read related to Norway and Hurtigruten. The first two books were also part of our luggage back then. Note: These are German editions

DuMont guide Hurtigruten

Gaia guide Norway

Cruise with Hurtigruten: Bergen – Kirkenes

 

(Please note that these are affiliate links)