Northern Trip Days 3!

 Hello again! Let’s talk about the next day of the trip. After the overnight train from Trondheim to Bodø, we went to breakfast at a little cafe inside the train station. We reserved a little room in the cafe where we were able to leave our big packs while we looked around the town. Some people stayed back with our stuff, while a group of us wandered a bit. Marlene, Helena, and I walked along the harbor, played on a strange playground, explored a church, and then went back to meet the rest of the class. 

Here is the Sami museum in Bodø.

I only brought one pair of pants so I just wear two pairs of long Johns most days :)

Weird playground? 

At noon we walked to the harbor and boarded a ship called Hurtigruta. That’s just the name of the company, the actual ship had a name but I don’t remember it hehe. These kinds of ships sail along the coast of Norway stopping at one or two cities/towns a day. It’s basically a cruise ship, but relatively small. I wish I had a picture but I don’t. If you look up “Hurtigruta Norwegian Cruise” the ship will pop up, I promise. Anyways. We had to get a Covid test once we got on the boat, and it took forever. So we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally all of us were done and we got our seats up on deck 7. Usually people have a little cabin, but we were only meant to be on the ship for about 6/7 hours so we just sat in chairs. 

*Okay quick cut to current time. It is currently Friday at 8:35 and I am finding it hard to make my fingers keep up with my brain. I have so much to say! We’ve had so many weird, little experiences over the last few days and I wish I could share them all. I’m going to try my best, but reach out if you have any additional questions!

This cruise ship was unique because it was filled with mostly old couple that were of all nationalities. You could hear British accents, fluent German, Norwegian, and English all smashed together. Very strange. It’s so weird to suddenly be able to overhear conversations and understand them after 6 months of being surrounded by Norwegian! There was no wifi on the boat which was frustrating, or I guess there was but it costed 80 kr every 24 hours 😠. 

This is the only photo I have from the boat ride😂. This is Sondre sleeping 

I spent most of my time drawing, wandering around, and trying to nap a bit. They had a little cafe that served the most delicious ice cream I’ve ever had. It was apple and cinnamon flavored and tasted like fresh apple pie. Cold apple pie of course, but it was amazing. I may or may not have gotten it two times 😬. After a few hours Marlene, Helena, and I decided to try the hot tubs that sat at the very back of the ship outside on a deck. So we changed into our still wet swimsuits and ran freezing down the hallways. We hopped and in a few minutes later a crabby old lady walked out the door and said “You can’t be in there! It’s terrible for your skin! That one has been closed all day!” We panicked a bit and got out immediately and got in the other hot tub instead (There was 2). After a few minutes a boat employee came out and tested the water in the other tub. He assured us our skin was PROBABLY fine. But we were all a little freaked out. It was beautiful though. Sitting in the hot water surrounded by cold air, stars, and the northern lights. Which I forgot to mention! They are crazy active up here. I have some pictures. They are not as bright as they will be farther up north, but it is crazy to see them in person. Anyways, we got off the ship around 22:00 that evening in Svolvær. Marianne met us at the little terminal outside the boat with 6 hot, delicious pizzas and a scary story to tell. On her flight up to Svolvær, her plane began dropping in the sky and the oxygen masks were deployed. As you can imagine, everyone thought the plane was about to crash, and many believed they might die. She came to us very shaken and scared. But she pulled through and brought us pizza anyways. We are so lucky to have Marianne. She does so much for us and I love her like family. When she arrived in Svolvær she picked up a big van and drove it to meet us when we got off the boat. We spent close to an hour playing Tetris in order to fit all of our packs and people in the van and then got on the road. Now. To answer your question. Yes. All of this happened in one day. And yes. We were exhausted. We drove about 2 hours to a little fishing town called Ballstad where we stayed in little colorful cabins by the ocean. They were super old and cute. I fell asleep as soon as my bed was made, and let me tell you. It was one of the best night sleeps I’ve ever had. That’s it for today! Next post will potentially tonight, but most likely tomorrow :) thanks for reading! It is so fun to recount all the small adventures we are having!  

Also! I can’t post videos on here, but I am going to be posting lots of little videos (I like videos more than pics) on my Instagram! So feel free to go check it out at @Muddypaws7