Approaching Bergen

This morning we had to have our bags in the hall by nine o'clock and we had to vacate our cabins by ten. Our voyage was ending. We were planning to stay in Bergen for four days, but Catriona would be heading directly to the airport.

One more breakfast and one more lunch were served in the dining room and then everyone adjourned to one of the indoor lounges or outdoor decks around the ship. We opted for an indoor space to share our remaining time with Catriona. We still had some hours left and the expedition team announced that this was one of the most beautiful stretches of the entire trip.

One of the first things we noticed was that it was bright and the sky was blue.

We passed a mountain which is called Horse Island. If your imagination is good, you can see a resting horse. Catriona though it looked more like a rhinoceros.

In some areas it seemed like we were travelling through Georgian Bay.

Then (Wonder of Wonders), the sun actually came out. People crowded around the windows with their cameras. This was the first time we had seen the actual sun in the sky since we arrived in Norway.

We began to notice houses on the rocky islands.

Here and there we spotted fish farms. Apparently the actual fishermen have been catching fewer and fewer fish, so more and more are opting to farm.

This picture was meant to show just how close our ship is coming to the rocks (Georgian Bay again).

Just before reaching Bergen we had to pass under this bridge. This washout the highest the sun ever rose in the sky.

Outskirts of Bergen

Bergen

We gathered our bags, gave Catriona a big hug, sang a phrase from "See You in September", then began the next phase of our adventure.

Bergtatt Marble Mine

This is the final excursion aboard MS Spitsbergen. Tomorrow the ship arrives in Bergen and we move on. A message from our BnB host tells us that our next apartment is an easy ten minute walk from the Hurtigruten Terminal.

We left the ship at Kristiansand took a bus down the coast and along the Atlantic Road.

On The Atlantic Road we found a poignant memorial.

A rough mining road took us into the mountain where we were equipped with helmets and lifejackets. The tunnels through which we were to travel are no longer mined and they are partially flooded. We travelled by motorized raft.

The patterns in the rock walls were gorgeous. The water was perfectly clear and strikingly blue.

It looks like a swim raft and we were invited to go for a swim. The water temperature is five degrees celsius.

In an alcove we found a spotlit marble statue.

The tunnels seem to go on and on.

We stopped for a glass of water under marble chandeliers.

In the "Concert Hall. we sat to dine on a very hearty soup.

A Display case contained mining lamps, pictures and memorials.

The bar was fully stocked but we did not take advantage.

As we enjoyed our soup, a film showed a recent concert which had been held here (an Elvis Tribute).

After soup we watched a film to learn how the marble was mined. I was surprised to learn that this pure white marble was not harvested in slabs for decoration. Instead it was ground and treated to turn it into a white liquid. This "liquid marble" was sold to the paper industry and used as a coating for high quality glossy papers.

Because the paper industry is declining, the production at this mine is also declining dramatically. As a backstop, this mine is attempting to promote itself as a perfect site for high-tech data storage. Electricity is cheap and natural cooling solutions are at hand. Unused mining tunnels may be a safe location for data storage from around the world.

Trondheim

Early in the morning, we arrived in Trondheim. The City has a population of 200,000, which is apparently enough to make it the third largest in Norway. When we left for a bus tour, it was still quite dark so there was little opportunity for photos. This is quite a picturesque city on the Trondheim Fjord, which is one of the longest and largest fjords in the world.

Some of the city space has been reclaimed from the fjord and contains many modern structures. The old city however, has a wonderful sense of history. Most of the homes and even many of the larger building are build of wood and painted in a wonderful array of colours. The main wide city streets are  joined and connected by very narrow one lane streets crowded with tiny wooden homes. It is a remarkable blend of old and new, large and small.

Our primary destination was the Nidaros Cathedral, which is the national cathedral of Norway, built over the grave of St. Olav, the patron saint of Norway. Olav was a Viking King who spent much of his life raiding and plundering. Somewhere along the way though, he was converted to christianity. He also decided to convert his entire realm.

After his death, rumours circulated of him performing miracles. Those sent to investigate opened his grave to find that his hair and beard had grown and his skin looked like that of a man who was simply sleeping. He was canonized on the spot and a small church was built. Over time the church grew and grew and was burned and repaired several time. The final result is Europe's northernmost medieval gothic cathedral.

I was not allowed to take any pictures inside the cathedral.

Amazing front face

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Rose Window

Wooden Buildings

Along the Water

The Seven Sisters

These Mountains are called the Three Seven Sisters. I had some difficulty counting seven, so I had to work up to it.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Onboard Ship

Before we leave this ship I do have to walk around and take some more pictures of the ship itself. Here are a few for now.

Our Hallway on Deck Four

The Fireplace in the Lounge on Deck Five

Off the Port Side From Deck Eight

The Hot Tubs at the rear of Deck Seven

Off the Starboard Side From Deck Eight

Ice Magic

We were in Svolvær for only two hours so we decided to visit Ice Magic. It is a large freezer filled with ice sculptures. It was worth some of our time, but not really very much.

More Northern Lights

This time the lights were nowhere near as bright as last night, but I understood the process better, so the pictures still worked better. Later I bought a USB movie so I could see how the pictures should really look.