My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Today when we woke up we saw a reindeer grazing in the field behind the house we were staying in. We have been told that the collars identify to whom the reindeer belongs.
Reindeer outside our window
About 11:30 we had a van pick us up to take us to Rovaniemi, Finland where we are tonight. It was raining pretty hard when we arrived. Finland is a new country for both Duke and I. It is Duke’s 69th country and my 55th.
Leaving the SBC Guesthouse in SwedenArriving at the Arctic Lights Hotel in Rovaniemi, Finland
Later we went out exploring a bit.
Marimekko, a Finnish store known for its iconic designs.Reindeer, pickles, mashed potatoes and lingonberries
We had an excellent dinner in the Hotel restaurant
The waitress said my reindeer with lingonberries and pickles was a traditional Finish dish.
We got off the Havila Polaris on Thursday in Finnsnes and took the bus to Narvik where we spent Thursday and Friday nights. This morning we took a train 3 hours and 20 minutes east and a bit south to Kiruna, Sweden.
Our route from the coast of Norway to Kiruna Sweden
The train ride today was beautiful and fascinating. Much of it was along the fjords and through the mountains. Before we arrived in Kiruna we came out of the mountain into pretty much flat land.
On the trainThrough the mountainsMore of our view from the train
Kiruna, where we are tonight is home to Europes largest iron ore mine. The town itself is being moved because the enormous mine under the old town put the town in danger of sinking into the ground. Our train arrived in old Kiruna and we took a taxi to our hotel in new Kiruna.
Kiruna train stationThe view from the train stationOur hotel – Scandic KirunaThe view from the hotel window
For dinner we walked to a nearby restaurant. The guy at the door told us it was a fast food restaurant. We ordered at the counter and picked up our food when our number came up.
Spill restaurant where we ate dinnerInside Spill restaurant My pasta with reindeer meat and loganberries Duke’s seafood pasta
We are currently at latitude 68 north. You can see how far north that is in this map.
Latitude 68 north
On the way to dinner I saw this sign. I have no idea what it means.
An enormous amount of iron ore mined in Sweden is exported through Narvik. From our hotel window we can see the trains carrying the ore from Sweden to the port of Narvik. It is pretty darn impressive.
The facility where the ore is offloaded from the trains and loaded into the ships. The brown cars are the ore cars. They go into the concrete tunnel to unload.
The Germans attacked Narvik in April of 1940. Narvik is the first place that they attacked in Norway. They wanted the Swedish iron ore.
This morning we went to the Narvik War Museum. It was fascinating and very well done. The land and sea battles in and around Narvik are explained in the museum. Duke and I watched the movie Narvik before we left home. That made the museum even more interesting.
Map and audio visual display explaining the battle of Narvik
While I was waiting for Duke to finish going through the museum. I talked to Anne, an American Norwegian woman. She met her husband in Chicago and moved to Norway in 1955. She is 92 years old!
Anne and I by the museum entrance
This afternoon we walked to the train station to see where it is. We were on the platform when an ore train went by.
Train carrying iron ore
For dinner we went to a restaurant called Fiskehallen. The name means fish market and the restaurant is in the restored fish market building.
The Fiskehallen restaurantDuke had a whale burgerI had fish and chips.
They were each very good.
Tonight is our last night in Norway. Tomorrow we take the train into Sweden.
This morning we did some laundry in the no charge washing machines on the ship. While the machines were running we had breakfast. Then we packed, and disembarked from the Havila Polaris in Finnsnes.
Doing laundryThe Havila Polaris pulling out
In Finnsnes we got the bus to Narvik. We changed buses once. Both buses were very comfortable and the countryside was scenic.
Our busDuke and I on the bus
In Narvik we walked to the hotel.
Our hotel in Narvik, the Scandic
We played some cards in the bar on the top floor of the hotel. Later we had a pizza for dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Today is our last full day on the Havila Polaris. I have been pleasantly surprised that we have had WiFi with internet the whole way.
This morning we crossed the Arctic Circle.
Roger and I as we pass the Arctic Circle monument.
A bit later we joined the Arctic Circle celebration. The Nordic god Njord, the God of the sea, appeared to baptize those who were above the Arctic Circle for the first time.
Njord baptizing a woman with ice water
We played cards until we docked in Bodø.
Playing the card game Hand and Foot. Duke and I had never played it before this trip.
In Bodø we disembarked and went exploring.
Statue of King Haakon VII in BodøInside Bodø cathedral.
When we got back on the ship we decided we should take advantage of the jacuzzi and Sauna since tomorrow we disembark.
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