A Scandinavian Winter - chapter 4

Day 5 - Here comes the sun (and the rest of the universe)!

And just like that I am out of the Arctic. This morning we crossed the Arctic circle, so no more 24 hours without the sun, whatever the date. It hasn’t got any warmer though. In fact if anything this morning feels the coldest so far. Trying to take pictures early on produced some seriously frozen fingers (temporarily before I worry anyone).

Only my second day on the ship and I have a bit of routine: Get up in the dark; tour the deck just to confirm how damn cold it is; eat a massive breakfast (everything I had yesterday plus a couple of sneaky sausages); put on all the clothes I have and take the camera out on deck for the arrival of the sunrise. (I’ll spare you the event between breakfast and putting the excess clothes on)

I think even good photographers (and I don’t count myself among them) would struggle to convey the wild beauty of this place. I’ve tried, and I can’t say the sun did not cooperate - it rose sufficiently in the south east to bathe the mountain tops in golden light - but somehow it just isn’t as good as being there. I guess you could say, is it ever? The full immersion in the 360º experience, and yes, including the cold, is so much more than any photograph. Although I freely admit that some landscape photographers take some absolutely stunning photos.

Anyway enough of this waxing lyrical (or talking rubbish, take your pick). Here is my selection of sunrise pictures. I’ll carry on this pointless ramble at the bottom of the pics…

Icicles

A lovely pink glow.

And so, to continue the pointless ramble, forgive this somewhat self-centred reflection on the meaning of life (no small stuff here!). Having this evening done a mindfulness meditation on the meaning of Yuggen, a Japanese word that roughly translates as “an awareness of the universe, one’s tiny place in it, and an emotional response that is too mysterious for words”, I was struck by how much that fits with many of my reasons for undertaking a trip such as this. Last night, I spent many minutes (as long as the cold would allow) simply staring, awe-struck at the night sky and marvelling at the sheer unfathomable nature of it all. And today as I gazed all around me, I was reminded of the sheer random chance of it all. Specifically, why are there so many tiny islands off the coast of Norway, in this pattern, made of this rock… Just because there are. And this is just a tiny part of a tiny country on tiny planet in a tiny solar system in a tiny … etc.

For spending time reflecting on your own small part in the world you can’t beat at trip like this. As I gazed up last night at the Pole Star clearly seen but unusually directly above me because of how far north I am, it simply reinforced the magical wonder of the universe. Yuggen in other words!

And I don't know if it is because of my reflective mood, or coincidentally, but today, with exception of a phone call home, I have I think spoken the princely sum of one sentence. And that was “a cafe latte and a cinnamon roll, please”. Other than that and a few uses of the word “Tak” (my only reliable Norwegian), I have spoken to nobody and said nothing. You may by now be saying “yes, but you bloody make up for it by writing this dross”, to which I reply, “probably guilty”, but you can always stop reading, and anyway, whilst I genuinely appreciate others reading it, I do actually write it mostly for myself. I travel to broaden my mind, nobody else’s.

Well, that got a bit heavy, but as anyone who reads this stuff knows I simply write what is in my mind (well, within reason).

I’ve had a fabulous day. All day on a boat drifting through fabulous scenery with no responsibility for … well, anything really. Its been bitterly cold but the sky has been clear and come sunset (now a good few hours after sunrise) I got a few more pictures in between blowing on my fingers before they fell off. -15ºC is cold and that is without the windchill, which at the front of the boat was rather ferocious at times. I should have taken a selfie with my lined trousers, my fleece and double down jackets on. Michelin Man! But I couldn’t hold the camera steady enough!

As I write this evening we have just left Bronnoysund, which as the sign confirms is half way up (or down) the Norwegian west coast. And with the ship docked for a couple of hours I got to see the locals light their Christmas tree in the town square. It really doesn’t get much better than this - especially if you are half polar bear!

Goodness knows what I will write about tomorrow. Who cares, that will take care of itself. Now its off for dinner, and no speaking necessary as it is all ordered via QR code! Might need a few “taks” though. Here's some pictures of the sunset to close for the evening.

A boat heading north, thoughtfully painted white to reflect the low sunlight

Sunset over a thousand islands

With "my" boat for foreground

Orange! (and maybe a bit over exposed)