Norway

The North Cape

Kirkenes

Norway

August 15, 2015

Hello,

So I leave my hotel and take a walk around the empty streets of Kirkenes, the embarkation point for my cruise down the coast of Norway.

Weather is still mild in this Arctic town.  A lovely church.  Flower boxes adorn the homes and businesses.  Boats in the harbor.  A War Memorial.  The Second World War was particularly harsh here.

Kirkenes is only 225km (140 mi) from Murmansk, Russia.  Signs here in Cyrillic.

Henningsvær

Henningsvær

Lofoten Archipelago

Norway

I love taking photos at this fishing village.  (Population 440).

The sun is bright.  The colorful buildings along the inlet seem to be admiring themselves in an aquatic mirror.

Henningsvær is part of the Lofoten Islands chain. A good place to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Norway: The Fjords

MS Vesterålen

Hurtigruten Limited

 

Come to Norway to see the fjords.

What’s a fjord?

Here’s the brief answer:

Geologically, a fjord or fiord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial erosion.

The steep sides of the cliffs decend straight down to the seabed.

The sea is quite deep, deep enough for a large cruise ship.

The fjord is so narrow that the sides of the cliff pass ever so close to the side of the ship - close enough to almost reach out and touch them. 

The remarkable moment comes when, in this narrow channel, the cruise ship stops near the end of the fjord, turns one hundred and eighty degrees and returns to the open sea.