Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Hammerfest and mysterious midnight excursion

Ebipụtara: 10.07.2018

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Beautiful photo opportunity in Skjervøy

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Onboard energy coffee

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // The island of Melkøya

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Arrival in Hammerfest

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Statue for heroes from Hammerfest

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // The Protestant church

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Hiker on the way to Salen

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Footprints everywhere

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Polar Bear Club in Hammerfest

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Dried stockfish

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Don't forget protective clothing

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Traveling along the coast by speedboat

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Finally, the midnight sun

Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 9 // Bright daylight in the middle of the night

Debanye aha na akwụkwọ akụkọ

COFFEE WITH A KICK

We were supposed to arrive in Hammerfest, the northernmost city in the world, at around 10:30 am and were called to Deck 7 beforehand for an "energy coffee" and a short lecture.

The energy coffee was a fun mix of coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and chili and tasted really good. And the chili gave us a boost - especially in the rather cool temperatures and gray outlook:

We then passed by the island of Melkøya, which is located in front of Hammerfest - the "milk island". That was also the topic of our expedition team's lecture.

The island was built for the processing and storage of natural gas from the "Snow White Field". It is transported to Melkøya through a pipeline over 140 kilometers long and processed into liquefied natural gas. It is the largest industrial project ever in Norway and has made it possible to transport natural gas from Europe to the USA (if we understood correctly). Melkøya provides many jobs in the region and the island's operator is also a welcome taxpayer:

VISIT TO THE POLAR BEAR CLUB

Shortly after, we arrived in the port of Hammerfest and immediately stumbled into the "city center" from the ship.

The term "city" is relative here. There are a few shops where you can shop, and you can already tell that Hammerfest is one of the larger towns in the far north of Norway.

Important men from Hammerfest have received a statue in the port - Mr. Lindstrøm, for example, was important because he apparently cooked deliciously for men on polar expeditions and was always a joker who spread good cheer - even when the expedition didn't go so well:

The Protestant church in the town is also beautiful with light blue wooden pews and colorful stained glass windows that are similar to those in the famous Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø:

You can theoretically also hike to the viewpoint "Salen". But since it looked like a climb from the bottom, like to the Drachenfels, we skipped it. It was actually not that dramatically high, but we were too lazy. The abundance of food makes you sluggish ;-). He was more motivated here, he even carries his hiking gear himself:

Instead, we followed the many footprints in Hammerfest...

...which lead to the Polar Bear Club. A museum established by the "Royal and Ancient Society of Polar Bears". There you can see, for example, how polar bears and humans used to live together in the harsh nature here.

The Polar Bear Club currently has around 240,000 members worldwide, and for 220 NOK (a little over 20 euros) you can join if you want. Membership card, certificate, sticker, and the popular silver polar bear pin included (as well as a 10% discount on souvenirs).

ALPINE IDYLL AND STINKY FISH

After the stop in Hammerfest, we took the rest of the day easy. I also wanted to try taking a nap - because we would still be on the move for a long time today - but it didn't work!

Instead, we drove through one of the most beautiful sections so far. Namely, past the Lyngen Alps, the "Alps of Northern Norway", which are one of the country's largest natural attractions and stretch up to 1,800 meters high and 100 kilometers along the coast. My favorite photo opportunity came in Skjervøy, a small village where people have lived since the Stone Age. Mountains and sun in the background, water and shadows in the front, small colorful houses, and a few clouds...beautiful:

After a delicious red wine with a view from the panoramic windows on Deck 4, it was already time for dinner. Today, my favorite menu of the entire trip so far: salmon for the appetizer, which was only briefly seared on the outside and still raw on the inside. Then delicious beef fillet and for dessert some kind of grain mush that reminded me of rice pudding. Great! Yesterday we had reindeer for the main course, which was also very good, very similar to beef. Papa preferred to have fish...

And no time to rest: as soon as the last spoonful was eaten, our captain (we got a new one since the outbound journey in Tromsø - the captains change every 22 days, take over the ship for 3 weeks, and then have another 22 days of vacation) told us a bit about his life. He was born in Tromsø and has been working for Hurtigruten for 45 (!!!) years. This is his last tour and in 14 days he will be able to retire. He could hardly hide his joy about it ;-). He showed us some pictures of the nature around his home, especially the winter time when the whales come and the northern lights can be seen. His urgent recommendation: definitely take the same trip here again in December or January. It would be complete nonsense that all Norwegians are depressed and drunk at that time, as one can endure it wonderfully even in darkness. In the end, he passed around the famous dried stockfish that is so well known here - they are sometimes huge and have a pretty strong smell:

UP LATE, OR RATHER, "MAN, IT'S BRIGHT HERE"

Right after docking in Tromsø, we were led through the city for a short distance to an office where we received these fancy suits - Papa looked like he was from the fire department:

Until now, we didn't really know what awaited us, but now it was clear: I would be going on the speedboat for the second time, yay! But it was a very calm evening, so it was nothing like the last time - the boat hardly bounced at all, and overall, they drove a bit more carefully. But it was not an issue, the focus was on the fantastic light that now prevailed at 1 am: