“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 14, 15, & 16

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, Friday, February 4th, 2022 & Saturday, February 5th, 2022

Today we slept in because we weren’t going to Lerwick, Shetland Islands. The nasty weather that hit the east coast of the United States was now coming across the ocean.

Water falls from the melting of the snow!

We went to the front of the ship to read and also walked around the ship. When we look out the windows we can only see water and fog, no more beautiful mountains.

Late afternoon the ship began crossing the North Sea and heading toward London. The wind was blowing about 31 mph and the ship was swaying a little bit. We enjoyed visiting different places so we were rather bored with sailing today and then tomorrow too!

We also were given instructions for filling out the Passenger Locator Form for our arrival in Tilbury (London). We also would gain one hour, from six hours ahead to five hours ahead!

This evening was the farewell celebration even though we have one more day of sailing. They felt that if they did it tomorrow night people would be busy packing and wouldn’t attend the celebration. The captain spoke and champagne was served and refills were given! Tonight’s entertainment was “Stage & Screen- A Viking Venus Variety Show”.

Day 15, Friday, February 4th

This morning was our last time to do a saliva COVID test, health survey and temperature check! From this test, we would be given our results on an official paper so that we could enter England and fly home tomorrow!

Today was another day at sea heading toward England. Sunrise was at 7:51 AM and sunset was 4:37 PM. It was our longest day so far.

This afternoon Mr. Terence Murtagh, a guest lecturer on this cruise, gave a talk entitled, “Your Aurora, Your Experience”. He shared some of his photos and time-lapse photography of the Aurora Borealis that occurred during our cruise. He also shared some of the passenger photos that were sent to him. It was fun as he discussed the techniques of the photography and reviewed what causes the northern lights. He also shared a great site for those interested in aurora alerts, you can submit photos, and up to date information on the science related to the sun. It was spaceweather.com

Katie Healy, our cruise director, entertained us tonight with a variety of swing songs.

Day 16, Saturday, February 5th

We docked in Tilbury (London), England around 4:30 AM. For our disembarkation from the Viking Venus we were to meet in the atrium at 6:30 AM. When our color tag was called we disembarked from the ship and boarded our bus for Heathrow Airport. The sky was beautiful as we rode along.

As we checked in our luggage at Heathrow airport, the agent from United asked us if we wanted to fly on an earlier flight to Chicago. Our original itinerary had us flying from Heathrow to Washington, DC, then from there to Chicago, and then Chicago to Columbus. This change would eliminate one flight and get us in to Columbus about an hour earlier. We were happy to change our flights. The flight from London to Chicago left about two hours earlier! We had time to get through security and get to our gate and then it was time to board!

Snow was on the ground again as our flight got close to Chicago.

We arrived in Chicago on time. We went to Global Entry, claimed our luggage and went through security again to get to the gate for our flight to Columbus. We had time to catch a late lunch before boarding our last plane!

Our time in Norway was marvelous. Every port we visited we learned more about Norway and its people, customs, traditions, and history. And our highlight was seeing the Aurora Borealis! It was another memorable adventure!

We can’t wait for our next adventure!

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 12 & 13

Tuesday, February 1st, 2022 and Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022

The sun was rising, 9:10 AM as we headed to Bodø!

It was beautiful scenery as we sailed this morning.

Today we were to dock in Bodø, Norway around noon. Unfortunately the captain decided the wind gusts at the pier were 20-30 mph and it wasn’t safe to dock! We could see the town but didn’t get to visit.

The town of Bodø and its surrounding fjord.

So the ship turned around and we headed south and we were at sea the rest of the day. The captain said they were looking for another port for tomorrow. We will be refunded for our excursions from Bodø. So the rest of the day we walked around the ship, enjoyed the views, and did a lot of reading!

The fjords were majestic and covered with snow. The day was a little longer. Sunset was at 3:22 PM.

This evening the Viking Singers did a show called “The Beatles Songbook”. It was fun to hear many of the Beatles’ hits. We also found out that the Excursion desk did find a port for tomorrow. We would be visiting Trondheim, Norway. The only excursion would be a tour of the town.

Day 13, Wednesday, February 2nd, we docked in Trondheim around 8:30 AM. Sunrise this morning was at 8:51 AM.

Since the ship anchored in the harbor we were tendered into Trondheim for our tour. This port replaces Bodø which we couldn’t dock at yesterday.

We were on the first tender to Trondheim. This was also the first time the Viking Venus had been to this city. Trondheim was located in the Trondheim fjord and at the mouth of the River Nidelva.

On our tour we stopped for a photo-op that looked over the city.

The population of Trondheim was 210,000. It was the 3rd largest municipality in Norway and the 4th largest urban area. The Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) with 40,000 students was located in Trondheim.

The Old Town Bridge (Gamie Bybro) crossed over the Nidelva River and was originally constructed of wood and supported on three stone piers and was reconstructed in 1861. The bridge, Gamie Bybro, was also known as the Gate of Happiness!

We passed by the Royal Residence. It was the largest wooden palace in Scandinavia and was built during 1774-1778 by the widow and privy counsellor Cecilie Christine Schøller. Today it served as the official royal residence of Trondheim.

The oldest wharves along the River Nidelva dated back to the 18th century.

The island of Munkholmen was near our ship. It was originally named Nidarholm. It had many uses. During the Viking Age this island was where public executions here held, then it was a Benedictine monastery. Later it was reconstructed as a fort and then used as a prison. During WWII it was again used as a fort by the Germans. Today it’s a popular tourist attraction and recreation place for the residents of Trondheim.

Out last stop was the Nidaros Cathedral. The church was built over the grave of St. Olav, Norway’s patron saint. Most of the cathedral was in a Gothic style and was completed about 1300. In 1869 there was extensive renovations. Then a century later it was restored to its original state. The stained glass dated from the early 1900s.

Because Trondheim is a university town we saw their student society (Studentersamfundet). It was owned and run by its members, almost 9,000 students. It was their hub. Our guide told us their were plans to expand the student center.

Some sights as we toured Trondheim!

After our tour we read in the Explorer’s Lounge and our ship departed Trondheim around 4:00 PM.

The captain came on and said the weather was bad in the Shetland Islands which was our next port. Tomorrow instead of visiting Lerwick, Shetland Islands we will sail southerly along the Inside Passage of Norway. This evening’s entertainment was another show by Harry the Piano!

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 11

Monday, January 31st, 2022

Since we got in early this morning it was difficult to get up and do our COVID test and get ready for our four and a half hour “Sommarøy Island Sojourn” excursion.

The sun was above the horizon today! This was a big deal for the residents of Tromsø who hadn’t seen the sun for several months. Our guide and bus driver were very excited.

On our way as we cross over the Tromsø Bridge.

It was a beautiful day for our drive. A white-tailed eagle flew by our bus! It was cool to see its majestic wing span. The mountains were snow-covered and sparkling from the sun!

Sommarøy was an old fishing village and it was known for its white sandy beaches but for us the beaches were also white but snow covered. The village had about 300 residents. This fishing village’s main produce was herring and was processed and packed in a state of the art processing plant where it was frozen for global export.

At the local hotel tea and waffles were served.

On our drive back from the island we went a different route and saw the Hâja which was the highest of the islands and rose 1,594 feet out of the water. It had the same shape as the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø.

Looks like the shape of the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø.

We came across a herd of reindeer and some of the native Sami people make their living from reindeer.

There were beautiful views along our ride back to the ship.

This evening the show was “Harry the Piano”. He was quite a performer and very enjoyable. He also took requests from the audience and would play a song in any style.

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 10

Sunday, January 30th, 2022

Overnight we sailed toward Tromsø and docked before 8:00 AM.

Looking out over Balsfjorden, a fjord that is over 35 miles in length.

Tromsø has been called the “Paris of the North”! This is because of its lively atmosphere, varied nightlife, cultural activities, and restaurants abound. It is also the largest city within the Arctic Circle and is also considered to be another great location to view the Northern Lights.

This morning we had an included tour of Tromsø.

Our first stop was the planetarium on the Tromsø campus of the Arctic University of Norway and it was the first Norwegian planetarium open to the public. We went in and watched in the dome a movie from a photographer’s clips from his trips to watch and photograph the Northern Lights.

We passed by the Arctic Cathedral which was a Norway parish church and not actually a cathedral. Its construction was from concrete and metal.

The city also had an underground road system called the Tromsøysund Tunnel. It was an undersea highway tunnel and even had a roundabout! This road system connected the island of Tromsøya with the main suburb of Tromsdalen. Our bus driver took us in the tunnel and through the roundabout several times! The residents of the area have two ways to cross the water: the bridge and the tunnel.

Up a hill we stopped at a school where we had a great view of the town and surrounding area!

Even though it was dark, it was just a little after 3:00 PM, when we took a shuttle into Tromsø. There was snow all around but the sidewalks were perfectly dry and clear and that was because the sidewalks were heated.

In town we were able to visit two stores. The ship wanted to keep us in a bubble so the shops were closed to everyone except Viking passengers. We were given about 45 minutes to look around.

As we left the ship we saw a masked snowman created by some of the Viking Venus crew. There were many members of the crew that had never experienced snow!

This evening we went on an excursion called “Chasing the Northern Lights”. At first the aurora borealis was faint but given time it danced across the sky and put on a show for us. We were lucky to see them three nights in a row! We got back to the ship very early the next morning.

Watch the three videos below to see how the Northern Lights danced, changed and filled the night sky!

Northern Lights Movie 1

https://videopress.com/v/V1FSt8ZK?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Northern Lights Movie 2

https://videopress.com/v/DjE2KsD3?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Northern Lights Movie 3

Below are some of our favorite pictures from tonight’s views of the aurora borealis!

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 9

Saturday, January 29th, 2022

It is much colder today with a high of only 5˚ and sunrise was at 9:27 AM and sunset at 1:53 PM. This morning we went on an excursion called “Northern Norway during WWII”. We traveled to the Tirpitz Museum in Kåfjord.

The museum was a timber building from 1880 and was built in Lillehammer and then it was taken down and moved to Kåfjord in 1945 to help rebuild the war-ravaged area. When it was rebuilt, it first served as the first nursing home and stayed as one until 1961 when a new nursing home was built.

Nearby Altafjord was the largest German naval base outside of Germany. After the sinking of the Tirpitz and the Germans were losing the area, they destroyed Alta. It was part of the German Nazi’s “scorched-earth” policy when they retreated.

The Tirpitz was a huge Nazi warship. This battleship was the heaviest battleship and weighed 2,000 tons more than the Nazi Bismarck. It weighed 42,900 tons or 52,500 tons when it was fully loaded. It was the heaviest ship built by a European Navy at that time. In 1942 she sailed into Norway to be a deterrent against an Allied Invasion. Also she was to intercept Allied Convoys to the Soviet Union.

In September 1943, while anchored in Kåfjord/Altafjord, she was attacked by British midget submarines and put out of action for the first time. There was quite a Norwegian resistance against Hitler and the Germans so they helped to inform the British of Tirpitz’s location! On the other side of the hill with the thigh-high snow is where the Tirpitz tried to hide.

Over the hill is where the Tirpitz was anchored.

The war museum was filled with many relics from the war and had the largest collection of photos and artifacts from the Tirpitz. Below were a few of them that from the museum.

We also visited the Kåfjord Church nearby. It was the oldest standing church in Alta. The Rallar family statue in front of the church was a symbol of the poor families that lived and worked in the copper mines in Kåfjord in the 1800s. Cooper mining was popular in this area after it was discovered.

The beautiful Altafjord as we head back to the ship

The picture below shows what they call “Arctic Smoke” and it was caused by the water temperature being warmer than the outside air and it was really cold today.

The sun was shining on Alta’s two ski jumps as we headed for our afternoon snowmobile adventure. They look very intimidating!

This afternoon we traveled by bus to the Igloo Hotel in Sorrisniva where we geared up for our snowmobile adventure. They had all the clothing, boots, and helmets that we needed to be comfortable during our ride. Before we got on our snowmobile we had a thorough safety instruction from our guide.

Dave was an excellent snowmobile driver! Our ride followed along the Sorrisniva River. About halfway through our ride we stopped and enjoyed the views and if you wanted it was an opportunity to switch drivers. We did not.

Upon returning to the snowmobile hut and getting out of our helmets, boots, etc… we visited the Igloo Hotel. It was first built in 2000 and was Norway’s first ice hotel.

Since then the ice hotel was rebuilt in late December and lasts through the beginning of April. Local craftsmen built the igloo hotel and inside it had amazing ice sculptures, an ice bar and an ice chapel. The hotel was the world’s northernmost ice hotel! We were given an explanation about the building of the igloo hotel by one of the craftsmen who had been a part of it for over ten years. He also poured us our shot of Aquavit in an ice shot glass at the ice bar! It was very cool to roam through the igloo hotel. No guests were in their rooms so we were able to walk throughout the hotel.

After dinner we checked the temperature at 9:00 PM to see how cold it was outside.

Tonight’s entertainment on the ship was an evening with our assistant cruise director. His show was called “Scott Nichol- Caledonia”. He sang some of his favorite tunes and also discussed more about his background.

After the show we went back to our stateroom and bundled up because it was very cold and windy out on deck. It was worth it because we were able to watch the northern lights for a second night in a row! We were still awestruck watching them!

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 8

Friday, January 28th, 2022

Of course today started with our 2 ml. of saliva in our test tube for our COVID test, our health survey and our temperature check.

When we looked outside the ship decks had drifts from the snow and wind as we traveled to Alta, Norway. Around 11:00 AM we docked in Alta.

The ship sailing in the Altafjord, 23 miles long, had beautiful views.

Being this far north, the sunrise was at 9:33 AM and sunset at 12:47 PM. It was 23˚ when we arrived in Alta. It was windy too so it felt colder than the temperature indicated.

After lunch we had a three hour excursion that was a tour of Alta which has about 2,000 inhabitants. An interesting fact they shared was that Alta is on the same longitude as Athens, Greece!

Our first stop was the Northern Lights Cathedral. We listened to the Cathedral guide give us a brief history and explanation about the building itself. It was a parish church of the Church of Norway and was located near the center of town. If you walk down Alta’s main shopping street you will run into the cathedral. The church was built in 2013 and seats 350 people and it is made of concrete and wood. The exterior was made of titanium in a circular shape.

Inside was an impressive organ and a bronze statue of Christ that is a little over 14 feet.

The Cathedral’s lower level had an exhibit about the aurora borealis and it included a ten minute video that was a compilation of Northern lights viewings. It was beautiful!

A statue of Kristian Birkeland (1867-1917) was located outside of the cathedral. He was a Norwegian scientist who first tied the northern lights with electromagnetic storms from the sun. One is currently heading our way and we hope to see the northern lights this evening!

The Alta Museum and World Heritage Rock Art Centre was another of our stops.

It would be best to visit this museum in the summer. It’s known for its thousands of rock carvings. These carvings are from a settlement dating from 4200 to 500 B.C. It’s also an UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately for us, all of the carvings (petroglyphs) are covered by several feet of snow!

Instead of looking at them outside we went through the exhibit, Traces in Stone, explaining the carvings. This exhibit did have some loose rock carvings that gave us an idea of what was outside!

These rock carvings are between 4,000-5,000 years old.

The stone below was named after the popular fictional children’s book character Pippi Longstocking who was known for her pigtails! In 1950, this stone was discovered in a potato field about 12 1/2 northwest of Alta.

The museum had an exhibit called “Natural Born Killers- Predators in Norway”. It showed the thirteen species of natural predators, from the smallest, a snow mouse to the largest, the polar bear. The exhibit talked about the lives of these animals and their role today in Norway. The exhibit had each predator represented by a taxidermist version of the animal.

A temporary exhibition was of Sami (native Norwegians) clothing and traditions and crafts. Jorunn Løkvold spent three years researching the use of mica which in the Sami language is called “fox gold”. The clothes were beautifully decorated.

A permanent exhibition about Bjorn Wirkola, one of the world’s best ski jumpers, and he was from Alta. The exhibit included his medals, awards, skis, boots, etc… It was quite a tribute to him.

The museum had a cafe where we enjoyed a mug of hot chocolate and the views out the back.

At 8:30 PM we left full of excitement because we were heading out in search of the Northern Lights! It was an hour drive out of town to our stopping spot. The roads were narrow and steep!

When we got off the bus at 9:30 PM the aurora borealis was dancing in the sky. The night sky was full of stars and “dancing lights”! We were in awe and for awhile we just enjoyed the spectacular show. We had until 11:30 to view the lights. We were back on the ship after 12:30 AM.

The Aurora Borealis

Seeing the Northern Lights was definitely a highlight of our trip! It was a “bucket list” item that we were lucky enough to check off and also experience a new country, Norway!

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 7

Thursday, January 27th, 2022

It was still really dark as we came into Narvik and the time was close to 8:00 AM!

The ship docked in Narvik at 8:30 AM.

We had a tour that began at 9:30 this morning. It was a city tour that was included. Narvik had snow overnight and earlier in the week they had rain so under the snow was ice.

We saw a wreckage of a WWII German ship, one of the many ships sunk during the war. Narvik was occupied by the Germans because of its resources, especially the iron ore that came from Sweden and was shipped from Narwik because of its proximity to the sea.

Iron Ore from Sweden and then loaded onto ships for exporting.

There also was a German concentration camp about 10 miles outside of town call Beisfjord Camp. This camp held mainly Serb prisoners of war and later Soviet POWs. The atrocities that the Germans carried out at this camp were horrific as happened throughout all of the camps. (Look it up if you’d like to know more but I caution you it will turn your stomach.)

A stop was also made at the Ankenes Church. The church was built in an octagonal style in 1842 and seats approximately 380 people. This was the third version of the church on this site. It was damaged in 1940 due to fighting during WWII and it was repaired in 1947.

The view from the church overlooking the fjord was beautiful!

The sun reflecting on the snow covered mountains.

Below are more pictures of the mountains and the marina as we toured Narvik!

Our last stop on our city tour was at the Narvik War Museum which was all about Narvik and WWII.

The triangular shaped monument in the town center was called Trinigon 3. It was Narvik’s National Freedom Monument. It represents peace and freedom and was a gift from the Norwegian government to mark the 50th anniversary of their liberation in 1945. The monument was made of polished steel and stands 59 feet tall.

This is as high as the sun will get. Our guide was excited to see so much daylight. The northern areas of Norway are just ending what they call the “dark period” which began in November and the sun doesn’t come over the horizon. The sun comes back in the middle of February and the people celebrate!

We were back on the ship with just enough time to eat a banana and dress warmly for our trip to the Polar Park. Daylight only lasted until 2:30 PM. Our last hour at the park it was getting pretty dark! The Polar Park is the world’s most northern animal park.

The park was home to bears, moose, lynx, muskox, red deer, reindeer, wolves, a wolverine, and arctic foxes. The park’s animals had a lot of space within each of their enclosures. It was one of the animal parks in the world with the most area per animal. The park covers about 270 acres. We walked almost three miles to see these Arctic animals.

When we arrived at the park our bus had ice cleats for us to put over our boots because of the icy areas!

After our introduction and a little about the park we headed uphill and across the river to our first stop.

Stop number one was to see the Lynx and the park has four adults. The lynx were playful and can be found in this area.

The moose were eating and just hanging around! The park has 3 moose, 2 females and one male.

The Arctic foxes coats were not white! Their coat didn’t change color and our guide thought is was because the winter up to now had been on the milder side.

The wolves in the park have two separate enclosures because there are two different packs with a total of seven wolves. Our guide made wolf vocalizations trying to get the wolves to answer but they were not interested!

The wolverine was hard to photograph. He kept running around and most of the time he was at the far end of his enclosure and you couldn’t see him. Bor, his name, was born in 2018 and he came to the park in 2019.

Our guide trying to get him closer to us.

The bears were hibernating but when the warm spell came it woke them up and so the park is not feeding them because they want them to go back in their den and sleep until spring.

By the time we got to the path that leads to the Muskox it was getting pretty dark! The path was really icy and not all of us went to see them but those of us that did carefully slid toward their enclosure.

The Polar Park also had four red deer and it is one of the largest deer species. Their coat is a rusty red in the summer and brown in the winter.

The pictures are not very good but we did try to capture them. Muskoxen have such expressive faces with their horns.

After looking at the muskox we went back to the lodge. It was too dark to see the reindeer but we do have them at our wonderful zoo in Columbus.

At the lodge they served waffles and drinks. Since waffles have gluten I was served a wonderful dessert.

We returned from the Polar Park at 5:45 PM and the ship departed Narvik at 6:20 PM.

This evening’s entertainment was an “Evening with Katie Healy”. She was a singer and also the cruise director. We enjoyed her show and getting to know her background.

This evening and overnight we sailed toward Alta, Norway.

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 5 & Day 6

Tuesday, January 25th, 2022 and Wednesday, January 26th, 2022

We are combining two days because Wednesday is a day at sea. It just made sense to combine them!

We were up early just so we could do today’s saliva COVID test because we had a tour this morning, “A Snapshot of Bergen”. This was an included excursion.

Our first stop was The Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene. It was one of the best preserved buildings in Bergen. It was the 16th century office and home of an affluent German merchant. It was located next to St. Mary’s Church. The museum consists of 3 assembly rooms and a kitchen. The first rooms we visited were assembly halls for the Hanseatic merchants. The Hanseatic League lived here from 1350 to 1750. These merchants traded stockfish and grains.

The Schøtstuene was where all the cooking of food took place. Due to the danger of fire it was placed separately behind the other office buildings. In winter hot meals were served here.

After the museum we walked through Bryggen. It was nice walking around this area again because it wasn’t raining!

The walk along the harbor was enjoyable today.

We stopped at the Fantoft Stavkicke (Fantoft Stave Church). It was originally built in 1150 in Fortun and was moved to Fantoft in 1883. It burned down in 1992. It was rebuilt to resemble the original structure.

The Fløibanen which takes you to the top of Mt. Floyen was closed for remodeling, so we didn’t get to ride it to the top which would have been great because this morning was the best weather and the sky was clear!

The clearing in the mountain where the Fløibanen is located.

After our morning tour we were back on the ship and immediately ate lunch because the ship was going to set sail at 1:30 PM and we wanted to be out on the deck as we left Bergen. As we were heading out on deck the captain made an announcement that our departure would be delayed about 45 minutes. So we went back to our cabin and out on our veranda we saw passengers disembarking with their luggage! We had heard approximately 18 people had a positive COVID result and had to quarantine in Bergen. What a shame to travel here and be excited for your cruise and not be able to go. (Travel insurance is certainly a necessity during this pandemic so you are protected.)

Of course it was raining by the time we set sail. We still went out on deck and walked forward and aft.

After the ship had sailed and we were pretty wet, we found a spot in the Explorer’s Lounge to continue to watch as sailed out of the bay. The Explorer’s Lounge is at the front of the ship and had all glass windows! Once we got closer to the open North Sea, the wind picked up considerably.

This evening was the captain’s toast and an introduction to his senior officers. Our captain was Norwegian and had a great sense of humor. He shared that there were 417 guests on board and 451 crew representing 47 different countries. The crew members outnumbered the guests!

Wednesday was a day at sea so we did not have to be up early. We did need to do our COVID test before 9:00 AM so the room steward can collect them and get them to the medical lab on board.

We attended three lectures that were offered today. The first lecture was with Dr. Kathy Stearne. She discussed the Northern Lights and if science can explain the “geomagnetic storms or if the gods are just over the horizon”.

At 2:00 PM we participated in the celebration for crossing the Arctic Circle, the “Blue Nose Ceremony”! In Antarctica we did the polar plunge where you actually jumped into the water off the ship but for this Viking Cruise they turned their hot tub into a freezing cold “sea” of water. We watched them dump load after load of ice into the water. Guests were invited to jump into the icy water and then they were given a “blue nose’ and a shot of aquavit which is the national spirit of Scandinavia. After our “polar plunge” we went back to our cabin and took a hot shower.

The next lecture was with Mr. Terence Murtagh. He spoke about the science related to the aurora borealis and also how to capture them with a camera. He gave suggestions for settings of a digital camera set on manual.

After his talk we participated in the daily afternoon tea. We each had a our own selection of tea in our own teapot and a selection of tea sandwiches and desserts!

After tea we enjoyed the views from our veranda as we sailed toward Narvik, Norway. One of the bridges the ship sailed under was very close. There was approximately three feet between the top of the ship and the bridge.

The last lecture we attended today was with Michael Scott and his topic was about discovering wildlife and the natural landscapes we might see during our cruise. He mainly showed pictures he had taken from his previous travels along Norway’s coast.

This evening we enjoyed a musical show with the four Viking singers recalling sounds of the 1960s. They sang many different songs that were popular during this decade.

The Viking Band playing with a COVID information sign behind them.

After the show we bundled up and went out on the top deck to check out the night sky for any activity. It was cloudy and no stars.

Tomorrow morning we will arrive at Narvik.

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 4

Monday, January 24th, 2022

This morning we were up early to fill our test vials with saliva for our COVID test to make sure we are negative otherwise we would not be boarding our ship, the Viking Venus! Little did we know that we would be doing the saliva COVID test every morning for the rest of our trip! Viking also had us wear a contact tracer our entire trip.

Guess what, it’s raining this morning and the forecast said it will continue throughout the day. We are to check out of our hotel today at 12:45 PM and head to the ship. There was a delay at the hotel so we sat in the lobby with the other Viking guests for close to an hour! Finally we boarded a bus for the port which is within walking distance! The passengers on the bus were limited to 25 so we were happy that they didn’t load it to full capacity!

The rain has stopped as we head to the ship and there is some blue sky!

The process for boarding the ship included Border control where our passports were checked and stamped and then we moved on to the Viking counter for a temperature check and a health survey. Besides a saliva COVID test required daily, we also had to complete a health survey and do a temperature check! It was to become a morning routine: COVID test, health survey, and temperature check! This did not bother us because it really made us feel secure knowing Viking was doing their best to keep all of us safe and healthy!

Once on the ship we went to our cabin and met Paul who showed us all of the features of our cabin. We immediately went to the Explorers Cafe for lunch because the lunch in our room had nothing Gluten Free. There was a tray of wrapped sandwiches and desserts in the cabin. This was because you had to stay in your room until given the all clear from your COVID tests.

Temperature Check on the left and hand washing station on the right.

After lunch we went back to our cabin to unpack because our luggage had arrived. When we were given the OK we left to explore the Viking Venus, our “home” for the next 12 days!

The Viking Venus was built in 2021 and is classified as a small ship with a maximum of 930 guests. This cruise was less than half full.

We found a bar at the front of the ship, the Explorer’s Lounge, and enjoyed a glass of wine.

After dinner we went to the theater onboard to watch the movie Respect that starred Jennifer Hudson and was about the life of Aretha Franklin. We learned a lot about her life that we didn’t know. Popcorn was available. There were only about 7 of us in the theater! As we walked back to our cabin we noticed the ship was like a ghost town! We put on our coats and went out on deck to look back at the town of Bergen.

Then it was time to get some rest because we have an official tour of Bergen first thing in the morning and we have to allow time to take our COVID tests, do our quick health survey, and get our temperature check done before breakfast!

“In Search of the Northern Lights” with Viking Cruises Day 3

Sunday, January 23rd, 2022

This morning we were up early to go to a hotel conference room to take our COVID test so that we fulfilled Norway’s entrance requirement. Our tests were negative so we went out exploring more of Bergen and it was another rainy day! The sun rose at 9:14 AM and set at 4:29 PM.

Our first stop on our walk was the Bryggens Museum. The museum displays findings of Bryggen (Bryggen is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings. Hanseatic League was an organization founded by German merchants to protect their mutual trading interests.) from a 1955 archaeological excavation. The museum has foundations of the oldest buildings in Bergen. The exhibit “Under Ground” uses 1000s of artifacts and modern historical and archaeological items to learn about the medieval people of Bergen and Western Norway. A new exhibit displays a Guddal (a village in Norway) garment that is nearly 1000 years old!

After the museum we walked over to the Rosenkrantz Tower. It is an important renaissance monument in Norway. The tower was the residence of King Eirik Magnusson. He was the last king to hold court in Bergen until he died in 1299. It is located in the Bergenhus Fortress. We walked all around the grounds. We walked by the Haakon’s Hall. It is a medieval stone hall. During medieval times it was the largest building of the royal palace.

After walking around the fort area, we went along the wharf.

For lunch we stopped at Holy Cow. They offer a gluten free Brioche bun for their burgers and that sounded good to try. When you go into any restaurant in Bergen you are asked to put your name and cell number for contact tracing. Masks were also required unless you were actively eating or drinking.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to dry off before venturing out again. This time we went the other direction in Bergen. It was uphill to St. John’s Church. It was of the Gothic style located in the Sydnes area of Bergen. St. John’s is one of the five churches for the Bergen Cathedral Parish. This church was built between 1891 and 1894. It is the largest church in Bergen and seats 1250. We walked around the neighborhood and then over by the National Theater.

It was dark by the time we got to The National Theater. It houses three stages/venues. It was founded to develop Norwegian playwrights. It wasn’t open or we would have checked out the inside. It was a beautiful building and first opened in 1850.

The Bergens Tidende building is on Torgallmenningen square, the main square of Bergen as we are heading back to our hotel. Bergens Tidende is Norway’s fifth-largest newspaper.

Since our luggage had to be set outside our hotel room by 9:00 PM we needed to be back in our room in time because Viking would be transporting it to the ship tomorrow!

Category: In Search of the Northern Lights

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