The Russian Border!

     Hurrah!  We finally have internet on the MS Kong Harald!  (I am writing this on July 10.)  We have survived 10 days without wife!  The latest I heard about this is that they had to wait to get some part while in Trondheim.  There was an officer scurrying around with the system when Mother and I returned from the walk into the city to do the blog in a hotel with internet.  I read in the Hurtigruten Daily News that United Airlines was grounded for just over 5 hours due to some computer/communication issue.  All of us (420 passengers or so but up to 600 with the crew) on the MS Kong Harald had to wait til the 11th day of the voyage for internet!  Now to update our last five days.

Monday, July 6  (Day 7)

     We went to breakfast at 7:00 so that we could say our final good-byes to our friends, Ramiro & Moraima and Anne & Nancy.  How nice it was to share part of this trip with them.  Ramiro & Moraima are off to Scotland and London before returning to Mexico; Anne & Nancy are off to Oslo and Sweden before returning to CA (Anne) and OR (Nancy).

     This is a day for which we have been waiting - the trip to the Russian border.  We passed the town of Vadso in the night, which is the most eastern city in Norway - further east than St. Petersberg!  We arrived in Kirkenes at 9:00 am.  Kirkenes has a population of 5000.  It is situated only 10 km from the Pasvikelva River, which forms the national border with Russia.  There were many excursions today including Birds of the Arctic and three ways to visit the Russian border:  by bus, by riverboat and by ATV/Quad safari.  We boarded a bus with only 18-20 people and enjoyed seeing road signs for cities both in Norwegian (Kirkenes and Murmansk) and Russian (Knpkehec, Mypmahck).  The area was formed by glaciers and is similar to Scotland and southern Germany.  Arctic summers are short, but intense.  The rivers are rich with trout, pike, and salmon.  Now 8 km from the border, our excellent guide identified the top four industries in the area:  4) commerce, 3) fishing, 2) iron ore, and 1) tourism - especially those of us on the daily Hurtigruten trips.

     Before we arrived at the border, we were given very clear directions about what to do and not to do as it is a highly protected border per NATO regulations.  Norwegians and Russians can buy a permanent visa to visit each other's country.  (Norwegians buy gas, alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco in Russian and the Russians buy clothing and hygiene products in Norway.)  If you walked into the area beyond the gate on the Norwegian side (the 'iron veil') without a visa, you would be taken into custody, sued thousands of kroner, delayed from returning to the ship, and then would have to pay lots of money to get to the next stop.  We were told that this happened to a lady who was in a boat in the border river and put her hands out on the Russian side of the river to take a photo.  All of us listened and followed directions!  No jokes here!

     After a number of photos, we went to the small shack that was a souvenir shop where there were both Russian and Norwegian flags flying outside.  I found a couple of wooden toys made like ones made by Russian POWs during WWII.  (Kirkenes was a large German military base in WWII with about 10,000 soldiers/officers in the city.)  We also stopped at the souvenir shop where the Hurtigruten docked and found a few more items.  (Get ready, Kalyx!)

     We returned to the ship by 12:20 and went to lunch where we had excellent salmon and, for the first time, rice pudding.  Rice pudding in Norway is a bit different than how we make it.  It was like our rice pudding and then mixed into whipped cream - fantastic!

     About 100 passengers left at Kirkenes and many new passengers (about 70) boarded at Kirkenes for the second half of the trip - the southern route from Kirkenes to Bergen.  We got new dinner partners - two wonderful ladies from Stockholm, Gunilla and Louise.

arrive in Vadso at 6:45 am

on the bus and driving to the Russian Border - all signs are in Norwegian and Russian

Pasvik River - borders Norway and Russia

The Russian border - many cars passed the border while we were there - this one coming from Russia into Norway

on the border

Close to the border and next to the souvenir shop

Russian pavilion given to the city of Kirkenes

our excellent guide who gave all information in English and German - here about the Pasvik National Park

Kirkenes - returning to our ship, which can be seen in the harbor, around 12:00 noon

WWII bunker (note 1944) - 10,000 Germans were in Kirkenes in WWII

Vardo - Norway's easternmost town

the sign says it all for the city of Vardo

presentation by our cruise director, Thess, at 6:00 pm; we attended several presentations throughout the trip giving information about the region - but primarily to promote the food at dinner and what wine is recommended!