As part of our epic Norwegian adventure, we thought it would be (in theory) very cool to take a working ferry boat for a couple of nights to cross the Arctic Circle. There are boats that cruise up and down the Northern Sea coast, traveling along dramatic fjords and criss-crossing in and out of the open seas. We liked the idea of being on a bona-fide working ship, not a monster cruise ship.
Enter the hurtigruten (I just love to say that word out loud). Please try it yourself, channeling the Swedish chef. I know, this is Norwegian, not a Swedish word; but you will get the idea. Anywho, this hurtigruten had hours of open sea as part of our two night itinerary, not summertime, Caribbean open sea, but hardcore North Sea, Deadliest Catch–inspired waves.
One issue, we are not a seafaring family. All of us seem to suffer from seasickness if we even look at a boat. In the end, we had about four hours out of the trip where the ship seemed to be on a rollercoaster track. Good news, Italian dramamine is helpful. More good news, Noah is more seaworthy then we thought. He enjoyed the ride. Bad news, Josh was catatonic for a good two hours, laying in bed with my scarf over his eyes. I myself broke out in a cold/hot sweat at the same time (did not know that was possible). I thought happy thoughts and swore at that moment that we will never take a boat for more than an hour again.
But, we also had an episode where the wind was blowing so hard on the upper deck that you could lean your whole body into the wind. That causes the best kid giggles you have ever heard. And, one night, right after we got ready for bed, the captain announced that Northern Lights were visible. We threw jackets on over pjs and rushed up to view. It was freezing and dark and magical. The faint green lights grew up over a fjord horizon line. A good sign of things to come.
We watched a bizarre ritual on the upper deck as the captain “baptized” people after crossing the Arctic Circle by pouring ice water down their backs. I lay awake for most of the first night as our cabin was next to the engine, which shook the room uncontrollably every time it pulled into a port to move cargo. That was about seven times during the night. I switched rooms for night two. But being awake let me watch the waves crash outside and the snow fly past my window in flurries.
The food on ship was remarkably good and one night we got off the boat to go to a viking feast in the middle of the Lofoten islands.This is where the whole Arctic winter was a bit of a bummer. I have looked at pictures of the fjords and vistas of this archipelago in the summer. It looks so pretty. All we saw was an icy road, Christmas lights in windows and the faint outlines of granite and snow-capped peaks. However, the viking meal was really good, and Noah enjoyed learning the Norwegian word for toasting “skoal!”
When we pulled into our final destination, I felt a little wistful that we weren’t staying on the ship. We had all slept better the second night and the waters had stayed calm enough to forget the rollercoaster. It was continuing on to the farthest northern point in Norway. We had settled in to the explorer’s lounge, which had floor to ceiling windows, with incredible views of the fjords rolling by.
Our hotel in Tromsø was right at the exit of the docks, so we watched the Polarlys pull away. We all waved goodbye wistfully. Except Sylvie, who said “I am NOT going on that thing again”.