Having fun with Havila

[drron]

Wonderful pictures. Though I felt cold just looking at them.
Also glad to know there is another intrepid wearer of shorts. I even wore a pair one day in Antarctica.

 

[PERLHR]

Excellent photos and report which has helped a lot. We have decided to do it via the Northbound route (6 days 5 nights). I know we miss the major Fjord but will be able to be in Norway again having already in the past been to Bergen and Oslo. We booked the Panoramic Deluxe Room and have booked our excursions.

 

[jase05]

Day 3, sailing towards Trondheim. Nice and smooth sailing this morning and had a bit of brekky before arriving into Trondheim at just after 9am

 

[jase05]

We had just over 3 hours in Trondheim. There were some guided tours and excusrsions but the port was close to town so we just went and did our own thing. Beautiful city and definitely worthy of a longer visit. The old part of town is fairly compact and easy to walk.

A part of the wharf area has been modernised and plenty of nice bars and restaurants. A number of old warehouses have been converted to apartments

 

[jase05]

Back on the ship and about to leave Trondheim.
It was lunchtime and the food again was good and the beer was cold

 

[jase05]

From Trondheim we sailed further North towards Rorvik which would be the last port we would see that evening. Very smooth sailing as we were in a passageway and we copped a beautiful sunset that seemed to last for ages

 

[jase05]

Day 4
Set the alarm for 0630 as we were told the night before that we would be crossing the Arctic circle at around 0800 and that there would be a ceremony. Unfortunately the ceremony wasn’t a dip in the ocean as I was keen but instead just a bucket of ice water tipped over you. As I have had that done previously we gave it a miss and just decided we would go up on deck for look.
Opened the blinds in our room at 0630 and noticed the scenery was very different from the day before and there was a fair bit of snow around.

Almost on cue when we got near the Arctic circle markers a blizzard hit us and many scurried back inside but I stayed out on deck to try and get a photo of the marker

Storm probably lasted about 20 minutes but cleared up to give us some more good views as we approached Ornes

 

[jase05]

Ornes was only a 10 minute stop to deliver some goods to the town and thankfully the snow storm had recently passed so snared a few pics from the deck

 

[Daver6]

Your TR is bringing back very fond memories of my trip up and down the coast in 2019.

 

[jase05]

Ornes to Bodo was planned to take about 3hrs but bad weather slowed us a touch but it was simply amazing how fast the weather would turn from sunny to storm and back to sunny again. You could see the clouds rolling in at quite a speed. Still managed to get a few shots
The second and third photo was 2 minutes apart!

 

[jase05]

We eventually made it into Bodo but unfortunately we were about 20 minutes late. We were scheduled for 2hrs in port and on the recommendation of the Ship’s Captain I was planning to do a quick jaunt out to the Norwegian Aviation museum which was about a 20-30 minute return trip and would’ve only left me with under an hour so I didn’t bother. Have bookmarked it for when we return. The weather in Bodo was -5 but according to the ships weather display it was -13 wind chill factor. Mrs Jase decided to stay on ship whilst I went for a wander in town. Not really a lot to see here but was good to get on land

 

[jase05]

I had missed lunch whilst exploring town so grabbed a burger when I returned. Glad I ate because shortly after departing Bodo we copped some really rough water for a couple of hours before reaching the sanctuary of the Lofoten archipelago. This part of the trip is very scenic but by time we got to Stamsund the sun was on its last legs for the day

 

[jase05]

We had about 25 minutes in Stamsund and because of the late lunch I decided to skip tea and just have desert and a few wines

Our last port for the evening was Svolvaer which is acclaimed as one of the most beautiful towns in Norway by many but it was pitch black by now.
The town was absolutely stunning even by moonlight and my poor night photography doesn’t do it justice

 

[jase05]

Day 5
During the night we stopped at several towns to pick up passengers and drop of supplies. I woke a couple of times due to the noise but quickly went back to sleep. First port today was the small town of Finnses around breakfast time and this stop was about 30 minutes. Several passengers boarded and probably half a dozen kids disembarked and their family was waiting for them.

 

[jase05]

We had about 3hrs of smooth sailing between Finnsnes and Tromso which was to be our next decent stop.
We had some lunch about 30 minutes before arriving in Tromso

 

[jase05]

Tromso
We had 4hrs here and what a beautiful place. University city so plenty of pubs and restaurants.


Nice heated footpaths in some parts of town

 

[jase05]

When in Norway
Yeah I tried the whale meat and didn’t do much for me if I’m honest

I don’t frequent Maccas too often but couldn’t resist a photo

 

[jase05]

Had about an hour to kill before boarding the ship so what better place to do it than in Tromso’s oldest pub.
I think it was something like 120 beers on tap. Tried a few and they were all very good

 

[jase05]

Back on the ship and leaving Tromso at dusk

 

[jase05]

Skjervoy was our last port this evening at around 10pm
Bit of a rough ride between Tromso and Skjervoy which was about 4hrs and even I felt a touch of seasickness.