From Fjords to Fiats

[RB]

General look at the Pollux-obviously plenty of other sitting or viewing areas











Couple of spas available

 

[RB]

Our schedule-kept pretty accurate time


First lunch
Tomato soup


Salmon




Vardo

 

[RB]

Batsfjord


Dinner Menu

 

[RB]

Vardo-Vardø (town) - Wikipedia

Batsfjord-Båtsfjord - The Hidden North

So a good nights sleep in a very comfortable cabin and a breakfast window of 7am to 9.30am meant we had a very relaxed start to the day.

First view was Havoysund-Havøysund - The Hidden North







Salmon & scrambled eggs for breakfast off the menu & then free to graze the buffet with plenty of hot & cold choice. Coffee was generally very ordinary but that applied to wherever we tried in Norway




Then laze around as we approach Hammerfest- got off here. In the general waiting area some people seemed to be jostling to be first down the gangway. As a general comment, the lifts & stairs were never crowded & we always had a spot to sit in the general area we wanted to be

Hammerfest - The Hidden North

Hammerfest Gas Snøhvit and Hammerfest LNG - Equinor






We had around 90 minutes to wander Hammerfest & basically did a rough anticlockwise wobble around with the dock area visible most of the time



The tent hosts various festival events




The Protestant Church of Hammerfest was built by architect Hans Magnus from Oslo, who among other things also designed the northernmost church in the world on Spitsbergen. It was consecrated in 1961. The triangle served as a leitmotif for the Church, both as a symbol of the Holy Trinity and also as a reference to the traditional fish drying racks, which are still used to produce the stockfish.

The wall behind the altar is a mosaic image, which was completely composed of Norwegian stones and completed in 1972. The small windows on the sides show symbols of the Christian faith. The glass mosaic on the back wall was created by Jardar Lunde. The ceiling’s wood paneling is reminiscent of an upturned boat.

 

[RB]

More Hammerfest

Autumn colour not so pronounced. Plenty of fence protection to be seen if you zoom




Ole Olsen (composer) - Wikipedia


Blue Music Pavillion-white pipe is for a spotlight




The view to Haja -Håja - Wikipedia

 

[RB]

We were back onboard for our 1.30pm lunch setting









Time for a drink but outside wasn't very inviting


Pricey but Mrs RB thought approaching 200ml


Tap beer was cold & fresh

Nikkeby- apparently home for 11 people


Skjervoy


Dinner 8pm-shared a table with a couple from near Rome
Duck

 

[RB]

Risoyhamn was a very quiet stop but another impressive Norwegian bridge.









Havila have some excursions that rejoin the ship at a later stop. As we approached Sortland and went under the bridge there was a coordinated celebration as the returning bus drove over the bridge - a successful promotion with quite a few joining in.

Sortland - The Hidden North





Then time for our lunch








Next was Stokmarknes
Stokmarknes - The Hidden North







This was to be the start of the highlights of our time on the ship

 

[RB]

A rough visual of the area between Stokmarknes and Svolvaer


The afternoon was the visual highlight of our time on the ship and the weather was excellent. From Stokmarknes/Hanoy/Gunnarbaten/Tengelfjorden/Austvagoy Island and on to Svolvaer was an excellent passage with way too many photos taken ( a few hassles with the sun and unable to capture the waterfalls and the vast heights).
The Trollfjord sometimes cannot be accessed but our magical afternoon meant we didn’t need to buy an excursion back there during our time in Svolvaer.

We retrieved our bags from storage & walked off roughly on time. About another 6 disembarked here too & then those on shore excursions walked off after us.













Some crazy figures quoted in the attached info re the Salmon pen
Storbåtsegga,-Storbatsegga – Salmon pen capable of passive water circulation


The vessel for the white tailed eagles excursions sidles up to us
Trollfjord Sea Eagle Safari Excursion — Havila Voyages

 

[RB]

Now attached




Austvagoy Island


Excursion sets off. The main ferry stayed close by & we saw all the action so not sure if the excursion provided much value


Not the best photo but you had to be fast!


Trollfjord - Wikipedia

A good video coverage
Most Scenic Norwegian Fjord Entry: Havila Castor in Trollfjord | Relaxing Music 4K - YouTube

 

[RB]

Apartment in Svolvaer
Excellent if expensive. Modern secured building where everything works & well supplied. Comfy bed, great shower, easy to operated washing machine, cold fridge. A flat easy walk about 10 minutes walk from the ferry dock and the supermarket, restaurants etc

Mountain and Sea View Svolvær, Svolvær (updated prices)

3rd bedroom


Plenty of storage in lounge area




2nd bedroom


1st bedroom








Excellent views

 

[craven morehead]

Apartment in Svolvaer
Excellent if expensive. Modern secured building where everything works & well supplied. Comfy bed, great shower, easy to operated washing machine, cold fridge. A flat easy walk about 10 minutes walk from the ferry dock and the supermarket, restaurants etc

Mountain and Sea View Svolvær, Svolvær (updated prices)

3rd bedroom
View attachment 526628

Plenty of storage in lounge area
View attachment 526629

View attachment 526630

2nd bedroom
View attachment 526631

1st bedroom
View attachment 526632

View attachment 526633

View attachment 526635

View attachment 526636

Excellent views
View attachment 526637

View attachment 526638

View attachment 526639

View attachment 526640

Outstanding views

 

[RB]

Svolvaer
Svolvær - The Hidden North

Approx 5,000 people and an easy walking town concentrated around the water. About a 10 min walk to apartment from the dock & then less than 10 min to supermarket.

We spent our time getting washing up to date, steady walks around the waterfront and just a lazy, relaxing interlude. The 2 night stay gave us leeway if the Havila ferry had not covered the Trollfjord. We were a bit late eating on the first night & some options had stopped serving but we picked up some nice Thai food from a food van. The 2nd night was a pizza-the only vandalism we saw in Norway was the smashed windows here but apparently the culprit had been found & the operator had made temporary repairs, had signs up apologising & was still operating.

















Atop a hill on a small path around one of the churches. Very lifelike!


A supermarket find

 

[RB]

Ferry to Bodo

Travel the Helgeland Coast by express boat - Visit Helgeland

Easy 10 min walk from the apartment to the dock. All arrangements via app & then identity checked by staff before you board. the ferry starts at Svolvaer so there is a good choice of comfortable seats. About 30 others & bag storage was excellent. Food & drinks available but no commentary was provided. There was wi-fi on-board. Plenty of stops prior to Bodo & lots of groups were travelling on a Sunday. Waze indicated 59km/hr at one stage. Arrived on time & a had a short flat walk to our hotel.







A bit of reflection













Bodo

Bodo

Bogun

Helnessund


Steigen


* A few photos out of order here

 

[RB]

Home Grand Hotel Bodo
Bodø Hotel, Bodø (updated prices 2027)
Excellent 1 night stay. A small entry but wonderful feel in a historic building. Simple check-in. 4th floor but had to push 3 in in the lift! Very comfortable room with opening window. Bathroom very small but rest of the room was fine. Afternoon tea with cakes & coffee, dinner included featured dim sims, spring rolls, Turkey rolls, heaps of salads. Beer at standard bar prices. Breakfast was also included & a great typical hotel buffet-plenty of hot & cold choices. So 2 meals & Afternoon tea & room for about $200 is a steal in Norway. Bags stored for Afternoon ferry ride.
This was a family run hotel where staff were switched on, training was obviously happening and services advertised were delivered as expected-a simple business model

Our room










View-excellent sound proofing

 

[RB]

More of Bodo hotel

 

[RB]

Bodo

Bodø - The Hidden North

Our 1 night stay was just a convenient break between boat transfers and we had no “must sees”. We just wandered the central area around the hotel. Much of the city was rebuilt after brutal destruction in 1940. Traffic was noticeably quiet with virtually all electric vehicles. We are still in the part of Norway where motorists go out of their way to stop & give way to pedestrians. The popularity of King Harald continues to be displayed via floral tributes everywhere we go. Looked to be a really liveable place although apparently known as windy.









Bell Tower of Bodo Cathedral, built in 1956-previous church destroyed in 1940


Harald was very loved


"In memory of those from Bodø, who gave their lives for Norway during the war and occupation 1940–1945. No one named, no one forgotten."




The Town Hall-clock was working, it was noon when photo was taken


Granite walrus

 

[bPeteb]

Loving the trip RB. Great photos and detail. Definitely one to get bAlt to read for future travel planning.

 

[RB]

Bodo to Sandnessjoen

Another express ferry and a gloomy,rainy trip then takes us back across the Arctic Circle to the Port of Sandnessjoen on the pretty Helgeland Coast overlooked by the Seven Sisters mountain range. Probably a max of 40 fellow passengers onboard. We arrived a little early but it was already dark-met by our host & driven a few minutes to small studio style apartment.



Our ride for the day carried a famous name Elsa Laula Renberg - Notable People


Gildeskal Municipality according to google


Stott


Stott




Mosvoll


Meloy


Meloy


Rodoya

Near Bjornoya

Tonnes


I thought this was a bit of interesting discussion that related to this part of our trip
This punishing coastal ferry route forces a radical rethink of clean speed at sea

 

[RB]

Loving the trip RB. Great photos and detail. Definitely one to get bAlt to read for future travel planning.

Thanks, plenty more reading to come. Norway was certainly different to a lot of our travel.