Overseas Walk: A walk every day with the Norwegian Coastal Express
AHurtigruten ship leaves the port of Bergen, Norway at 9.30 pm every day of the year on a schedule that takes it to 33 ports, arriving at the last of these, Kirkenes on the Barents Sea, after five and a half days of sailing.
It returns to Bergen visiting the same ports, but manages its schedule so that what one misses in the hours of darkness northbound is experienced on the five and a half days going south.
In remarkable contrast with ocean cruising, passengers have the opportunity to walk ashore every day of the trip, with a different experience on every occasion.
Our ship arrived and left each port precisely on time. If walkers stray too far and for too long they will find catching up with the ship very expensive, so it seemed a good idea for us to take hikes with the ship’s “expedition team”. Being last up the gangway was then a lot less stressful!
Ålesund, Day 1
Because we have taken some of the day to cruise the spectacular Hjørundfjord and step ashore at a village, we have reduced time in this small city.
Ålesund was rebuilt on three islands after a devastating fire over 100 years ago, in Art Nouveau style.
Our guide Sondre suggests that in the hour we
Below left: Ålesund is surrounded by sea and islands. Our ship Nordlys is docked below our viewpoint, and will sail soon. have, we would have time to climb a steep series of steps to Aklsa (189m) for a good view of the city, its architecture and its watery surrounds. We are grateful for his offer, and for getting us back to the ship before she sailed!
Trondheim, Day 2
We have nearly four hours, so we make our own way ashore, walk along the banks of the river where old wooden warehouses line the banks as far as the Old Town Bridge, and up to Kristiansten Fortress for a view of the city.
The fortress is over 300 years old, serving its purpose in battles against the marauding Suedes. On the way back, we discover a “bicycle lift” embedded in a steep footpath leading up the hill from the bridge. It is the first and only one of its kind in the world, and would be a useful addition to our cities with hills that limit the use of pedal power.
Bodø Day 3
By the time we have reached Bodø, we have crossed the Arctic Circle. There is heavy cloud and a bit of rain, but Sondre thinks we’ll get an interesting climb, and a reasonable view, from Keiservarden at 366m.
After a short taxi ride, a small group of us walked 1.2km from the road end, past two lakes, and climbed a stairway of big rock slabs to the summit. It’s just clear enough to see back down to Bodø, and
across, through the mist, to the sharp peaks of the Lofoten Islands towards which we are heading in the evening. It’s been an invigorating walk and we feel we have earned dinner, with a beer brewed up here in the Arctic.
Tromsø Day 4
Obscured in the rain as we approach Tromsø is Mt Floya, the destination for today’s scheduled walk.
Despite the weather, Sondre is leading a group up to the 671m summit but although we have dressed appropriately, we decline, and opt for a city stroll instead.
The city centre is on a small island, with a special character and plenty to see, and shelter when the rain intensified. The expedition returns wet and cold. On a good day, the view over the city and mountains beyond is spectacular, but not in the photos anyone took today.
Below left:: A parish church nick-named “Arctic Cathedral” across the strait from Tromsø, seen over the bow of our ship. Here, we attended a midnight concert on the return voyage.
Honningsvåg Day 5
As we tie up to the wharf in Honningsvåg, our objective today is easy to see; there is a steep hill and a massive ridge right behind the town.
Honningsvåg is on the southern coast of Magerøy Island, with road access to North Cape. It also has road access to the south, through a 6.8km undersea tunnel.
With a bit over 3½ hours to explore, Sondre and a group of five cross through the town and climb the bluff with views back to the port, our ship, and the coastline to the south. There are colourful patches of wildflowers and massive rocks decorated with prolific lichens.
At the summit of Storefjell (360m) we see fingers of land pointing to the ocean in all directions. Beyond the high land to the north lies North Cape, the northernmost piece of land in Europe, only 2080km from the North Pole. Nowhere else on earth is walking this close to either of the poles as easy as this! We descend some rough slopes into a valley leading back to the town, in good time to board and get sailing again.
Kirkenes Day 6
It is a mild day with clear blue skies, and we have 3½ hours for a walk near Kirkenes, the turning point of our voyage, and as far east as St Petersburg and Istanbul!
With two guides, Sondre and Haakon, about twenty walkers set off to a rocky plateau overlooking the town, and the fjord we had sailed into that morning.
To the east, a river indicates the border with Russia. We follow paths that wound around small lakes surrounded by birch trees showing early autumn colour, and cross over massive ice-worn granite sheets strewn with boulders left by the last glacier.
Sondre gives us an alternative explanation for these boulders; at night, trolls amuse themselves by throwing them at one another. One of several local stories told as we enjoyed hot drinks and biscuits.
Hammerfest Day 7
Passing in the night sailing north, we did not see this northern outpost of the petrochemical industry.
The sign at the wharf announces that this is the world’s most northerly town. Gas is piped ashore and LNG is shipped worldwide. From the escarpment above the town we can look down on the port and the industrial installations.
We are being led by a local guide Jeana along the Gammelveien, the original road in to Hammerfest. Our hike takes us round the hill behind the town, On the way we encounter two reindeer grazing unconcerned among the rocks. These animals present a problem when they wander into the streets and gardens, and fences have been built to exclude them. Soon we are back at the jetty ready to sail into the sunset.
Stokmarknes Day 8
Hiking ashore today is limited to crossing a wharf and visiting a museum.
In the morning we have sailed between the islands of Westerålen to pause at Stokmarknes on the island of Hadseløya. It was here in 1881 that the founding father of Hurtigruten, Richard With, established his steamship company that led to the first ship on the Norwegian coastal service, Vesterålen, sailing in 1893.
The interesting collection is, we discovered later,
in temporary premises, and will soon be housed in the ship, the original Finmarken, now in dry dock beside the wharf. There will then be opportunity to explore the interior restored in its original style of the 1950s.
Brønnøysund Day 9
Today there is a special destination; a hat-shaped mountain with a hole right through it.
Amazingly, it is easy to walk through the giant passage 160m long and 35m high through the granite from one side of Torghatten to the other.
On the wharf at Brønnøysund, we join a busload of others keen to reach the mountain, climb to the hole and walk through to a view of many small islands and the open sea beyond.
No logical explanation seems plausible so we might as well believe the story of how the troll king threw his hat in the air to stop an arrow from killing a beautiful woman fleeing from a horseman.
Our walk followed the path of the arrow through the hat. The horseman remains set in stone as Hestman Island, on the Arctic Circle, just as the other characters are preserved as mountains along he coast.
Our voyage ends two days later back in Bergen. Yes, we did skip a walk ashore on the last day!
We are most grateful to our guides, who told stories and gave explanations in “lectures” on board. They explained “Friluftsliv”, a specially Norwegian concept of bonding with nature and the need to get out and enjoy it, walking or snowshoeing, whatever the weather.
This ingrained appreciation of the outdoors is set in law by an Outdoor Recreation Act. Thanks also to Hurtigruten and its remarkable service that enabled us to experience Friluftsliv for ourselves.