A travel day to begin the second part of our Scandinavian adventures. Air from Stockholm to Oslo and on to Bergan, Hurtegruten (our cruise line) bus from the airport to the ship – a nice relaxing day. The flights were smooth and so was negotiating the three airports. In Stockholm we did self-check in and baggage tags and then proceeded to a conveyer belt where we scanned our bags and sent them on their way. No airline employee intervention required, except that it was too easy and we had to ask three employees to explain it all too us. People headed for the U.S. had to stand in what looked like an hour’s long line but we just sailed through. We never showed a photo ID, our passport was never stamped and customs going from Sweden to Norway was nonexistent.

Lunch in Oslo was fund, sorta. Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef, has a deli in the airport so of course I had to eat there since we have his cookbook at home (veggies is the subject). They offered six different salads plus chicken, salmon or pizza. I ordered salmon and caesar salad. The gal taking my order that sounded lame so she offered, “Why not try a mixture of all of them?” So she scooped some of each into a bowl and it turned out great; the salmon on top was fresh and really well cooked. Judy did pizza and the same salad mix. All was well until I figured the conversion on 400 Kr. At 8 Kr to the buck that came to $50; It made me gulp my bear and resolve to avoid Norwegian restaurants when ever possible.

But now we’re onboard the Nordkapp. Hurtegruten runs a number of ferryboats from Bergen north to Kirkenes, above the artic circle, taking about six days. The ships are configured to handle tourists with staterooms, dining facilities, lounge areas – all the things you might expect on a cruise ship. Except there is no doubt this is a working ferryboat. After the lap of luxury provided by Viking this ship is a bit rough around the edges.

Dinner tonight was a buffet arrangement. The offerings were delicious and, thankfully, much different than what we’ve been eating on Viking these past two weeks. I had a mutton and sausage concoction, braised sheep’s head and a very nice halibut. Judy had mussels, fish soup and haddock.

We’re on Deck 5 after an upgrade from Deck 2 down where they load and offload automobiles. We were feeling cheap when we booked this part; seeing in reality what the bargain basement brings caused us to move up in the world.

After dinner we went on deck to watch our departure. We’ve grown quite fond of Bergen even though we’ve spent hardly a full day here. Of all the places we’ve been on this trip Bergen feels the best. It was almost like coming home. We’ll miss not seeing it again.

We’ve already met a couple at the airport who are on this voyage and are from Nashua, NH, practically next door to our place in Windham.  Small world! But it’s also true that this is a much more diverse crowd. All the announcements are made in Norwegian, English, German and French.

By the way, the sunset pictures were taken at 11 PM. In a day or two we’ll be north of the Arctic Circle – the land of the Midnight Sun.