Norway with Hurtigruten // Day 10 // Heading for the Lofoten Islands

By the way, it's beautiful weather again today (the Norwegians are slowly not knowing what's going on anymore - for local standards, it's a summer exception) - and accordingly, the sun loungers are being positioned diligently:

SHORT STOP IN STOKMARKNES

In the afternoon, we had a few minutes to walk through Stokmarknes. Here stands the first Hurtigruten ship, the MS Finnmarken, which has been completely restored and now shines almost as brightly as before. And right next to it is the very own Hurtigruten Museum (the Norwegians just love their mail boats):

We decided to skip the museum. Instead, we used the time before the excursions started to lounge around in the café on deck 7, enjoying the beautiful view:

And since the weather was so nice, we also spent quite a while on deck in the sun. Accompanied by the Hurtigruten troll punch, some kind of tea with honey and a generous portion of rum, cheers!

ENCOUNTER WITH THE SEA EAGLES

At half past 4, the time had come: We were still in the middle of the sea, but we would be picked up by a small fishing boat that would take us very close to the sea eagles. For that, we all had to go down to the car deck at the hatch and from there, using a small - once again wobbly bridge - cross over to the other boat:

During the crossing, the bridge had to be briefly retracted because the sea was too rough. However, we had already arrived on the other side and were able to calmly watch it all!

The boat was a fishing boat, just as one imagines it. With two weathered captains who happily smoked in their control cabin. I have no idea if this is allowed according to "safety regulations" on fishing boats with tourists on board, but even if not, I don't think they care very much. There were also two helpers who brought two full tubs of fish to the railing. And then the spectacle began: an enormous amount of seagulls accompanied us the whole time, with deafening squawks and screams. And they were incredibly fat! Some seagulls here are so fat and big that they almost look like seals:

Others, on the other hand, looked more delicate:

Our agile little boat then took us into the beautiful Trollfjord once again, which we had already seen on the way there. This is the fjord that is so narrow that the Hurtigruten ship just barely fits in and at the end, there is only 300 meters of space left to turn the cutter. From the boat, we had a great view of it:

From the Trollfjord, we drove ahead of our MS Polarlys towards Svolvær, the capital of the Lofoten Islands. On the way, we saw several sea eagles and even more seagulls. It was truly impressive, especially with the amazing nature surrounding us. We were all very excited about this excursion!

In Svolvær, we had to wait for half an hour before our MS Polarlys finally turned the corner:

THIS LOOKS LIKE "LORD OF THE RINGS"!

No time for a break! We continued directly to our excursion "Island World of the Lofoten Islands". After the bumpy-windy ride on the fishing boat, it would now be comfortable in the bus. Our tour guide Steffi was with us, who moved to the Lofoten Islands 1.5 years ago and doesn't want to leave anymore, even though it's so lonely here. To get to know her home a little better, we drove around some of the Lofoten Islands by bus. For example, we made a stop in Henningsvaer, a small town with a harbor and a backdrop of mountains:

The Lofoten Islands are very green and the image of sea and mountains that is offered everywhere here is truly special - it somehow reminded me of "Lord of the Rings". And there are even beaches. The water is always a pleasant 12 degrees warm, haha, not for me.

Back on board, it was already half past 10, completely starving. We had been on the go since half past 4 and had not yet received dinner. So the food break had been going on since 2:30 p.m.! We were on the verge of collapse because we are used to getting food every few hours here ;-). But the crew takes care of you really well even under such "two excursions in a row" extreme conditions: a table set up with a delicious 3-course meal was waiting for us in the bistro. There were only two Americans with us, who we then chatted with for quite a while before heading to bed.

And tomorrow: Last day on board - without excursions or major activities, but with a festive "Farewell Dinner".