Dear Alan,
A quick note to say that everything went well on our recent trip to Norway and our "cruise/ voyage" on Havila Castor.
An airport bus goes around Bergen and stops at all the main places for a flat fare. The Clarion Hotel is in Brygge, the main thoroughfare in Bergen, and was excellent.
Bergen is reputedly the wettest city in Norway! However, we had a good time and there are lots of interesting museums - particularly the Maritime Museum. There is also a funicular - great fun, as well as a cable car to another peak.
We had been advised by friends who had been on the Havila Castor a few weeks before to go straight to the restaurant to arrange sittings for lunch and dinner – it was good advice. The cabin, meals and service were great, and the staff were all very friendly and approachable.
The Havila excursions are expensive for what they are and fortunately, we had downloaded "self-guided walking tours" of Trondheim and Tromso beforehand. These have been written by an Australian lady married to a Norwegian, are considerably cheaper and cover the same routes!
Of the excursions we did, Lofoten Islands, North Cape and the Russian border, the latter led by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic German, were the best.
We visited a WWII air raid bunker deep underground, followed by a visit to the border where the guide explained both the history and the current situation.
We also visited the Borderlands Museum in Kirkenes which is fascinating and included a section about the Sami people.
The Scandic hotel chain seems to be the equivalent of Premier Inn although the breakfast was significantly better in Kirkenes than any Premier Inn we have ever stayed in!
With a five-hour layover in Oslo, we put our luggage in a locker and caught the train into the city centre and did the Hop-on Bus Tour before returning to the airport! Oslo is lovely and we are now contemplating a city break - but not in winter!
Thank you.
Alun & Marion
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