Crossing the Arctic Circle

On Sunday, Sep. 1 we visited Trondheim. However, since we are coming back to this port, I will tell you about that when we return.

So moving on to Monday, Sep. 2 – about 7:15 a.m. we heard the ship’s horn. (By the way it makes the most wonderful echo when they blow it as we enter the small towns that are surrounded by mountains.) We found later that was when it crossed the Arctic Circle. The night before we were asked to guess what time that would be, write it on a piece of paper, and deposit it in a box. The person with the closest time would be announced the next day. I did that; my husband refused to participate in such inanity!

 

 

 

Suzanne receives her prize w/ship's crew & King Neptune

That afternoon they had a ceremony to mark the crossing. One of the crew dressed up as King Neptune (quite an ugly costume) and welcomed us all to his kingdom at the North Pole. He offered us his protection as we traveled in his waters. Then they announced the winners – I came in second! What a shock! The prize was being baptized with an ice cube down my back, a lovely book (in German, I had to exchange it), and a taste of cloud berry wine. It was a lot of fun – but Don was also right, rather inane.

On Tuesday, Sep. 3, we had a short walk in Finnsnes. It is always nice to get off the ship and walk in the refreshing sea air. However, we never seem to have much time to look around. The small towns are so neat and clean. I have to wonder if it is the climate or the culture or both. In so many other countries the port area is rather depressing. Here the houses are brightly painted in red, blue, yellow, etc. Even the roofs are brightly colored. They are made of tile, metal, ceramic, etc. Most homes are rather square with wood siding (some vertical siding, some horizontal). The sidewalks are often cobblestone and difficult to walk on – but not dirty! There does seem to be a lot of rain, which probably helps. We often stop to look at a statue of some sort. In Finnsnes we saw the statue of the Viking, Ottar, who claimed to have gone the furthest north of any Norseman. In Alesund we saw the statue called "Dog Watch" - which was a sailor who had the "dog watch" - the last watch of the night.

Ottar, the Viking

The Dog Watch

I will tell you about Tromso in my next post.