Kay and Sylvia's Norwegian Adventure 2015: Mother's 94th Birthday!

July 4, 2015 (Day 5)

Today we could take it easy in the morning so took advantage of the time to wash our hair for the 'big day.' We had a brief stops in Harstad and Finnsnes as noted in the daily printed program. The ship has about 34 ports on the entire route; most of the stops are only 15 minutes to load and unload things and for passengers to enter and/or leave. (We get new passengers almost every day - some for just 1-2 nights.) The program lists the highlights of the day - what we could look for along the way - and is in four languages: Norwegian, English, German, and French. (All important information is given over the intercom system in those four languages as well.) For example, the entry at 8:00 am was "After departure from Harstad we can see the Trondenes church from 1250 on the port side. This is the northernmost medieval stone church in Norway." (BTW, the Kvinherrad kyrkje in Rosendal is also from 1250.)

After lunch, Mother and I waled into the city of Tromso for two hours with Ramiro and Moraima. Tromso is the largest town in northern Norway with about 75,000 inhabitants. It is referred to as the 'capital of the Arctic.' There is a major university and a large hospital, which are two of the main 'industries.' We saw a church - the outside only as it was closed - which has concerts each day at 5 pm (for 100 NOK). We went to the Tromso Husflid which was to be open until 3:30, however, we found it closed! I saw someone inside and knocked on the door (it was 2:30 by this time). She shook her head and went away. She then left by a side door. Ramiro saw her and asked her why it was closed. I mentioned that the sign said it was open until 3:30. She just said it closed early. One would think that when tourists are coming on the ship daily, all stores would be open! This is just an indication that Norwegians must make enough money that they can do as they like. A few years ago when I was in Bergen in March, I talked with Kari, my antique dealer, regarding closing shops early or unexpectedly. She said that people close their shops by Wednesday noon during Holy Week and some sooner; there is no motivation to stay open if they have things to do and place to go! And, they have good incomes.

We glanced in a couple other shops en route to the Radisson so that Ramiro and I could get connected to the internet. This is when I downloaded photos and did Day 1 of the blog. We hustled back to ship as it was to leave by 4:30; while we were gone the departure time was changed to 5:00 so we bemoaned the loss of another 30 minutes online! Then Mother and I took naps before dinner!

There are always many excursions every day. Excursions today included a tour of Tromso, dog sledding, scenery & huskies, and kayaking. The whale watching excursion was cancelled as the whales were too far out to sea for the people to get there and back for the ship's schedule.

I wanted to have a special dinner for Mother's birthday with our four new friends, Ramiro & Moraima and Anne & Nancy. In the evenings, Mother and I are scheduled to eat at the first seating (6:30) and at an assigned table. Our friends were all scheduled at the second seating (8:15). So, I talked with the hostess and arranged for a table at 8:15 so we could have dinner with our friends. We were fortunate to have one of the best meals served that evening. We had Nordland shrimp for the appetizer, Arctic Char (looked and tasted like salmon) for the main meal, and ginger ice cream with cloudberries for dessert. To celebrate this special occasion, we ordered a bottle of wine for the table, the one recommended by the chef. (Andy, it was a Domdechant Werner Hochheimer Riesling!). Then all of the servers (about 8 of them) came to the table and sang the Norwegian version of 'happy birthday.' They 'danced' around the table while waving Norwegian flags during the song. At the end all said 'gratularer' to Mother individually - some with hugs. I had arranged to have this done and Anne got almost all of it on a movie via her iPhone. Will share that when I can. Anne & Nancy bought a present for Mother as did I. Other people gave their congratulations to Mother after the dinner and even over the next days.

We stayed up til midnight in the Panorama Room on Deck 7 to take photos with Anne & Nancy. I got some great photos including what we considered to be 'the midnight sun.' A wonderful conclusion to another wonderful day.