Oslo to Kirkenes

We went to bed at 10 pm and I did not wake until 6 am. The bed was comfy and I took a Melatonin which works for me.

Next morning we had breakfast in a pleasant glassed in extension to the hotel and then headed off to the airport. The hotel provided a pickup service which was much appreciated.

The flight up to the north of Norway is mostly over Sweden with a bit of Finland at the end. 

With the map app on my cell phone it was possible to make out the train line that I had used a few years ago on the trip from Narvik to Lulea.

I've put in a number of mundane photos to show basic details for any future readers of the blog who are doing research on a Hurtigruten trip. At this airport just outside Kirkenes, you get off the plane and walk down a set of stairs before wandering into the large shed which is the terminal.

It's a desolate looking airfield.

It's not often you see a stuffed bear guarding the luggage carousel. Fortunately our bags arrived which is always a plus.

If we had been going straight to the boat we would have taken a bus or a taxi.

Twenty years ago my plane from Philadelphia to Los Angeles was delayed six hours on my annual trip to Australia. A thunder storm closed the airport. When we reached Los Angeles long after our planes were well out over the Pacific, we had to go to a desk to arrange overnight accommodation and replacement flights the next evening. I remember several passengers saying that they were due to get on a cruise ship directly they arrived in Australia and the boat would leave without them. Tough cheese or stiff cheddar as we say in Oz. The earliest plane from Oslo arrives at 11:00 and the boat leaves at 12:30. There is virtually no time to allow for a delay so I organized that we stay the night at a hotel just outside Kirkenes before catching the ship the next day.

We had let the hotel know that we would need transport and the hotel owner was waiting for us with a sign and then led us to his van.  A German lady came with us and she is also doing the same boat trip. 

The terminal building.

The airport is the marker to the left. Kirkenes is the middle marker and the one to the south east is the hotel.

It's a picturesque journey into Kirkenes and it reminded me of the bus ride I did several years ago from Narvik airport to Narvik at the start of my train trip from Narvik to Singapore.

We are staying at the Sollia Gjestegard which is a few miles south of Kirkenes. That is our view from our window.

Our small bedroom. In Norway each bed gets a doona which is folded length-ways in half.

I was intrigued by the fence.

We are in one of the large huts that have quite a few bedrooms. There is a common lounge room and we tend to spend most of our time here.

Marianne makes some tea and coffee.

The main building. During WWII, Kirkenes was bombed many times and this building was used as a hospital.

Business must be good in Summer because they are building new huts including these modern boxes.

Inside a box.

The view from your box. They were brand new and smelt of freshly cut wood.

Each had a deck.

Some other accommodations.

Across the lake is Russia which is curiously to the west of Norway at this point. This area has belonged to Russia, Finland and now Norway at various times.

This is in Norway.

As is this watch tower and guard room which overlooks the lake. Relations between Russia and Norway are good in this area and Russians often come to shop in Kirkenes. Norwegians who live within 30 km of Kirkenes do not need a visa if they visit Russia.

It snowed lightly for most of the afternoon. Here is the sun trying to burst though the gloom.

Still plenty of snow laying about. It can get down to -40 degrees in Winter. -40 is the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius.

The complex is quite extensive but we were the only guests apart from some electrical worker who walked in and went straight to his room. Most tourists come in summer or in winter. April / May is very quiet. Our host told us that the same applies for the Hurtigruten ships.

Another kind of hut.

This one had a Jacuzzi.

And a fire pit.

Meanwhile the lake was still there. During the winter you can do ice fishing out there but you have to stay on the correct side of the border which is marked by coloured poles. If you stray across, you will be shot. Seriously.

We think this solitary hut was the model for the black versions we had looked at earlier.

The tree on the right is a birch tree but we are not sure about the one on the left.

For the serious off-roader. 

The border crossing is only a mile away or so.

Behold the gloom. The black mark on the ice is where the ice is thin or melted.

Our host cooked reindeer for dinner which we really enjoyed. It had been thinly sliced, somewhat like a Philly cheesesteak. Our German lady joined us and we enjoyed talking to her and the owner who told us a lot about the area and its history.

It's 9 pm but it is still light and snow is still falling.