When we finally got up this morning around 9 we said to each other, “I can’t wait to go home. Maybe we should have skipped our day in Oslo.” But of course we didn’t just mope around the hotel all day. Despite the late start we managed to pack in a pretty good last day of our trip.

We bought two Oslo Passes, 24-hour Senior edition, which gave us access to about 30 museums and other attractions around town plus unlimited use of public transportation. Furthermore, a bunch of museums are located in a small area. All we had to do was to walk 15 minutes from our hotel, flub around trying to figure out which of six bus stops at the intersection we should use, hop on the 30 bus and 20 minutes later we were at our first stop, the Kon-Tiki museum.

Let’s face it: Thor Heyerdahlwascrazy. He lashed together a bunch of balsa logs to form a raft and, with no previous sailing experience; he and five other guys floated the contraption to Tahiti. His objective was to demonstrate that Peruvians could have sailed to the South Pacific islands.  “Everyone” said he couldn’t do it; he and his crew were doomed. But he did it and of course he’s a Norwegian hero.

Later he sailed the Ra I (which sank) and Ra II from Africa to Barbados to prove that ancient Egyptians might have populated South America 3,000 years ago. The Ras were made of reeds bound together like Egyptian vessels of the time. And still later he developed another reed craft, the Tigris, that could be steered rather than rely on wind and air currents as did Kon-Tiki and the Ras. He sailed that one around the Mesopotamian and Indus regions to demonstrate that trade could have occurred. When he was denied access to the Red Sea due to wars waging in the region he deliberately burned the ship. He did lots of research in the Easter Islands too.

Both the Kon-Tiki and the Ra II are on display – unbelievable!

We didn’t realize it beforehand but the Maritime Museum was right across the street and so was the Fram Museum. A banner out front of the Fram museum said, “Best Museum in Norway – TripAdvisor 2015.” So what the heck, let’s give that one a try.

But wait, what’s with the kids’ marching bands parading down the street to where the buses usually park? I mean little kids, not highs schoolers; these were middle schoolers. They stood around the edge of the big open expanse of the parking lot. When our backs were turned a precision drill team and band paraded into that open area and put on a close-order drill like I’ve never seen before. I’ll include a picture or two but you really need to watch the video when Judy gets it put together. The band was top notch and the marchers, well I don’t know how they did it.

Then the Fram museum. What is/was a Fram? Turns out it’s a ship designed by the Norwegian explorer and scientist Fridtjof Nansenwho was the first to cross Greenland on skis. He built the Fram for Arctic exploration, designing it so that it could be deliberately encased in winter ice and then, in the spring, break free and continue on. He made two such voyages with varying degrees of success.

The Fram was used by Roald Amundsenfor his trip to the South Pole – the first ever, beating Robert Scott by a month. Amundsen started out for Nome, Alaska where he intended to launch his North Pole attempt. On the way he learned that Cook and Peary had made it to the North Pole ahead of him. He called an audible: he told the crew and wired the king of Norway that he was making a slight detour on the way to the North Pole: He would do the South Pole on the way to Alaska.

The Fram is on display in the museum and visitors are free to go on board and below decks to see how the ship was configured and learn what life on board was like.

Now the question: do the Marine museum or go up the road a few bus stops to the Norwegian Cultural museum. We’d had enough maritime stuff here and elsewhere on our trip so Culture museum won out.

The Culture museum is like Sturbridge Village and Dearborn Village but without as many live demonstrations. There were a few folks dressed in period costumes and they could answer questions but there were few actual demonstrations.

Actually there was one: two gals making lefsa, just like our friends back in Minnesota make. Too bad, we were fresh out of Kroners so we could only whiff the odor and pick up a recipe.

Someone (the Norwegian government) has moved old buildings from their original site to the museum, which is largely outdoors (a real plus on a beautiful sunny day like today). They range from a 13^thcentury stave church (where a wedding was underway when we arrived) to farm and village dwellings from the 16^ththrough 20^thcenturies. We wandered from one to the next, entering some and observing others from outside. They are constructed of amazingly large pine and spruce logs, cut by waterwheel driven saws and constructed several feet off the ground to promote air circulation, especially for barns where grain was stored.

We talked for a while with one docent dressed in period garments. We regaled him with life in Minnesota with the Lutheran Norwegians, Swedes and Finns, how one pastor of our Lutheran church was Swedish and the other Norwegian and how they would banter back an forth from the pulpit.

Judy even started to tell him an Ole and Lena joke. I took over midstream for fear that she’d get herself in trouble: the one that goes, “Ole went with Lena to see the doctor, after the exam the doctor sent Ole to the waiting room and spoke with Lena. ‘Lena, Ole is very ill. The only thing that can save him is if you cook him three home-cooked meals and iron his sheets every day . . . and some other things we won’t mention in this family blog . . .’ Lena went back to Ole and Ole said, ‘What did the doctor say?’ ‘Oh Ole,’ Lena said,  ‘you’re going to die.’”

After an ice cream bar about 5 PM we decided we were fading; we’d have to bypass the Vigeland sculpture garden. So back on the 30 bus and off to our hotel, seven stops away. At Stop 3 I suddenly realized that the reason I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders was not because we were on our way home but because I left my backpack at the museum coffee shop where we had the ice cream. So off the bus to a 30 in the opposite direction, back on yet another 30 bus, crammed like a Japanese bullet train, and back to our hacienda.

No, we didn’t see the Royal Palace, the National Gallery, City Hall, Parliament or the Oslo Cathedral. We’ll have to come back another day and do them and the 27 museums we have left to go.

Now it’s off to dinner down the street.

The dinner was great. Judy had lamb with white asparagus and a nice sauce and I had turbot, a light fish the Norwegians call the King of the Ocean. But even better was the conversation we had with a couple seated at the next table. They are from Stravanger where we visited early in our Viking trip. He’s an engineer by training and she’s a nurse working in dementia. We talked about business and nursing, and about grandparentng and travel. What a perfect way to end a great trip!

So that’s it: tomorrow we’re on the 2:30 PM flight to Iceland and then on to Boston for a 6:55 PM arrival. Then we can stop being Jon and Judy and revert to Nana and Grampa, Mom and Dad. Can’t wait!

We’re on our own now. No one to sound the ship chimes and tell us what to do next and no guides to show us the sights. No planned meals in the dining room at preset times. It’s all on us now.

We jumped ship about 9:30 this morning and before going totally solo we went on one last prearranged trip. It was a riverboat ride from Kirkenes to the Norwegian-Russian border, about 10 miles upstream. The boat was long and narrow, maybe 6 feet wide; there were only six of us on the trip so there was lots of room (it must hold 30 or more). The weather was chilly and overcast with spray as we motored up stream at a pretty good rate. Not much in the way of scenery although I noticed that unlike yesterday there are lots of trees. We still had the granite outcroppings but having come south overnight from North Cape we were back in a much more forgiving climate.

The Russian border where it crosses the river is marked by nothing more than a pair of posts two meters apart. The actual border is in the exact middle of the two. Our guide, Hans Hati has established a landing and a picnic platform right next to the border and overlooking the river. He showed us old pictures and told stories of the area.

It turns out there are lots of stories to tell. First, an Orthodox monk, Trifon of Pecheng, ministered to the local Sami people and converted them to Christianity long before other areas of northern Norway. One day marauders from Sweden came to plunder and to eliminate any vestige of Orthodox Catholicism; that is, they wanted to kill Trifon. He climbed down a cliff, found a small cave where he hid and so escaped his pursuers. The Samis were greatly affected by the escape of their friend and pastor. They treated the cave as a holy site, placing offerings there to bring luck in their fishing expeditions. If the fish didn’t bite they retrieved the money. Even today Trifonhula (cave of Trifon) has an icon and is the place of worship for people who come from all over Norway.

Trifon also established an Orthodox church a few miles upstream from the cave called Boris Gleb (two Russian Orthodox saints of the 12^thcentury). When Norway negotiated the border with the Soviets, Stalin demanded that Boris Gleb be included in the USSR. The border that came up the center of the river did a cutout to the west to include the church. In return Norway received 50 times as much area, reaching to the Barents Sea.

There is a long complicated history of logging, fishing, tourism and conflict along the border, made difficult by Norway’s history of first Danish control, then Swedish control, the independence interrupted by WWII and Nazi occupation and then Soviet liberation. The Samis came up with the short stick in many instances, being forced at one point to cede their traditional fishing rites to others.

Today the border is observed by Norway and Russia from towers on either side of the border. Norway’s interest is to protect its territory. In fact, the border is not just a Norwegian border but also a border for Europe and NATO. They take their duty seriously. Last year a tourist visiting the border stood near the actual border between the two posts. She moved her arms in such a way as to violate the actual border. She was fined $500 by Norway, missed the Hurtigruten boat and paid $350 to catch up.

The Russians for their part are interested in making sure no Russians escape to the West. There is significant cross boarder trade: household goods bought on the cheap in Norway and resold and Russia and Russian Vodka and gasoline that is cheaper in Russia flow in the other direction.

Hans Hatie is a Sami and told us that another term for Sami is Laplander. We had learned earlier that Laplander was a derogatory term that shouldn’t be used. Hans said he had no problem with it as long as the intention isn’t racist.

So it was noon when Hans dropped us off downtown in front of the Sandic hotel. Now we were really on our own. The hotel folks checked our bags for the day for $8, resolving one question. The gal behind the desk gave us two restaurant recommendations for lunch and a couple of ideas for sightseeing until the airport bus at 7 PM.

Off we went for lunch: reindeer pasta for me and fish soup for Judy. Really delicious.  As we finished our leisurely meal I looked at the map and realized that the museum we’d zeroed in on closed at 2 PM. It was now 1:45 PM. What to do?

Now Kirkenes is not exactly a tourist destination. There are king crab outings for hire but the town has no old town, now cathedral, not much of anything touristy. The museum is called the Borderland museum, indicating that the Nazi occupation took a significant toll on the city and relationships with Russia still are a factor in Kirkenes life. In fact, it’s very much a working town: lots of honest homes, mostly duplexes, but nothing fancy even on the high hillside a mile or so from downtown.

In addition to fishing Kirkenes has had until a year or two ago, a good-sized iron ore mining operation. It’s closed now but the huge buildings remain. I said to the waiter at dinner, “The closing of the mine must have been a big shock for Kirkenes’s economy.” “Not really,” he replied. “The Norwegian welfare system is so generous that no one has been seriously hurt financially. After all, the oil will run out someday soon but even then the government has saved for that future too so the welfare system can continue. Norway has a trust fund that equals 1.5% of the global stock market.”

So back to our dilemma: what to do. Our answer: hike and eat then catch the bus to the airport. So that’s what we did. We hiked up the hill to the museum just in time to see the proprietor lock the front door. We continued up the hill to two spots optimistically marked as viewpoints that should overlook the city. They did, sorta, overlook the city but the buildup of houses in the area blocked any unobstructed view.

After the big luncheon feed we weren’t exactly starving but did that stop us? Of course not. The Scandic hotel had on offer king crab dinners. So right at 5 PM we opened the place up, had our feed (really great) and polished off a couple of pieces of cloudberry cheesecake. We’ve become quite fond of cloudberries on this trip. We even visited a supermarket (a Target lookalike) and bought a jar of cloudberry  jam. Come to Onawa this summer and we’ll treat you to some. Better come in July because I’m not sure it will last ‘til August.

By the way you Minnesota Lutheran friends of ours: Frozen lutefisk was selling for about 49 Kroners/KG – roughly three bucks U.S. per pound. Book your flights today. I ain’t packing it in my bag, you betcha.

Now we’re sitting in the Kirkenes airport waiting for the 8:30 departure that is now estimated to leave at 9:45. We’re looking at a two-hour flight, thirty-minute train ride and 15 minute walk to our hotel in Oslo. But who cares? Tomorrow is our last day of touring and then on Sunday we’re on our way home. And besides, we’ve been up past 1 AM for the last three nights so this won’t be much different. Blame it on the Nordkapp’s hot tub and the midnight sun!

Update: We made the bus, caught the flight (1:30 late), got our bags, found the train, got off at the correct stop, found the train station exit (with help from a nice cop), followed google maps to the hotel, checked in, schlepped our bags to our room and collapsed. It’s 1:30 AM but they serve breakfast ‘til 11 AM. Oslo, here we come!

Well, I did it: went to sea in a small, heaving boat on one of the most dangerous ocean coast lines in the world and didn’t, you know, embarrass myself at the rail. Ok, the boat was bigger and the seas were clam with only a light swell and I took Dramamine before setting out and I made it just fine. And the pictures? I took a bunch and haven’t looked at them yet so we’ll see.

The day was beautiful – sunny skies and 50+ degrees. We’re told today’s was the high temperature for the year so far. We basically circled an island nature preserve and saw a large number and a large variety of birds plus a seal or two. I think I got a puffin shot but they were flying, not sitting still on a rock like a well-behaved puffin should so I’m hopeful I got one but can’t be sure.

The costal region is really subarctic, not arctic. We’re at latitude 71 degrees north, the northernmost point of the European continent but our friend the Gulf Stream keeps things toasty warm. Temps range from -10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) to 20 C (68 F). Lows in the wintertime further inland can reach -40 C (-40 F).

For the first time in our lives we went for a full day without seeing a single tree. Even with subarctic conditions the summer – two months long – does not support tree growth. We saw some willows perhaps six feet tall, just budding out, but nothing more than an inch in diameter. They say that 7,000 years ago, right after the last ice age, trees grew here and people lived and hunted game here. Temperatures cooled about 2,500 years ago and the game and people moved away.

Our afternoon proved to be more interesting culturally. We visited Sami people at a site somewhere between Kjollefjord and Mehamn – two small fishing villages.  Both produce dried cod (“stock fish”) just like the Vikings and Hanseatic Traders did. They dry the cod for four months and sell them in southern Europe: Spain, Italy and Portugal where it is considered a delicacy when reconstituted with water.

The Sami people have lived in northern Scandinavia for over 10,000 years. Today there are about 80,000 Sami’s living in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Russia. Traditionally the Sami peoples were reindeer herders, obtaining food, clothing and tools from reindeer herds they tended. Of the 40,000 Sami in Norway about 2,600 are actively involved in reindeer husbandry.

Reindeer herders summer in the region we visited. In August and September they move the herd to winter quarters about 150 miles inland from here. I asked our guide about the logistics of such migrations. It turns out that the herd is gathered in the fall using ATVs, trucks, dogs and even helicopters. Families cooperate in all aspects of the process; the individual owners’ herds are identified by distinctive ear cuts. The reindeer are sold to meat processors, slaughtered for local use and the remainder moved to the new location.

We visited a young woman and her boyfriend at a traditional Sami tent, both wearing traditional Sami clothing made largely from reindeer. The man sang a yoik, a traditional song that is associated with a single individual or an animal, bird or special occasion. He sang two yoiks: his yoik and his father’s yoik. The woman said that if you are alone in the wilderness and lonesome you can sing a person’s yoik and it’s like that person is next to you.

Sami’s practiced animistic practices, believing that every person, animal and object has a spirit or soul that should be venerated. Shamans told fortunes and practiced medicine. The onset of the Reformation and the influx of Christian missionaries, especially in the 18^thcentury, spelled a decline in traditional religious practices. Missionaries destroyed all artifacts associated with the traditional beliefs, forbid use of Sami language and forced conversion to Christianity. As recently as the 1970s such assimilation efforts continued. The UN and world community has been sharply critical of Norway’s treatment of the Sami people as recently as 2011.

Sami culture, like many others around the world, is endangered. In Norway, however, there seems to be a firmer basis for cultural preservation than elsewhere. There are Sami schools from kindergarten through university. Samis speak nine different dialects and languages, making preservation of the culture more difficult. Norwegian is, of course, the common denominator. But the Sami culture is surely in jeopardy.

Our hosts live in houses, drive cars, have iPhones and Facebook accounts.

They spoke excellent English, described with pride their people’s past and culture yet were obviously well connected with the modern world. One can only hope.

I’ve figured out how to make that funny ø character. The Norwegian’s on board pronounce Tromsø and “Trom-so” with a Norwegian twist I can’t begin to describe in writing.

Nonetheless, we steamed into Tromsø about 2:30 and set out under partly sunny skies for a three-stop bus tour of the major tourist attractions: the cable car ride to the top of Mt. Storsteinen, the Arctic Cathedral and the Polaria, an aquarium.

The cable car offers great views of the city and surrounding mountains and has hiking paths that lead to the top of the mountain, about 1 Km from the gondola station. Our guide says you can bypass the cable car and climb the mountain in under an hour; another 40 minutes gets you to the summit. Judy and I did the photo op thing and climbed up a little way toward the summit. I threw snowballs at Judy (altitude about 1,500 feet). The timberline starts around 1,000 feet I’d say. This is, after all, and Arctic city. Tromsø’sthe largest city north of the Arctic Circle with a population of about 75,000.

The Arctic Cathedral really isn’t a cathedral even though it completely outclasses the real Tromsø Cathedral. The Arctic Cathedral is really just a parish church. It was built in 1965 with a soaring design and a wonderful stained glass artwork behind the alter. I’ll let the pictures serve as a better description. It’s Evangelical Lutheran. There is a Roman Catholic church in town; John Paul II preached there once.

Our guide spoke in both English and French on our bus. The English was heavily accented as was, I’m guessing, his French. It sounded to me as if his native language was German or Italian. He might have been hard to understand but, boy, could that guy whistle. The Arctic Cathedral has tremendous acoustics and he filled the sanctuary with beautiful renditions of Ave Mariaand the like.

Polaria is a small aquarium focusing on arctic life: seals, polar bears, fish, shellfish, etc. They showed a film of the Arctic featuring islands, ice floes and the animal life that is found there. Beautiful video clips, beautiful music and no narration. It was enough to put you (me) to sleep but every time I dozed off I woke mad at myself for what I’d missed.

All of that was fine as far as it goes, but I found it disappointing that we weren’t able to experience more of what Tromsø is famous and infamous for: hunting, fishing and scientific exploration. The Hurtigruten crew did show a short video on board that talked to this aspect of the town and I found that extremely interesting.

Tromsø was, like Trondheim and Bodø, a source of cod for the Hanseatic trading consortium in medieval times and an important food source for local Sami and Norwegian peoples. In the 19^thand early 20^thcentury Tromsø was the homeport for hunters of walrus, polar bears and seals. The king of polar bear hunting bagged 741 bears during his career. They say it was not uncommon during that period for people to walk the streets of Tromsø leading a polar bear cub on a leash.

The Tromsø hero was Roald Amundsen who based many of his expeditions in Tromsø. His biggest claim to fame was as the first expedition to reach the South Pole in Antarctica (1910-1912). He had originally planned to be the first to reach the North Pole but Perry beat him so he did Antarctica instead. He did reach the North Pole in 1925, flying there, constructing a runway on the ice and returning home safely. He thus became the first man to reach both poles. He also was the first to traverse the Northwest Passage (1903-1906) in an eight-man vessel with a single 13 horsepower engine.

This morning we had an interesting slide presentation by a young lady who specializes in Norwegian outdoor activities. She even took a university-level course in the subject. She reiterated the “right to roam” principle observed by Norway that allows Norwegians to pass through privately owned land and even pitch a tent there for two days if they wish. Her favorite activities are fishing and cross country skiing. She described how she survived skiing in whiteout conditions, only to find that their destination, a cabin, was totally covered in snow. The outhouse was full of ice that had to be chopped free. She said her parents who, like many Norwegians, practiced regular outdoor activities established her love for the outdoors. She did admit that she absolutely hated those family outings when she was aged 10 to 16 but today she lives for the outdoors.

Tomorrow’s objective is Honningsvåg for a bird watching expedition. I’ve lugged my big heavy telephoto lens for three weeks without seeing anything but the occasional sea gull so my expectations are high. I’ve just gotta bag a puffin! Later we’ll learn about the Sami culture.

Those of you who followed our trip to New Zealand may recall that on our albatross viewing boat ride I became queasy and made an over-the-gunnel contribution to Davy Jones’ locker. This trip involves a small boat circling the bird island. I’m praying for calm seas and will have Dramamine on board just in case.

I’ll let you know how it all comes out.

P.S. Today’s pictures include some from last night when we sailed into and out of a fjord at about 11:30 PM.

Well, we did it – we crossed the Arctic Circle! We’re now officially in the land of the Midnight Sun. We won’t be seeing true darkness until we fly back to Oslo on Friday (and since we’ll arrive in Oslo after sunset we’ll have to wait ‘til Saturday). We crossed the line at 7:09 AM this morning with a brief ceremony on the top deck – outside in 40 degree and cloudy weather. The spot is marked by a post on a small island and the captain blew the ship’s horn as we passed.

Later on the ship’s company held a ceremony to mark the crossing. A Norse god of some sort (I didn’t catch his name) appeared on deck and held an initiation rite in which passengers had water poured down their backs’ and were rewarded with a shot of sweet-tasting mead. I never figured out what benefits, beyond the mead, the initiation would bring but I did it anyway just to be safe and to get my first-ever taste of mead.

The waters through which we are passing are marked by low outcroppings of granite with higher mountains in the background. Temperature in the 40s again today with clouds and occasional rain, although the clouds dissipated late in the afternoon with a freshening breeze.

Bodo, whose last letter is an o with a slanted line through it and is pronounce something like Buddha but that’s not exactly right. These Scandinavian languages, while closely related to German, have some strange symbols with even stranger sounds. Most of these letters are variations you make if you take a bite of oatmeal that’s too hot.

We stopped at Bodo for a couple of hours, long enough to go on a two-hour Arctic Coastal Walk with a guide, a nice lady with three kids ages 10, 11 and 16. Much of the walk was along beaches made white with ground up coral shells. A cold water coral reef is located some distance off shore. We also walked up a small hill to the top where a mound with stones scattered around it marked a Viking grave, probably for a rich man, judging by its size and closeness to the North Sea. The beaches are popular recreational spots; at the start of the walk there was a community of summerhouses, recreational vehicles and a large marina of pleasure craft. It rained a little bit at the end but our guide served us a hot mint tea that took the edge off the cold.

She gave us one interesting fact: this part of Norway claims the greatest amount of daylight of any inhabited part of the world. Yes, the sun never rises in the wintertime but it’s close enough to the horizon that there is always twilight. And of course in the summertime it’s full of daylight all the time.

This area is also quite moderate in temperature. It seldom drops below freezing in the winter and Bodo has little snow. Snow and skiing are possible ten minutes away from the sea and at higher elevations. Highs in the summer time don’t get much above 60. Thanks go to the Gulf Stream that brings warm waters to the North Sea.

People came here at the end of the last ice age, probably from the south. They inhabited land to the north and east of here, an area that disappeared under water as the glaciers melted. Coming inland to the area of today’s Bodo they found animals unfamiliar with humans and so easy prey. As the animals got smarter and the ice melted people moved north to find easier pickings than the now smart game.

Today, people tend to live wherever there is enough flat land to raise grass and hay for animals. These farms are frequently tucked between the seashore and the mountains looming behind. People travel by boat to the mainland and maintain summer cabins in downtown Bodo when they want to get away from it all.

A farmer on the island of Vestvågøy in the Lofoten archipelago, north and east of Bodo, was plowing his fields back in 1981 and uncovered some shards of glass. Further investigation found other artifacts. Experts were consulted and the items judged to be from the Viking era, as early as 700 AD. A six-year archeological dig discovered the remains of a structure more than 200 feet long – the home of a powerful Viking chieftain, probably from 900 AD or so. The house is the largest found so far in Norway.

What was the poor farmer to do? Build a replica, add a modern gift shop building and open the doors to cruise boat passengers like us. The boat dropped us off at Stamsund on the southwest end of the island for a 30 minute bus ride to the Viking Museum. Afterward we bused on to Svolvaer where we met the Nordkapp.

Have you ever been to one of those western cowboy dinner deals in Colorado or somewhere west? Dinner plus some corny acting, singing and dancing? We’ve done that in a lot of venues, from Merry Old England (at Disney World, I think), A Zulu tribal experience in South Africa and a Maori show in New Zealand to name a few that come to mind.

The dinner in this case was great: lamb, carrots, turnips, orzo or something similar, lingberries and all the trimmings. The music was nice: the Viking lady of the house sang and played presumably authentic instruments. I’ll bet the actual songs are mere guesses since they hadn’t even invented 8-track tape back in the Iron Age. Everyone danced: two steps left, one step right. The acting? The kids tried hard but the lines were lame and the comedic timing wasn’t there.  And then the gift shop. Those Vikings still know how to plunder their poor unsuspecting victims. Every so often someone would shout, “skoal” and we’d all have to down a gulp of the honey-based mead drink, just like the Vikings used to do. That eased the pain considerably.

The drive was a big part of the trip with beautiful slanting sunlight and interesting fishing villages along the way. The Lofoten archipeliago is the prime location for Norway’s cod industry. From the beginning of human habitation cod fishing has been a way of life. It turns out that the waters in these parts from January to April have the right temperature and salinity to promote successful spawning by the cod.

Cod taken here has traditionally been dried into a form that can be easily shipped and used for up to 10 years. We visited the Hanseatic trading operation in Bergen when we first arrived in Norway. The Germans would sail north, bring back the dried cod to Bergen and then trade it for grain and other items from south of the Baltic. Folks there reconstituted it by soaking the dried carcasses in water for a few days. That solved the problem of what a good Catholic should eat on meatless Fridays.

We’re passing through a “can’t miss” fjord around 11:30 so we’ll be up for that. But we don’t get off the ship until 2:30 tomorrow afternoon so we can sleep in.

Update: The fjord was amazing – I’d be nervous taking our pontoon boat the Margaret B up that crazy passageway. The pictures will have to wait until tomorrow: Judy made me go in the hot tub for a midnight dip. This midnight sun thing is not just tourism hype: it’s real.