The adventure on Hurtigruten's Polarlys begins

Finally, the day was here...the one I had dreamed about for almost two years.  Yes, two years.  In the depths of covid while they were putting signs outside my hometown to stay out unless it was necessary as we were plague central Laurie was planning a trip.  Surely by 2022 covid would be a thing of the past?  I didn't tell a soul, I just planned. 

Hurtigruten is a ferry service that has ships sailing up the coast of Norway seven days a week delivering passengers and goods to communities along the coast all the way up to Kirknes and back again. The company was founded in 1893 by the government to provide access to coastal communities.  Since then as a private company, it has expanded its coastal route further north and with expeditions to such places as the Arctic and Antarctica.  It was a forgotten dream I had about thirty years ago and then one day I read about it on a Women's Solo Travel site I follow on Facebook.  Yes!  This would be the perfect way to celebrate my seventieth trip around the sun.  I decided to go for it and book the return journey which is known as BKB.  The ship stops at different ports on the way back and you do see the same towns but at a different time of day.  It is a ferry service so no casinos, shows or lounges. I didn't miss any of that at all.  I got a cabin and three meals a day.  The food was wonderful. There were expensive optional excursions however I decided to wait until I was on board until I booked which of course I was grateful for later.   Every day there were presentations on what we were going to see.  I had to miss a few of those too. 

There she is!  I became very fond of this ship as the days rolled by.  The Polarlys (Norwegian for Polar Light)  was built in 1996 and refurbished in 2016. It has 7 decks, 225 cabins, 64 crew and can hold up to 619 passengers. 

I picked an inside berth.  I've been on two cruises previously (Caribbean and Alaska) with the inside berth and it never bothered me.   This turned into a bed that was pretty comfortable. 

I couldn't switch this into a bed by myself  - it was just too difficult for me to pull it down. What a wimp!! So I went up to guest relations and a nice young man came back with me and pulled it down. (being a wimp has its benefits)  I left it like this as I was resting a lot and I probably couldn't have pulled it back up anyway. Of course, when I booked the cheapest berth I didn't realize I would be in the room so much however I don't regret it.  

The bathroom was very small but it was all I needed.  

We left Bergen at 8:30 p.m. - the Golden Hour!!! 

As I had covid I didn't join my assigned table for dinner that evening - nor for the next several evenings.  I had eaten a fresh shrimp baguette sandwich from the fish market earlier so I wasn't hungry.   

I felt sorry for the people who were in the cabin beside me as I coughed pretty much nonstop again that night.  However, I was up early the next morning to grab breakfast and try to get a seat by myself.  It's lucky I am a fast eater as I helped myself to the wonderful breakfast buffet, gobbled it down and left.  The buffet was excellent every morning with a huge variety.  I developed a particular fondness for the brown cheese on bread.  Brown cheese is made from whey left behind after curds have been removed and cream or milk.  Technically it's not even considered cheese but oh my it was good - it had a sweet taste to it.  

Excuse the bad picture but it was a deep golden colour, almost brown and oh my it went very nicely with marmalade or jam on that hearty Norwegian bread.  I had it every morning without fail.  

We passed by or stopped at many towns and villages to load up passengers or goods and to unload parcels and goods. 

We sailed into the Geiranger Fjord to view the waterfalls and spectacular scenery.  This was a concession to the fact that tourists now travel on it rather than just locals getting from one place to the other.  

Then it was time to leave the fjord and continue our coastal journey north.

Our first stop where we could actually leave the ship was Alesund.  Alesund is known for its art nouveau architecture.  The city was rebuilt following a devasting fire in 1904.  

While there were guided walking tours available at a cost as in most of the towns and cities we stopped at I opted to wander on my own.   We had just an hour here so I had to be very mindful of the time.  I sure didn't want to be left behind!!!  Luckily the ship docked right in the city. 

Wow..a payphone that actually has a phone in it. But does it work?  As I worked for a telecommunications company for thirty years and was a telephone operator for nearly half of that I always take an interest in payphones and have to take pictures in every country I visit. 

I just wandered and snapped photos and have no clue what these buildings were.  They were certainly pretty! 

The Polarlys was being loaded up when I arrived back.   Later that evening we stopped at Mole for half an hour to load and unload goods.  The ship stopped in the middle of the night as well and it would usually wake me up (unless I was awake with a coughing fit) but it was all part of the experience. 

The next day we reached the biggest city on our journey and my favourite place but that will have to wait for the next post.