This was the seventh day of the Hurtigruten Coastal Express going North. MS Nordkapp was still in Båtsfjord from the day before. MS Nordkapp would turn around at Kirkenes to head back South to Bergen.
Båtsfjord – arrive midnight
Our day started at Båtsfjord. MS Nordkapp had docked at around midnight.
Vardø – arrive at 3:30 am
Another broken night’s sleep and this was our first call of the day at Vardø.
I checked the ship’s bridge camera at around 5:35 am after being woken by noises up on deck above us.
Vadsø – arrive at 6:55 am
The last port of the Northbound voyage was Vadsø.
As we were waking up before breakfast we noted that our bathroom had sprung a leak!
Out on deck
As we approached Kirkenes we joined the crowd out on deck.
Kirkenes – arrive at 9 am
Kirkenes was the end of the Northbound voyage. We had a few hours in the town to explore before MS Nordkapp set sail to begin the Southbound voyage. Our earlier Coastal Voyage had started here but then we had had no time to explore.
Kirkenes
We followed the crowds as we all made our way into the centre of town.
Reminders of the nearby Russia and its politics.
On our way back we past the WW2 bunker. Kirkenes had been under almost constant bombardment after the Soviet Union joined the war against the Nazis.
Next we passed a monument to the Soviet Red Army who had liberated Kirkenes. Ironically the bushes around were decorated with Ukrainian emblems.
Behind us was a walking tour.
As the images show everywhere was covered in snow.
The South Bound Coastal Voyage
Back onboard MS Nordkapp we headed to the Explorer Lounge and there had coffee and cake to warm ourselves up and most of all to have rest.
Now we had the start of the Southbound Coastal Voyage from Kirkenes. Luckily for us later in the day we had a fabulous display of the Northern Lights to bring a very busy day to an end.
Leave a Reply