By Paul Bryers
Having reached Kirkenes early yesterday morning, we reversed course and headed south towards Bergen in the early afternoon. We will now revisit the same ports but at different times of day. Currently, we are in Hammerfest town, the most Northerly town in the World. The main attraction, in my opinion, is the Coastguard Helicopter training exercise being conducted in conjunction with the Coastguard Ship Kv Bison.
Bad weather makes for some good omnipresent photos.
By Paul Bryers
Kirkenes Snow Hotel. Not sure I see the point….
I had a go at Dog sleighing. The dogs, including puppies, were lovely and very lively and boisterous. They loved me…
A short but pleasant sleigh ride around the frozen fjord; the fjord ice was just beginning to melt.
By Paul Bryers
Cloud cover descended to the mountains like waves from the Nordic Gods, accompanied by wind speeds of around 40 km/hr and gusts of 55 km/hr, with swells measuring approximately 3 meters. What fun!
We navigated through the Magerøy Sound near Honningsvåg and are currently docked at the latter town. Regrettably, due to snow-blocked roads and strong winds, a visit to Nordkapp is not feasible.
The arrival of interesting weather patterns is welcome by me but less so by some other guests. Bless them.
These conditions are currently tapering off. Yawn…
By Paul Bryers
As the journey progresses, it is becoming increasingly challenging to keep track of the days and our destinations – a testament to the sheer volume of Hurtigruten experiences!
We had a picturesque sail before and after Finnsnes.
Morning photograph taken around the Vangsvika area.
…before we arrived in Tromso.
I tried my hand, or should I say, feet at cross-country skiing. Spectacular Fail despite being a reasonable downhill skier….aw well … and as for the sore thighs the next morning…
Better on a mountain bike…that I can handle, mebbies…
Nice view while attempting to ski…
Subsequently, the sail to Skjervoy was nothing short of spectacular! Can I say sore thighs?
By Paul Bryers
Last night, we made stops in Rørvik and Brønnøsund, Sandnessjøen and Nessa in the early hours. At approximately 07.40, we crossed the Arctic Circle, marked by a small globe. The weather was overcast, but presented a lovely landscape of cloud-topped mountains.
Following our passage across the Arctic Circle at 7.40 am this morning, we visited Ornes, a location of exceptional beauty.
Due to unfavorable weather conditions this morning, we performed the ice sacrifice to the Sea God, which proved worthwhile as the sun emerged and clear blue skies appeared.
Evening photographs taken around the Lofoten area.
By Paul Bryers
Molde was visited late on Saturday night, followed by Kristiansund around 3 am. Today’s port of call in daylight hours was Trondheim. Due to insufficient participation, my first and second choices for excursions (kayaking and a hike with Capercaillies) were cancelled, leading me to join a guided city walk, which was not particularly engaging.
After Trondheim, we were fortunate to navigate through the Stokksund (Eng: Stokk Sound) due to a combination of favorable conditions including minimal wind, no swell, high tide, and the expertise of a Stokksund- accedited Senior Captain. This narrow Sound presented a remarkable challenge, and it was impressive to observe the Captain skillfully maneuvering the 400ft long, 11,000 ton MS Richard With through the Sound and under the bridges.
By Paul Bryers
Following overnight visits to Florø and Maløy, the ship has arrived in Torvik, its first daylight port. However, passengers are not allowed to disembark due to the short 10-minute stop. The weather is beautiful and the scenery is stunning.
Following our visit to Torvik, we sailed towards Ålesund for a 20-minute stop and then proceeded to Urke in the impressive Hjørundfjorden.
En route, we passed waterfalls, green mountains reaching up to 5000 ft with snow-capped peaks.
A short yet steep hike afforded us a breathtaking view of the fjord and our ship, MS Richard With.
The day’s events culminated in a 2-hour stop at Ålesund (our second visit of the day). In contrast to my previous visit last August on MS Trollfjord, I did not disembark.
It was an excellent day.
By Paul Bryers
Just boarded Hurtigruten’s MS Richard With (the ship line founder) at Bergen for my 12 day solo round trip to Kirkenes on the border with Russia – way up beyond the Arctic Circle (trip is known as BKB).
This ship is one of a number of car ferries used by locals that call into 34 ports on the round trip. I did a similar trip August 2024 to Svalbard but that was on a non-car cruise ship ie more like a traditional cruise. The benefit of the car ferry is that it goes to a lot more of the smaller towns/villages/ houses located in the smaller, less accessible fjords.
I have lots of shore excursions planned inc hiking, dog sledding and cross country skiing so hopefully you will follow along with me on my trip and see some stunning sights!
By Paul Bryers, September 9, 2025
Nome marks the end of our remarkable, succesful expedition on HX’s MV Fridjtof Nansen through the Northwest Passage from Nuuk, Greenland to Nome, Alaska.
I hope you enjoy this compilation video of our voyage on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/zhojTRUas9U?si=Yw2lzH_xMaO_Ck-L
Zoom in for hand drawn specific NWP route
HX is to be highly commended for this excellent expedition. I’ve also sailed with them to the Antarctic, twice, and their level of safety blended with adventure is very well balanced.
There are, as in any challenging business of this nature, opportunities to improve the Arctic shore excursions and I’m confident these will be one excellent in a short time.
It has been a winderful experience over the 7350 km (4500 miles) from Nuuk to Nome. As of the today, we are only the 450th vessel to have successfully transited the Northwest Passage in either direction, ever, with 298 different vessels completing at least one full transit. This count includes various vessel types like expedition ships, cargo ships, and icebreakers, with the number of transits increasing in recent years due to melting Arctic ice *.
* Of note While we made it through the ice, it was a very close call. The day after we ploughed through the increasingly dense ice near to Cape Parry, the passage became blocked. We would, I guess, either have to stay it out, wait for a higher class of ice breaker or turned around.
So, it is a very, very uniquie privilege to have completed this crossing and I am very grateful to have been able to have this experience.
The trip has profoundly impacted me, evoking Carl Sagan’s insightful saying, ‘Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve got.’
On September 9, I will fly to Seattle and overnight there before flying to Florida, arriving the evening of September 10.
Thank you very much for following, liking and commenting on my posts.
Up Next on my Travel Blog:
September – Summary of May 2025 Hurtigruten BKB Cruise
September – Summary of May 2025 Mejdi Uzbekistan tour
By Paul Bryers, September 8, 2025
Northern Lights were green tonight.
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