Saturday, Sep 7, a Taste of Vesteralen

Just to finish up Friday: After our tour of Hammerfest we continued sailing south. Unfortunately, it is all starting to look the same! We see mountains with glaciers; fairly narrow straits between islands, skerries, and the coast; and fjords. We see fish farms along the coast (this has become a big industry in Norway for salmon, trout, etc.). They are often marked by yellow buoys. We see lots of lighthouses of various styles. The newer ones are just a white cylinder with a light on top.

 

Oksfjord Norway

We had brief stops in Oksfjord and Skjervoy, both typical Norwegian coastal villages (we visited them at night on our journey north) . Many of these towns have tunnels connecting them to the mainland, or other islands. Norway may soon have the distinction of the country with the most tunnels!

On Saturday we docked at the port of Harstad at 8 a.m. We had seen this port on our way north, but did not get off the ship. It is on the island of Hinnoya, Norway’s largest island. We left to board a bus for our tour called “A Taste of Vesteralen.” Our local guide told us there are 24,000 people living here. The main industry is fishing, shipping, and now oil.

Trondenes Church

We drove through a lovely, green residential area to visit Trondenes Church, situated on a hill overlooking the city. The church is a large, squareish, white stone building finished in 1250. The bell tower was removed early on due to fear of damage to the building. Inside the church is quite plain. The walls are several feet thick, so the windows are small and inset. It was built to be imposing! There are still remnants of its original Catholic status in the highly decorated altar pieces and stained glass windows. The church is surrounded by a magnificent cemetery.

 

Virkenes Farm

 Our local guide left us and we went to Virkenes Farm just outside Harstad. The farm was in the family for over 300 years. However, when farming became somewhat impractical, the enterprising family turned it into a tourist attraction. They have converted most of the buildings into dining rooms and it looks like they could serve several hundred people. We were in the building that had formerly been a barn. We sat at long tables and were served a plate with heart shaped waffles, jam, and sour cream.  Afterwards, we looked around at all the antiques, and the lovely grounds. The farmer even built a golf course!

Then we proceeded to drive south and west to catch the ship at the next port, Sortland. It was fun to see a bit of the interior of the country. We saw beautiful high mountains with glaciers and waterfalls. This is also farming country. They specialize in strawberries and potatoes (I can’t say their strawberries are any better than ours, but the potatoes are good). We had a ferry ride across a small fjord and crossed a bridge to get to Sortland, which is also on an island. It was so interesting to see the ship sailing towards us and they timed it so the ship went under the bridge, just as we drove across on the bus.