you may have seen the films that i made from a voyage in July 2019, this time i'm travelling
in april so the landscapes of the north are going to look very very different!
last time i was sailing with my wife Serena, this time i'm travelling with another very
special lady, my mum.
For years i wanted to do this trip and i'm finally going to get on board and do it - it's
a dream come true!
so grab a coffee and come on board with us, there'll be extraordinary mountains, remote
arctic ports, elegant bridges, romantic sailing ship,s historic lighthouses, the north cape
and maybe even the northern lights.
Every evening the hurtigruden coastal express departs from norway's second city of bergen
- we're leaving on a thursday evening and our voyage will take us until next wednesday
morning to reach the final port of Kirkenes in the arctic next to the russian border.
Now with a setting that rivals sydney harbour bergen is one of my favourite cities.
I'd love to say that the weather is always like this but statistically bergen is actually
one of the wettest cities in europe, we've been extremely lucky!
nevertheless in all weathers it's still a fabulous city to visit.
the winter and spring timetable skips the detour to the Geiranger fjord for a longer
stay in the gorgeous city of Ålesund. in 1904 a fire swept through the city destroying
almost all of the buildings architects and construction workers arrived from all corners
of norway and beyond to reconstruct the city in the period of three years in the distinctive
blend of norwegian art nouveau.
many people reckon that Ålesund is the most beautiful city in norway and on a day like
today it's really hard to disagree
on day three of the journey the boat stops for three hours inappropriately norway's third
city - in fact during the viking times Trondheim was the capital of norway.
architecturally it's known for its colourful timber warehouses and of course it's medieval
masterpiece the 11th century Nidaros cathedral.
three hours isn't enough is it?
i'm gonna suggest ten hours at least to the captain - it's lovely here.
well then your first time crossing the arctic circle are you ready for it?
yes i'm all wrapped up here we go!
the first major port after the arctic circle is Bodø - this is a small town with big ambitions
in 2024 it's going to be the european capital of culture the first time that the accolade
has been given to any town north of the arctic circle.
the driving force is not just tourism but also to create more incentives for the young
population to stay and build their futures here away from the bright lights of the south.
the main program starts in two years time but for now there's plenty of exciting street
art to discover
the final stop on day four is Svolvær, the surprisingly high rise capital of the lofoten
islands now i've been here in mid-summer when it feels like the mediterranean this evening
it definitely feels more like the arctic.
as we're running a bit late we've only got half an hour here so barely time to touch
the ground before sailing again
during the late 19th and early 20th century Tromsø was a centre for polar exploration
you couldn't walk into a bar without bumping into Nansen or Amundsen (probably), on our
short visit today we've got a slightly different kind of polar exploration in mind - find a
warm cafe!
it's just after five o'clock in the morning on day six of the voyage and after a pretty
rough night we've arrived at hammerfest which by some definitions is the northernmost town
in the world - if you're looking for a high arctic metropolis this is it
now you may remember from the start of the film that i promised you nordkapp, the north
cape, well here we are day six we've arrived at honningsvåg, the gateway to north cape,
but sadly the buses are not going anywhere due to dangerously high winds high on the
plateau, but that's life around here nature is king and travel plans can change very quickly.
on the bright side it gives us more time to spend in the fishing port of honningsvåg
which is a rival for hammerfest for the northernmost town in the world.
this is the best place to be on a day like today.
whose idea was this?
we could have been soaking up the sun in italy!
it's a bit wild but i wouldn't have missed it for the world.
it seems a long time since we were basking in the sunshine and sailing through the calm
waters between bergen and trondheim.
after leaving honningsvåg we head out into the barents sea just as a deep depression
is moving in from the west - it's going to be fun.
well the captain thought very differently and he considered that 12 meter high waves
out in the barents sea we're not going to be much fun for anybody so we're diverting
south to the sheltered port of alta and then to make our final destination of Kirkenes
we're going to be taking a bus across the high finnmark plateau - now that should be
an adventure
so this is day seven the final day of a weather affected journey instead of pulling into kirkenes
we're here in alta.
it's the 27th of april and it's minus eight degrees so imagine what it was like three
months ago but it was 24-hour darkness as well
halfway through our surprise lapland road trip and we've reached karasjok which is where
the indigenous sami people have their parliament.
it's a place that i've always wanted to visit but sadly no time for tourism today it's just
a quick stop for lunch
well mum we've made it to norway's final frontier right by the russian border.
obviously the intention was to sail in on the varangerfjord instead of a bus on the
arctic highway but never mind, even with the unforeseen alterations did the journey meet
your expectations?
the coastline of norway is incredible i'd love to do it all again but maybe in summer!
well we've got a flight to catch so that's goodbye from the arctic please subscribe to
the channel and i'll see you on the next journey