Scandic Kirkenes

Neither Deb nor I slept well last night. In my case, it was worry that I might miss my early flight to Kirkenes which would ultimately mean missing our cruise. The pressure was unbearable.

Well we didn't miss the flight and they will pick us up for the cruise tomorrow morning at 11:30. Now we can relax. We both fell asleep, but first ...

Our flight landed at just before eleven in the morning. The light was dim (dawn or dusk). By twelve at our hotel it was starting to get dark. After lunch it was night time. We are well north of the Arctic Circle. At this time of year there are only three hours of light per day.

The following pictures were taken between noon and one. For most I turned the flash off and set the camera for Long-Exposure NR (Noise Reduction). With this setting you lose some clarity, but the pictures are somewhat balanced.

First, we noticed the fire at the front door.

Sleds are locked to the bike rack.

I first heard of these sleds during the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. They are called kicksleds and People were scooting all over the place, some walking behind and using them for balance, others resting one foot on a runner and pushing like a scooter.

Within a few minutes, we had seen two wenmen using them.

The women we saw were walking cautiously behind them. Their value was evident when we then went for a little walk and found that the ground was very icy under a slight layer of snow.

The bench outside the front door had reindeer hides spread on them.

I did discover that this area is a good fishing ground for king crabs. This one was in a tank in anticipation of dinner.