Thursday 12th August – Thursday 19th August 2010
Sue and I decided to book a Norwegian cruise for a number of reasons. Firstly, of course we wanted to see the fjords (or at least I did as Sue had been to Norway before) but we also had a desire to travel on holiday without having to undergo the tedium of flying and it turned out to be a very elegant alternative to travel by air. We drove down from London in the morning of Thursday 12th August having found out that it was cheaper to drive and park than get a train ticket! We arrived in plenty of time and embarkation went very smoothly and was a much more pleasurable experience than at an airport. The only worrying aspect was the photographer ready with a camera to take our picture just before we walked on board. It turned out that the camera man (or woman in this case) used every opportunity to take photos of the passengers – going into a formal do, with the captain etc. – for a fee of course. We didn’t buy a single picture.
We watched on deck as the boat departed from Dover on our cruise adventure and slept well that night – in fact we seemed to do a lot of sleeping. I think it was partly due to having an inside cabin so that we lost all sense of time and had no external light as a reference. We had chosen an inside cabin but it was well enough appointed and had effective air conditioning.
The first day was spent on passage over to Norway and was filled with getting to know the ship and getting used to the ‘cruise’ experience, which basically consisted of eating and drinking (alcohol) far too much and being waited on by fawning staff. It felt like Christmas.
To assuage our guilt at eating too much we went to the gym and booked in a mud massages (see Mud and knickers). At afternoon lunch we met the other passengers on our allotted table and found them a pleasant bunch. There were two elderly welsh couples and a daughter with her elderly mother. The daughter turned out to be a headteacher!
Later that evening we got up at midnight to look for shooting stars having seen on the TV before we left that a meteor shower was predicted. It was cold outside but we managed to stick it out long enough to see four shooting stars briefly arc across the sky.
The following day (Saturday 14th August) we arrived in Bergen with bright sunshine and clear skies. After a large breakfast (smoked haddock for me and kedgeree for Sue) we set off into town. Bergen turned out to be a delight. After a brief visit to the old area (Byreen) we walked to the funicular railway and took a trip to the mountaintop called Fløyen that overlooked the fjord. There were splendid views over the fjord and town and here we found some walks. We followed a trail to a beautiful little lake and sat for a while looking at the still waters.
I was feeling quite tired, achy and listless and found the walking difficult. For some reason I felt very old that day. Throughout the holiday I had some very strong hot flushes although for what reason I don’t know as I took my pills as usual. Despite these aches and pains we walked on up quite a steep path (overtaken by a young American couple and their toddler on bicycles!) to another pretty lake. We sat for a while and then walked round the lake before heading back feeling quite pleased with ourselves for managing to do something physical outdoors. After a stop for a drink at the café at the top we retuned down on the funicular railway to find that the town had come alive with people.
We found our way to the church and stepped inside for a while. Very plain and simple inside but quiet and peaceful. I lit a candle and posted a prayer.
Then onto the magnificent fish market with a wide range of fish and seafood on display and to eat. We spent some time looking at the wonderful seafood glistening fresh from the sea. We stopped for a brief lunch of lettuce and seafood before heading off to the Hanseatic museum and then a more leisurely stroll through the Bryggen.
That evening we had a meal on board prepared by a renowned chef. The starter was a magnificent crab soup and the dessert was rhubarb with chilli. The standard of food on board was excellent and of course there was plenty of it, including supper club at 11pm! To our credit we only summoned up the cheek to eat at 11pm one evening when they were serving fish and chips.
The following morning we arrived at Eidfjord and beautiful blue skies. We were up early for our coach trip which took us to the Hardangervidda nature centre which actually consisted of a panoramic film show (quite good actually) and a display of wildlife on the plateau (which we were told was the largest mountain plateau in Europe). I had expected some walks but there was nothing to do except look through the displays. We were soon off and stopped at a waterfall (Vøringfoss) or more exactly the hotel overlooking the waterfall. I took lots of pictures but found I had to walk beyond the barrier to get the best views. The final destination on the coach tour was the Sysen Dam which I had thought would be pretty boring but turned out to provide a superb view over the water to the mountains and the glaciers in the distance.
I had been anxious booking a coach tour as generally I don’t like being herded around and not having the freedom to go at my own pace but I think the tour was probably worth it as there was nothing to see in the town of Eidfjord itself.
By the time we got back to the ship the sun had got so hot that along with all the other passengers we ended up on the sun deck. It was too hot to sit in the direct sun so we sought some shade and I even put my swimming shorts on, although did not summon the courage to actually enter the pools! The beautiful scenery rose round about us as the boat lay in the fjord and as luck would have it we were late leaving as a party of passengers had been delayed by the local ferry thereby extending our stay in the fjord for some time.
That evening Sue and I went to see the comedian booked on board (Micky Zany) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The previous night we had seen the magic show.
The following day saw a complete change in the weather. Gone were the blue skies to be replaced by grey clouds and the threat of rain. We set off on a little boat trip through all the little inlets and islands scattered along the coast that are used as holiday homes and retreats by the Norwegians. I’m sure that in the bright sunlight it would have looked glorious but the weather worsened and as the rain started to fall Sue and I sought shelter in the covered deck below. The seas were quite rough and the boat was tossing about quite heavily to the consternation of some of the passengers.
We eventually arrived at Lillesand, a little holiday village and had the opportunity to look around although there was really not much to do except admire some of the wooden houses. To be honest I find the neatness and tidiness of these typical Scandinavian places rather oppressive. They’re just too neat and tidy, giving a strange sense of sterility and artificiality. They always remind me of Portmerion and I often expect to see a large white malevolent bubble roaming the place looking for people trying to escape as in the old TV Prisoner series in the 60′s.
In the evening we went to the big band show on board and enjoyed it immensely. It reminded me of when I used to play in the big band in my youth – I could remember playing most of the pieces. The trumpet player was excellent and the trombonist and saxophonist good as well (all of Chinese/East Asian extraction). The weak link was the pianist and I felt that I could have done a better job. The show invoked more than reminiscence. Rather it induced a nostalgic longing for a time in my past. I used to enjoy playing in a big band and can vividly remember travelling to Leicester of all places to perform many of the pieces that we heard that night. I suppose there was always the possibility that I could have become a professional trombonist and it is interesting to consider how my life would have been different.
By this point in our cruise we had found the ‘observatory’, a narrow bar right high up at the front of the ship with a super view ahead. There was a cocktail pianist in the bar and I enjoyed hearing him play although with a tinge of jealousy. I don’t always find it easy to listen to other people perform when I think that I could do just as well. There was the opportunity to take part in a passenger talent show during the cruise but I didn’t put myself forward. The truth is, that apart from any musical skills I may have I am not a natural performer.
Tuesday 17th August saw us arriving on another grey day this time in Oslo, the capital. We didn’t have a full day in the town, having to be back on board by 3pm so we set off quickly, catching the ferry to the Viking ship museum (Vikingskiphuset) and then the bus to Vigeland park and museum. The Viking ship was well worth the visit, the main boat exhibit being in remarkable condition, and testifying to incredible workmanship and skill.
But the Vigeland park was the highlight for me. We went into the museum first and I was amazed by the number and wide variety of the sculptures as well as the strange poses. We walked on to the park and down the main avenue to the monolith. There were statues everywhere and all were fascinating and strange if at sometimes almost veering on the bizarre and disturbing. The sheer number and variety of sculptures was overwhelming and the ranges of poses were astonishing. Vigeland certainly had a unique style of sculpture.
There wasn’t time to visit the Munch Museum so we headed off for the metro and found our way back to the harbour. After a very pleasant light lunch in the Nobel peace centre we walked back into town to buy presents. My feet were killing me and I continued to have some very unpleasant hot flushes, and so was happy to return to the ship.
There is plenty to do and see in Oslo, certainly enough to fill a full weekend. One of the downsides of cruising appears to be that you can often have limited time to explore the destinations and end up just scraping the surface instead of immersing yourself in their atmosphere. This was certainly the case with Oslo which would repay another visit in the future.
So that evening we set off for the journey back to Dover and the following day found ourselves crossing rough seas with a force 6/7 wind, the day spent reading, eating and sleeping. The sea calmed down towards the afternoon and we were rewarded on our last evening with a stunning sunset. The following morning we watched sadly as the boat came into Dover harbour at the end of an enjoyable cruise.
