Flights home

Pam and I headed out to the airport hotel about 3 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon.  Up and out of bed at about 2.30 the next morning so we could get rid of our luggage 3 hours before our 6am flight.  It had snowed overnight so we woke up to a Christmas wonderland, very cold though!!  

Unfortunately there are no staff in attendance at the airport until 4am so we had a bit of a wait.  We finally got rid of our luggage and walked back to the hotel, had some fruit and a cup of tea for breakfast then back to the airport for our flights Bergen-Copenhagen-Singapore-Brisbane.   Got home at about 7.15pm Wednesday, through customs at 8.15pm, in the car and into bed by 10pm.  

Great holiday, all we have to do now is recover.

A snowy walk to the airport

and back again to the hotel

Ice and snow all over everything

De-ice the wings and fueselage.

And then we go

My cappuccino at the Copenhagen airport

Doors of Bergen

I've done the Doors of Dublin - 

And I've done the Best Knockers in Italy - 

Beers of the UK

So I think it's only fair I get to see the Doors of Bergen -

Lazy day in Bergen

Great night sleep in a real bed, one which wasn't being tossed around in the open ocean, we did get up early for breakfast so we could escort Maureen, Noelene and Denise to the train station (across the road from the motel) and see them on their way to Oslo via the 'Norway in a Nutshell' tour through Flam.

Magnificent blue skies and sunshine today so after checking out of the hotel, Pam and I went down town and wandered around the harbour shops.  It is very cold and there is ice and snow scattered around on the ground and in gutters.  We had a coffee at Starbucks and when it was time for lunch we tried to find the 'most famous sausage shop in Norway' our taxi driver told us about in the harbour area.  He told us that people came from Sweeden and Finland especially to Bergen to have a sausage at the shop.  We couldn't find it so asked at the Information Centre and she gave us some detailed instructions.

Found it in a flash, Pam had a cheese sausage and I had a reindeer sausage.  They were very good but I'm not sure I'd be crossing international borders to go and get one?  We went down to the waters edge, found a seat and ate while we watch the world go by.  Lovely day.

Got back to the motel around 2pm and decided to head out to the airport motel and just relax for the rest of the day in preparation for our torturous flights home (Bergen to Copenhagen to Singapore to Brisbane).  It’s a 55 minute trip on the light rail to the airport and we were lucky not to fall asleep on the way.  Arrived safely, checked in, sorted out luggage, coffee, blog, beer, fish and chips for tea and hopefully a short peaceful sleep.

Our program for tomorrow – the plane leaves at 6am, we’ll take our suitcases to the airport at 3.30am, return for showers and breakfast then return to the airport by 5.30 to start the adventure home.

All aboard for Oslo via Flam

See you xxxx

Early morning Bergen

Found a nice warm coffee shop

The back of those inconic water front buildings, so many different roofing profiles, it's a wonder the snow doesn't gather and stay there all year round.

Laneway down town

The dodgiest building serving the best sausages in Norway?

Crispy fried onions on my reindeer sausage

Lunch with the sun on our backs

There they are again for the last time.

Return to Bergen

I must apologising - Pam hastn ad a chancee to edict this poster yet

Peaceful start to the night, rudely interrupted at about 1am when we had to run through about 3 hours of open ocean.  I woke up to very violent rocking of the ship and was almost killed when my water bottle, previously safely tucked away on the head board of the bed, was hurled toward my head, lucky my natural survival instincts kicked in and I managed to deflect the missile from its’ mission.

The next few seconds were a blur but included screaming; through a fog of semiconsciousness I looked up imaging Pam to be beside me and supportive, only to see her silhouette disappearing out the door, prominent was her ghostly white face as a mask of fear, I’m sure I heard her mumbling feverishly about Davey Jones Locker?  As far as I was concerned this was the end of the trip and life as we know it and was hoping/expecting to be ultimately rescued from freezing Arctic waters by some well-meaning and alert marine rescue – Norway division.

I got up after Pams untimely departure and looked out the window.  The horizon was clearly visible until the ship leaned, a wave loomed up, white spray tore through the air and the horizon disappeared and I thought it might be all over.  Lucky the ship sprang back and leaned the other way, the moon became visible and once again it appeared the ship would roll all the way over and our young lives would be lost forever.

I suffered the terror of the sea alone in a dark cabin before Pam reported back on her encounters during her 2 hour escape from the cabin.  She had gone to the centre seating area and watched a well dressed German woman wandering around a little disorientated. It turns out she was suffering a little dementia and she was looking for the bus stop so she could get to Bergen.  Pam obviously thought this was a very good idea and wouldn’t have surprised me if they’d wandered off together to look for the bus.

Pam enjoyed the next couple of hours chatting to Hurtigruten engineers and reception staff and returned refresh and ready for bed again at 3.30am.

The alarm woke me, we fronted for breakfast after dropping our suitcases near reception for ultimate debarkation at 10.45am when buses were scheduled to take us to the airport.  Got to the airport where 3 staff processed 400 passengers on to the 2 chartered flights.  This was obviously a unique phenomenon for the locals as we had one approach us wanting to know if Taylor swift was making a surprise appearance at Bergen so Trondheim was evacuating for the event.  Soon set her right and boarded with no incident other than Pam sitting next to Maureen.  Pams philosophy with this flight – if the winds are too strong to cruise, are they really too strong to fly??  The answer came quickly when the pilot announced turbulence was forecast, Maureen did a mighty job while I slept the sleep of the dead three rows away. 

No problems with the flight, until we landed, the plane obviously had new brakes fitted in its last service and several hard stops during taxi towards the terminal caused some concern, I think maybe the pilot had some sort of vision impairment and kept stopping at cross intersections because he didn’t see planes coming from either side.  Perhaps a visit to Specsavers may assist with his peripheral vision.

Out of the airport and on to our familiar light rail to our motel, Maureen, Pam and I had a short walk down town to have a look at their lights, returned home, tea, not too many red wines and then bed.  Not sure it will be the same without the constant rocking, maybe it will be better?

The girls get on the Flam Railway at 8am tomorrow, Pam and I have the day in Bergen thenstay at the sirport motel for a flight on Tuesday morning.  No plans for tomorrow for us yet, see if we can get some sleep tonight before we make too many ambitious plans??

bergen Airport light rail station

Central Railway Station Bergen

Some lights around Bergen City Centre, getting a bit of a Christmas feel

Waiting in Bodo

Woke to another dark morning but there was hope on the horizon with broken cloud in the east and snow predicted to the south.  We were hoping to get away early but it appears the Captain has decided to leave as late as possible to avoid as much rough weather as possible so we left Bodo at 11.45am  As predicted we are sneaking behind the islands on the way down so we are hoping to get to Trondheim around lunch time tomorrow.

In the mean time we are tracking south and due to cross back over the Arctic Circle around 4pm.  We didn't do lots today, it was a day of packing, working out who owes who money that we've lavished on each other over the last fortnight.  Pam was the book keeper so it all worked out well because the rest of us had no idea what was going in the high finance department.

We did watch a demonstration of traditional Norwegian Sami cuisine.  Because northern Norway is so cold there are no flies.  In winter also there is little rain, just metres of snow, so basicly it's cold and dry.  These are perfect conditions to dry the cod they catch by the thousands, they are cleaned then hung for 3 to 4 months to dry out, in the process they lose 90% of their body weight.  When they are completely dry they can keep for up to 10 years.  One of the ways they are eaten is - they get a hammer and smash the cod then strip it into pieces up to about 5cm long, it is then eaten as a snack with beer or with a morning coffee, we had a taste, it's not about to catch on in Australia!!!  They can also soak the cod in water for about a week when they regain their weight and texture and can be used in soups, cod cakes or grilled.  Didn't have a taste of this delicacy but my imagination draws some poor conclusions on the final product.

I also think I've found God!! He is one of the ancient ones but his message holds true to this day - Norse mythology cofirms the idea that Norsemen treated alcohol (known as the devine beverage) as a sacred beverage to honour the Gods of Asgadr. Might have to do some honouring myself later this afternoon??!!

Early morning sunrise....at 9.30am

The sun is now over the yardarm and is on it's way down.

A little sunshine on a cold Bodo morning

My kinda God

Dried cod, hammer and stump in the background

Not delicious...not even a little bit

The shipping lanes are getting active again

Bit close for comfort to this island

Our moon tonight

  

Back to Bodo for a wet visit

The weather is still dictating terms, we made it to Bodo at about 2.30am without too much drama and have laid up in the harbour with about 20 other ships (three of them are Hurtigruten cruise ships).  The plan now is to leave at 2.00am tomorrow morning and sneak down the coast using the protection of the many islands along the coast and make it to Trondheim Sunday morning.  The Trondheim to Bergen section has been cancelled because there is almost no protection along that section of the coast so it would be too dangerous to travel.  We have also lost a whole day due to the weather so most people would not make their flights from Bergen to wherever they are travelling to if we continued to sail.

This being the case, Hurtigruten have chartered two planes to ferry us back to Bergen from Trondheim after we arrive at about 11am. 

Of course this may change overnight, we may yet have to fly from Bodo to Bergen??

It was cold, wet and windy in Bodo today but because we are here all day, Hurtigruten have organised a bus to ferry us to the city centre if we wish to go.  Of course we jumped on the bus and walked through town until we came to a large shopping centre, hung around there for an hour or so, started to walk back to the bus and went in to a coffee shop along the way.  I think, because of the inclement weather, we all order a Baileys coffee.  It certainly warmed us up and gave us the courage to go back out on the street, return to the bus and back on the ship.  Had a late lunch (we were the last to leave the dining room), then a little lay down to recuperate so we can front up for dinner.

A special dinner tonight, five courses, I've eaten so much food these last two weeks I won't be insulted if none of you recognise me when I get home!! 

Unique Christmas tree in the shopping centre

Looking for a bargain

Baileys coffee

Street art

Any resemblance to any family members is purely coincidental

Hotels up to the waters edge, bit choppy in the harbour today

The town map we referred to on our return to the bus stop.....