In April 2015 we flew from Heathrow to Oslo where we spent a couple of days before joining MS Finnmarken in Kirkeness. MS Finnmarken then visited 32 ports in a six day voyage from Kirkenes South to Bergen on Hurtigruten’s Coastal Voyage. On the first two days on-board we travelled from Kirkenes to Tromso.
Day 1 – April 14th 2015
We caught an early morning internal flight from Oslo to Kirkenes to meet the ship. It was overcast cold and there was a lot of snow on the hillsides.
We were taken by coach to the dock.
Here’s our first view of MS Finnmarken.
We had passed through Kirkenes and the supermarkets all decked out with Cyrillic signage. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit any of these or to take pictures of the roadsigns pointing to places across the border in Russia. Kirkenes was destroyed except for 13 houses when the Red Army invaded in the Second World War. The region of Finnmark was subjected to massive destruction as the German Army retreated with its infrastructure and most of the houses destroyed. Here’s the view as we left Kirkenes.
After arriving on-board we soon left Kirkenes and set off for our next port – Vardo.
Here’s my video of entering the harbour at Vardo.
Vardo is Norway’s easternmost town and is situated on the island of Vardoya. We had an hour in Vardo and we found the supermarket close by the dock to stock with essential supplies and to take pictures of street art decorating some of the warehouses by the dock.
More of Vardo’s urban art can be seen on my Pinterest board here. After leaving Vardo we had a lecture on “The Life in the sea” which was fascinating. Dinner was at 19:00 and the main course was reindeer from the local Sami tribes in Finnmark. And the desert course of blueberry pavlova was delicious. I had to take a break from dinner as we entered Batsfjord.
I waited in the lounge for the next port of Berlevag.
And left the ship for a few minutes to watch the loading and unloading of cargo.
Summary of Day 1 – April 14th 2015
| Port | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|
| Kirkenes | 12:30 | |
| Vardo | 15:45 | 16:45 |
| Batsfjord | 19:45 | 20:15 |
| Berlevag | 22:00 | 22:15 |
Day 2 – April 15th 2015
I missed the next ports of Mehamn and Kjollfjord but had set my alarm for Honningsvag.
And here’s just some of the cargo being loaded.
View across to Honningsvag.
Each day the white board at the side of the Information Desk was updated. Here’s the board for our Day 2
Hurtigruten’s ship are following the same route each day and as we voyage South we pass ships going the other way.
And here’s MS Vesteralen.
We now had time to take in the scenery as we sailed towards Hammerfest. We were treated to a practice search and rescue operation with a helicopter hovering just above the ship’s aft deck.
Our next port was Hammerfest which is the world’s most northerly town. Here’s a view of the ship at the dock.
And of the hills behind Hammerfest.
Next to the port is the Royal and Ancient Polar bear Society where you can see Artic animals, such as the polar bear, and lots of photographs. Not very ancient but well worth the (free) visit.
Here’s a short video to give a view of the scenery that we were passing by after leaving Hammerfest.
The next stop was Oksfjord and this picture was as we began to draw near the port
This is Oksfjord
We then crossed Lopphavet which is an open stretch of sea for about 2 hours.
Entering Skjervoy.
Here is Skjervoy.
After Skjervoy we passed by Havnnes and circled by the trading post with blasts on the ship’s siren as we were greeted by folks on the dock and on the two docked boats. It is an old trading post situated on the southern tip of Uløya and is Norway’s northernmost preserved trading post that is still in operation. Most houses here are protected and unlike the rest of the houses around was not burned during the German Armies’ retreat in 1944. Most of the houses today are preserved by law.
Dinner was again at 19:00 with a main course of poached salmon from Skjervey followed by “Marthe Knipe” which is a classic Norwegian farm dessert.
MS Richard With passed us by and as it was after dark my picture had to be shot with a very high ISO of 16,000.
It was late when we entered Tromso.
Here’s a view of the dock at Tromso. We didn’t get off the ship but do note the all the folks outside the bar opposite the dock.
Summary of Day 2 – April 15th 2015
| Port | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|
| Mehamn | 00:45 | 01:00 |
| Kjollefjord | 02:45 | 03:00 |
| Honningsvag | 05:30 | 05:45 |
| MV Vesteralen | circa 08:30 | |
| Havoysund | 07:45 | 08:00 |
| Hammerfest | 10:45 | 11:45 |
| Oksfjord | 14:30 | 11:45 |
| Skjervoy | 18:00 | 18:30 |
| Havnnes | circa 20:15 | |
| MV Richard With | circa 21:15 | |
| Tromso | 23:45 |