Our Norwegian Adventure - The What - The Havila Capella

That's our ship! 

As I mentioned, we'd never been on a cruise. 

I'd never wanted to go on a cruise.

The closest I've ever come is floating around Lake and Forest on a pontoon boat with my favorite captain, Deb, after book group.  

But adventure called, and although I have nothing to compare it to (pontoon boat notwithstanding), I have to believe that this was the very best first cruise we could have taken.  

The story behind the cruise line is so interesting (I think I've used the word "interesting" about a hundred times already.  But it WAS!  Everything was interesting!)  Since 1893, ships have been sailing the western coast of Norway, stopping every day at towns all along the way for passengers, mail and goods; it's called the Hurtigruten, or The Coastal Route Bergen-Kirkenes, and today, the 34-stop route is serviced by Hurtigruten AS and Havila, the company we travelled with, which currently has two ships on the route, the Capella (our ship) and the Castor, with two more new ships to be added soon. 
 

The Havila ships are "Eco-friendly", meaning that they run on both the world's largest battery packs (which allow for up to 4 hours of sailing with no emissions) and liquid natural gas, which reduces CO2 emissions by 25%.  The Norwegian fjords are environmentally threatened by climate change, pollution, fishing and increased tourism - I was glad to know that Havila was responding to these problems.  (There is an interesting article about deep-water stagnation in the fjords here.)

Our cabin was spacious yet cozy; we didn't really spend too much time there, as it was so fun to be out and about  - there are so many spaces inside to just sit and watch the scenery, plus it was wonderful to be out on the decks in the cold fresh air.  

Our cabin.  We loved it.  After the first night (and some Norwegian seasickness pills - Marzine 50mg - that Arne recommended), we slept well.  Like sleeping in a gently rocking hammock, according to Clay. 

Please ignore my wonky glasses - I think I lay on them the first night we were gone, and bent the joint - I was afraid that if I bent them back, they would break, then I'd be that weird woman whose glasses were wonky and taped together. 

The crew spent a lot of time cleaning snow 
and ice from the  decks.  We were thankful for that!

This is our ship, which we hadn't been to at this point,
as the photo was taken from the top of the funicular mountain in Bergen. 

This is the lounge on the 9th deck.  We usually sat here when the ship was cruising - the perfect spot for watching the scenery, talking, laughing and of course, knitting!  

And I don't think we ever missed Happy Hour(s) every day from 4-6
on the 9th deck.  Clay always started with the best orange soda and finished with a beer.  Plus the most delicious snack mix and little fancies, like this beet (beetroot, as they say in Europe) tart with horseradish cream and salmon canape.  

The food on the ship was stellar.  No buffets (which the Norwegians see as wasteful), but plenty of choices.  On each meal's menu, half of the choices remained on the menu the entire voyage, while the other half reflected the region of Norway we were cruising by; this changed 3 times northbound, 3 times southbound.   The service reminded me of tapas or small plate restaurants.  

Breakfast always included eggs, porridges, yogurt, breads and sweet rolls.  Juices, smoothies, coffee, tea.  And salmon. 

Always salmon. 

 

Lunches were lighter, and we were always offered a small "Secret Sweet" - a scoop of ice cream, a tiny tiramasu, a little cheesecake.  

Mussels, cod and crispy potatoes.  If it weren't for the fact that Clay wanted to try lots of different things, I think he would have had mussels at every meal.  

More beets, please! 

Lamb chops and scallops.  

Suppers were wonderful, too; twice during the voyage (once north, once south) we ate in the Hildring Fine Dining Room.  Five courses of Norwegian specialties, from king crab to reindeer to cloud berries.  

Supper always came with a variety of vegetables.  I was fond of the smashed things
- cauliflower, parsnip, pumpkin.

Reindeer tartar

Cod tongue

Cloud berries and other deliciousness.

Yes, you're right.

It was the very best.  

Peace. 

Here is the link to the Havila Voyages site; you can read the menus here.

And here is the link to Aller Travel.  

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.