Explore More Issue 18

TRAVEL
POSTCARD
from
NORWAY
Photo agency producer Catherine Collins shares
her favourite destination and shore excursions from
her recent cruise to Norway
PHOTOS: © CATHERINE COLLINS
Earlier this year I had the best two weeks of
my entire life. I was sailing on board Viking
Sea on an Into the Midnight Sun voyage.
Starting in Bergen with its exquisite wooden
Hanseatic warehouses, we sailed up through the west
coast archipelago of Norway (the Lofoten Islands) into
the Arctic Circle, across to Shetland and Orkney, on
to Edinburgh, and down the east coast of the United
Kingdom to conclude the journey in London.
Having never cruised before, I was utterly enchanted
by the beauty of the ship as well as the thoughtfulness
of those behind its design. I was also mesmerised by
everything I saw from its decks – each destination
was more spectacular than the last. However, if I
had to pick one place as my favourite it would be
Honningsvåg, a tiny Norwegian fishing port in the far
north. This is down to the sheer thrills and excitement
of the King Crab Safari excursion in the morning and
the afternoon trip to North Cape.
We sailed into Honningsvåg in the Barents Sea early
in the morning of the 24 July. At 71˚ north, some 200
miles inside the Arctic Circle, the sun was already well
above the horizon when I took my first shots at around
3am, but the day was a dull battleship grey with only a
slight shimmer of pink compared with the firey glow of
earlier skies. We had time to hug Bamse, the heroic dog
who became the mascot of the Free Norwegian Forces
during the Second World War, before getting kitted
out in flotation suits for the King Crab Safari RIB ride.
In true James Bond style, we sped across the
Sarnesfjorden at high speed to the crab nets to
collect our lunch. They are not called king crabs for
nothing – they are ENORMOUS, weighing between
6 and 10 kilos each, and it took two men to lift the
net into our RIB. We landed ashore in a small fishing
settlement full of wild flowers where we were taught
how to hold the crabs safely before watching them
being prepared for lunch. The next step was to see the
crabs expertly cooked in boiling water over an open fire
in a traditional Sami tent. We could then eat this Arctic
Circle bounty, and the flavour was sublime. So much
so that the silence of contentment was the only
sound to be heard above the crackling fire.
The trip back to the ship was thrilling – in and out
of bays with sleep green slopes rising from the metallic
sea, all at breakneck speed. I loved every second.
The coach trip to North Cape in the afternoon
was by comparison more sedate, but incredible
nonetheless. As we climbed through the Arctic
tundra dotted with reindeer to reach the plateau,
which sits 1,000 feet above sea level, where the
Norwegian and Barents seas meet, the fog was
swirling all around us. It was quiet and eerie.
Then, like magic, it cleared and we could see
what has enticed explorers for generations.
These shore excursions are typical of Viking’s
attention to detail – enriching and enthralling,
I would do them again in a heartbeat.
A 15-day Into the Midnight Sun journey,
from Bergen to London, starts at
£5,290pp in 2021.
vikingcruises.co.uk
Clockwise,
from above:
Catherine Collins;
a traditional
Sami tent; typical
wooden buildings
housing shops
line the cobbled
streets; the view
from Viking Sea
WINTER 2019 | VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK 55
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