Friday, June 22, 2012 – Molde, Norway – Party Cloudy – mid 70s

Honningsvag, Norway to Molde, Norway: 683 Nautical Miles

A gorgeous day in Molde, Norway.

Molde is located along the Romsdalsfjord – several islands in the fjord can be seen from the city.  The current population of Molde is approximately 22,000.

We are the only ship here today (not sure if the port can handle more than a single cruise ship at a time).

We are not on tour today and it is a beautiful day so we set out to explore this city. The city is quite modern with upscale shops and boutiques. Again, things are very expensive (I thought that the larger cities might see more competition which would force down prices – not so).  The city is known as “The City of Roses” – as the weather gets a bit warmer, the city will start to show off its flowers.  The park in the picture below already has a nice flower garden.

Another place with a well known garden is the City Hall with its rooftop Rose Garden.  Ellen found her way to the roof to check out the flowers and I stayed behind to capture the moment.

Ellen on Roof of City Hall

Ellen also shot a picture of the square below – Can you find me in the picture?

Hi…Up there

We took a turn toward the Fjord.  From there we got some terrific shots of the Constellation and Molde.

Celebrity Constellation and Molde, Norway

Yes, we were there

This location was also a good place for views of the fjords, nearby mountain range, islands, and the ferry boats.

 

 

Strolling among the shops on the main street, we came across a bench occupied by, I believe, Queen Sonja of Norway.  The Queen didn’t mind sharing the bench with my princess.

  

The Queen and the Princess

We also found a neat statue of a girl holding roses – no doubt a symbol of the city.

After walking the whole length of Molde, we headed to the pier and the Constellation.  It was so warm that we could actually use the chairs on the open deck for the first time on the cruise.

    

Ellen on the Open Deck

When it got a little cooler, Ellen found a unique, quiet place to hang out.

   

After dinner, we went to the Theater to catch California Soul Man Bruce Parker.  Not sure what California has to do with it, but he put on a very nice show – singing classics and new songs.  He never stopped moving the whole time – he probably lost 5 pounds during the performance.

Now that we are below the Arctic Circle, we saw our first sunset in days and it was a beautiful one.

First Sunset in a Week

Pedometer: 5437 steps; 2.57 miles; 266 Calories

Thursday, June 21, 2012 – Arctic Circle Crossing – Cloudy – high 40s

A cloudy cold day at sea – today, we are crossing the Arctic Circle once again on our way back to Amsterdam.

I am not on until this afternoon so the morning was spent looking over the talk, reading, and relaxing.

This morning, the ship is having it’s big brunch in the San Marco Dining Room.  I had an egg beater omelet, a bagel with lox and cream cheese, a salad, and some goodies.  The brunch is always a treat.

After the brunch, we went up to the Reflections Lounge to watch the sea and read.  I got a very nice picture (through the window) of the bow with the Helipad.

 

While we were up there, the Celebrity Singers and Dancers were rehearsing for an upcoming Theme Night.  It was almost like having a private show.  They were pretty good even practicing.  It was like watching chorus line with all of the performers in sweats and tights.

Singers and Dancers rehearsing in Reflections Lounge

My 2:15 PM Lecture - “Forensics and History: The Search for the Unknown Titanic Child” again drew a good crowd (more than 200).

Our waiter performed some magic by getting me the pasta dish of the night without seafood on it.  Really good.

Showtime tonight presented Magician Andy James.  The magic tricks were secondary to comic interaction with volunteers.  Some of the volunteers were very funny.  Andy does have a lot of cool magic toys.

Seas are smooth.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 – Honningsvag, Norway – Cloudy – 45F

Longyearbyen, Norway to Honningsvag, Norway: 534 Nautical Miles

Located near the North Cape (Nordkapp) on the island of Mageroy, Honningsvag is the world’s most northernmost village on mainland Europe.  It became a city officially in 1996 and currently has a population of about 3500. 

It is a popular tourist destination with about 1000 cruise ships visiting in the summer months.  There are four cruise ships here today:  Fred Olsen Braemar, HAL Prinsendam, Costa Deliziosa, and us.

Honningsvag and Cruise Ships

Today, we are tendering in – the Braemar was initially docked but repositioned to anchor to make way for the Costa ship.  There must a be a system for who docks and who doesn’t.  The tender ride was relatively short and pretty smooth (we heard it wasn’t that smooth earlier in the morning).

On our way to the Tender Port

The pier area is a pretty busy place with all kinds of shops (some run by indigenous peoples).  The area is also populated with a key Norse Mythological figure, the troll.  The one below must have been taking steroids since he is a bit bigger than the trolls I’ve heard about.

Honningsvag Troll

Ellen caught up with a troll more her size and subdued him by shoving his helmet down over his eyes.  A blind troll is pretty ineffective.  Watch out though, this one is armed.

   

Ellen and Troll

As the shop name below indicates, we are still 5 degrees north of the Arctic Circle (still in no sunset territory).  The vehicles sold or rented by this place look like the best way to get around.

ATV Store in Honningsvag

The pier area afforded a great shot of the Constellation at anchor out in the harbor.

 

Constellation in the Harbor

Free WiFi was not to be found in any of the stores.  During our walk around the town, we spotted a bunch of crew (not just ours) sitting on the sidewalk next to a closed store.  They were getting a weak WiFi signal from somewhere.  It took some patience but we were able to connect (unpredictably) to this source.  We did wind up being able to check our e-mail and send along some stuff. 

We continued our walk to a spot on the other side of the horse shoe shaped marina.  We found a little park (I can’t figure out what the statue is) and a very nice view of the marina – you can see the cruise ships docked in the distance.

The Honningsvag Marina

We inquired at one of the hotels near the marina about WiFi and found out they had none.  It was getting a bit drizzly so we walked back to the pier.  We checked out the shops a bit more but, by now, the passengers from all four ships had arrived and the stores and pier area were very crowded.  We tried to connect to that same WiFi system again with limited luck and then headed back to the ship.

The rest of the day was spent reading or relaxing.

After dinner, we attended Perry Grant’s Theater Show.  It was a fun show with Perry singing, playing the piano, and even dancing.  He’s quite the showman.

Pedometer: 3563 miles; 1.73 miles/179 calories

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 – At Sea – Arctic Ocean – Cloudy/Rainy – 40s

A cold day at sea…

 

An interesting day for passengers who attend lectures.  Today is “Lecture Marathon Morning” with four lectures in a row concluding with mine at 12:30 PM.  My third talk -“Mystery of the Romanovs” – still drew over 200 people.  I told the audience I was running the anchor leg for the lecture group – it was funnier in my head.

The rest of the day was all about finding a quiet place to relax.  Some reading, some games, some nothing.

After another fine dinner in the Dining Room, we took in the Second Production Show - “The Land of Make Believe”.  This show was a mashup of Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz and included some popular songs.  Lots of costumes and even a big dragon.  It was so colorful and interesting, I couldn’t resist taking several pictures (below).

 

Checked in with Perry Grant in Michael’s Club.

Monday, June 18, 2012 – Longyearbyen, Norway – Partly Cloudy – 42 F

Leknes, Norway to  Longyearbyen, Norway: 706 Nautical Miles

It is a foggy, chilly (actually warm by local standards) in Longyearbyen.  Many of the surrounding mountains are shrouded in low clouds.  The forecast is for the clouds to lift and for the sun to make an appearance later in the day.

Ellen on deck – Fjord in the background

Longyearbyen is the northernmost city in the world (located at 78 degrees North Latitude).  It is located on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago.  The city, located on the Adventfjorden, has a population just over 2000 people.  Because of its unique geographic status, it deserves a map (below).

Although the ship is docked, the town of Longyearbyen is relatively distant from the pier so the cruise line is supplying transfers to and from. The trip takes about 10 minutes and the busses run frequently.  The bus dropped us off in the center of town.

Longyearbyen was a coal producing town and some of the equipment used in the mining are still visible – coal cars that travel on rails and on cables.

We were told not to wander outside the city limits because of possible polar bear attacks.  We saw several men with rifles – they are most likely guides for tours that venture into the surrounding countryside.  Polar bears are not as cute as you think.

I took a shot of Longyearbyen as we approached the city center.  I believe that the center of the photo shows a glacier.

 

Longyearbyen (Glacier in the Distance)

The mountains surrounding Longyearbyen are magnificent – some with snow and some barren.  There are no trees since we are in an “Arctic Tundra” environment.

View of Mountains from City Center

Our plan in the City Center is to shop a little (if we can find some reasonable items) and to locate some WiFi to check in.  The town is relatively simple with several red wood houses.  The city center contains several shops (geared for both tourists and arctic adventurists), a library, and some eateries.  We were told that the Library in town has free WiFi.  We were able to connect while standing outside the Library and catch up on everything.

City Center – Longyearbyen

The main street in town has two main photo attractions.  The first is a stuffed Polar Bear (the only kind you can get close to safely).  All the passengers wanted a shot with the bear – including us.

Don’t worry - He won’t bite

The second photo op is the statue of the coal miner, who represents the history of this town.  We got some quality time with him as well.

The Coal Miner and Us

Remember that thing about Polar Bears and armed guides.  Some stores are nervous about armed individuals in their establishment so they have taken steps to keep their stores weapon free.

No Weapons (our reflection in the door)

We checked out all of the stores including the supermarket (pretty nice for a small town).  To get some steps in, we walked to the end of the town.  There is a Radisson Hotel in Longyearbyen (The Radisson Blu Polar Hotel) on the outskirts of town.  From there, we made our way back to the bus pickup spot.  A short time later, we were back on the ship.

As the day wore on, the clouds began to lift and the sun came out revealing the picturesque countryside.  That red tanker in the picture below did not move all day.

 

The mountains make an appearance 

The remainder of the day was spent in the Solarium reading and relaxing (I should mention at this point, that we did go into the salt water pool in the Solarium – it is great.  Bubbles, very warm, and salt water soothing).

We were told by the captain that the sail away would be very scenic.  We watched it from the Sea View Cafe. 

  

Leaving Longyearbyen

As we passed through the fjord, it became cloudy again.  The sail away pictures below show several mountain ranges and glaciers.  

            

Above – Sail Away – Through the Fjord

My prize shot during the sail away was the accidental capture of a seabird against the Arctic Terrain.

The show tonight was Variety Show Time featuring Niels Duinker, Lorraine Brown, and the Aerial Duo from France. 

We caught both of Perry Grant’s shows in Michaels Club .

Pedometer: 5102 steps;2.42 miles; 250 calories

Sunday, June 17, 2012 – At Sea – Arctic Ocean – Cloudy – high 40s

A really cold day at Sea…

Arctic Ocean

A good day for watching the sea go by while sitting in the Solarium – which is what we did for most of the day.  I made good progress on my e-books (I’ve read a number of books on the cruises; am now reading “Wheel of Death” – another Pendergast Novel.  This one takes places on an Ocean Liner).

My second presentation - “Cold Cases Solved” – is scheduled for 11:30 AM in the Celebrity Theater.  The attendance was about 200 (possibly more).  The talk went well.

While in the Solarium, Ellen said that the Spa folks were giving demos – I rushed over and got a nice 10 minutes neck and upper back massage.  Very relaxing. 

Showtime tonight featured Davie Howes.  The best way to describe him:  a multi instrument, crazy guy.  He attached a trumpet mouthpiece to just about any object (e.g. a walker) and played it like a bugle.  He was very zany.  The show was fun.