Search for the Northern Lights Cruise 9th-25th February 2013 (Final Part)
February 22nd: Bergen, Our Last Port
It was an early start this morning as we had a long day ahead. We didn’t arrive in Bergen until 10, but had to be ready for our tour by 10.30.
We departed the ship and made our way to the coach, but it wasn’t until I was sitting on the bus that I remembered my ginger tablets. The guide said I had the time to get the tablets as long as I hurried. As I dashed off, the bus driver called, “We have a ferry to catch.”
I was panicking, thinking if we missed the ferry because I me, it would be terrible. I got back quickly and soon after we were off.
The scenery was absolutely magnificent. It seemed as though there were waterfalls held in a frozen state, every hundred yards or so. There were also frozen rivers and massive ice floats on the fjords.
The coach climbed and climbed whilst we were told stories of cars being impaled and passengers killed come spring when massive icicles break free in the warmer weather.
We were also told a wonderful story about a local violinist who started playing at the age of five. He was approached at the age of eight to play for a famous orchestra. His father wanted him to get a trade, so he encouraged him to study to be a tradesman. When his son refused to settle on anything he then encouraged him to enter the priesthood. Whilst studying to be a priest he wrote to his father to say that the good news was he was playing for several orchestras, but the bad news was he had failed his first exams. His father gave up and allowed him to then follow his own dreams.
We caught the ferry which took us on a 15 minute journey across the fjord.
Again, as we continued up into the mountains, I was amazed at how many homes there were.
Every now and again there would be a swathe cut through the trees. I’d seen this before, but presumed it was a ski slope or was caused by an avalanche. The guide explained it was not snow that caused the swathes, but falling rocks. She pointed out such a rock, which was bigger than the bus and had come loose the previous year. It had landed on a carport and destroyed it. Luckily the woman was out with her car, shopping at the time.
Falling Rocks
She said people loved to live in these places so much, that if their homes are destroyed – luckily they are often just holiday homes – they insist on re-building in the same place.
We stopped for lunch at a lovely hotel in a village which had a glacier nearby. At first I thought it was low cloud cover, but the guide pointed it out to us and said it could be identified because it was completely flat. It filled the crevasse between two mountains.
Glacier.
After lunch we headed back a quicker route through numerous mountain tunnels. Halfway back we stopped to look at a massive frozen waterfall. You could walk behind it. The colours in the waterfall were wonderful; creams, bright blues and crisp whites all flowed in and out of each other, frozen in time (well certainly during the harsh winter).
Frozen Falls.
Some people went up, but my dad and I stayed on the bus. The path and car park were so treacherous we didn’t want to risk it.
Frances had given me an ominous warning the previous day. She told me this was when people started to have accidents. Once you are on your way home, she said, you get sloppy and that’s when you have a tendency to hurt yourself. She warned me to be careful.
The journey back was a lot quicker than the journey out. Although still beautiful, it wasn’t as spectacular as the journey up the mountains.
The ship stayed in Bergen until 10.30pm before departing on the final leg of our journey home.
February 23rd: Coming Home
Although the whole trip has been breathtaking, after nearly three weeks away, I’m well ready to come home now.
Mark, my brother, phoned this morning to say it was snowing in Newcastle. Hooray! We only chatted a while and whoosh, my £11.00 credit was gone. We’re not on UK rates yet.
Dad and I started the day, 7.15, with a two mile walk around the deck. There’s something very relaxing about being out at sea, although the North Sea can be quite rough. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into the Vomiting Venus, as Frances would say.
As we got closer to home we once again saw the oil platforms in the North Sea. I rushed for my camera when the most wonderful sunset started taking place. There were beams of light spreading out, right across the horizon and the colours that merged from bright yellow, slowly over time, into a deep, dark orange as the sun began to set. At one point it looked as though there was a waterfall of flames pouring behind one of the platforms.
As we drew close to the UK coast we thought we might dock tonight, but I suspect we’ve done better time than we thought and are just slowing down so that we arrive at our allocated time. There was a great deal of excitement onboard when we realised we could see Dover. Nearly home at last.
It was sad saying goodbye to all the wonderful people we met and the fantastic, welcoming staff on our last morning, at breakfast.
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip and would do it again in a heartbeat. This concludes a lifetime ambition for both myself and my father and on top of that, what an adventure it was. Fantastic!
Best wishes, Patricia and Peter.
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