The Norwegian Fjords
- Pete Larkin
- Oct 14
- 3 min read
As someone who can't take a bath in case he gets seasick, I wasn't quite sure that two weeks in a boat through the fjords of Norway was a good idea. However, as it turned out, we were very fortunate with calm seas and little wind – until the remnants of storm Amy came across, but even then we were only troubled in the open seas between fjords. So, all in all, it wasn't too bad!
Oslo airport is a 30 minute train ride from the passenger ship quay, and navigation was simple. With the trains every 15 mins or so, it was a straightforward venture. We picked up the ship, MS Trollfjord run by Hurtigruten, in Oslo harbour – a smallish port with plenty of little boats including mobile saunas which cruise up and down, and plenty of watersports. We headed north taking a trip on their North Cape line. It is a small ship, taking about 500 passengers. It was comfortable and clean, with great staff and excellent food. The journey was such that we stopped at a different port more or less each day, to have a few hours to look around. I could make a list of places we visited, but that's a bit boring...
After a few days, we passed into the Arctic Circle, with a celebration on the deck at 10pm involving ice, cold water and a shot of Aquavit. By now, we had seen the Aurora Borealis on one night. However, we then had the Aurora 4 nights on the trot – at civilised times, too – and with clear skies and strong Kp indices, we were treated to some quite spectacular displays. I will not be leaning out of the bedroom window any more, in the hope of catching a distant glimpse on the horizon!
The towns we met varied in size and character, but a constant was the wooden clapperboard houses of the old towns. Fires were a real risk, and unfortunately were a regular occurrence, burning towns down to the ground – sometimes, more than once.
The fjords themselves are magnificent: high peaks surrounding deep, crystal clear water, or lots of small islets scattered throughout the shallower waters – lots of small light buoys or light pillars to try and avoid a shipwreck. As we got higher, obviously it got colder and more rugged. A trip out to find some white tailed sea eagles was an adventure. They came close in to pick up some fish thrown by the pilot, but only 4 four or five pieces were used as “bait”.
The most northerly point on the trip was the North Cape – the northernmost point which can be reached by car in Europe. Then, it was time to turn round and head south. Other than a few small patches of snow in sheltered parts of the mountains, there was no snow to be seen, and the temperature was relatively mild.
There was a point, as we rounded a bend in one of the fjords, where an announcement came over the tannoy that orcas had been spotted off the port bow. Sure enough, there were about ten in the pod, and they entertained us for about 30 mins before our paths diverged.
An unusual Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Northern Lights, in Alta. It has a space-age design, and clad in titanium in order that the Aurora can reflect off it during a display.
By now, Storm Amy had caused some havoc in Southern Norway, and we then started to encounter bigger waves and stronger winds. So for the last couple of days, open sea sailing was not my favourite, but it was only for two or three hours before we found shelter in another fjord.
We finally docked again in Oslo, treated to a sunrise with plenty of lenticular clouds and spent a couple of hours wandering around the city before we headed back to the airport the same way as we came in.
Would I go to Norway again? For sure.
Would I go by cruise? No, I think a car, or their coastal train journey would be better to allow longer and more varied walking and to avoid the feeling of time pressure to avoid missing the boat!
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