The above photo was taken from a scenic view while in Kirkenes, Norway.

In February 2017 I decided to cruise Norway with Hurtigruten.  The ship I was on is named the Finnmarken.  This was a 12 day round trip cruise this started in Bergen and ended back in Bergen after making many stops as far north as Honningsvåg and Kirkenes which is not far from the Russian border.

The first thing I should tell you about going on a cruise with Hurtigruten is that their ships are working ships.  That is why they make so many stops.  It is also more of a ferry.  New passengers get on and off the ship in various locations quite frequently.  People in Norway use these ships to get from one area the country to another.

I have been on 12 cruises in the past five years.  I have cruised with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise lines, and Holland America.  Cruising with Hurtigruten was such a different experience.  Many people go on cruises for the entertainment and to party.  I know because I have done so in the past ;)  There was no entertainment such as singers, bands, and speakers and t is also very expensive to party as one glass of wine is 14 USD. 

In spite at the lack of entertainment on the ship, this was definitely one of the most fun adventures I have ever been on.  One of the best things about this cruise was the scenery.  The ship is never far from the shore and it makes frequent stops.  I also got to see the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights because of the time of year I went. 

I have written three posts about this cruise.  Here they are:

Visiting the Famous Snowhotel in Kirkenes Norway

Visiting the Beautiful City of Trondheim, Norway and the Nidaros Cathedral

Visiting the Top of the World: Honningsvåg, Norway

I will be writing more in the coming weeks.

In January 2013 I visited the bottom of the world also known as Antarctica which I absolutely loved.  I desperately want to return now that I know how to use my camera better.  I came very close to booking a trip this year but decided to go to the top of the world instead.  Honningsvåg is the northernmost city in Norway and maybe the world but this is disputed by several places such as Barrow, Alaska.

Click here to see my posts about Antarctica.

I had always wanted to visit Norway and had been eyeing the Hurtigruten cruises that start in Bergen and travel all the way to the top of Norway and back to Bergen.  I feel like a made a great decision as I've never seen anywhere similar to the country of Norway - especially the northern section.   Once we got to the Arctic Circle I felt like I was in another world!

I visited this area at the beginning of February.  They were only expecting about six hours of sunlight.  I noticed that everyone has their lights on and the middle of the day when our ship stopped.  I also began to wonder if many of the houses were painted bright colors because it is dark for so long during certain times of the year.  The moon was also visible all day which I thought was very picturesque.  These people don't see the sun for a whole month during the winter.
I found myself wondering a lot what it was like to live in such a small town whose population was only a few thousand people.  Then I remembered that I am from a very small town in Vermont.  I doubt it's much different than the area I grew up in.
Fishing is a big part of the economy.  Although it was very cold this time of year I did see people out on fishing boats.
Like almost all of the towns our cruise ships docked in Honningsvåg was very beautiful.  You can see a tree farm growing on the mountainside.
All around Honningsvåg the landscape becomes very rugged with craggy mountains like the one below
Hurtigruten's Finnmarken is not only a cruise ship it is also a working ship.  It stops in this and many other towns to drop off and pick up supplies as well as passengers.

Here are a couple more views of the town taken from the ship.  We were allowed to disembark but we didn't have a lot of time.  I did get off the ship but you will see below how long I stayed on shore:

It was very cold for this Floridian so I walked into town and started my way back almost immediately.  I like the photos I can get from the ship's deck and and in spite of my Vermont upbringing I am not used to temperatures hovering around 0°F.

Here I am again looking like a Scandinavian snowman.  My winter coat is very warm but I am also wearing two heavy sweaters underneath it along with a scarf wrapped around my neck, a thick winter hat and some heavy duty winter gloves.  You will need these things if you visit Northern Norway in the winter.  I was much colder visiting this area then I was visiting Antarctica (you can only visit Antarctica when it is summer in the southern hemisphere).  I did, however, find the temperatures to be similar to that of when I visit Vermont in the winter.
I didn't pack a tripod.  That was one of my biggest mistakes going on this trip.  One of the main things I wanted to see was the Northern lights also known as the Aurora Borealis .  We got to see them several nights in a row - we were very lucky and they lasted a long time while putting on quite a show.  These 10 second exposure photos were taken handheld so they are not the best. 
Although I didn't come away from this trip with great photos of the Northern Lights, I got to see them with my heart and my mind.  Even if I had had a tripod the ship was moving and I'm not sure they would've turned out a whole lot better.  If you want to get some great shots of the Northern Lights I recommend being on the ground or on a ship which isn't moving when the wind is minimal. 

Hurtigruten gave us this nice certificate showing that we head across the Arctic Circle.  I crossed so many items off of my bucket list on this trip.  I got to see the beautiful country of Norway, the Northern Lights, and crossed the Arctic Circle.

 Are you interested in visiting Norway?  Would you consider going on a cruise with Hurtigruten?  Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope you all have a terrific week.  Thank you for visiting!

~Michelle

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"It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."

— Sir Francis Drake, Sea Captain George

I do love cruises!  I really like seeing the coast line when I arrive at different destinations.  I also like exploring different areas that I'm unsure if I would like to visit for a week or two versus just a day trip.  During my seven day Mediterranean cruise we visited two cities in Croatia including Dubrovnik and Split.

I had thought that immediately going on a cruise after a 12 1/2 hour overnight flight from Florida to Italy would be a good idea.  I was really jet lagged during the majority of my seven-day Mediterranean cruise.  One would think that with how much I travel that I am good at dealing with jet lag.  That is not the case!  I know that it is not a good idea to take a nap immediately after arriving in Europe where the time is six hours ahead but I just can't seem to stop myself.

I learned that going on a cruise immediately after arriving in Europe after a long overnight flight is not the best idea - at least for me.  There are too many opportunities to nap and eat too much which makes me want to sleep even more.  Upon reflection, I would spend a couple of days near the port before boarding the ship and do my best to acclimate to the new time zone.

Here are a few snaps I took of Dubrovnik Croatia from the balcony of my cruise ship.  Thank goodness I splurged on a balcony which really wasn't that much more sailing with Norwegian.  I flew into Venice and went directly to the port to board my ship.  Luckily I was escorted to my room soon after arriving at the port and was able to take a nap - I am a BIG baby when it comes to long flights and dealing with jet lag!

 I was fortunate enough to visit Venice for the second time in two years  during July 2016 and this time it didn't rain the entire time!  I was there for five days following a Mediterranean cruise that left from Venice and visited Greece as well as Croatia.  I've never been really excited about the thought of visiting Venice and wasn't overly impressed with this incredible city after my first visit but definitely fell in love with this area that is like no other during my second visit!

Here is one of my very edited HDR images that I took two years ago when there was a slight break from the rain that happened most of the time I spent there:

Going on a Mediterranean cruise was at the top of my bucket list at the beginning of the summer.  When I started to do research into this trip I realized that leaving from Rome, Athens or Venice were some of my options.  I chose to leave from Venice for two reasons.  I thought it would be easier to get to the cruise ship and I plan to spend some time at whichever port I chose to leave from.  I was most drawn toward Venice as Rome and Athens seem like a really large cities to me.  I was traveling solo and felt more comfortable in a smaller city like Venice versus Rome. 

For those of you who are interested in a Mediterranean cruise leaving from Venice it costs 45 euros to get from the Venice airport to the port.  I gave the driver a €5 tip which I could tell he was quite shocked!  I was unpleasantly surprised when I exited the ship one week later and learned that a water taxi was my only option to get to my hotel.  The water taxi cost me €80.  I didn't let it bother me too much as there was no choice at that point. 

I stayed at a wonderful hotel right on the Grand Canal that had a balcony and an amazing view.  The view was so incredible I had to drag myself out of the room to go do things as opposed to just watching the action on the Grand Canal.  The sunrises and sunsets were not a disappointment either!  The name of the hotel I stayed at is called Hotel NH Collection Venezia Palazzo Barocci.  This hotel is in the San Marco area of Venice.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to stay on the Grand Canal.  The location was great as I could walk everywhere I wanted to go, the breakfast was good, the Wi-Fi was reliable and the beds were comfortable.  The staff was also very friendly and accommodating!

La Isla shopping center in downtown Cancun in the hotel zone resembles that of any large American city with every high-end shop you can imagine, nice restaurants to eat at, and bars to grab a drink in the very hot weather that is prevalent in this part of the world.  This area of Cancun did not exist when I first visited in college.  All their were was outdoor markets where locals were selling their homemade goods that you could barter for.  Now this area is very attractive but looks quite similar to the shopping centers in large cities around United States.