Our Norwegian Adventure - The Where (Up and Down the Norwegian Coast)

This map (from the Havila Voyages website) shows the 34 coastal town stops the ship made on our voyage. Some stops were 15 minutes - enough to deliver the mail, take on supplies and passengers - and some were several hours, allowing enough time to explore the towns on our own or participate in excursions. 

Our first walkabout stop (Thursday, March 9) was in Alesund, where we found the seasickness medicine, saw "Probably the World's Best" fish and chips stand and a lovely church on a hill, visited a thrift shop and slid down/fell down some icy steep streets (It's me.  Hi, I'm the problem...)

A statue on the church grounds commemorating those who didn't return from WW II. 

Icy steep street

Thrift/antique shop.  I could have purchased a lot of things here; I regret leaving a vintage stuffed Santa wearing a traditional Norwegian folk costume.  

Arne and Carlos gave a lecture that afternoon on their lives as designers and their train station home.  Later, Clay went back out and climbed 400 icy steps up a hill (little mountain?) in Alesund.  I'll let him write some about that, if he wants ...

On Friday, March 10, we stopped in Trondheim and made a long, icy walk to the Husfliden Shop (there are many Husfliden in the country, run by the Norwegian Folk Art and Craft Association.  They are dedicated to keeping the traditional crafts of the county alive, and are full of beautiful items and lots of yarn!) At the Trondheim shop, we  were treated to an interesting lesson on Norwegian Folk Costumes. 

I wish I remembered her name - she was sweet, knowledgeable and like
all the Norwegians we met, very proud of her country and its heritage.   

When we were upstairs in their atelier, I loved looking at all the costumes with their delicate, colorful embroidery work and beautiful fabrics.  (I got so wrapped up in the presentation that I forgot to take many photos.  Believe me, they were gorgeous.)

If you'd like to know more about the costumes, go to the A&C YouTube channel and search for folk costume.  Or watch this one:

On March 11, we crossed the Arctic Circle, and Clay participated in a cold baptism, having a dipper full of ice water poured down his back to mark the occasion (although he has crossed the Arctic Circle several times in his work travels).

The metal globe on this island marks the Arctic Circle. 

Gathering on deck

Again, I don't remember what they called this troll,
but he had some sort of rule over the Arctic Circle. Quite cute, not at all scary. 

The North Cape is the northern-most point of continental Europe, where the Norwegian Sea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) meets the Barents Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean.)  We visited there on Monday, March 13.

It was very cold up there. 

There was a really wonderful museum with so much interesting
 information about the North Cape - biological, historical, societal. 

 Plus they served waffles. 

Children of the World Sculpture

Icy field/snowy mountain selfie

And, for your viewing pleasure, a short film of our bus ride from the North Cape back to the ship.  

Ai-yi-yi, it was scary. 

We stopped in Kirkenes on Tuesday, March 14 and took a hike into town.  

A dog sled race was going to be coming through the town, so they were plowing the streets with a special dog sled plow.  We wished we could have seen the race, but had to head back to the ship before the dogs got there.  But then, Clay turned on our TV after supper that night, and there was the dog sled winner, giving an interview right in this area.  We didn't understand a word he said, but it was cool nevertheless. 

We were very close to Russia, and Ukrainian sentiment was obvious everywhere.

So close to Russia - too close!

And, we saw a tiny Northern Lights display.  

Past midnight that evening, the Lights were beautiful.  Or so we heard - I think I remember barely waking up and hearing an announcement...  it's a good reason to go back someday soon.  (Apparently, the next week, the Lights were spectacular all over - Alaska, Southern Norway, England!)  

Thursday, March 16.  Here's a little movie of lots of knitters working quietly in the lounge:

That afternoon, we had a special guest join us on the ship, Ragnhild Lie, who I remembered from Arne and Carlos videos from Loftoten in the summer of 2020.  She is a shepherd, a yarn dyer, weaver, purveyor - just the coolest.  She gave an interesting lecture and had a pop-up shop on the ship.  And of course, once again, I forgot to take photos of her and her fiber.  But you can see her in the A&C YouTube, Road Trip Part 4.  

And, you can order her wool here, from the Lofoten Wool website.  As soon as I get all my other projects completed, I'm going to order a sweater kit!  

This post won't be complete until I write about our Trodheim excursion, which I promise I'll get to ASAP.  Or I might ask Clay to do it.  And our return to Bergen.  He can write that one, too, as our hotel there was his pick ... 

Peace.

Our Norwegian Adventure - The Who (The knitters, not the band)

Is it that knitters are just wonderful people?  

Or is it that we were just all so overjoyed at being on such a wonderful trip in such a gorgeous country on such a beautiful ship?

Or maybe it was just that we were so happy to be with Arne and Carlos, our knitting heroes (and now, our knitting friends)?  

I'm not sure of the answer, and I know this sounds fairly Pollyanna-ish (as I usually do), but I cannot imagine a nicer, kinder, more helpful, more interesting group of 40 people to be on a boat for 12 days with.  

While most of us were Americans, there were several Canadians, and dear Helen, from England  (and of course, two guys from Norway.)

There were couples (Carol and Ken were celebrating an anniversary, too - 50 years!), moms and daughters (and son), grandmother and granddaughter, sisters and dear friends, women who came to the ship by themselves but soon became dear friends with everyone.    

Our new friends came from all walks of life - a doctor, nurses, a dentist, professors, teachers and counselors, librarians, professionals in many different fields, and Alaskan yarn shop owners.  (Why yes, a trip to Skagway is now on our bucket list.)  And, if I get a chance at another life, I'd like come back as an art conservator and work with Patricia (or maybe a Norwegian travel expert and work with Lise!)

One thing that we all had in common was a love for Arne and Carlos.  They made a point to learn our names, sit and knit with us, eat meals with us, give us tips and pointers.  They told us stories, shared their love of all things Norwegian (royalty and cows were my favorite topics), and truly seemed to enjoy being with all of us.  They are knitting superstars, but also just absolutely great guys.  

A toast on our first evening on the ship

It was sweet to share meals, walks, shopping, laughs and of course, knitting ideas and yarn love with all these new friends.  Through our conversations, I've added knitting patterns to my queue, books to my "to-be-read" list, vacation spots to our bucket list and recipes to my repertoire, including cheesecake in the instapot and Rumtopf for Christmas.

And it was extra sweet for me to share all this with Clay; he truly is a good sport, a wise and wonderful travel companion and the very best husband.  

But a terrible selfie partner.  

Peace. 

Our Norwegian Adventure - The What (As in, What We Knit)

  It was a knitting cruise, after all...

The first night on the ship, Arne and Carlos gave everyone on the cruise a tote bag full of two skeins of Ask Norwegian wool from Hillesvag Ullvarefabrikk, two sets of Prym double-pointed needles (3.0 and 3.5) and some sweet little tags to attach to our knitting.  Plus their patterns for Arctic Circle mittens and wristwarmers.  (I think I might do some embroidery on the tote bag - wouldn't you?) 

A nice skein of yarn and some needles I purchased at Heiman Husfliden Glasmagineset in Oslo, just in case our big suitcase (with my knitting needles and projects inside) didn't show up.  It did, though!

Since we were each given a tote, Clay told me he thought he'd like to try knitting, so I cast on 10 stitches for him and he practiced -- maybe it's a tiny scarf?  Maybe a bookmark?  

And he practiced.  

And before we knew it, he had completed a wrist warmer.  

I had been knitting for years before I attempted double-pointed needles, and probably a couple more years before I knit colorwork (my favorite).  He did both of these in his first few days as a knitter.  

I cast on for the mitten, knit some of the ribbing, ripped it out, started again (thanks to Leslie, who showed me what a difference it made to make the knit stitches on ribbing through the back loop of the stitch - so neat!) and was doing ok until I got to the charted portion - although my seasickness was under control, trying to read the charts made me a little queasy.  

Clay, meanwhile, moved on to the Sedestal hat.  (As Arne said, I think he has a new hobby!)

I had purchased that yarn (Rowan Norwegian Wool) and Arne and Carlos' Glow Field Guide pattern book from Modern Daily Knitting, thinking I'd knit the hat and probably the mittens and maybe even the sweater pattern included in the booklet.  Now, I just think I'll let Clay knit them all for me.  (Since he doesn't really like to wear things made of wool.  But maybe he'd wear sweaters if he knit them himself?  We will see...)

Just a little side note:  I was fortunate to be able to meet Arne and Carlos in Nashville at the Modern Daily Knitting shop/warehouse last November, when we were on our way to Texas for a visit with Clay's mom for Thanksgiving and they were on their US tour.  AND, I got to chat for a few minutes with Ann and Kay, the founders of MDK, women I have admired and followed since I bought their first book and made about a million ball band dishcloths.  I'm still a big fan, read their newsletter every week and start with their online shop when I need/want some new yarn.

I think this may be a Pressed Flowers Shawl Kay has on -
It went on my to-knit list when I saw Ann wearing hers on the cruise. 

Here's some of the yarn I purchased on the cruise:

Ask Yarn (sport weight?) from Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk and Isager Silk Mohair.  I was thinking of mittens when I bought this, but now that I've knit a sweater with wool and mohair, I wish I had purchased enough for a sweater ( A "sweater quantity" as the prolific sweater knitters on the cruise called it.)  Orange and pink
stripes?  Maybe...

Because I was having a little trouble reading the charts, I thought I needed something solid to work on.  I saw Carol, a lovely knitter, cheesecake maker and stuffed bear lover,  working on a hood and asked her about it.  (When my sisters and I were in NYC in late February visiting my niece, Carly, she said she wished she had a balaclava for the bitter cold days  - this would be perfect!)  We found the Rauma Garn wool in the Husfliden in Kirkenes, and the pattern, Oktoberhette, was free.  Except it was in Norwegian.  Carol helped me get started, then I found a translation on Ravelry.  

I finished the hood when we got home - it fits nicely around the face, but there is a ton of extra fabric at the back of the head and the neck doesn't lay down nicely, just as Carol had told me.  I've already sent it on to Carly (via her mom), but think I'll ask her to bring it back when she's home in May, and I'll have another go at it, eliminating a lot of the bulk in the back and working some short rows on the neck of the hood (just as Carol told me!)  

I can't remember what little town we were in, but Arne and Carlos walked us to a very nice shop where I purchased this Baby Ull Lanett from Sandnes Garn.  I've knit up one little pair of Mini Selbu mitts, and am anxious to knit a few more pair for new babies in our circle of friends. (This is a free pattern on Ravelry by Tina Hauglund.)

So sweet - this pattern would be great for Christmas ornaments for your tree, too.

And finally, I bought this beautiful hand-dyed, Bergen-dyed skein (and the companion Sandnes Garn Silk Mohair) at Strikkelykke, a shop in Bergen (on our return trip there) that was chock-a-block full of beautiful yarn.  We saw many of our cruise friends there shopping, as well - that was a bonus!  I think I'll make a shawl for myself from this - inspired by many of the beautiful lacy shawls worn by knitters on the cruise.  

When we got home (and when I no longer felt like I was still on the boat!), I finished my mitten:  

There are lots of mistakes, but I learned some new techniques, and will try to complete a second one before the cold weather returns to Indiana!  

For now, the A&C wrist warmer and mitten are enshrined in the cabinet that's full of special things Clay has brought back from his travels, because they are very special reminders of our very special trip. 

Peace.