AUGUST 19, 2012 I was so fixated on the sights outside my cabin window on the MS Nordlys— such as the most beautiful fjords in the world, set into mountains which are, as Norwegian Nobel Prize writer Knut Hamsun described, ” breathing from the granite vaults of their lungs” – that I failed to look around me at the ship which was my home for the past six days. Forgive me. The MS Nordlys, one of the …
August 16, 2012 DISEMBARKING THE MS NORDLYS — Hurtigruten calls their Norwegian cruise “the world’s most beautiful voyage.” They’ll get no argument from me. Whether or not true, it’s sad to leave our cozy little cabin on the fifth level of the ship and the lounge with its expansive views of mountains and fjords. Not to mention the restaurant – which last night produced a farewell buffet with a dizzying array of seafood and other offerings. These …
August 15, 2012 ABOARD THE MS NORDLYS – I woke up this morning at 7:10, the grey light of dawn filling my cabin. At least that’s what time I thought it was as I looked at my watch. But when I looked again, I discovered I’d made a little mistake. Actually, it was 3 a.m. Weird business, this land of the midnight sun. As of the summer solstice on June 21 up here in northern Norway, the …
August 14, 2012 ABOARD THE MS NORDLYS — King Neptune baptized me this morning. Dressed in a flowing black gown and carrying a gold trident, his long grey beard blowing in the wind, he appeared on the stern of the seventh deck after being summoned by the tour director three times. He was there to welcome us to the Arctic, assure us of his protection, and dispense cloudberry liqueur in little shot glasses –- but only after …
August 13, 2012 ABOARD THE MS NORDLYS – I am no longer an Arctic Circle virgin. Just as ships in South America used to make you walk the plank when you first crossed the Equator, there is a ceremony up here given by Njord, the ruler of the Seven Seas, to mark our very first crossing of the Arctic circle. Ours will take place tomorrow because we are all dividing up and leaving the ship to go …
August 12, 2012 ABOARD THE MS NORDLYS – Breakfast in Boston, for me, means a glass of orange juice and a slice of toast. That’s it. The day begins. On this Hurtigruten cruise ship in Norway, however, breakfast is a Vikings’ banquet. Norwegians take their breakfasts very seriously, and the buffet choices that greet us in the dining room every morning require considerable concentration, There are huge platters of delicious native salmon, bowls of herring, pickled in …
August 11, 2012 ABOARD THE MS NORDLYS — It was like having my mother onboard. She was standing at the door as we came up the gangplank of the Hurtigruten ship last night at the start of our Norwegian cruise. We expected the usual safety lecture on how to put our life jackets on, but we didn’t realize we’d have to wash our hands before stepping aboard the MS Nordlys. Two hours later when we arrived at …
August 10, 2012 BERGEN, NORWAY — “There are three ‘F’ words that describe Bergen,* our guide, Jim Paton , told us this morning at the start of our tour. It turns out he was referring to “fish, fire and fijords.” Before the day was out he told us a lot about the first two. Tomorrow we’ll get to the third. Over the years, Bergen’s wooden buildings have been ravaged by numerous fires. As you walk around town …
August 9, 2012 There’s one way to avoid Boston’s oppressive summer heat: Fly to Norway. We left Boston in sweltering, humid 90-degree weather and flew to Bergen. Five hours after taking off from Logan Airport, we de-planed on a beautiful dry 65-degree day and and found ourselves in a historic town in the center of what they call Fjordland. Bergen, on the southwestern side of the country, is known as the Gateway to the Fjords. At the …
Saturday, August 4, 2012 A cruise in Norway!? What a lovely idea; I’ve never been to Norway; have always wanted to go. I’m immersed now in reading about fjords, Vikings, Norse gods, gorgeous people, fresh fish and unfettered wildlife in preparation. But Norway is north of Boston. I live in Boston and try never to go north from here. Boston is north enough for me, cold most of the year in fact, frigid in the dead of …
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