Birthdays at work

Life on board is hard to explain to people. We all miss home, family and friends and perhaps particularly on days such as your birthday. This was my first time celebrating on board and I must say I was wondering how it would be without the special attention you normally get at home from friends and family. I´m happy to report that everyone I saw that day made me feel very special and loved.

It started while working in the dining hall in the morning when some of the crew sang the Norwegian birthday song and placed the coolest yellow crown on my head, telling me that I had to wear it the whole day through. Later I discovered about 10 posters that the receptionist trainee had put up all over the ship. They resulted in several congratulations and even more hugs. Not only from crew but passengers as well.

The weirdest thing of all was my cake. You see the birthday tradition includes a cake for you and the crew to enjoy. One of the chefs has made crazy, nasty looking birthday cakes her speciality and I must say that mine is the worst I´ve seen so far. Don´t get it wrong, they are all pieces of art and there´s no doubt that the girl is talented but oh my goodness what and awful looking cake it was! That being said, the butt cheek tasted great!

Cape Reinga and my grandmother´s tree

Some of you might not know it but at the moment I´m on holiday in New Zealand. I´m having an absolutely marvelous time. This must be one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I´m very lucky to have my friend Ingerid and her boyfriend Isaac as local tour guides.

On the day I was leaving, I received a message from home that my grand mother had passed away. She died 5 days before her 91st birthday. We knew she was weak and ill because of age but didn´t know how long she would stay with us. I was just about to board the plane from Schipol to Beijing when my mother wrote me the sad news. She said that my grand mother would have wanted me to go and my stomach feeling told me that I should travel despite feeling really sad. 

All settled and rested in Auckland I found out what great travel plans Ingerid had made for us. We were supposed to head north to the Bay of Islands and from there make it up to the New Zealand "North Cape" called Cape Reinga. The original plan was to leave today Sunday the 26th but we ended up leaving Thursday the 23th in stead. After one night at a backpacker place in the Bay of Islands, we got up with the sun and boarded the "Awesome NZ bus" that we would spend the next 11 hours on. 

Our tour guide and bus driver Barry made the trip and unforgettable one. He told us great stories along the route. Among them was the spiritual importance of Cape Reinga. The Maori believe that the spirit of the dead travel to the afterlife from Cape Reinga. They actually leave the land through an 800 year old tree. Barry told us that when visiting the cape, we should think of our loved ones. He also shared a very personal and sad story of loosing his son at the age of 5. He explained how important the cape is to him and how he tries to visit the tree he has planted there in remembrance of his son. 

Since this was the day of my grand mother´s funeral, I decided that I would plant a tree for her as well. It felt wonderful being able to mark the day even though I was on the opposite side of the world. 

Grand mother Asbjørg´s tree

The whole atmosphere on the cape was magical. It´s truly one of the most amazing places I have ever been. It might have had something to do with me being quite emotional that day but the color of the sea and land, the sound of crushing waves and cicadas "singing" all around us, the great company in Ingerid and the sun and warm temperature in addition to the wind keeping us from melting away, really made the day perfect. 

Kirkenes Snow hotel

Now that I´m again working as the Hurtigruten potato, one of the most important jobs that I do is selling our excursions. Obviously to be good at selling something, you have to know your product. I have been on a few of our summer excursions but not that many of the winter events. Therefore when we got to Kirkenes Sunday, I got to go to see the Snow hotel or "Gabba" as it is also known. (Gabba means white reindeer)

As we sailed into the fjord towards Kirkenes, the sun was rising and from the ocean we could see the mist rise. It was quite magical.

I hopped on the right bus after sending most of the guest in the right direction together with my boss Ina.(we have another 2 excursions offered in Kirkenes and two additional busses taking the passengers to the airport or the city centre) The ride was short but I´m really happy we didn´t have to walk because the temperature was -15. That is not uncommon for Kirkenes but still something we don´t experience too often.

Here are some of the pictures from the ice hotel:

 The hall way. Rooms both to the right and left

 The Nansen Suite

 My favourite room!

Outside of the hotel I spotted a bunch of exclusive and expensive vehicles. These things are very very Norwegian and called "Spark". Works perfect in places that stay cold and white through most of the winter. 

 Spark

Rudolph showed up as well and he was very curious and hungry. I want to add super cute too but he didn´t really like it when I tried to cuddle him behind his ear so I´m not sure I would have him as a pet.

"feed me or leave me alone"

I liked the tour a lot. It might have had something to do with the weather. Just look at the pictures below. However the snow hotel is a very interesting concept. What struck me the most was the silence in the rooms. I think I would have slept really well there. Right next to it they had a big and wonderful sauna and what better way to start your morning after a night in a snow cave than sitting in a wonderfully warm sauna? Maybe I´ll book a room next year. Anybody who would join me?? :)

 At last I leave you with a picture of the boat docked in red January light. What a wonderful day!

Christmas at sea

Finally a small update from the far north.

I'm once again out sailing and working hard. Right now we're heading north from Tromsø towards Kirkenes. The ship is full. 170 new guests arrived this afternoon in Tromsø and they are all hoping to see the Northern lights. I've just announced the message I recieved from the bridge about clear and beautiful Northern Lights ahead of the ship and I can hear the passengers running up the stairs. Just as fascinating every time. Suddenly old grandma and grandpa are as light footed as they were back in 1949. :)

I wanted to tell you about Christmas at sea. Today I´m sailing with the MS Nordnorge that was built in 1997 but during the holidays I sailed with the MS Nordstjernen. The "Grand old lady", oldest in our fleet and the most charming if you ask me. She´s going to be retired in September after 56 years in service, and I´m really happy I got to spend my first Christmas at work, on her.

We stayed over night in Bergen the 24th and had a wonderful evening meal. Just take a look at the picture of our colder dishes on our Buffet.

Yummy!

The dining hall looked nice and red through out the holiday as well. It truly has such a nice atmosphere I would have liked for you all to come and visit!

The 25th we headed north as usual at 22.30. I went to sleep but that was one rocky night. We had the hurricane "Dagmar" above our heads and at some point I had to put my knee between the mattress and the wall to prevent sliding and flying in my bed. Around 3. AM two huge waves hit us. The whole ship was shaking and I could hear lots of noise, but I was too tired and annoyed to get up. Finally around 3.30 AM i managed to get some sleep. 

I woke up to silence. We were still docked in Måløy waiting for the storm to pass over the open and famously rough sea strech "Stadt" that was still between us and the next port of call: Ålesund. Måløy looked like this:

No power! No phone line! Later we learned that it had been the worst storm in decades. Even though we had secured everything on board to our best knowledge (and believe me, the people on Nordstjernen know how to secure things), our ice cubes machine had flown from its place and almost cut the girl in the cafe in two halves! Oh boy! :/ There was broken glass all over the floor. Must have been a rough night for those on duty...

Our fridge in the bar looked like this...

Later I recieved a storm certificate. Quite cute: 

At 10 we set of to cross Stadt and I waited for the huge waves that we thought would hit us. What a disappointment!! Hmm well here is a photo of us being a little sea sick

The journey between Ålesund and Trondheim was quite rocky as well but we made it there safe and sound and hoped we would be able to leave it at noon like the schedule says. After a little back and forth, we ended up staying there for another 12 hours resulting in us skipping the next 11 ports and making my home port Harstad the next stop. Luckily from there most things went just as planned and we had a wonderful time with the sweet sweet guests. 

Trondheim the 26th of December

I have to say that I´d sail Nordstjernen again through any storm. She really is my favourite ship and I will be very sad to see her retire. However I think it´s about time. She´s not in the best of shape and rather expensive to keep running. Not to forget, probably not that environmentally friendly. 

I´d like to end the post with a picture of how most of the Christmas journey onboard looked: 

Am I not lucky to be able to experience these sights? :) 

I´ve been productive

The last weeks in Germany were busy. I discovered a true knitter´s heaven in Leer of all places. Rows and rows of wonderful yarn in all colours and different mixtures. The lady who own the shop spoke perfect English and was truly helpful. When I found the yarn that I wanted she pointed out that she had almost exactly the same type, just 3 € cheaper. Good service I must say!

A neck warmer and a matching hat which was a gift for a girl that dislikes the wet and cold weather in Ostfriesland

Another neck warmer for someone who doesn´t know it yet. Hope she doesn´t see this before the 24th. 

I also knitted two black hats but never took pictures of them. Hope those who receive them will be warm and happy as well :)

The last weeks I went slightly crazy in the kitchen. I couldn´t leave my family without some of the  "Frühstücksmischung" - cereal that we ate every morning. So I made 4,5 boxes of it. Should last a while I hope!

Dirk told me that it would be good for his weight that I was leaving. I baked something like 7 cakes the last month.. :) haha I think I was compensating for something, but that´s a different story. The other reasons were all the birthdays that popped up and that I wanted to give the family my favourite Chirstmas cookie "Dronningkake" as a farewell present.

"Kvæfjordkake" or "Verdens beste" (The world´s best) as it´s also know.

This was the first time I tried making this cake and I skimmed through the recipe and thought I had understood how to make it. For those of you who don´t know it, it consist of two layers with rum cream in between. Really yummy for sure! When I have made cakes I´m used to cutting them in two circular halves for filling and then adding some icing on the top as well. The Kvæfjordkake recipe told me to make two halves but I was so confused because the cake came of the oven rather flat, I had no idea how I would manage to make two pieces out of one. Since this was supposed to be a birthday cake for Olli I had to make yet another one. I couldn´t show up with a "failed cake" so I made my regular carrot cake. 

I was slightly disappointed that I had failed but Dirk came up with the wonderful idea that we would cut it in two "sideways" halves and enjoy it anyway. I decided to read through the recipe once again and then it turned out, that´s EXACTLY how it´s supposed to be made. I had just misread it.. oh boy that was such a blonde moment...!! Nevertheless we had lots of cake to enjoy for the next few days and everyone were happy :D

Made from scratch marzipan with rum or lemon taste and chocolate cover 

Dronningkake, my favourite Christmas cookie. If you want the recipe you can ask and I will share, but I don´t want to make it available for everyone ;)

At the end I will share a photo of the last evening meal I shared with the Lucius family. Gluten free Mexican pizza topped with salad and strong(!!!) garlic yogurt dressing, guacamole and nachos. Totally delicious!

One week at home

Time for an update on how things are going back in Norway.

It´s been a week since I put my feet on Harstad ground again and it´s gone by really quickly (as always). I have not done much because I needed to rest after the long journey home and the little sleep I got during it. I have however burned a lot of candles, messed up my apartment, unpacked, listened to great music and met up with good friends and family. My parents and I even managed to squeeze in a visit to Lofoten where I saw my 7 weeks old cousin Tamara who is a total cutie and my soon to be 91 year old grand mother!! :)

Since my return the weather has been good. Harstad received soft and beautiful white snow on my first day home and the whole city looked like the perfect Christmas card. Between the 2nd of December and the 10th of January Harstad has "Mørketid" - the polar night so I haven´t seen the sun since I returned. That doesn´t mean that it´s pitch dark though. During my travels many people have asked about and wondered what the polar night feels like and I therefore want to show you some pictures of how the city has looked the last week.

The view towards the ocean from my parents house. Taken 11.12.2011

 Snapshot from Trondenes church Sunday 11.12.2011. 

 Beautiful moon light above Harstad sometime this week. You can see MS Kong Harald on the

opposite side of the bay. 

The Vågsfjord and Harstad this morning at about 11. am

Harstadbotn and the mountains to the south. Can´t remember the names unfortunately

This Christmas will be spent at sea, working. I´m heading out on Wednesday and I will only return the 8th of January. I therefore try to celebrate the holiday on beforehand. Have succeeded only half way but on Sunday I got the proper Christmas feeling while listening to Harstad Mannskor (a choir made up only by men) in the Trondenes church. (Picture number 2) They sang some of the most beautiful songs I know and during "O helga natt/O holy night" I had tears in my eyes and goose bumps all over my arms. It was wonderful.

Now I wish the ocean to be gentle towards MS Nordstjernen where I will celebrate the holiday and that everyone reading this will have a peaceful and lovely Christmas and a happy and joyful new 2012!

MS Nordstjernen docked in Svolvær August 2011.

November

I will start this blog entry by saying that I am going to talk about the weather. Now you have been warned! ;)

On my way to school yesterday I was listening to the radio. They were discussing the weather. Apparently it´s been an exceptionally dry November. Germany normally receive an average of 66 liter precipitation per square meter in November. So far this month the measurements say 0,4 l (!!)

For those rain-haters out there I´m sure you´re smiling and picturing yourself enjoying the sun while raking up colourful autumn leaves. Well let me tell you something about Ostfriesland, the area I live in. It´s one big marsh field! As any other good marsh field, Ostfriesland does an excellent job of producing massive amounts of fog! Don´t get me wrong, I have experienced my share of foggy weather. In fact, in Svalbard it comes and goes throughout the summer. In Harstad too, we are all familiar with the ocean fog rolling in from the sea if the wind happen to come from the "wrong side" (which it often does by the way). Clearly, I know how annoying this particular type of weather can be but I also know that the sun is never far away. It normally peeks through the mist and reminds us that the wind soon will turn as well.
In Ostfriesland on the other hand.. Well let me put it this way: in my 28 year long life, I have never experienced such long periods of NO SUN and such thick fog.

I have not managed to take any good pictures of the thickness of it but the photo above was taken on a sunny Sunday. The family and I wanted to go the the dike to look at the setting sun. We left the house under a blue sky, drove the 5min ride (5 min if we encounter no trains at the train crossing, 15 min if we are on typical "Ostfriesen time," meaning the one controlling the boom is in no hurry to lift the damn thing even though there might be plenty of time for 20 cars to pass between the train arrivals) down to the dike and were met with the white fuzzy wall somewhere in between home and the river. Oh fun! :/

It has to be said that I find the weather in East Friensland fascinating. It´s so different from anything I´ve ever seen. However there´s only so much fog a girl can take. It creeps and crawls in everywhere no matter how well you pack that scarf around your neck or tuck the jacket around you. It´s so freaking humid and the air is nothing but raw. brrrrrr

To my great surprise I saw no fog when I pulled the curtains aside this morning :)  Indeed the last three weeks have been so packed with the fuzzy stuff that I hardly remember what the sun looks like. Of course I saw no sun this morning either, but at least it was possible to spot more than just the neighbour´s house, which is an improvement if you ask me.

I´d rather like to show you what the landscape looks like on a beautiful sunny day. (Yes there was one last Thursday believe it or not) It happened to be on my day off. I got up, dressed in running clothes and set off to have a look at the country side along the "Ostfriesland Wanderweg" while working my lazy butt a little.

Oesfriesland Wanderweg

I did get a nice work out of the hour I spent outside, but so much more as well. I saw happy cows, pigs and goats running around on the green beautiful fields and wonderful autumn coloured trees. What a wonderful day.

The harvest has been brought indoors already

Happy pigs 

and curious goats that let me cuddle them. 

The fields are green and the cows are happy too

The pictures were taken with my mobile phone hence the low quality but I hope it still shows what a beautiful area Ostfriesland really is. 

Being from Norway I find it quite amazing that I´m enjoying the landscape here so much. I normally miss mountains and the ocean quite quickly when being far away from them. I guess it means I find Ostfriesland to be home. Just writing that makes me feel so good that I believe it to be true. :)