A Viking Star…
When my carefully planned and much anticipated Arctic cruise and Iceland self drive was cancelled in 2020 thanks to the pandemic, my travelling companion and I started to look at ways to achieve that dream but for a couple of years after the pandemic. We chose to do a 29 Day cruise with Viking Star (930 passengers) from Norway to New York. We flew Premium Economy to Copenhagen for a brief visit of this very charming and walkable city. A loop on the Hop On Hop Off gave us the layout of what to see in more detail, which we duly did. My second visit to Copenhagen was as enjoyable and interesting as my first over 20 years ago.
Viking Star
SCANDINAVIA
From Copenhagen we flew to Bergen direct and again, walked and walked this compact city, the 2nd largest in Norway. We took the Floibanen up Mt Floyen to absorb that far-reaching and beautiful view over this very attractive city with its’ World Heritage listed Bryggen district – a remnant of the hugely important Hanseatic League. On our second day there we boarded our ship – with still another night in Bergen and the following day to continue discovering more of historical significance and cultural importance.
From Bergen we sailed north up the coast of Norway, truly one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever seen. We had day long stops at 6 ports of call, each one different from the last in what we could do, from taking breathtaking drives up steep roads made of dozens of hairpin bends to views looking back over the beloved Geiranger Fjord 1500m below, to visiting the Arctic Polar Park to see such fascinating wildlife as Arctic fox, Musk Oxen, Moose, Wolves, brown bears and reindeer amongst others. We learned about the importance of the fishing industry to Norway, we took a boat ride out to the Stappen Islands, sanctuaries for thousands of sea birds – puffins, guillemots, gannets, razorbills and more. We saw range upon range of imposing mountains with drifts of snow still apparent. We cruised the Norwegian Inside passage – sometimes so close to the land you could almost touch it. Blessed with very pleasant weather, our week in Norway was beyond our best hopes.
From Honnigsvag, high inside the Arctic circle, we sailed up to the remote and stark island of Svalbard – so cold and dauntingly savage in appearance, with a fascinating history. A rib boat trip to an abandoned Russian coal mining settlement, so derelict and so isolated, was our highlight of this visit. Leaving Svalbard, after a couple of sea days, we arrived in Iceland. We circumnavigated this spectacular country for a week and I could have jumped ship to live there! This was the best week of our trip – every day brought more dramatic and awe-inspiring scenery, endless fjords with steep sided mountains falling into them, little colourful fishing villages, the incredible geology of this land that sits on two tectonic plates and grows by 3cm every year because those plates are drifting apart, causing the frequent and lengthy volcanic eruptions. We saw lava fields, glaciers, utterly beautiful and mesmerising waterfalls and geothermal areas belching sulphurous steam from fumaroles and boiling mud pools. This country is such a contrast of ice and fire, with amazing stories of survival or destruction, of resilience and acceptance that the folk that live here are always living on a time bomb. For me, it was the most fascinating and exciting discovery I’ve had since I was in the Antarctic, 24 years ago. My most precious time was spent at Skalanes Nature Park, where we spent some time enjoying the antics of the Arctic’s most lovable characters, the puffins – nesting nearby in their burrows on steep, black basalt cliffs.
AMERICAS
Sadly we couldn’t see anything of Greenland due to ice blocking entrances to fjords, but we did have stops in Nova Scotia, eastern Canada before we sailed past the Statue of Liberty into New York harbour.
We found Halifax in Nova Scotia very attractive and with such a history of involvement with the Titanic disaster, a huge and deadly explosion in 1917 in the harbour that killed nearly 1800 inhabitants and the involvement with convoys to Russia in WWII – such a lot to see in just a day.
New York is New York – not being a big city person, I found it noisy, so busy and very brash – but I did enjoy taking in some of the well known sights – making good use of the Hop On Hop Off bus there for the two days we had before we flew home. 
Norway and Iceland – while busy with tourists, they’re not as hectic or overcrowded as most of Europe is these days. If you are looking for unmissable scenery, colourful wilderness, wildlife and uncrowded spaces, rushing rivers, impressive waterfalls, majestic mountains, and countries where it’s easy to be understood – I can unequivocally recommend travel to these two lands. There are many cruises that make travelling there so easy – unpack once, and settle in to enjoy the magnificent Arctic.
Wanting to make your cruising dreams a reality? Contact Anne to discuss your reservations.
