The land of Iceland, Norwegian Coastal Cruise and a touch of Germany!

[JohnM]

What date were you at Nordkapp? Obviously there was still some sunlight - but not 24h of it, like when I made it a mission to be there on 21 June some years ago during a one-month solo driving round-trip of Scandinavia from Copenhagen.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

What date were you at Nordkapp? Obviously there was still some sunlight - but not 24h of it, like when I made it a mission to be there on 21 June some years ago during a one-month solo driving round-trip of Scandinavia from Copenhagen.

I was there on 30th Nov. No direct sunlight, but a few hours of twilight. Quite a lot of weather around so that may have also been a factor.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

The rest of the stops for that night and on the way into Kirkenes were relatively short (around 15-30mins), and before we knew it, we had reached the halfway mark of Kirkenes at about 9am the next morning on what could be described as a cold day. Oh, it was only about minus 17 degrees!

The two main excursions people opted for were Husky Sledding, and what I went and saw: The Russian Border.

The tour firstly took on a very brief tour of Kirkenes, then proceeded to take us to a WW2 Bunker. It was interesting to see and wasn’t that cold down there (as opposed to outside anyway!). From here, it was onto the Russian Border where we could very briefly see the actual border – highlighted by Yellow/Black (Norway) and Red/Green (Russia) posts. The stop was only brief (20mins) but given there wasn’t anything else there, it was plenty! Some great scenery around the area as well.



After this, it was back to the ship to have a warm drink!


Departing Kirkenes, the first stop on the southbound journey was in Vardo. Now, some call me crazy but decided to be one of about 10 people (mostly MS Polarlys Crew) to have an ice-dip in the water whilst docked in Vardo . Lets just say that the ‘swim’ was a very quick one and there is video evidence (proof!) of myself on the ships Facebook site. And I ain’t going to tell you which is me haha!

Leaving Vardo, we encountered some rough seas which meant that the new few stops were cancelled until the weather eased. Not a good night for sleeping!

In the morning with the sea’s somewhat calmer (for now…), I got off in Hammerfest to have a quick look around as the ship was only here for an hour. Needed to get my legs onto solid ground for a change! Following a quick look around, back on the ship with the next stop being Tromso in 8 hours time.


The view in Hammerfest

 

[ADLhighflyer]

Arriving in Tromso about 8pm, I decided to go on one of the organised hikes that took us through the city and across one of the main bridges into town and past the Arctic Cathedral, before heading up for a view of the city by cable car. The view was simply amazing, made even more better that the clouds and snow held off until nearly 11pm allowing us incredible views of the city. After 3 hours of walking, it was back to the boat for only a few hours sleep before my next excursion at 8am the next morning.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

After a few hours of minimal sleep, we arrived in Harstad at about 8am where I was to hop aboard the excursion “A taste of Vesterålen”. This was a 4 hour excursion that took us from Harstad to Sortland, where the boat would meet up with us again.

The tour started off with a short church service at the medieval church in Trondenes, which during WW2 was also a PoW camp for allied soldiers. Across the road, we visited the historical museum before making our way through some incredible scenery and across Gullesfjord by ferry before making our way back to the boat in Sortland. Incredibly, the bus was perfectly timed to cross over the bridge into Sortland as the MS Polarlys went beneath it (and with all our fellow passengers waving Norwegian Flags at us!).
\

 

[ADLhighflyer]

In the evening, our next major port of call was Svolvaer between 6pm and 8pm where I took the opportunity to visit the Ice Magic Museum. It was full of amazing carvings that one can only wonder how long it takes to produce a single piece. Off course, I had to have the obligatory Ice Drink which if I recall was a sweet cranberry and white wine drink. Very nice!

 

[ADLhighflyer]

The next day was largely uneventful, with our next major stop being Bronnoysund that wasn’t until 4pm in the afternoon. Oh well, time to take in the amazing scenery as we trundle by! We also recrossed the Arctic Circle as we made our way south to which another ceremony was held. This time, I couldn’t bring myself to taste the fish oil on offer! I was more than happy to let everyone else taste this haha.



During the stop in Bronnoysund, I took the opportunity to join a short hike around town to maximise the time there. During this hike, we came across a plaque that is the official middle point of Norway.



The last day and a half were very quiet onboard. With a few people finishing their cruise in Trondheim, I got off here and had a quick walk around town. The southbound stop here is much shorter than when headed northbound, but was at least able to go and grab a coffee from one of the local cafes.



The last day of the cruise required us to have all our luggage packed and ready by 9am, and to have vacated our rooms by 10am. I caught up with a few of the other cruise passengers to relax and before we knew it we were all docking in Bergen around 2pm – on another wintery and rainy day!

If was off to the hotel before a very early 6am flight the next morning.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

It really was an enjoyable trip and I am so glad that I did it. A lot of places that I never would have dreamt off seeing, and all the fantastic experiences as well. It really is recommended for those people who want to do something a little different!

7/12 SK2681 BHO-CPH 0600-0720 and SK2533 CPH BHX 0825 0925

I was up early this morning for my 6am flight to Copenhagen. Got to the airport bus stop early and waited for it, only to find myself in company with a heavily intoxicated person who didn’t speak English (and I didn’t speak Norwegian either!). It would be one of the few times I felt extremely uneasy about my safety, and was very happy when the bus showed!

After arriving at the airport, quickly checked in and breathed a sigh of relief when my luggage weighed 22.9kgs and headed off to grab a much needed coffee.


My aircraft to CPH - my run with airline unique liveries continues (sorry, best picture I could get!)

The flight to CPH was absolutely chockers and only had an hour to get to my next flight, which in CPH was plenty of time.

Compared with my initial flight, my flight to BHX was fairly empty so much so that everyone had their preassigned seats were up the front, whereas myself and another family were the only ones in the rear half of the aircraft!

After clearing Immigration, it was off to catch a train to Nottingham where I clearly forgot how much a one-way ticket outside of Peak Hour cost (24 Pounds!).

Following a much needed and long awaited catch-up with family over a few days, it was back to the airport – where all the ‘fun’ started….

 

[ADLhighflyer]

10/12 BE1857 BHX TXL 1730 2020

The day of flying to Berlin had been predicted to be heavy snow falls, and after checking the airport and airline websites over the course of day, it appeared my flight would be running as normal.

Arriving at the airport early, I queued to check-in and my bags were despatched with no issues. Always a good sign! Due to delays earlier in the day, we were handed vouchers and I headed up to the departure lounge to go and grab a bite to eat. At about 5pm, I noticed casually that the flight information monitors were now showing the flight as being cancelled – but no announcement had been made.

Sure enough, 10 mins later the inevitable occurred and everyone began queuing to see what their options were. However it wasn’t just my flight cancelled – all Flybe flights for the rest of the day were cancelled! We were al told if we could reorganise our own flights via the website/call centre, that would be the quickest method. After several attempts at trying to do this, I couldn’t get the online rebooking to work so had to wait. Grrr



After another hour or so, everyone in the departure lounge was let back into the arrivals hall to pick up their baggage once they had recleared immigration again. From this point onwards, it was back into the queue to see what my rebooking options were.

Finally at about 9:30pm, I was eventually at the front of the queue and able to get a seat on the following mornings flight at 06:30am. However, the airline was unable to find any accommodation so it was up to us all to organise our own transport and accom for the night. With constant calls to my family in the UK, I was lucky enough to find a room about 20mins from the airport. All whilst watching my phone battery become alarmingly low.

I finally got to the hotel at about 10:30pm and was able to get about 4hours of sleep (if that) and organise a taxi for 3:30am. This early just in case of delays as I thought everyone would do the same thing. At 3:30am, sure enough my taxi was out front waiting.

Round #2!

11/12 BE1851 BHX TXL 0625 0915

I arrived back at the airport about 4am, and couldn’t even check-in due to it being to early. I was quite happy with this as at least I was at the airport so wasn’t worrying about how I would get there. The flight was continuously delayed for 20mins every 20mins or so until we finally were called for boarding at approx. 08:30am and departed about 9:30am, arriving in Berlin at approx. midday.

Time to now explore Berlin!

 

[ADLhighflyer]

BERLIN

Upon arrival in Berlin, I was keen to make up for lost time due to the flight reschedule. Once I found my way to the hotel, I went aboard the hop on/ hop off tour and made the most of the few hours left of daylight by seeing the top attractions in Berlin.

We all had a 30min rest stop at the Berlin Wall, so hopped off to grab some pictures whilst thinking what life would’ve been like many years ago before it was torn down.



With light fading quickly, I made it my mission to head for the nearest (and biggest!) Christmas Market, and found a few in the vicinity of Alexander Platz. As usual, the best way to see how the markets are is to try out the local food, so certainly made the most of the Bratwurst, Chocolate and various bakery items that were in the many stalls. Some of the craft in the stalls was simply amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed my time having a look there.



The following day, I continued aboard the hop on/hop off tour (I got a 2 day ticket) and saw more sights of Berlin on a different loop. As part of the tour, was able to see the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie and many of the other Christmas Markets around the city along the tour. I sure made the most of my time in Berlin, but not before heading out of town toward Charlottenburg Palace where there was a unique Christmas Market which to me was a little different than the other markets. Here, I felt there was a wider assortment of gifts, crafts and of course the food from other markets that I had seen or visited. It was certainly worth the visit!



For my last day in Berlin, I headed down to one of the largest department stores there – KaDeWe, which would be described as a 7 floor David Jones/Myer store with upmarket goods, before making my way along Friedrichstrasse to wander around before hopping aboard my 6pm train (it was originally going to be a flight aboard Air Berlin!) from Berlin to Munich, arriving at about 10pm (a 4hr trip courtesy of a timetable change!). I had booked a first class seat for approx. 90 Euro’s, which was great to provide a guaranteed seat with extra legroom. Well worth the money.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

MUNICH

The following morning in Munich, I made the most of the buffet breakfast on offer and headed into town around 11am to catch the hop on / hop off bus. I find these a great way to see the main points in the city, and then I can pick and choose what I go back and see at a later time.

On the bus, we stopped off at Nymphenburg Palace on the outskirts of Munich where it was good to stretch the legs and have a good look around. Heading back into the centre of Munich, I had a good walk around the place before heading around the main Christmas Market in town, which was centred around Marienplatz. Compared with the Christmas Markets in Berlin, this one was more spreadout along the various roads around Marienplatz. Something unique to Munich! I was feeling quite tired by around 6pm, so headed back to the hotel for the night as tomorrow was going to be an awesome day.



Getting up rather early the next morning, especially when on holidays, was quite difficult so needed to make sure I had a good dose of caffeine with my morning breakfast! Leaving the hotel, I met up with about 25 other people with one thing on the mind for today’s day trip: Neuschwanstein Castle!

The train departed around 10am, and arrived in Fussen around 12pm. Throughout the train journey, it was interesting to note the difference of the scenic landscapes.

From this….



To this….

 

[ADLhighflyer]

Several shuttle busses were waiting for the many train passengers and took us all into the base of the castle. From here, we got our first look: wow! From ‘base camp’, we needed to walk up what can only be described as a steep gradient toward the castle. To make it even better, snow had fallen the day prior allowing me to take some incredible pictures of the area!



The tour itself inside the castle only takes about 35mins, with photos prohibited. However, the scenic landscapes around the castle more than make up for this with the views simply amazing.



Arriving back at ‘base camp’ about 3:30pm, it was time to make the journey back toward Fussen, and then onward to Munich.

Back in Munich around 6:30pm, it was then onto the Christmas Night markets again! At nightime, this is when the locals well and truly put on a great show with dancers, Bavarian music and the awesome smell of freshly baked goods that waft through the air. This is what I had come to Germany for, and it really lived up to my expectations! Well worth a visit.



My last day in Germany was a sombre affair (more the reality of going home!), but packed up my suitcases and checked out of the hotel. Heading back into town, I walked around the various areas of Munich before finally heading off to the airport around 3pm.

 

[ADLhighflyer]

THE RIDE HOME

16/12 AY1406 MUC HEL 1840 2215

16/12 AY99 HEL HKG 2345 1530

17/12 CX101 HKG SYD 2355 1205


After checking in at Munich, I headed off to the Lounge. I was given the choice of 2 to use, so went with the Europe Lounge. Maybe my hopes were high, but compared with what I’ve seen in the past this lounge was a disappointment. Minimal food options and basic drinks, but it did the trick to quietly wait around an hour or so before my flight to HEL boarded.

Onboard, Business Class was chockers with around 5 or 6 rows completely full for the 2 ½ hour flight. Still had to get used to the ‘Euro Business’ style product, but I’m usually kept very happy as long as the seat next to me is free!

Upon arrival in HEL, the airport was very quiet for the time of night and proceeded to the Non-Schengen section of the airport where there were only 2 flights due to depart – both HKG and SIN. Shortly after, boarding was called and I made my way to my window seat.

Following departure, service was quick due to being almost 1am local time. I chose the Beef in Oyster Sauce, accompanied by the Blue Sky special drink that Finnair created especially as part of the A350 introduction into their fleet. The drink was very nice!



After a good sleep, it was time to arrive in HKG where I had a 9 hour layover. At this point, I wasn’t feeling 100% so opted to stay in the relaxing environment of HKG Airport. I did try to get an earlier flight but flights were all full unfortunately. My first stop was the QF HKG Lounge, and later on I headed over to the Cathay Pacific Pier Lounge. Both are very nice lounges and I certainly made the most of my time in each.

But before long, it was time to head off to my final flight back home – Australia here we come!

Like the flight to HKG, the midnight departure to Sydney had a quick service with everyone wanting to get some sleep. The flight was a little bumpy over the Philippines due to a Cyclone in the area, but we all survived that and landed safely in Sydney. Going from -17 degrees in Norway to arriving in Sydney on what was a 35 degree day is certainly a big difference!

Upon arrival I grabbed the obligatory duty free and made my way to baggage claim to see that one of my bags hadn’t arrived. Grrr. It would take another 4 days and a midnight drop off to finally get my missing bag, but hey I was just happy I had it back as it contained some awesome European chocolate haha

 

[ADLhighflyer]

I absolutely enjoyed my 5 weeks away. With the reason for visiting Iceland and hopping aboard the Hurtigruten cruise was that I wanted to see and do something a little different, both of these exceeded my expectations well and truly and I am very thankful for the opportunities that I had to see some amazing places during my travels. They are both highly recommended and certainly well worth a visit in wintertime if you ever get the chance.

As a side note, Flybe has now refunded my expenses for my flight cancellation so I am happy with that. Now hoping that the same will apply with Air Berlin in due course.

Thank you for reading – its been great reminiscing about my trip whilst getting to share it with you all and going through my approximately 4000 photos that were taken whilst away!

 

[OATEK]

Thanks ADLhighflyer, an excellent report. Enjoyed your Neuschwanstein pics, as it snowed the day we were there in April and although idyllic up close, we didn't see the vista across the valley. We drove through the Black Forest in the snow also in April, and it was dark, cold and a little daunting given the lack of traffic at the time. I also thought you handled the AirBerlin issue very well.

We are off on the Reindeer route in June for the third year in a row, combining CX and AY. Given the costs and what I have found is good food and service, it has become our preferred route for us us Grey Nomads.

 

[VPS]

Great TR - thanks

 

[ellen10]

Great trip report. I enjoyed reading of your travels and all the great pictures. Thanks

 

[OZDUCK]

Another thanks for loading up some lovely photos & interesting comments.

 

[craven morehead]

I enjoyed both reading and admiring the photos of this fantastic TR thank you. Certainly some places you don't see on here every week.

 

[mmchow]

Thanks for sharing ADLhighflyer. Those photos were amazing.